Overview
In July 2018, UGA took the first step to transition away from monthly PAR (effort) certification. This decision was made to reduce administrative burden. Over 33,000 certifications were being processed annually, and the replacement process will reduce that number by more than 90%.
As a reminder:
- Only PIs will certify for the full team (formerly everyone with effort on a project would certify).
- Certifications will be annual (formerly monthly).
- PIs will certify that payroll charged to the project is reasonable for the work performed.
- Please note that we are not longer certifying effort. Instead, the certification is of payroll dollars on the project.
PIs certify the payroll on their grants via the Grants Portal (aka eResearch Portal) using a link to the Payroll Certification page found in their email. If payroll is accurate, PIs will simply click the button to certify, and they are done.
If payroll is inaccurate, the PI will need to work with his/her business staff to process updates. Then, documentation of the change should be uploaded to the Grants Portal on the certification page. Documentation could be a pdf of UGA_GM_OP_EXP_DETAIL showing the new payroll hitting the project and a copy of the HCM change showing the person's name and pay source. If payroll corrections are needed, departments may be able to submit a Manager Self Service Express Direct Retro to correct the distribution of payroll expenditures that have already posted. For more information, see the tutorial Submitting an Express Direct Retro Request in the MSS for System Managers course.
Tips and Tricks for Payroll Certification
- Internet Explorer does not properly display the report. Please select an alternate browser, such as Firefox or Chrome.
- Log into the Grants Portal prior to clicking on the Payroll Certification link. This will take you directly to the Certification page.
- All personnel on the project, aside from the PI, are identified as Co-PIs. This will be corrected in future reports. Please disregard the team member role at this time.
- Some personnel show being paid $0 for the year and for the life of the project. This can happen for two reasons:
- When an individual's payroll is charged and later removed, $0 appears on the report. If you believe this to be inaccurate, please contact your business manager who will partner with SPA to assess and resolve.
- If a person is paid on a project during a pay period outside of the certification period, the individual will appear for $0. For example: If the certification period ends 3/31/2018 and Jane Doe is paid $3,000 on the project in May 2019, Jane Doe will appear on the annual certification report for $0 because her pay falls outside the certification period.
- Please note payroll amounts reflect both salary and fringe.
- If you have received a new award after July 1, 2018, the Grants Portal will not generate an email alerting you to a needed certification. Only certify payroll when prompted by an email from Grants Portal. When you log into the Portal, you will be able to see partial year reports. The Payroll Certification is not due until the anniversary of the grant. An email reminder will be sent to you from the Grants Portal each time a project requires certification.
- If you have questions about the report, access, or technical issues, please contact Ken Dover (kdover@uga.edu) or Melissa Mottley (mottley@uga.edu) in SPA. They will be glad to assist you.