effort coordinator training · 2018-06-20 · certified effort – summary of effort percent by...

Effort Coordinator Training

March 2017

Table of Content

Overview ........................................................................................................................ 3 Electronic Personnel Activity Reporting System(ePARS) ................................................. 3 ePARS Process Timeline ........................................................................................................ 4

Effort Reporting Periods ...................................................................................................... 5

Pre-Review Period ............................................................................................................... 5 Certification Period ............................................................................................................... 5

Post Certification Period ...................................................................................................... 5

ePARS Basic Information ............................................................................................. 6 System Navigation ................................................................................................................... 6

Search Boxes ............................................................................................................................ 7

Effort Certification for Certifiers .................................................................................. 9 Certifying Effort ......................................................................................................................... 9

Effort Statement Details ...................................................................................................... 9

Certification Process .......................................................................................................... 10

Additional Features of the Effort Statement ....................................................................... 11

Show Dollar Value .............................................................................................................. 11

Payroll Report ..................................................................................................................... 12

Effort Card PDF .................................................................................................................. 12

Adding Notes or Attachments .......................................................................................... 13

Effort Certification for Effort Coordinator ................................................................. 14 Certifying Effort ....................................................................................................................... 14

Department/Division Dashboard ................................................................................ 17 Manage Department Certifiers ............................................................................................. 18

Status Icon Descriptions ....................................................................................................... 18

Department Division Information ......................................................................................... 20 Manage Users and Proxy Assignments ............................................................................. 20

Navigate to the Manage Users Page .............................................................................. 20 Manage Users..................................................................................................................... 21

Proxy ............................................................................................................................ 23 Proxy Assignment Rules ....................................................................................................... 23

Certifier Proxy Report Limited .............................................................................................. 23

On Hold ........................................................................................................................ 24 Place a Statement on Hold ................................................................................................... 24

On Hold Reports ..................................................................................................................... 25

Effort Recertification and Historical Effort Statements ........................................... 28 ePARS Reports ............................................................................................................ 29

Certifier Payroll Summery Report ........................................................................................ 29

Payroll Report ......................................................................................................................... 29 External Audit Report ............................................................................................................ 30 Certification Status Report .................................................................................................... 30

ePARS Project Information ........................................................................................ 31 Effort Coordinator Roles ........................................................................................................ 31 Security Forms for ePARS .................................................................................................... 31

SPA Contacts .......................................................................................................................... 31

Glossary/Definitions ................................................................................................... 32

Washington University Effort Report Training

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Overview

Electronic Personnel Activity Reporting System ePARS

As a recipient of federal research funding, Washington University is required to maintain a system that allows faculty and staff to certify the salaries charged to sponsored projects (i.e., an effort reporting system). The effort reporting system that WU has utilized for the last 20 years is called PARS (Personnel Activity Report System). The software license for the technology that supports PARs terminates during FY 2009, thus a replacement system is required.

Uniform Guidance 2CFR Part 200.430 requires payroll costs to be confirmed by recipients to ensure that external sponsors reimburse the grantee only for the time and effort actually expended on their behalf. It is therefore, Washington University’s policy that all faculty and staff involved in allocating salaries and wages to sponsored funds and completing effort reports are responsible for understanding the principles of timely and accurate effort reporting.

Accordingly, Sponsored Projects Accounting (SPA) and Administrative Information Systems (AIS) have implemented a new electronic effort reporting system called ePARS (electronic Personnel Activity Reporting System). This new system will leverage current technology to enhance the University’s ability to meeting Federal effort reporting guidelines. ePARS provides additional functionality and internal controls to the effort reporting process, such as:

Electronic notification, routing and certification of ePAR

Access to ePARS 24/7 from anywhere via web browser

View effort percentages on demand during reporting period

Certified reports retained and available in electronic format

Standard reports and data queries will be available to faculty, staff and central areas.

The ePARS system was upgraded on March 16, 2016 in order to add new functionality such as updated user interface, smart emails that list all open certifications, and to-do lists for effort coordinators.

