Month: November 2025

As Clemson University prepares for its own Workday journey, we’re learning from those who’ve been there before. We sat down with Kimberly Spears-McNatt, Clemson’s Associate Vice President for Public Safety, who experienced a Workday implementation during her time at The Ohio State University. She shared her insights on what worked well, what surprised her most, and how the transition ultimately transformed the way her team worked.

Experience at Ohio State University

Q: Can you tell me a little about your role at Clemson?

A: Currently, I serve as the Associate Vice President for the Department of Public Safety at

Clemson University. Working with my team, we are responsible for safety and security which includes Police, Fire & EMS, Emergency Management and Tiger One.

Q: If different, what was your role at Ohio State?

A: I have proudly served in law enforcement for 30+ years and previously served as Chief of Police for The Ohio State University Police Division.

Q: What was the most significant change in your day-to-day work when Workday launched at Ohio State University?

A: January 2021, we transitioned to Workday. What really stood out were the Cost Centers, which helped with payroll, purchasing and budgeting. It eliminated a lot of redundancies when entering information. For example, once you enter your Cost Center’s information, everything else is basically auto populated*. Since our cost center was tied to the Police Division’s budget and financial reporting, it made it easier to track spending and how resources were allocated.

_{*Editor’s note: cost center and budget information is auto populated based on parameters built into the system; changes can be made if an expenditure does not align with the defaulted values.}

Q: How did Workday influence collaboration or communication within your team at Ohio State?

A: With the university having 40,000 plus faculty and staff members, Workday helped streamline communication. I was instantly able to see which items were pending with procurement and purchasing while eliminating the need to send follow-up emails or chase people down for updates. It also showed clear approval paths for each transaction, which made it easier to ask questions or follow the request from start to finish.

Looking Ahead to Clemson’s Workday Implementation

Q: How do you see Workday helping your department streamline some of the tasks you handle today?

A: Workday will help streamline the process for approving purchases across the Department of Public Safety. In addition, Workday will help my team monitor overtime costs.

Q: How do you think having everything in one system will impact your daily work or the way you support others?

A: It will help with efficiency by having everything in one system. My team will instantly see the status of approvals, leave requests, and transactions without sending e-mails or making follow-up calls.

Q: What benefits do you think faculty and staff will notice first once Workday is in place?

A: Workday allows individuals to monitor spending via cost centers and view budget impacts immediately, if they are responsible for multiple cost centers or areas.  

Reflections & Advice

Q: What lessons or best practices from the Ohio State implementation might be helpful as Clemson prepares for go-live?

A: Each department has its own structure, responsibilities, and workflows. Recognizing this, the Workday rollout will need trained staff available during and after the go live period to provide support.

Change can be challenging but hearing from someone who’s already been through it reminds us that it’s also an opportunity for growth and improvement. A big thanks to Kimberly for sharing her experience and perspective! Stay tuned for more stories from across the university as we move forward together on Clemson’s Workday journey.

Workday Financials

Workday is more than a new system—it’s a new way of managing Clemson’s finances with greater transparency, consistency and flexibility. As we prepare to go live, it’s important to become comfortable with the language you’ll see when using Workday. Below are some key financial terms, grouped by theme, to help you navigate the system with confidence.

Foundational Terms

You’ve seen some of these before, but it may help to review them with a bit more context.

Foundation Data Model (FDM)

The FDM is the backbone of Workday Financials. Think of it as the system’s “chart of accounts”—a structure that organizes financial information using worktags. It ensures every transaction is coded consistently so reporting and analysis are clear and accurate.

Worktags

You’ve seen this term before if you’ve been keeping up with the Workday Words of the Week Series.  Workday’s structure is more flexible and intuitive. Where PeopleSoft used long strings of ChartField values, Workday uses worktags that can be mixed and matched to give transactions full financial meaning—making reporting, tracking, and analysis much easier. Worktags are labels used in Workday to tag financial transactions. Examples include Cost Center, Program, Fund or Project.

Organizational and Funding Elements

Cost Center

A cost center represents the organizational unit responsible for a financial transaction (such as a college, department, or administrative unit). Cost centers make it easier to see where spending is happening across Clemson.

Fund

A fund represents the source of money being used for a transaction. Examples include state appropriations, grants, student tuition, or restricted gifts. Funds help ensure money is spent according to donor, state, or federal requirements.

Gift

A gift is a special type of fund created when Clemson receives philanthropic donations. Each gift carries restrictions or purposes defined by the donor—such as scholarships, endowed professorships, or research support. Workday makes it easier to track these gifts and ensure they are used as intended.

