Policy Number: 4070
Date: January 24th, 2023
Time & Effort Policy
Table of Contents
Purpose
In accordance with Federal requirements prescribed by the Office of Management and Budget (OMB), charges to Federal awards for salaries and wages must be based on records that provide reasonable assurance that the charges are accurate, allowable, and properly allocated. In order to receive and maintain eligibility for funding, sponsoring agencies require organizations to gather documentation to substantiate that the level of salary or wages charged to Federal awards is commensurate with the effort expended.
Standards
All employees who are paid in full or in part with federal funds must keep specific documents to demonstrate the amount of time they spent on grant activities. (2 C.F.R. Part 200.430(i)(1)). In addition, employees who are paid from state and local funds, but whose salaries are used for cost sharing or matching, must also keep time and effort documentation. Charges to federal awards for salaries and wages must be based on records that accurately reflect the work performed. These records must:
1. Be supported by a system of internal controls which provides reasonable assurance that the charges are accurate, allowable, and properly allocated.
2. Be incorporated into official records.
3. Reasonably reflect total activity for which the employee is compensated, not exceeding 100% of compensated activities.
4. Encompass both federally-assisted and all other activities compensated by the school.
5. Comply with the established accounting policies.
6. Support the distribution of the employee’s salary or wages among specific activities.
Procedures
All employees whose work is funded fully (100%) by a single cost objective or grant award must complete a semi-annual certification. The semi-annual certification must be:
1. Completed at least every six (6) months (twice a year);
2. Be signed by the employee or the supervisor with direct knowledge of the work being performed.
Hourly employees who work in one or more grant areas must certify their time at the end of each pay period through the payroll timesheet tracking software.
It is important for payroll charges to match the actual distribution of time recorded on the certification documents. Budget estimates or other distribution percentages determined before the services are performed do not qualify as support for charges to federal awards.
References