The design and implementation team was led by members from SPA and AIS. Additional support and input for the project was obtained from the Office of the Vice Chancellor for Research, school business offices, academic department personnel and faculty.


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ePARS Process Timeline

The ePARS timeline consists of four periods:

Effort Reporting Period

Pre-Review Period

Certification Period

Post Certification Period


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Effort Reporting Periods

Effort reporting periods refers to the time period for which the certifier is certifying. In the ePARS system this is known as the time period where the system continues to collect payroll data for the reporting period. The University has three reporting period frequencies: semi-annual, quarterly, and semester. The frequency that an individual is assigned is based on his or her job code and campus or school affiliation. This can generally be categorized as follows: Medical School and Engineering faculty members are required to certify semiannually, Danforth faculty members must certify every semester and all staff must certify on a quarterly basis.

Employee Frequency Reporting Periods

Med. School Faculty Semi-Annual Jan. – Jun., Jul. – Dec.

Danforth (Eng.) Faculty Semi-Annual Jan. – Jun., Jul. – Dec.

Danforth Faculty Semester Jan. – May, Jun. – Aug., Sept. – Dec.

Staff/Students Quarterly Jan. – Mar., April – June, Jul. – Sept., Oct. – Dec.

Pre-Review Period

The Pre-Review period begins shortly, usually one week, after the end of any reporting period. An e-mail will be sent by the ePARS system to all effort coordinators notifying them that the Pre-Review Period has begun. The effort coordinator then has two weeks to review the effort cards for the reporting period that just ended and process any corrections that may need to be made by submitting Payroll Cost Transfers (PCTs) to Payroll.

Certification Period

In accordance with the University’s agreement with the Department of Health and Human Services Washington University’s certification period is 30 days. All certifiers must, therefore, certify within 30 days in order to be in compliance with this agreement. The University’s external auditors, as a part of the annual 2 CFR 200 Uniform Guidance audit, test the timeliness of our PAR process using the above guidelines. Our auditors report any exception to the above timeline to cognizant agency.

Certifiers will be notified via an e-mail that the certification period has begun. Additional emails will be sent be sent to any certifier that has yet to certify on a weekly basis within the 30-day timeframe.

Post Certification Period

The Post Certification Period is the period directly following the end of the 30-day certification period. This time should be used by the effort coordinator (EC) to process any PCTs that are required following changes made to the effort statement by the certifier.


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ePARS Basic Information

System Navigation

To access the ePARS system the effort coordinator will need to log into ePARS portal (https://eparsprod.wustl.edu/ecrt/) with WUSTL key and password.

In order to gain access to ePARS as an effort coordinator, please submit the security form to Systems and Procedures. The security form can be found on the following website: https://epars.wustl.edu/epars-training-live-sessions/

https://eparsprod.wustl.edu/ecrt/

https://eparsprod.wustl.edu/ecrt/

https://epars.wustl.edu/epars-training-live-sessions/


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Search Boxes

At various points in the application, a data entry box is presented. The system will search on the character string that is entered, and return all items that include the string entered. The user can then select from among the choices by clicking on a selected choice. All search boxes use this methodology.

The user types in a minimum of three characters (letters or numbers) from the intended result, and then pauses for a few seconds. Do not hit the return button doing so will return 0 search results. The program will query the database, and download a list of matches to the search text, which appears in a black box under the search box.

The user puts the cursor on the intended result, and clicks the mouse or hits the enter key. If the list contains more than a few choices, arrows will appear at the top and bottom of the list. Clicking the arrows will scroll through the list of choices.

If a longer search string is entered, a shorter list of options is presented. The system works faster with a number search – so a department number, or employee number, or segment of a number may produce a faster search result.


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Effort coordinators can look-up an individual by using the top right hand corner search box.

The look-up menu option from the “Manage” menu bar is an alternate way to perform this same function.


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Effort Certification for Certifiers

Certifying Effort

Effort Statement Details

All users upon logging into the ePARS system will be taken directly to his or her own effort statement.

The top left pane of the effort statement, called the “Work List,” contains information about the certifier and his/her respective department, including the department name and number. If the certifier has been assigned as a proxy for another individual this individual’s name will also appear on the work list.

