A payment order in Workday is a request to move money from your company account to pay a vendor, employee, or other recipient
When you create a payment order in Workday, you are telling the system: "I want to send this amount of money to this person or company on this date." Workday holds that instruction until the payment is actually processed—which might happen the same day, or days later depending on your company's approval workflow and the payment method you choose. The payment order is the document that sits between your decision to pay and the moment the money leaves your account.
Think of it as a written check before it clears the bank. You have written it, signed it, and handed it over—but the recipient has not yet deposited it, and your bank has not yet deducted the funds. A payment order in Workday works the same way: it exists as an instruction, often waiting for approval, before it becomes an actual transaction.
Key Takeaways
- A payment order is a request to send money that sits in Workday until it is approved and processed by your company's payment system.
- Payment orders can be created for vendors, employees, contractors, and other payees, and they require the payee's banking details and the amount to be paid.
- Most companies route payment orders through an approval workflow—a manager or finance team member must sign off before the money moves.
- The payment order status changes as it moves through your company: draft, submitted, approved, and then processed into an actual bank transaction.
- Payment orders can be cancelled or edited before approval, but once approved and sent to the bank, they usually cannot be stopped.
How a payment order moves through Workday
When you create a payment order, it starts in draft status. At this point, only you can see it, and you can edit or delete it freely. You enter the payee's name, banking information, the amount, and the date you want the payment to go out. You might also add a description or reference number so your accounting team knows what the payment is for.
Once you submit the payment order, it moves to submitted status and enters your company's approval queue. Depending on the amount and your company's rules, it might go to a manager, a finance controller, or an automated approval step. Some companies require multiple approvers for large payments. During this stage, the payment order is locked—you cannot change it, but neither has the money left your account.
When an approver signs off, the payment order moves to approved status. At this point, Workday passes the instruction to your company's payment processor or bank. The money is now scheduled to leave your account on the date you specified, using the payment method you chose (ACH, wire transfer, check, or another option your company supports).
Finally, the payment order reaches processed status once the bank confirms the transaction has been sent. From here, the money is in transit to the payee's account. The payment order itself becomes a record of what happened—a receipt, essentially, that you can reference later.
Why your company uses payment orders instead of paying directly
Payment orders create a paper trail. When money moves through Workday as a payment order, your company has a record of who requested it, who approved it, when it was supposed to happen, and when it actually happened. This matters for audits, tax filings, and dispute resolution.
They also enforce approval controls. Without payment orders, anyone with access to the bank account could send money anywhere. Payment orders force the money through a workflow—usually requiring a manager or finance person to review and sign off. This catches mistakes (paying the wrong amount, sending money to the wrong account) before the transaction is irreversible.
Payment orders also let your company batch payments. Instead of sending money one at a time throughout the day, most companies collect all approved payment orders and send them together in a single batch to the bank. This reduces bank fees and keeps the accounting cleaner.
The difference between a payment order and an invoice or purchase order
A purchase order (PO) is a request to buy something—you send it to a vendor and say "I want 100 units of X at $10 each." An invoice is what the vendor sends back saying "You owe me $1,000 for those 100 units." A payment order is what you create in Workday to actually pay that invoice.
In a typical flow: you create a PO, the vendor ships the goods and sends an invoice, you match the invoice to the PO in Workday to confirm everything is correct, and then you create a payment order to send the vendor money. The payment order is the final step—the moment you actually move cash.
What happens if a payment order is rejected or cancelled
If an approver rejects a payment order, it goes back to rejected status and returns to you. You can then edit it, fix whatever was wrong, and resubmit it. Rejection usually means the amount was wrong, the payee information was incomplete, or the approver had a question about why the payment was needed.
If you cancel a payment order while it is still in draft or submitted status, it disappears from the queue and no money moves. However, once a payment order has been approved and sent to the bank, you usually cannot cancel it through Workday. At that point, the bank has the instruction and will process it. If you need to stop a payment that has already been approved, you will need to contact your bank directly and ask them to recall or reverse the transaction—and they may charge a fee or refuse if the money has already been sent.
Common reasons a payment order gets stuck or delayed
Missing or incorrect payee information is the most common hold-up. If the bank account number is wrong, incomplete, or formatted incorrectly, the payment order cannot be processed. Workday may flag this automatically, or the bank may reject it after approval. Always double-check the payee's banking details before you submit.
Approval delays happen when the approver is out of office or the payment order is waiting in a queue behind others. Some companies have service-level agreements (SLAs) that say approvals should happen within one or two business days, but this varies. If a payment order is urgent, contact the approver directly rather than waiting in the queue.
Insufficient funds can also block a payment order. If your company's bank account does not have enough money to cover the payment when it is scheduled to process, the bank will reject it. This is rare in large companies but common in smaller ones or during cash-flow crunches. If this happens, you will need to reschedule the payment order for a later date when funds are available.
How to create and submit a payment order in Workday
The exact steps depend on your company's Workday setup, but the general process is: navigate to the Payments section, select "Create Payment Order" or "New Payment," and fill in the required fields. These usually include the payee name, payee type (vendor, employee, contractor), payment amount, payment date, and payment method.
You will also need to specify the account or cost center the payment should be charged to—this tells Workday which department or project is paying for it. Some companies require you to attach a supporting document (an invoice, a timesheet, a receipt) before you can submit. Once all fields are complete, click Submit, and the payment order enters the approval workflow.
After submission, you can usually view the payment order's status in your Workday inbox or in a payments dashboard. You will see when it has been approved and when it has been processed. Keep the payment order number handy—if there is ever a question about whether the payment went through, you can reference it.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can I change a payment order after I submit it?
No, not usually. Once you submit a payment order, it is locked and enters the approval queue. If you need to change the amount, payee, or date, you must cancel it (if it has not been approved yet) and create a new one. If it has already been approved, contact your finance team—they may be able to cancel it at the bank level, though this might incur a fee.
What payment methods can I use for a payment order?
This depends on your company's Workday configuration and bank. Most companies support ACH (bank-to-bank transfer, usually free and takes one to three business days), wire transfer (faster but more expensive), and check (slowest but works for anyone with a mailing address). Some also support credit card payments or digital wallets. Ask your finance team which methods are available to you.
How long does it take for a payment order to actually move money?
The approval process usually takes one to three business days. Once approved, the payment method determines the rest: ACH takes one to three business days, wire transfers take a few hours to one business day, and checks take five to ten business days depending on mail time. The payment order itself is just the instruction—the actual movement of money depends on the bank and method you chose.
What if the payee says they never received the payment?
First, check the payment order status in Workday to confirm it reached "processed" status. If it did, the bank sent the money. Ask the payee for their bank account details and confirm they match what you entered in the payment order. If the details are wrong, the money may have gone to the wrong account. Contact your bank with the payment order number and ask them to trace the transaction and attempt recovery. This can take several weeks.
Do I need approval for every payment order?
Most companies require approval for all payment orders, but some set thresholds—for example, payments under $500 might be auto-approved, while anything larger requires a manager's sign-off. Check your company's payment policy or ask your finance team what the rules are for your role and department.