Revenue and Expenses

Spend Category

Spend categories describe what is being purchased (e.g., office supplies, lab equipment, professional services). They replace object codes used in our current system and make financial reporting more streamlined.

Revenue Category

Revenue categories classify the type of income Clemson receives, such as tuition, research grants, athletic revenues or donations. They work hand-in-hand with ledger accounts to show where money is coming from and help with accurate budgeting and forecasting.

Accounting and Tracking

Ledger Account

Ledger accounts classify the type of transaction—such as revenue, expense, asset, or liability. They work alongside other worktags in the FDM to provide the full financial picture.

Journal

A journal is an entry used to record financial activity that isn’t tied directly to procurement or payroll. For example, moving funds between cost centers or adjusting balances would be recorded in a journal.

Operational Journal

An operational journal is a specific type of journal entry u That originates from operational events like supplier invoices, customer invoices and payroll.

Obligation

An obligation in Workday is a financial commitment that hasn’t yet been paid, such as an open purchase order or contract. Obligations help departments manage budgets by showing both actual spending and pending commitments.

Supplier Transactions

Supplier Invoice

This is the electronic version of a vendor bill. In Workday, invoices are matched to purchase orders and receipts before a payment is issued, helping to ensure accuracy and accountability.

Why These Terms Matter

Financial terms in Workday aren’t just jargon—they’re a part of how Clemson will track, manage, and report on every dollar. Learning these terms now will make it easier to understand budgets, monitor spending, and  pull the data you need to make informed decisions.

Stay tuned for more Workday Words of the Week as we continue building familiarity with the system before go-live.

From PeopleSoft to Workday: Key Financial Terms

As Clemson transitions from PeopleSoft to Workday, you’ll notice new terminology. While the words may be different, the concepts will feel familiar. Here’s a quick comparison to guide you:

Workday Term	What it Means	PeopleSoft Equivalent
Foundation Data Model (FDM)	The structure of Workday Financials that organizes all financial information using worktags.	Chart of Accounts
Worktags	Labels (like Cost Center, Program, Fund) used to code and track financial transactions.	ChartField Values
Cost Center	Represents the unit responsible for financial activity (college, department, office).	Department
Fund	Identifies the source of money (e.g., state appropriations, tuition, restricted gifts).	Fund Code
Gift	Tracks donor-restricted funds for specific purposes (scholarships, endowments, research).	Project
Spend Category	Classifies what is being purchased (office supplies, services, equipment).	Expense Account
Revenue Category	Classifies income (tuition, grants, donations, fees).	Revenue Account
Journal	Entry to record financial activity not tied directly to procurement or payroll.	Journal Entry
Operational Journal	A day-to-day journal for reallocations, corrections, or internal transfers.	Journal Entry (same function, less distinction)
Obligation	A financial commitment not yet paid (open PO, contract).	Encumbrance / Pre-Encumbrance
Supplier Invoice	Electronic vendor bill matched to POs and receipts.	Voucher / Invoice

Clemson’s transition to Workday  will bring a change to how expenses are managed, aiming to simplify, centralize and modernize the way faculty and staff handle business-related spending. In the new Workday environment, all expense-related tasks will be consolidated. While Concur will still handle travel bookings, every aspect of expense processing and reimbursement will now be managed directly within Workday.

One of Workday’s strengths is how it eliminates ambiguity and gives users visibility into every step. Employees can monitor the status of their spend authorizations (similar to a travel authorization, but can also be used for expenses other than travel) and expense reports in real time, seeing where items are in the approval process, whether anything is on hold, and what actions may be needed to move things forward. Approvers receive clear notifications, can provide feedback or comments, and have easy access to all related documentation within the system. This unified experience means employees can submit expenses, track their progress, and view approvals or pending items all in one location, accessible anytime and anywhere.

Nearly 300 employees participated in the October 2025 What’s Up With Workday session covering expenses. One attendee commented that “the merging of multiple systems is IDEAL”, when introduced to this organized and transparent approach to managing University business expenses. Throughout the entire session, there was an underlying theme from participants expressing gratitude “to moving forward with [a] consolidated system and greater transparency.”

Below is an outline of the topics covered during the session:

1. Introduction to Workday
   • Workday is a cloud-based ERP software system that unifies HR, finance and other operational data into one centralized platform.
2. Demo of Workday Features
   • Spend Authorizations: Employees create spend authorization tasks before any expenses occur, inputting estimates and justification as needed.
   • Expense Reports: Users can create a new report, copy a prior report, or link the report to an existing spend authorization where each expense line is itemized and must have matching documentation (receipts), work tags (for allocation), vendor information, and destinations.
   • Work Tags: Employees will use keywords or codes that categorize expenses by purpose, funding source, grants, or projects, essential for proper allocation and reporting.
   • Attachments: Users can upload supporting documents to spend authorizations and reports.
3. Transition Details
   • Workday will go live in July 2026.
   • Training will be provided closer to the go-live date to ensure all
   • employees are confident in using the new system.

