Finance Changes
In this article, we'll cover the high-level changes coming with Workday Finance.
Purchasing
All expense management functions currently in Chrome River will transition to Workday, including credit card expenses and reimbursements. This change streamlines our financial processes into one system, and the Workday functionality will be similar to Chrome River.
In addition, the University is updating its credit card program, reducing the number of purchasing cards (P-Cards) and introducing new Travel Cards. As is true today, there will be an individual in most departments who holds the department P-Card. Frequent travelers will receive a Travel Card instead of a P-Card, but they will probably not notice any difference when using their card. Some employees who use their cards today will no longer have a card, because Workday will provide other mechanisms for efficient purchasing, such as self-service catalogs. Central Finance will contact all affected employees about these changes by December 6th.
Additionally, we are simplifying our invoice process. Vendors will now send their invoices directly to invoices@richmond.edu, eliminating the need for employees to route invoices to Accounts Payable. Once all vendors are sending their invoices centrally to A/P, this change will speed up vendor payments while reducing administrative work. Vendors will be officially notified by the end of November of the change to central invoicing, and if any invoices are received in departments after Workday is live in January, there is a simple process to route those invoices to Accounts Payable for payment, similar to the check request process today.
New Concepts - Understanding Your New Workday Finance Tools
The move to Workday as the University's financial system includes four key new concepts.
First, Banner's complex Chart of Accounts will be replaced by Workday's Foundation Data Model, or FDM. Cost Centers (budget sources) have names we would all recognize -- Jepson School Instruction, as an example -- and selecting the Cost Center defaults in many of the other key financial elements. This new approach to Finance is more intuitive and processing expenses will be easier.
Workday will also have three new purchasing features. For common supplies, you'll access streamlined punch-out catalogs in Workday from vendors like Amazon, Staples, and Grainger. You will not need a P-Card to make these transactions, and when the order is placed, the accounting will be automatic -- you will not have to complete an expense report or reconcile a P-Card. All you'll have to do is click a button when you receive what you ordered.
For other kinds of purchases (not made through these catalogs), you will request the good or service by completing a simple form -- a "purchase requisition." This requisition will route for approval by the cost center manager which commits the funds, ensuring better, more accurate budget visibility. Your requisition is finalized by a trained buyer and then routed to the vendor. Finally, you'll confirm deliveries directly in Workday (receiving process), which triggers immediate payment to your vendor.
Mastering these four elements -- the FDM, punch-out catalogs, purchase requisitions, and the receiving process -- will help you navigate Workday with confidence. Training regarding these concepts will be delivered in person, via video, and through written instructional guides beginning in December.