Commitments/Obligations

Workday commits budget funds for future purchases through two methods:

Commitments
Commitments are created by an approved purchase requisition. A commitment is a financial promise to spend money for the requisitioned item in the future and is tied to the worktags on the requisition. The commitment is relieved when the purchase order in created.

Obligations
Obligations are created by a purchase order. An obligation is a financial liability incurred by the purchase order that requires payment in the future. It is tied to the worktags on the purchase order and is created when the purchase order is issued. The obligation is relieved when the purchase order is fully paid or closed.

If you need to remove an encumbrance for any reason, contact Kelly Taylor at kelly_taylor@byu.edu or (801) 422-7015.

Year End Commitments and Obligations

Commitments and obligations become especially important at year end as departments make final purchases using remaining university-allocated budgets. Two deadlines are provided at year end to ensure proper posting of commitments and obligations.

• Requisitions in Workday. Allow approximately 10 days for Purchasing personnel to source your order and for your department approver to approve it.
• Catalog orders in Workday. These orders only require approval by your department approver and must be approved by 5:00 pm on the last day of the year.

If you have any unusual year end encumbrance needs contact Joel Christensen in the Budget office at (801) 422-3693.