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UR Financials Newsletter Vol. 34 12.16.2025

In this issue:
  • Workday Expenses (University only, excluding affiliates)
    • Proper Backup/Receipt for Advanced Airfare
    • Holiday Gatherings
    • Gift Cards
    • Expenses User Group Meeting – Tuesday, December 16th, 2025 3:05-4:00pm
    • Helpful links
  • Accounts Payable (University only, excluding affiliates)
    • Purchase Order Maintenance
    • Candex Solution to Pay One-time Payees Went Live 10/27
    • Graphite Connect Supplier Onboarding Solution Update
    • A/P Tips

Workday Expenses

  • Proper backup/receipt for advanced airfare
    When employees use Deprez or Town & Country Travel to book airfare that is charged to the University’s credit card the proper backup that is attached to the workday expense report is the itinerary.  The travel agent will email the final itinerary that lists the flight information AND the ticket/booking fee amounts along with the last four digits of the University’s credit card. If the amount at the bottom of the itinerary does not show the last four digits of the University’s credit card it is a quote.  Before the reservation is finalized there is a quote amount.  Request and retain the final itinerary.
  • Holiday gatherings
    Using personal funds to pay for holiday gatherings should be the last option.  Departments should review Purchasing’s Buying and Paying Guide to find the preferred payment method. https://www.rochester.edu/adminfinance/urprocurement/p2p-purchases/The proper documentation for all meals is:

      • the itemized receipt – list of food and alcohol ordered
      • the transaction receipt – proof of payment, lists total amount, tip, and card information
      • a list of attendees – add individual names or create an attendee named “list attached” AND attach a document with a list of attendees
      • Alcohol must be charged to the Expense Item Alcohol which is linked to the spend category SC49450

     

  • Gift cards
    Gifts are personal expenses that the University does not reimburse. Individuals can give gifts to other employees without seeking reimbursement from the University.The ONLY time gift cards can be given to an employee or student is for a research study subject payment. The IRS considers gift cards to be the same as cash and therefore gift cards require income tax reporting.Gift cards given to employees (other than study subject payments) need to be reported on their W2.

    • That is a manual effort by Payroll to make that happen.
    • This is awkward for the gift card giver to have to explain that they are giving a gift card, but the receiver will have taxes deducted from a future paycheck for the gift card.
    • It is better to avoid the additional administrative effort and awkwardness of gift cards

    Even when given to non-employees, it is still a manual process to make sure the amount is reported properly (on 1099-MISC).

    Instead of giving a gift card (when research study is not involved)

    • For employees: use One-Time Payment in Workday
    • For non-employees: use Supplier Invoice Request (SIR) process which requires a W9

     

  • Expenses user group meetings (held monthly)
    Workday Expenses User group meetings are another opportunity intended to provide support for Expenses functionality to departments including information sharing, best practices, and tip/tricks.  These meetings are more about discussing what is/is not working well to identify enhancement opportunities.  Upcoming meetings:Link to join meeting, https://rochester.zoom.us/j/97336120393
    This month’s meeting will be held on Tuesday, December 16th, 2025 3:05-4:00pm

  • Helpful Links

Accounts Payable

  • Purchase Order Maintenance
    • The University Receipt Accrual process makes it important for users to close fulfilled Purchase Orders.
    • To assist with managing fully paid Purchase Orders a process has been put in place to automatically close Fully Paid, Fully Received Purchase Orders.  In addition, Corporate Purchasing runs a process to close fully paid Marketplace Purchase Orders monthly.
    • Corporate Purchasing has also initiated a process to close the Fully Paid Purchase Orders that were not captured when the automatic process was initiated.
    • However, neither of these processes will close Purchase Orders that may have been under invoiced or PO’s that have draft Receipts on them.  Users should run the URF1191 or URF1228 report or use the linked guide above to review their open Purchase Orders to Close PO’s that will no longer be used.

     

  • Candex solution to pay one-time payees went live 10/27Reminders based on errors/issues:
    • Don’t pull multiple payees onto a single Cart/Requisition.  Stick to one-payee per Cart.
    • Only use Candex if the payment fits the criteria:
    • Reimbursement should only be for non-employee/non-student. Honoraria cannot be given to employees for doing work (e.g., guest speaking) in another department.

    Enhancement plans:

    • Prizes/Awards SC47650 and SC56875
    • Study Subjects – remove max and add 1099 Analyst routing $600+
    • Reimbursements – add more SCs/scenarios, change default to Travel Domestic
    • Performances that are not honoraria
    • Honoraria – raise/remove threshold subject to new policy

    We have received very positive feedback from early adopters and look forward to additional feedback which will helps us plan future enhancements.

     

  • Graphite Connect Supplier Onboarding Solution update
    We are in the process of finalizing the configuration of Graphite Connect.  This platform will be used by P2P Initiators (Requesters) to request Supplier Invoice Request (SIR) suppliers and Qualified suppliers to be used on requisitions for a Purchase Order.  Based on the answers to your questions, it will be determined whether or not the supplier will be a SIR supplier or a Qualified supplier.Departments will no longer be required to obtain tax documentation (W9’s), as the Supplier will provide this information during their onboarding process.If the supplier is an individual performing a service you will be asked the Independent Contractor Initial Assessment questions directly in Graphite.
  • Tips and Tricks
    The Receipt Maintenance Reference Guide has been enhanced to help departments not only monitor receipts in Draft or Change Order In Progress Status, but also understand how to use report available in Workday to monitor their PO activity, including but not limited to Change Orders stuck in Draft Status, as well as POs that can be closed based on comparison of ordered vs invoiced vs received amounts.