Payroll systems · Workday
Workday HCM
Workday's own documentation covers employees, pay statements, deduction write, bank account write, tax forms, hours and webhooks through the API. Access: Customer tenant; public SOAP docs.
Integration method grade A · field-level docs publicly readable · last verified 2026-09-26 · Workday Web Services v47.0 — Submit_Payroll_Input
What the API lets you do
| Question | Answer | Conf | What the documentation says |
|---|---|---|---|
| How do you get API access? | Customer tenant; public SOAP docs | D | The Workday Web Services directory (v47.0, 2026R2) lists 60+ SOAP services with WSDL and XSD, readable without login; calls run against a customer tenant, typically as an Integration System User. Source |
| Can you read employees and pay rates? | Yes — Get_Workers | D | Get_Workers 'Returns public and private information for specified workers', including Hire_Date, Original_Hire_Date, Job_Profile_Reference and, with Include_Compensation, Total_Base_Pay. Source |
| Can you read pay statements? | Yes — Get_Payroll_Results | D | Returns results for workers, companies and pay calculations by date range, with Period_Start_Date, Payment_Date, Gross_Amount and Net_Amount, filterable by earnings, deductions and accumulations. Source |
| Can you write a deduction? | Yes — Submit_Payroll_Input | D | Submit_Payroll_Input, Put_Payroll_Input and bulk Import_Payroll_Input add or update payroll input with a Deduction_Reference, Amount, Start_Date/End_Date and Ongoing_Input. Source |
| Can you write a direct deposit account? | Yes — payment elections | D | Submit_Payment_Election_Enrollment 'Replaces current payment elections with new elections'; Get_Payment_Election_Enrollments reads them. Source |
| Can you read W-2s? | Yes — W-2 data (EFW2) | D | Get_EFW2_Year_End_Worker_Filing_Data 'Exposes the worker W-2 year end data for integration with the Social Security Administration (SSA) or other filing system' — data, not a rendered form. Source |
| Can you read hours worked? | Yes — time blocks | D | Get_Calculated_Time_Blocks by worker, date range, status or supervisory organisation; Import_Reported_Time_Blocks writes time. Source |
| Does it push change events? | Subscriptions (Integration System) | D | Put_Subscription ties subscriptions to transaction or business process types; 'Push Subscription is only supported for Integration System'. Source |
| How does an integration authenticate? | ISU / OAuth / WS-Security | D | 'Workday REST APIs use OAuth and the Workday configurable security model'; SOAP supports WS-Security with an Integration System User. Source |
Deduction write, in detail
For benefits, HSA/FSA and 401(k) integrations. 2 of 10 fields are unverified — no public source states the answer. Compare every system on the deduction write detail page.
| Field | Value | Conf | Note — and what a correct answer needed |
|---|---|---|---|
| Deduction read | Yes — API | D | Get_Payroll_Results accepts Deduction_Reference filters and returns deduction results per period; Get_Submit_Payroll_Inputs retrieves payroll input. |
| Deduction write | API (SOAP Submit_Payroll_Input) | D | Submit_Payroll_Input and Put_Payroll_Input add or update inputs; Import_Payroll_Input is the bulk version, with Batch_ID for external batch management. |
| Pre-tax vs post-tax at write | Not represented on input | D | The Submit_Payroll_Input request has no pre-tax or post-tax field; the deduction is selected by Deduction_Reference and inherits its configuration. |
| Amount vs percent | Amount only | D | Input fields are Amount ('earning or deduction amount'), Hours and Rate; no percent field appears on Submit_Payroll_Input. |
| Effective dating | Start_Date / End_Date / Ongoing | D | 'One-time entries require a Start and End Date. Ongoing entries require a Start Date'; Ongoing_Input applies across more than one payroll period. Which date selects the pay period is not stated. |
| Retro adjustment | Partly documented | D | Prior_Period_Tax_Adjustment applies 'if retro pay input is processed resulting in a negative wage adjustment' (US only); edits are blocked on inputs used in a completed or retro result. |
| Employer contribution | Unverified | U | No employer-contribution object or field was found in Submit_Payroll_Input or Get_Payroll_Results. A correct answer needed the pay component setup reference. |
| Code taxonomy shape | Hybrid | D | Deduction_Reference takes either Workday_Deduction_Code (Workday-owned) or Deduction_Code (tenant-defined). |
| Auth model | ISU / OAuth / WS-Security | D | SOAP under an Integration System User with WS-Security; REST under OAuth and configurable security; operations are contextually secured. |
| Data freshness | Unverified | U | No latency or availability statement in the operation docs. |
D vendor-documented · U unverified · — not offered. See every payroll system side by side in the Payroll API Capability Matrix.