Once an individual has been selected in the work list the certifier may review all the statements associated with this individual. Statements are separated into the following three categories:

Needing certification

In progress

Historical


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Accounts – includes the effort category, account title (as it appears in the profile), PI name, Purpose and Title, and Agency Number.

Computed Effort % or $ – amount of effort calculated based on the payroll data for the period.

Project Breakdown – effort percentages when there is more than one account shown for a sponsored fund.

Certified Effort – summary of effort percent by project or account number Effort by Category – total effort for the category Account Number – account numbers within the effort category

Certification Process

To complete an effort certification, the certifier reviews the effort percentages and adjusts as necessary. The certifier will see an error message if the total certified effort in the % of Effort column is either less 99% or greater than 101%. When all effort has been accounted for, the researcher clicks the “Certify” button.


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The researcher is then presented with a certification message reminding them what they are certifying to. After a final review of the information on the page and the certification statement at the top, the certifier will click the “I Agree” button under the message.

After this, the user is returned to the Home Page. The effort statement is sent on to the EC for processing, along with any entered notes, as applicable.

Additional Features of the Effort Statement

Show Dollar Value

By clicking the Show Dollar Value link on the effort statement, the certifier can switch the view of the Payroll % of $ column, to show the total $ associated with the award.


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Payroll Report

To view all the payroll for the card. Select the report icon and then click on the “Payroll Report.” A new window will open containing all the payroll transactions for the selected period.

Effort Card PDF

If you would like to print a paper version of the effort statement, select the Effort statement PDF Icon from the top right of the View/Certify My Effort page.


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Adding Notes or Attachments

A notes box on the bottom of the effort statement is available to facilitate communication among people who share access to a statement – effort coordinator and certifier. If an effort note is added to a statement, the department effort coordinator is required to perform the processing step. This ensures that the effort coordinator is aware of any note that may require action.

Users may also add attachments by select the “Attachment” link. If an effort note is added to a statement, the department effort coordinator is required to perform the processing step. This ensures that the effort coordinator is aware of any attachment that may require action.


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Effort Certification for Effort Coordinator

Certifying Effort

Home Page & Worklists

Selecting the “Home” link will take the effort coordinator to his or her Work List.

The initial tab, “Statements Awaiting Certification” lists all the effort cards that have been assigned to the user to certify. Effort coordinators can navigate directly the applicable statements clicking the link next the effort card icon.

The next tab in the Work List is called “Effort Tasks”. This tab will only appear if there are PCTs that have been processed on a closed card or if a certifier has made changes/notes to an effort statement.


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The final tab is called “Associated Certifiers.” This tab will list all the cards for individuals that have yet to certify. *Note this list may be quite large at the beginning of an effort certification cycle. You can navigate to any of these statements by clicking on the hyperlink next to the statement icon.

Effort Tasks Tab Details

There are two types of worklist items; “Payroll Adjustments” and “Process Certification Statement.”

Payroll Adjustment: Selecting a link from the Payroll Adjustment Work Item list will display the individual payroll adjustment that has been made. From this screen the user can select to Post Adjustment and Re-Open Statement, Post Adjustment without Reopening, or True-Up. Note only one option will appear. The worklist item will disappear once the appropriate action has been taken.


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Process Certification Statement work list items will appear whenever a certifier changes the percentages on his/her effort statement or adds a note. To review these statements, select the “Process Certification Statement” link in the work list. On the summery screen there are two options “Process” or “Do Not Process.” The second should be used if the statement should be returned to the certifier for recertification.


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Department/Division Dashboard

To access the Department Summary page, select the ‘Department/Division Dashboard’ link.

If you have only one department for which you are an Effort Coordinator, you will be taken directly to the Department Summary page for that department.

If you are associated with multiple departments, you may be prompted with a department search box. You will have to enter the name or number of the department that you wish to review. Once you select the correct department from the list, you will be taken to the following screen.

The Department Summary page presents all of the information that an Effort Coordinator needs to manage the effort certification process for a department. Every effort statement in the system is tagged with a particular status, which changes as it moves through the system.


