The Cardinal system is getting an upgrade! Scheduled to go live on September 8, 2026, this update delivers a range of new features designed to improve system functionality and your overall user experience.
Cardinal Upgrade: What’s Changing & Key Resources
Please note these important deadlines for Friday, September 4:
- System Outage Begins at 5:00 p.m.
- Fiscal Officers and staff: Cardinal FIN August Fiscal Month close is 2:00 p.m. This deadline will not be extended.
- HR Administrators and Payroll Administrators at Cardinal Payroll Agencies: the data change freeze for the pay periods ending 09/09/2026 and 09/15/2026 is 5:00 p.m.
- Cardinal Core Users: by 5:00 p.m. screenshot your existing Favorites and personalized Homepages and Tiles to recreate manually after the upgrade. Query favorites and Run Control IDs will carry over with the upgrade, so no action needed for these.
- All Cardinal Users: by 5:00 p.m. submit timesheets and absences, review/print paystubs, enter any applicable Life Events, and complete other HCM and FIN activities as needed before the system outage begins.
After Go-Live:
- Clear cache before your first login. Refer to the How to Clear the Browser Cache in Google Chrome and How to Clear the Browser Cache in Microsoft Edge job aids for instructions.
- Download and use the updated GL Journal Spreadsheet Upload Excel template.
- Use the NAV200 Navigation Tips in Cardinal Financials and NAV205 Navigation Tips in Cardinal HCM job aids to recreate your Favorites and Homepage personalizations.
Journal Posting: Journals approved through the Approval Tile or GL WorkCenter (under My Approvals) post automatically upon approval. Journals approved directly on the Journal Entry page (Approvals tab) require manual posting or will post during the nightly batch process.
Expense Reports: Process and navigation steps have changed. Access the AP315A Creating and Managing Expense Reports job aid for updated instructions.
Approval and Delegation Tiles:
Financials
Approvals and Delegations can now be accessed via new tiles on the Cardinal Financials Homepage. Available for General Ledger, Accounts Payable, Expenses, and Procurement approvals.
The Delegation Tile replaces the Alternate User ID and allows you to select different users for different transactions vs. one user for all types of transactions.
The Worklist is now replaced by the new Approvals tile.
Refer to the Delegating Approvals in Cardinal Financials job aid for more details.
HCM
A new Delegation tile is available for Supervisors and Delegation Administrators to create and manage time and absence delegations.
Refer to the TA372 Delegation Administration and TA373 Delegation Administration for Supervisors job aids for more details.
Approvals Monitor: A new Approvals Monitor page is available in HCM to track pending time and attendance workflow items.
WorkCenters are now the featured navigation option for most functional areas in Financials and HCM.
- Note on initial load time: WorkCenters may load slightly slower the first time you open them after the upgrade.
- Default Filters: Some WorkCenter filters are pre-populated, adjust them as needed for your daily tasks.
To learn more about WorkCenters, explore these Cardinal HCM and Financials resources:
- Videos: Cardinal HCM WorkCenters | Cardinal Financials WorkCenters
- Job Aids: Overview of the Cardinal HCM WorkCenters | Overview of the Cardinal Financials WorkCenters
