The Ohio State University School of Music

Create a Spend Authorization

Create a Spend Authorization

How to Create a Spend Authorization 

A Spend Authorization is an estimate of costs related to your planned travel. 

Approval of this authorization is required before  purchases related to the travel takes place.  

It is recommended that a Spend Authorization be submitted at least one month prior to the date of travel. 

A Spend Authorization is required for all business travel that is 45 miles or more from the traveler’s place of work.

To Begin

Before you begin your submission in Workday, you will need the following: 

  1. Estimates of the cost(s) associated with your travel (ex: airfare, hotel stay) 
  1. Your funding source worktags. If you are uncertain on what the worktags are for your funding source, please email ASC-Music-Finance@osu.edu    
  1. The dates of your travel 
  1. The purpose of your travel 

 Begin the Spend Authorization 

  1. Type Create Spend Authorization in the search field at the top of the Workday homepage. 
    • Select Create Spend Authorization from options list. 

Note the Important Reminders section at the top of the page for any updates that may impact your travel. 

  1. Complete all fields as prompted:
  • Company — This will auto populate based on your employee assignment. 
  • Start/End Date — Enter your departure date for travel and your return date. When personal time is added to a business trip, personal dates should be noted in the memo or comments and support documentation should be attached 
  • Description — Enter a short description of the trip. The description should be unique to this trip (e.g., SCTEM Conference, Texas, 2021). 
  • Business Purpose — Select the appropriate option from the drop-down menu. Selections must be Business Purpose with "Travel" prefix only.
  • Reimbursement Payment Type — This field defaults to what the employee traveler has selected with their payroll elections. No changes are permitted.
  • Justification — Enter a statement that explains the reason behind the business travel. It must include details of the business travel (who, what, when) and how/why the business travel is necessary. 
  1. Next, you will input your estimated expenses. Add Spend Authorization Lines: 
  • Click the (+) Add icon in the lower left  
  • Select an Expense Item. You can type in a keyword and hit Enter to search for matches. Examples are: Airfare, Conference Registration, Lodging, Mileage, Per Diem. 
  • Quantity/Per Unit Amount/Total Amount - Enter the quantity and anticipated cost of your Expense Item. 
  • Budget date - This will auto-populate and does not need edited. 
  • Memo - This field is not required, but can be used for additional details about your Expense Item. 
  • Cash Advance - The School of Music does not process cash advances. This box should remain unchecked. 
  • Add a new line for each estimated expense and complete all fields as prompted until you have included all travel expenses. 

Note: Some Expense Items will prompt you to input additional details. For example, selecting airfare will prompt you to input your departure/arrival dates, class of service, and departure location as well as destination. Complete all fields as prompted. 

  1. Input Worktags: 
  • Below each Expense Item will be boxes for listing Worktags. Input the appropriate tags for your funding source. If you are uncertain on what the worktags are for your funding source, please email ASC-Music-Finance@osu.edu  
  1. Add Attachments 
  • Next to the Spend Authorization Lines tab is the Attachments tab. You must include documentation of the conference or event you are attending, such as a conference schedule or PDF of a webpage. If your travel is funded by a grant, please include your grant approval to verify your funding source. 
  1. Submit your Spend Authorization by clicking the button in the lower left of the screen. 

Your Spend Authorization will route for approval. If additional details are needed, the Spend Authorization will be sent back to you for edits and Workday will notify you. 

Once the Spend Authorization is approved, you will receive an email with Workday confirming the approval and providing your Spend Authorization number. You may now make travel-related purchases and seek reimbursement as needed. 

Questions? Email ASC-Music-Finance@osu.edu