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Manage Department Certifiers

The People Tab lists the Certifiers associated to this Department. The Certifiers are subdivided into three groups – those employees that have Sponsored Activity, those with only Non-Sponsored Activity & Terminated employees. EC’s should monitor the terminated list and assign proxies as needed.

The fifth column, with the header ‘Statements’, will show previous periods’ certification statements. To review the certification statement, you will select the icon in the ‘Statements’ column.

To see the current outstanding select the “Employee type” and applicable “Period.”

Status Icon Descriptions

In Progress For Certification This status indicates the effort card is not yet ready for certification. This occurs

during the effort reporting period, while payroll and profile data are being loaded, and

during the pre-review period just prior to the certification period.

Not Certified, Not Processed This is the status for a card that is ready to be certified

Certified, Not Processed Once a card has been certified, the status changes to this. The effort card now

needs to be processed by the Effort Coordinator.

Certified, Processed This is the status for a certified and processed statement. All certified cards should

be in this status by the end of the certification period.

Auto Completed Alternative indicator of a certified and processed card. Used for cards that are

processed automatically by the system, because the employee does not have any

effort or payroll on a sponsored account, or the employee certifies at exactly the

same percentages calculated by ePARS, and does not leave a note in the effort

statement.

Certified, Processed, PCT Pending This status occurs if a Certified, Processed card receives an additional payroll charge

after processing. Central office staff will review. No additional steps necessary by

effort coordinator if GL pay is not greater than revised pay.

Error Statuses

Default, Incorrect This status indicates a serious error with the card at the system level. This status

should never be seen by a user. Report this as an issue to central administrators.

Re-Opened To change a card that has been certified and processed, its status must be reset to

“Re-opened” by central office staff. This status indicates that the card was reset after

Re-Opened by PCT This status indicates that a payroll adjustment was received after a card was certified

and processed, and that the payroll adjustment changed the card significantly

Most Common Statuses

Less Common, More Specialized Statuses


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Department Account List

The final portion of the Department/Division Dashboard page is the awards section. This contains a list of all active and inactive accounts in the department. Similar to the Certifier list, the Award list is sub-divided into two groups: Active and Inactive. The system categorizes the awards by comparing the project end date to the current date.

This is a comprehensive list that contains both sponsored and non-sponsored accounts. To view more information about an award, select the award’s name.


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Department Division Information

Department/Division Dashboard Information Tab page displays the department’s Primary and Secondary Effort Coordinators.

Next to all effort coordinators except the primary, in the “Actions” column, there is a yellow highlighter. This button will change the primary effort coordinator for the department, signaled by a change in the yellow highlighted row. The new primary effort coordinator will assume all the responsibilities of this role.

Manage Users and Proxy Assignments

Navigate to the Manage Users Page

To view additional information for a specific certifier, select the magnifying glass icon on the Department Division page. You will then be taken to the manage users page for the selected individual.


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Manage Users

The first section of the “Manage Users Page” contains all the demographic information for an individual. As you continue to scroll down you will be able to see the Individuals email address home department and accounts associated with the selected individual.


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You will be able to see the role this individual has within this system.

The next section will list any existing proxy assignments. If you need to assign a proxy enter the individual name and a reason for the proxy assignment. An automated email will be sent out to both individuals. To remove the proxy assignment, select the red “X” next to the proxy’s name.


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Proxy

When a Proxy certifies an effort statement, the attestation statement states that the Proxy must have suitable means of verification of the work that was performed.

Proxy Assignment Rules

1. Once the proxy assignment is made, only the proxy can certify the certifier’s statement. When the certifier goes into the effort statement, he/she will be able to see the statement in View Only mode and cannot certify the statement.

2. Each certifier can only have one proxy. 3. If Certifier A has been assigned as a proxy for Certifier B, the system will enforce the

following rules at selection time: a. Certifier B cannot be assigned as a proxy for another certifier. b. Certifier A cannot have a proxy assigned for them.

Certifier Proxy Report Limited

Effort Coordinators can use the Certifier Proxy Report to review the certifiers who are not certifying for themselves.

