Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)

General Process

Q1: If you previously submitted a travel request via Concur, should we resubmit it as a spend authorization in Workday? 
A: If travel hasn’t occurred yet, then yes, you will need to submit a spend authorization in Workday. Workday will not allow any travel-related expenses to be processed on an expense report (p-card or reimbursements) without a spend authorization.

Q2: Are the “business purpose” options specific to department? I find that most of the options there aren't applicable to my department.
A: This question is not needed and has been removed from the form. You should include the business purpose as part of your explanation in the Memo field.

Q3: What should we do if the expense relates to more than one business purpose? 
A: Indicate the various business purposes on each expense line, in the memo field. 

Q4. When making purchases on Amazon, the charge comes through as the dollar amount for the entire order - not individual items.  How do we handle price per unit? 
A: You can just force it to work by selecting 1 quantity and the total price as the per-unit amount .

Q5. Can we handle travel expenses for food with a per diem, or do we need to itemize and submit each meal? 
A. Chatham’s policy does not allow for per diems.  Chatham only reimburses for actual expenses incurred. 

Q6. What should we do if we need spend authorizations for non-travel expenses beyond our department's maximum expenses? If we purchase a piece of expensive equipment and need pre-approval, for example?
A. You should submit a Purchase Order and indicate “credit card” as the method of payment. 

Q7. Is there a way to recall or edit a spend authorization or expense report after it’s been submitted?
A. Yes, as long as it hasn’t been approved yet, you can go to “My Expense Reports”, then Actions "Change Expense Report”, make your changes and Submit. ​​​​​​​

Q8. On travel-related expense reports, do we have to break down hotel costs by night? Or just do the total?
A. You should use “Itemization” and break them down by night. ​​​​​​​