1. Time and Effort Overview
August 2017
Time and Effort Overview by SBCTC, CC BY

2. Guidelines available in: “How To” section of OGMS
Background OGMS: howto OBIS:
Guidelines available in:
“How To” section of OGMS
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Available in “Resources” section of OBIS
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Time and Effort Guidelines document can be found here:
OGMS – How To
OBIS – Resources

3. Background Guidelines Page 3
What is Time and Effort (T&E) Reporting?
Federally mandated method of certifying that salaries/benefits charged to a federal grant are accurate and used to support such charges
Time and effort reports are “receipts” for time charged to a grant.
Time and effort is required per federal grant requirements.
More information on page 3 of the Guidelines.
Each organization must have a process for time and effort.

4. Background Guidelines Page 3-4
Who Must Complete T&E Reports?
Background Guidelines Page 3-4
Any faculty/staff funded in whole or in part by a federal grant must complete T&E reports
Faculty/staff funded by non- federal funds used as match must also complete T&E reports
All faculty/staff funded in whole or in part by a federal grant must complete time and effort reports.
All faculty/staff funded in whole or in part by non-federal funds used as a match must also complete time and effort reports.
More info on pages 3-4 of the Guidelines on this.

5. Time and effort vs Payroll reports Guidelines Pages 4-5
Payroll reports – How an employee is paid
T&E reports – Actual time worked in each area
T&E reports are certified
T&E reports are used to adjust payroll when necessary
Payroll reports and time and effort reports are not the same thing.
Payroll reports may not simply be signed off for time and effort purposes.
Payroll reports reflect how an employee is actually paid – what amounts from what funding sources.
Time and effort reports are certified reports that reflect the actual time an employee works in each area.

6. Time and effort reporting systems Guidelines Page 6
Three Acceptable T&E Systems:
After-the-Fact Activity Report
Plan-Confirmation
Multiple Confirmation
There are 3 acceptable time and effort systems or methods.
After the Fact activity reports
Employees log hours worked in each funding source after they worked those hours
Plan Confirmation
These have initial estimates.
Employees then confirm or adjust the estimates at the end of a period of time.
Multiple Confirmation method
This is a mix of 1 & 2.
Be sure to follow both sets of rules.

7. Time and effort reporting systems Guidelines Page 6
Employees Can Complete:
Classified:
After-the-Fact Activity Report
Exempt Staff & Faculty:
Plan-Confirmation
Multiple Confirmation
Page 6 of the Guidelines identifies which employees can complete which types of time and effort reports.
Classified employees must complete After the Fact reports.
Exempt staff and faculty can complete time and effort using any of the methods.
Because there is only one option for classified staff, an organization may choose to have all employees do After the Fact reporting.

8. Time and effort reporting systems After-the-fact Guidelines Pages 7-8
1. Initial budget estimates
Funding sources identified
Must monitor and adjust as necessary
2. Recording Activity
Account for 100% of time
Completed at least monthly
Correspond to pay periods
After the Fact reports -
The method that classified staff must use and faculty and exempt staff may use.
Page 7 of the Guidelines has more information and page 8 has an example form.
After the Fact reports require initial budget estimates and funding sources to be identified.
There must also be a place for employees to record their time worked.
They must account for 100% of their time.
Each federal and match source must be listed separately.
“Other” funding sources may be lumped together.
Leave must be accounted for.
Employees must complete and submit time and effort reports at least as often as monthly.

9. Time and effort reporting systems After-the-fact Guidelines Pages 7-8
3. Verifying/Certifying
Signed by employee or other with direct knowledge of work
Organization must have way to verify accuracy
4. Forms
Must contain requirements in guidelines
After the Fact reports -
Forms have to be signed by employees or someone with direct knowledge of their work.
It’s recommended that employees sign their own forms.
There must be a way to verify the accuracy.
Make sure any form you’re using contains the required components on page 7 of the Guidelines.