The report displays the certifier name and department, proxy name and department, date the proxy was assigned, who assigned the proxy, the reason, and information about the certifier’s current effort statement.


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On Hold

Effort Coordinators will have the ability to place a certifier’s effort statement On Hold. There are two ways to put an effort statement On Hold – one at a time or multiple statements at a time.

Place a Statement on Hold

To place an individual effort statement on hold, an Effort Coordinator can navigate to the certifier’s effort statement and select the “On Hold” check box as shown below.

To place multiple statements on hold, the Effort Coordinator can go to the Effort Cards on Hold link on the ePARS home page.


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Once in the Effort statements on Hold page, the Effort Coordinator will be able to select multiple certifiers and then place them all On Hold at one time. When the save button is pressed, each of the effort statements will be listed at the bottom screen as On Hold.

In order to take an effort statement off, the effort coordinators will have to go to the individual’s effort statement and uncheck the “On Hold” checkbox. Effort Coordinators can navigate to the individual’s effort statement from the Effort Cards on Hold page, by selecting the magnifying glass icon in the Statements column.

On Hold Reports

Effort Coordinators can run a report from the “Reports” menu option, which will show all certifiers who have an effort coordinator On Hold. The report displays the Certifier with an effort statement On Hold and their department, who placed the statement On Hold and their department, date the statement was placed On Hold, and information about the certifier’s current effort statement status.


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Add Account

When an account is missing from the effort statement effort coordinators may add the account for a certifier by selecting the “Add Account” link on the applicable effort statement.

A new search window will appear allowing the effort coordinator to select an account. Note: the 5digit fund number is the easiest to use. You should also make sure to select the correct budget object code combination.


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After you have selected the account and clicked the “submit” button you will be asked to confirm your request. Click the “OK” button and the account will be added to the effort statement.


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Effort Recertification and Historical Effort Statements

You may reopen an effort statement by selecting the statement from the Department Division Dashboard.

The Effort Coordinator should select the period desired and click the button at the bottom right to “Open for Recertification”. This will cause an email to be sent to the certifier.

Effort Coordinators can re-open a card for certification if the certification period is still open. After the certification period is closed, only SPA can re-open an effort card.


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ePARS Reports

Certifier Payroll Summery Report

The Certifier Payroll Summery Report provides a summarized view for an individual’s effort for a 12-month period.

Payroll Report

The Payroll Report shows the GL payroll transaction entries for a specific individual or a department and date range. It summarizes these entries in two formats -- by account or by pay period. The report for an individual will show the pay that was charged to each account during each pay period within the certification period, the total amounts charged to each account during the period, and the percent of total pay during the period for each account.


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External Audit Report

The External Audit Report lists all individuals that have effort statements in a specified status. There are multiple criteria for narrowing or expanding searches. This report can be downloaded to PDF for printing of effort statements for auditors.

Certification Status Report

The Certification Status Report allows the user to search for a status of a certification statement for a specified group of certifiers. The report shows the current status for each certifier of a specific employee type for a period of performance.


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ePARS Project Information

Effort Coordinator Roles

The Effort Coordinator 1 and Effort Coordinator 2 are similar roles in that they both are given access across their assigned departments and can utilize the same reports and system features in managing their departments. The difference between an Effort Coordinator 1 and Effort Coordinator 2 is that an Effort Coordinator 2 CANNOT:

Certify the Effort Card of a member of their department

Every department will have ONE Primary Effort Coordinator. This designation is made in the Department/Division Dashboard. The Primary Effort Coordinator will be responsible for the Manage Effort Tasks function in ePARS, which is where they will process the certifications and payroll adjustments within their department.

Security Forms for ePARS

A new Security form has been created for use with ePARS and is now available at the AIS help desk web site: http://aishelp.wustl.edu >Security Access Forms > ePARS

The form will also be made available from the ePARS site: http://epars.wustl.edu/

The new form will need to be completed and signed by your Department Manager to authorize access to ePARS. Please return the security form to Systems and Procedures as instructed on the form. SPA, in conjunction with Systems & Procedures, will set up user access privileges for Effort Coordinators after the form is submitted.

