Connect Workday to Expensify
Connect Workday to Expensify
Expensify’s Workday integration automates employee management by syncing employee data and approval workflows from Workday into your Expensify workspace.
Once connected, the integration can:
- Create Expensify accounts for active employees when they’re hired in Workday.
- Update approval workflows based on manager relationships in Workday.
- Remove employees from the workspace when they are terminated in Workday.
- Auto-sync daily to keep your workspace members in sync with Workday.
Who can connect Workday to Expensify
To connect Workday, you must be a Workspace Admin on a workspace with the Control plan in Expensify and:
- Be an admin in Workday.
- Ensure every employee record in Workday includes their work email address.
- Have HR integrations enabled on your workspace. Enable HR under More features in the Integrate section.
Workday syncs all employees to one Expensify workspace. If your company uses multiple workspaces, choose which one to connect during setup.
How to connect Workday to Expensify
- In the navigation tabs (on the left on web, on the bottom on mobile), select Workspaces.
- Click the name of the workspace you want to connect to Workday.
- In the left menu, select HR.
- Next to Workday, click Connect.
- Authenticate with your Workday admin credentials in the connection window that opens, and authorize Expensify to access your Workday account.
- When prompted, select the companies you want to sync into this workspace.
- Wait for the initial sync to complete and for the sync results to appear.
What happens after you connect Workday to Expensify
After the initial sync completes:
- A sync results panel displays employees added, removed, and skipped.
- If you leave the HR or Members tab before the sync finishes, the sync results are emailed to the workspace’s technical contact instead of displaying in the app.
- The Members tab displays employees synced from Workday.
- Active employees in Workday are added to the Expensify workspace automatically.
- Employees receive a welcome email with instructions to finish setting up their Expensify account.
- Approval workflows can be managed using Approval mode and Final approver settings on the Workday integration.
Expensify also runs a daily auto-sync to keep employee data up to date:
- Employee and manager data is updated to match Workday.
- Terminated employees in Workday are removed from the workspace automatically.
A Last synced timestamp on the Workday integration shows when the most recent sync ran.
How to configure the approval mode for Workday
After connecting Workday, choose an approval mode that determines how expense reports are routed for approval:
- Basic Approval — All employees submit reports to a single final approver.
- Manager Approval — Reports first go to the employee’s direct manager (synced from Workday), then to a final approver.
- Custom Approval — Employees are synced from Workday, but approval workflows are managed manually in Expensify.
To change the approval mode or final approver on your workspace:
- In the navigation tabs (on the left on web, on the bottom on mobile), select Workspaces.
- Click the name of the workspace connected to Workday.
- In the left menu, click HR.
- Click Workday.
- Click Approval mode or Final approver to update the settings.
- Click Save.
When Manager Approval is selected, approval workflows are automatically built from the manager relationships in Workday. These approval workflows appear on the Workflows tab with a Workday indicator. The Approvals toggle on the Workflows tab is locked on and cannot be turned off while Workday is connected.
When Custom Approval is selected, the Workflows tab remains fully editable. Workspace members are synced from Workday, but approval workflows are configured manually by a Workspace Admin.
To change approval settings, use the HR tab rather than the Workflows tab.
How to manually refresh the Workday sync
After connecting Workday, a daily auto-sync runs to keep your workspace members up to date with Workday. You can also refresh the sync manually.
To refresh the sync manually:
- In the navigation tabs (on the left on web, on the bottom on mobile), select Workspaces.
- Click the name of the workspace connected to Workday.
- In the left menu, click HR.
- Click Workday.
- Select the three dots (⋮), then click Sync now.
- Wait for the sync to complete. The sync results will display a summary of any changes.
Manual syncs are limited to twice per day. After two manual syncs, a message confirms that the next sync will run the following day.
How to disconnect Workday from Expensify
- In the navigation tabs (on the left on web, on the bottom on mobile), select Workspaces.
- Click the name of the workspace connected to Workday.
- In the left menu, click HR.
- Click Workday.
- Select the three dots (⋮), then click Disconnect.
- Confirm by clicking Disconnect again.
Disconnecting Workday unlocks the Approvals toggle on the Workflows tab, allowing you to manage approval workflows manually again. Disconnecting Workday also stops future employee syncs and automatic removals. Existing workspace members are not removed.
FAQ
Can I sync employees to different Expensify workspaces?
No. Workday syncs all employees to a single Expensify workspace. You must choose one workspace when connecting.
Why were some employees skipped during sync?
Employees may be skipped if they do not have a work email address in Workday, or if they are not active employees. The sync results panel will provide specific reasons for each skipped employee.
Will my employees receive a notification when synced?
Yes. Each synced employee that is newly invited to a workspace receives a welcome email at their work email address with account setup instructions.
Can I change the approval mode after connecting?
Yes. Go to the HR tab, click Workday, and update the approval mode or final approver at any time.
Why can’t I sync Workday again today?
Manual syncs are limited to twice per day. If you’ve already synced twice, the next sync runs automatically the following day.
Why can’t I turn off Approvals on the Workflows tab?
When Workday is connected, the Approvals toggle is locked on because approval workflows are managed by the Workday integration. To change approval settings, go to the HR tab. To unlock the toggle, disconnect Workday.
