Workday Glossary
This resource provides a foundation for the terminology you will encounter during our transition to Workday. Please note that this is a growing list; new terms and definitions will be added regularly as we move through different phases of the implementation.
A
- Absence (Time Off) – Approved time away from work, such as vacation or sick time, requested and tracked in Workday. Absences (Time Off) are different than Leaves of Absence (LoA).
B
- Budget – The planned amount of money available for a particular area, fund, or purpose, as seen in Workday reports and dashboards.
- Budget Owner – The person responsible for a particular budget in Workday, often tied to a Cost Center or Program.
- Business Process (BP) – A predefined set of steps that a task follows in Workday (for example, a hire, a job change, or an expense report), including who needs to review and approve it.
C
- Clock in/Clock out – Timekeeping functionality used by employees to record the start (clock in) and end (clock out) of their work shifts or breaks. This is used by some, not all, hourly workers.
- Contingent Worker (CW) – Workers hired, and typically paid, through a third-party such as temporary agency workers, contractors, and external consultants. Contingent Workers separate group from non-employees (volunteers).
- Cost Center (CC) – A Worktag representing a budget-owning unit (e.g., department or division) that tracks financial transactions for management and reporting.
D
- Delegation – Temporarily allowing another person to act on your behalf in Workday for certain tasks (for example, approving time or expenses while you are away).
E
- Employee Directory / People Search – A feature in Workday that lets you find colleagues and see basic information about them.
- ERP (Enterprise Resource Planning) – A system that is a single, integrated software platform that helps organizations manage day-to-day functions like finance, HR, and student information using real-time, shared data across departments.
- Expense Report – A form in Workday where you enter business‑related expenses and attach receipts in order to be reimbursed.
- Expenses Hub – A central spot in Workday where you can see your pcard transactions ready for expense, submitted expense reports and their status, spend authorizations, and related tasks.
F
- Finance – Or FIN. Workday’s name for the combined functionality for accounting, finance, financial reporting, budget management and analytics, grant and revenue management, and expenses.
- FOAPAL – The legacy accounting code structure used before Workday. In Workday, FOAPAL elements are replaced by combinations of Worktags (such as Cost Center, Fund, Program, and Spend Category).
- Fund – A Worktag representing a pool of money with a specific source and set of restrictions.
G
- Gift – A Sorktag representing a specific funding source typically with usage restrictions. Includes gifts and endowments. Formerly Fund.
- Grant – Or Grant Award. A Worktag representing a specific funding source provided by an outside sponsor (e.g. federal, state) with detailed reporting requirements.
H
- HCM (Human Capital Management) – Workday’s name for the combined functionality for human resources, benefits, talent management, payroll, time and attendance, and recruitment.
- Hire (as a Business Process) – In Workday, the process of adding a person into the system as an employee; what Macalester may have previously called “hiring” or “onboarding.”
- Home Page – Your starting page in Workday, where you’ll see applications, tasks, and announcements.
I
- Inbox (Workday Inbox) – The place in Workday where you receive tasks that you need to complete or approve.
J
- Job Aid – A short, step‑by‑step guide that shows you how to complete a specific task in Workday, customized for Macalester.
- Job Change – A Workday business process that manages changes to a person’s job (for example, hours, title, location).
- Job Requisition – A request in Workday to hire for a specific position, which goes through review and approval steps.
L
- Learning – The area of Workday where you find assigned training, optional courses, and your learning history.
- Leave of Absence (LoA) – An authorized, often extended, period away from work for life events such as medical issues, family care, or military service.
M
- Manager – In Workday, the person designated to approve and oversee certain tasks for others (such as a supervisor, department chair, or dean), even if they do not think of themselves as a “manager” in the traditional sense.
- Model My Pay – A Workday feature that lets you see how certain changes (such as deductions) could affect your net pay before they take effect.
O
- Onboarding – Workday tasks for a new hire to complete after they are hired (for example, forms, training, and orientation items).
- Organization (Org) – A way Workday groups people, positions, or financial activity (such as Cost Centers, supervisory organizations, or grant organizations).
P
- Pcard (Purchasing Card) – A card used for authorized business purchases; in Workday, Pcard activity is more visible.
- Pay Slip – A document in Workday showing your earnings, deductions, and net pay for a pay period.
- Period Activity Pay – Pay for work tied to a defined period or activity (for example, a special assignment or short‑term academic role).
- Program (Financial Program) – A Worktag used to track financial activity for a particular initiative, project, or theme.
R
- Role Assignment – The combination of security and functional roles a person has in Workday (for example, Manager, Cost Center Manager, or Grant Manager).
S
- Security Group – A way Workday groups users who share similar access rights, often based on role (for example, all Budget Managers).
- Spend Authorization – A request in Workday to get a monetary advance for expected costs (such as travel or conference expenses).
- Spend Category – A worktag that describes the type of goods or services being purchased (for example, office supplies or travel).
- Supervisory Organization – Or Sup Org. The structure in Workday that shows reporting relationships and who is responsible for approving certain tasks.
- Supplier Invoice – Vendor or Supplier payment request for goods or services that the business has provided. The “Create Supplier Invoice Request” task is used for paying invoices and request check payments.
T
- Talent Management – Workday functionality related to performance, goals, and career development.
- Tenant – Macalester’s specific Workday “website” with our own branding, business process configuration, and data.
- Time Entry (Enter Time) – The process of recording hours worked in Workday for hourly employees.
- Time Off (Absence) – Approved time away from work, such as vacation or sick time, requested and tracked in Workday.
W
- Work Study – A type of student employment funded by specific programs, tracked in Workday with its own rules and costing.
- Workday – Macalester’s primary system for managing HR, finance, and related processes.
- Worktag – A plain‑language label Workday uses to indicate where money should be accounted for.
Updated: March 24, 2026