10. Time and effort reporting systems After-the-fact Guidelines Pages 7-8
5. Reconciling
If more than 5% variance, must reconcile actual payroll with T&E reports by end of grant or year, whichever comes first
After the Fact reports -
There is a federal requirement that if there’s more than a 5% variance in what is/was charged and what was recorded on time and effort reports, the amounts charged to the grant must be changed.
You must reconcile time and effort reports with amounts charged to grants by the end of the grant or fiscal year, whichever comes first.
This may mean that you need to refund some money to the grant.

11. Only for exempt staff & faculty 1. Initial work plan/budget
Time and effort reporting systems Plan-confirmation Guidelines Page 9-10
Only for exempt staff & faculty
1. Initial work plan/budget
Funding sources identified
Includes $ and % of salary
Monitor and adjust as necessary
Account for 100% of position’s activities/funding
Plan Confirmation method -
This method is only for exempt staff or faculty. Classified staff can’t use this method.
Details on page 9 of the Guidelines and a sample form on page 10.
Just like the After the Fact method, it requires funding sources to be identified.
It must include estimates $ amounts and %s of salary or effort by funding source.
It also has to be monitored and adjusted as necessary.
It also has to reflect 100% of the position’s activities/funding.

12. 2. Recording Activity Completed per academic term
Time and effort reporting systems Plan-confirmation Guidelines Page 9-10
2. Recording Activity
Completed per academic term
Adjust payroll if more than 5% variance
Plan Confirmation method -
Must be completed at least once per academic term.
Must also adjust payroll and any amounts already billed to the grant if there is more than a 5% variance in what was originally budgeted and charged to a grant.

13. 3. Verifying/Certifying
Time and effort reporting systems Plan-confirmation Guidelines Page 9-10
3. Verifying/Certifying
Signed by employee or other with direct knowledge of work
Must be able to verify work/assignments. Examples:
Documented contact with employee
Documented contact with supervisor
Documented protocol to communicate variances
Plan Confirmation method -
Must signed by the employee or someone else with direct knowledge of their work.
You still have to be able to verify the percent of time worked by each funding source. You could do this by:
Contacting the employee and documenting it.
Contacting the supervisor and documenting it.
You also need some kind of documented process to capture variances in actual work percentages versus estimated work percentages.

14. Other Time and effort reference Guidelines Pages 9 & 11
Single Funding Source
Exempt Staff/Faculty funded by a single funding source – 100% Federal or 100% Match – may complete quarterly Certification of Pay statements
Exempt staff or faculty funded by a single federal source or a single non-federal source used as match may complete a quarterly Certification of Pay statement.
Example on page 11 of the Guidelines.
Forms must be signed quarterly.

15. Other Time and effort reference Guidelines Page 13
Incidental Work
No T&E needed if:
Assignments are short-term (less than 1 academic term)
Not ongoing duties
Must still be separately identified and documented in organization’s financial system
Incidental work does not require time and effort reporting as long as:
Assignments are short-term in nature, which is defined as less than one academic term and the duties aren’t ongoing.
Be sure to identify the funding source for this incidental work in your financial system.

16. Other Time and effort reference
Student Workers
Must also have T&E reports
Consider adding required T&E components to existing student worker time sheets and process
Student workers, including work study students, paid from federal grant funds (or funds used as match or leveraged funds for federal grants) must also have time and effort reports.
Instead of creating additional forms and process for students to complete, consider adding required time and effort components into existing student worker/work study time sheets and processes.

17. Other Time and effort reference Guidelines Page 13
Annual Evaluations
Organization must do an internal evaluation annually of T&E reporting/systems.
SBCTC or State Auditors Office review does not meet the requirement.
Your organization must do an annual internal evaluation of your time and effort reporting systems/methods.
This should be a review of the actual methods and processes you’re using. This is about identifying and fixing problem areas.
SBCTC’s review of your organization or an auditor’s review does not meet this requirement.

18. Contacts
SBCTC Contacts:
Michele Rockwell, Contracts Specialist /
Maryam Jacobs, System Internal Auditor /
Susan Wanager, Policy Associate-Fiscal Management /
SBCTC Contacts –
Michele Rockwell, Contracts Specialist / /
Maryam Jacobs, System Internal Auditor / /
Susan Wanager, Policy Associate-Fiscal Management / /