Updated 5/2/25 - See "What's New" section for more details
FDM Validator available in Workday
The FDM Validator can be used to confirm whether the values are active in Workday and to generate a FDM QR Code/Bar Code for the timely processing of your mail and other Internal Service Providers.
See the FDM Validator Quick Reference Guide (QRG) for instructions.
The tool will provide a barcode for any valid combination of worktags; however, it does not tell you whether the combination of values is the correct one to use for a given transaction.
See the FAQs below for additional details.
If you have questions about which FDM values to use for your department, reach out to your unit/school's finance office/Dean's office. For FDM values for other departments, please reach out to the other department to determine which values they would like you to use.
For technical issues with the FDM Validator, please contact askfinance@virginia.edu.
Go to the FDM Validator in Workday
FDM Validator in Workday FAQs:
- What's New
5/2/25 Updates:
Taggable Type
Taggable Type will now default to Accounting Journal and cannot be changed. You will be able to use the validated worktag combination with other transaction types (i.e. Expense Reports, Requestions, etc.) in Workday.
Occasionally, a validated combination may not work for certain transaction types due to custom validations. For instance, if you attempt to enter a Supplier Invoice Request using a validated worktag combination that includes a grant and the spend category "Services Skilled Other," you will encounter an error. This is because that specific spend category is not permitted for use in a Supplier Invoice Request.
Transaction Date:
If you enter a Grant worktag, the current date will now automatically populate. You can adjust the date. It is recommended to change the date to when the transaction will occur to ensure the Grant will be Active at the time. The transaction date will appear on the validation page.
Location:
The FDM Validator is now available in Workday. Go to the Workday Search bar and type FDM. Select FDM Validator Tool.
Added Grant Validations:
The FDM Validator now validates the FDM worktag combination against the period of perform for Grants, so if the grant is not active for the Transaction Date, it will not validate.
The FDM Validator has Allowed Spend Categories as well, so if the Spend Category is allowed on the grant, then it will be able to be selected in the Allowed Spend Categories field.
Cost Center/Company Match Verification:
There is a validation in place that will not validate a FDM worktag combination with a mismatched Cost Center and Company. For example, you will not be able to enter a Medical Center Cost Center with Rector and Visitor’s Company.
- Weekly Maintenance Downtime
The enhanced validations, including grant validations (lifecycle status/period of performance/allowed spend category), may not be available on Saturdays between 6 AM and 12 PM.
The FDM Validator API and the FDM Validator Tool with the current validations will be accessible during this window.
- Purpose
The primary purpose for the FDM Validator is to allow the entry and validation (based on Workday configuration) of FDM values. The validator tool leverages Workday functionality to identify worktags that are valid, active and in some cases, worktags that are allowed in combination with other worktags.
- Required Fields
There are 2 required pieces of information: Company and one of the Driver Worktags (Project, Gift, Grant, or Designated.)
Select the your Company from the drop down list. If the Company and the Cost Center (either manually entered or defaulted by the Project, Gift, Grant, or Designated) do not match, the FDM will not validate.Driver worktags are Project, Gift, Grant, or Designated. You must select one and only one of these worktags. If you want to change from, for example, Gift to Designated you will simply need to delete the information in the Gift field which then allows you to enter information into the Designated field.
- Default FDM Values
Depending on the driver worktag entered, you will not be required to enter other values in the FDM columns. Workday will provide the configured default values (related worktags). An example would be a Grant worktag. Some grants are configured to provide cost center, business unit, fund and function defaults which provide all worktags necessary for a valid FDM string. Other driver worktags, such as Designated, may provide some, but not all values required for a valid string.
Even if a driver worktag may have a related default value, Workday will NOT override any value you enter. For example, if you choose a Grant that has a configured default function value of FN001 but you type FN002 in the function field, Workday will attempt to validate the FDM string using the supplied value of FN002, not the default value of FN001. This allows you the flexibility when entering a string to provide the values you want Workday to use without relying on the default.
Bear in mind that if Workday does NOT provide a default value for an FDM worktag, such as Assignee, the FDM string may be “valid”, but it may not represent the correct billing/payment information you intended (in this case where you wanted the charge to go to a specific assignee). It is important for you to know how you want a charge to be entered to have a successful outcome. If you have questions about which FDM values to use for your department, reach out to your unit/school's finance office/Dean's office. For FDM values for other departments, please reach out to the other department to determine which values they would like you to use.
- Validation Results / Bar Code
Once you press submit, the system retrieves defaults for any values that you did not provide and performs a validation on the results. A “valid” result does not guarantee the information will be “correct” in terms of where the charge will be posted for the transaction. For FDM values for other departments, please reach out to the other department to determine which values they would like you to use.
Once an FDM string is determined to be “valid” a results page will be displayed showing the values you entered, the default values (if any) supplied by Workday and all other values that were used to generate the bar code.
Valid FDM Worktags
Not Valid FDM Worktags:
- Printing
If you need to print the FDM Validation, use the browser print functionality. See FDM Validator QRG for instructions. The browser print functionality will be required for any Internal Service Provider. They will check that there is a URL at the bottom of the validation page before accepting the printout. Using the browser print functionality ensures that format for the Bar Code/QR code are correct for scanning purposes.
The FDM Validated on date must be after Feb. 7, 2025. If you have a validation printout dated before Feb. 7th, go to the FDM Validator, enter the worktags, and print the validation page again.
It is important to note that only the FDM worktag values themselves are included in the barcode. The barcode does not contain the Taggable Type nor any worktag descriptions.
Acceptable Printouts:
Not Acceptable Printouts (did not use browser print):
- Browser Print Not Show URL at Bottom
If you have followed the instructions in the FDM Validator QRG and selected Print in the browser window, but there still is no URL at the bottom of the printout, there is a setting that you need to select.
In the Print popup window:
Go to More Settings. Scroll down to the Options section. Select the Headers and Footers checkbox.
In Chrome browser:
In Edge browser:
- Received a Red Notice that Mail was Not Accepted
If the Internal Service Provider, such as mail services, does not see the URL at the bottom of the printed out FDM Validation Page, they will leave a red note and will not provide the service, such as take the mail. They need to ensure their scanner will capture the FDM worktags and the only way to do so is to see the URL at the bottom of the printout. The URL at the bottom of the printout lets them know that the bar code/QR code is formatted properly.
The FDM Validated on date must be after Feb. 7, 2025. If you have a validation printout dated before Feb. 7th, go to the FDM Validator, enter the worktags, and print the validation page again.
If you received the red note, follow the Print Validation/Bar Code instructions in the FDM Validator QRG.
If you have questions, send an email to AskFinance for more information and help.
- Can you Validate Cost Share Grants
Yes, but...
You can validate Cost Share Grants IF you use the Grant Worktag.
You can only enter one Gift, Grant, Designated, or Project Worktag in the FDM Validator. If you enter the Cost Share Grant, the related Designated, Gift, or Project will default in on the validation page.
