What is it?
When we say Spend Authorization, we mean …
- Pre-approval of anticipated travel expenses before incurring costs
- Document estimated expenses to ensure alignment with budget and policy
- Submit a formal request in Workday for approval prior to travel
When we say Expense Report, we mean …
- Record actual business or travel expenses incurred
- Reconcile expenses against a prior Spend Authorization
- Request reimbursement for out-of-pocket costs
View the April 1, 2026, GBAS PowerUp! Workday demo video featuring travel and expense reimbursements at UF. Reference the Traveling at UF FAQs from the session.
View the August 5, 2026, GBAS PowerUp! Workday demo video featuring Spend Authorizations. Reference the Creating Travel Spend Authorizations in Workdayfrom the session.
View the August 12, 2026, GBAS PowerUp! Workday demo video featuring expense reports within Workday. Reference the Expense Reports & Card Reconciliation FAQsfrom the session.
Key Terminology
Spend Authorizations are expense transactions that payees can use to request preapproval of estimated expenses.
Legacy Term: Travel Request
Expense Reports are used to itemize and submit expenses incurred by a worker for business-related activities, which may be eligible for reimbursement.
Legacy Term: Expense Report
The individual expense for each line on the Spend Authorization and Expense Report. These must be mapped to a single spend category and can drive the population of additional instructions and required fields on a report line.
Legacy Term: Expense Type
The Travel Card will be used for travel-related expenses (e.g., hotel).
Roles
This role allows the individual to submit a Spend Authorization or Expense Report on their own.
This role allows an individual to submit on behalf of someone else.
Legacy Term: Delegate
This role is for reviewing, editing and approving Spend Authorizations and Expense Reports. They can edit a SA or ER, such as worktags or expense items, prior to approval.
This role is for reviewing and approving Spend Authorizations or Expense Reports based on the worktags.
Examples: Grant Manager, Gift Manager, Project Manager, or Cost Center Manager. This role does not have ability to edit a SA or ER.