Training System Access:

The security form will provide information needed to authorize and establish your access to the production ePARS system. Any questions regarding your user id, password and access to the Training system should be directed to the SPA and IS&T staff listed on the Contact Information page that follows.

SPA Contacts

Carla Reed: 314-935-7939 - [email protected] Christal Zhu: 314-935-8202 - [email protected]


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Glossary/Definitions

Certifier: Primary Individual who has responsibility for certifying his or her effort. This

includes all Medical School faculty members and all individuals that work on sponsored

funds.

Certified Effort: Effort that has been certified by the individual who performed the work,

or a proxy.

Certified Effort Column on Effort statement: The time, stated as a percentage of total

professional time, that an individual actually devoted to a particular Sponsored Project or

other activity during the effort reporting period.

Certification Period: The 30-day period of time during which all individuals must certify

their own effort.

Cost Transfers: An expense that is transferred from one account to another when an

error has occurred in the amount initially charged to the account. A retroactive salary

distribution form is the mechanism for initiating a cost transfer.

Department Effort Coordinator: The department person responsible for coordination

between SPA and faculty and research staff in their departments to facilitate

administration of the salary distribution reports, and the effort certification process. The

Primary Effort Coordinator in each department is charged with monitoring completion and

processing the Effort statements for the department.

Effort: The proportion of time spent on any activity expressed as a percentage of total

institutional activities for which an Individual is compensated by WUSTL. Total effort for

an employee must always equal 100%, regardless of part-time or full-time status, and

regardless of number of hours worked. The effort on a sponsored project may be equal

to or greater than the salary charged to the project, and may be the same or different than

the planned effort. It is recognized that activities of individuals in an academic institution

are often inextricably intermingled so a precise accounting of time spent on various

activities is not required.

ePAR (Effort statement): Screen portraying an individual’s salary and effort distribution

for an effort reporting period that will be certified. It documents the proportion of total effort

devoted by an individual to each account. When certified, the effort statement is the official

verification of effort attributed to and salary paid by a sponsored project. Salary paid by a

sponsored project may not be greater than effort, and is subject to sponsor-imposed

salary caps. An effort statement must be completed by someone with suitable means of

verification of the effort expended on a project. This may be the individual or it may be the

direct supervisor.


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Effort Certification: A means of confirming the percentage of Effort spent in support of

each sponsored project and all other institutional activities for a given period of time. Effort

Certification requires that both effort paid by the sponsor, and effort paid by the institution

be confirmed. Each Individual's Effort Certification must account for total effort (100%).

Effort Reporting Periods: Either the Semester, Quarterly, or Semi-Annual time period

over which effort is reported at WUSTL.

Institutional Base Salary (IBS): The annual compensation paid to an individual by

WUSTL. IBS includes compensation for instruction, public service, organized research,

patient care, department research, department administration, and/or other activities.

Non-Sponsored Individuals: Individuals in a department who have effort and salary

exclusively on non-sponsored accounts. These people are not required to certify their

effort. Effort statements are prepared by the system, but they are auto processed.

Post-Certification Period: The designated period of time when the certified and

processed effort statements are reviewed and evaluated for need for either retroactive

salary adjustments or sponsor letters.

Pre-Review Period: The two-week period of time following the end of the effort reporting

period when the Effort Coordinator reviews compiled Effort statements, and enters any

needed revisions in preparation for certifiers’ review.

PI: A person listed as a principal investigator, project director, co-investigator, co-project

director, or someone with comparable responsibilities on a sponsored project.

Researcher: An employee who has allocated effort to a Sponsored Program, whether or

not paid by the program.

Sponsored Project: An internally or externally funded activity that is governed by specific

terms and conditions. Sponsored Projects must be separately budgeted and accounted

for subject to terms of the sponsoring organization or unit. Sponsored Projects may

include grants, contracts, and cooperative agreements for research, instruction and

training, and other public service activities.

System Administrator: Individual(s) in charge of ePARS, who will be the contact for

ePARS related questions and issues.

effort coordinator training · 2018-06-20 · certified effort – summary of effort percent by...

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