At the end of the session, participants voiced excitement around clear workflows, with options to approve, send back for edits, add approvers, or cancel requests. A recorded version of the Expenses session is available for those who could not make it, or wish to revisit the content.

The session concluded with reminders to follow the Workday@ Clemson website for updates, invite colleagues to upcoming sessions, and to submit questions and comments via email to Workday@Clemson.edu.

Questions Asked During the Session:

Question: Can I put multiple items (hotel, meals, etc.) on the same request?

Answer: Yes, multiple items can be included in one spend authorization or expense report.

Question: Will supervisors see all details, including comments?

Answer: Yes, all entered information (including justifications and comments) is visible to approvers.

Question: Can I designate a delegate to submit or approve expenses on my behalf?

Answer: Delegation options are still being finalized and details will be shared during training.

Question: What happens if my actual expense is higher than the authorization?

Answer: You can still submit the full amount for payment, but it will require extra approval.

Question: Do expense reports auto-populate when initiating an expense report?

Answer: You can create an expense report from a spend authorization, or you can create a stand-alone expense report. When you create an expense report from a spend authorization, the expense report populates the information from the initial spend authorization.

What’s Up Next?

Join us in November for an inside look into procurement! For a full list of all What’s Up With Workday topics, visit the What’s Up With Workday webpage.

Procurement in Plain Language

As Clemson transitions to Workday, one area that will see big improvements is procurement—how we buy goods and services for the University. Workday streamlines the procurement process, making it easier to request, approve and track purchases. To help you get familiar with the terminology you’ll see in Workday, here are some key words to know.

Supplier

Suppliers are the companies or individuals we buy goods or services from. In Workday, suppliers are managed within the system, making it easier to track orders, invoices and payments.

Requisition

A requisition is a request you submit in Workday when you want to purchase something, like lab supplies, office equipment or software. It’s the first step in the procurement process, and once approved, it becomes the basis for creating a purchase order.

Requisition Type

Requisition types identify the purpose or category of a requisition. They might separate things like goods vs. services, catalog vs. non-catalog, or standard vs. capital purchases. Choosing the right requisition type ensures the request routes correctly for approval and reporting.

Purchase Order (PO)

A purchase order is the official document sent to a supplier after a requisition is approved. Think of it as the “green light” to the vendor that Clemson intends to buy the goods or services.

Purchase Order Type

Purchase order types in Workday categorize different kinds of purchase orders. For example, they might distinguish between a standard purchase order (a one-time order), a blanket purchase order (used for ongoing goods or services within a set amount), or other specialized orders. The PO type helps track the nature of the purchase and how it will be managed.

Catalog Item

A catalog item is a product or service available through Workday’s online catalogs—like shopping on Amazon but within Clemson’s system. You can browse, add items to a cart, and create a requisition directly from the catalog.

Punchout

A punchout is a way to shop directly on a supplier’s website from inside Workday. When you select a punchout supplier (like Staples or Grainger), Workday temporarily “punches out” to their catalog. You can browse items, add them to your cart, and then return to Workday where your selections automatically create a requisition.

Non-Catalog Items

Non-catalog items are goods or services that are not listed in Workday’s supplier catalogs. If what you need isn’t in a punchout or catalog, you can enter the details (description, supplier, price,  quantity, etc.) manually, so a requisition can be created.

Spend Category

Spend categories classify what you’re buying (e.g., office supplies, lab equipment, professional services). They help Clemson track spending, manage budgets and report on purchasing trends.

Receipt

When goods or services arrive, you’ll confirm receipt of them in Workday =. This step helps ensure Clemson only pays for what was actually delivered.

Invoice

An invoice is a bill from a supplier for the goods or services provided. In Workday, invoices are matched with purchase orders and receipts to ensure everything lines up before payment is issued.

Why it Matters

Learning this terminology now will help you feel more comfortable to manage the procurement process in Workday. These words aren’t just “system language”—they reflect the new, streamlined way we’ll manage purchasing across campus.

Find out more during our What’s Up With Workday Sessions series. In November, we’ll be taking a look at Procurement in Workday. Our next Workday Words of the Week will focus on other Finance terms related to budgeting and accounting.