Effort reporting that puts payroll and committed effort on one line, so investigators certify what they understand
Certifications close on time, with cap errors and missed approvals fixed before the audit.
See one case, screen by screen ↓Effort Reporting & Certification is effort reporting in which agents reconcile payroll with the effort committed in each notice of award and with the NIH salary cap, then route each certification to the investigator, with a reviewer check before it closes. Effort reporting is how a university shows that the salary it charged to each federal award matches the work the person did on it, usually through a statement each investigator certifies twice a year.
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Effort reporting is how a university shows that the salary it charged to each federal award matches the work the person really did on it. Twice a year, a statement goes to every investigator and staff member paid from a sponsored project; the investigator certifies it, and post-award staff keep it for the auditors. Under 2 CFR 200.430, budget estimates alone are not support for salary charges, and after-the-fact review is the control.
Today the statement is a form of payroll percentages. Nobody compares it with the effort committed in the notice of award, with current and pending support, or with the NIH salary cap, until an auditor does. A new role quietly moves salary off an award, and a reduction of 25% or more needs the sponsor's prior approval. A new NIH award set up at full salary charges the over-cap amount every pay date. Corrections arrive as cost transfers after the 90-day window. Effort Reporting & Certification puts seven agents in front of that comparison, so the department administrator fixes the right rows before the investigator certifies.
Estimated split of one department's business days in a semi-annual period, by hand and with the agents: our arithmetic, kept modest, not a measured result.
Seven agents reconcile payroll with commitments, apply the cap and draft requests and transfers; the investigator certifies and a reviewer checks.
Halden State University, July–December 2026. Statements were released on January 27 and are due February 26, 2027. It is Wednesday, February 17, 2:14 p.m., nine days before the due date. Here is what happens to Dr. Marguerite Solano's statement, screen by screen, in the working solution.
Overnight the Reconciler compared payroll for 61 people in Neuroscience with the effort committed in 48 awards and their current and pending support. The Cap agent checked every NIH award against the $225,700 cap, and the Change agent read the notices of award for reductions of 25% or more. Dr. Solano's row leads the effort board: R01 −12 points, and an R21 set up at full salary.
Nobody can certify a row until its marks are explained.
Kofi opens the statement. The NIH R01 HSU-24-0412 committed 30% and has been charged 18%; the NIH R21 HSU-25-0877 committed and charged 25%, but at full salary; the NSF award matches at 10%; institutional effort was committed at 35% and charged at 47%. The agents' work is listed step by step, with the confidence of each and who it goes to next.
Clicking a citation opens the labor distribution from ERP payroll with the charged lines highlighted: period pay $131,000.00, the R01 at 18.0% from 07/01/2026 at the capped rate, the R21 at 25.0% at full salary, $32,750.00. Opening a source is logged in the audit trail.
The notice of award commits Dr. Solano at 3.6 calendar months, 30%. Since July 1 payroll has charged 18%, because her new Director of Graduate Studies appointment took 12%. That is a 40% reduction against a 25% threshold, so the Change agent drafted request PA-2027-031 with co-investigator Dr. Felix Ortmann rising from 10% to 20% and no budget change, every claim cited. Kofi edits it and sends it to the signing official at 2:21 p.m.
Change agent drafted at 5:04 a.m., Kofi Brennan sends, Martin Hale submits.
Her base salary of $262,000 is above the $225,700 cap. July–December the R21 charged 25% × $262,000 × 6/12 = $32,750.00, where the cap allows 25% × $225,700 × 6/12 = $28,212.50. That is $4,537.50 over the cap, plus $1,270.50 fringe at 28.0%, and $9,075 a year at 25% effort. Cap agent confidence 0.99.
Cost transfer CT-2027-0388 moves $4,537.50 salary and $1,270.50 fringe, $5,808.00 in all, off the R21 to department account 10-4410-NEU. From January 1, 2027 payroll charges the R21 at the $225,700 cap, $756.25 a month to the department. Moving costs off a federal award is not limited to 90 days, and the check says so.
Back on the effort board, Dr. Solano's two marks show their explanations: the R01 request is with Martin Hale, and the R21 transfer is with Ines Calloway. Her certification button is now active. At 2:34 p.m. Martin Hale, the signing official, submits the request to NIH; at 2:41 p.m. Ines approves the transfer and the ERP posts it.
Dr. Solano sees where her effort went: R01 18% (committed 30%), R21 25% charged at the cap, NSF 10%, Halden State 47%, 100% of $131,000.00 for the period. Both changes are explained with their sources. She certifies, then certifies for three people on her awards, including a graduate research assistant whose statement is a student employee record under FERPA.
I certify that this is a reasonable estimate of the effort I devoted to each activity from July 1 to December 31, 2026, and that I have suitable means of verifying it.
The agents pre-checked the statement: every mark explained, 2 of 2; CT-2027-0388 approved and posted; PA-2027-031 submitted by the signing official; certified before February 26; the certifier did not prepare the corrections; 9 sources attached. Ines closes it. The 112 statements with no marks close together only after she opens a 12-statement sample.
Every step of the afternoon is on the audit trail, for people and agents alike. The export pack for NIH R01 HSU-24-0412 holds 9 certifications and 46 sources, with employee IDs and the student employee record redacted, built and sealed. Only Dana Whitfield can release it, never the person who requested it.
The same statement, seen by the five people who carry it: what their period looked like, and what it looks like now.
Seven agents reconcile payroll with commitments, apply the cap and draft requests and transfers; the investigator certifies and a reviewer checks.
Loads labor distribution, appointments, awards and other support for each period from ERP payroll, the HR system and the research administration system, and checks the totals.
Compares payroll with committed effort for every person and award, and with current and pending support month by month; marks gaps of 5 points or more and over-commitment, citing both sides.
Applies the NIH salary cap for each pay date to every NIH certification and computes the over-cap amount with fringe.
Finds reductions of 25% or more for PIs and key personnel named in the notice of award, and drafts the prior-approval request with every claim cited.
Drafts cost transfers and payroll distribution changes, and checks the 90-day rule in the effort policy.
Sends routine reminders by rule and drafts escalation notices to chairs and deans for the director.
Builds the export pack from the audit trail and document management, redacts personal and student data, and seals it.
Prepare, certify, check. The agents propose; a named person decides.
The assistant answers with citations to the notice of award, the payroll record, the HR record or the policy, and can take you to the screen where the work is done. It cannot certify or submit anything.
Why does Dr. Solano's R01 need NIH approval?
The notice of award commits her at 3.6 calendar months, 30%. Payroll has charged 18% since July 1, because her Director of Graduate Studies role took 12%. That is a 40% reduction, and NIH requires prior approval for a cut of 25% or more by the PD/PI. The Change agent drafted PA-2027-031 with Dr. Ortmann covering Aim 2; Martin Hale submits it. I cannot submit it.
How much of the R21 is over the salary cap?
Her base salary is $262,000; the cap is $225,700. At 25% effort that is $9,075 a year over the cap. July–December: charged $32,750.00, allowed $28,212.50, so $4,537.50 plus $1,270.50 fringe moves to 10-4410-NEU in CT-2027-0388, and payroll charges the cap from January 1. Ines Calloway approves it; nothing posts before she does.
Why is my R21 still 25% if the dollars move?
Effort is your time, and the cap limits dollars. You still spent 25% of your effort on the R21; NIH just pays no more than $225,700 a year for it. The department pays the rest, so you certify 25%.
Build the export pack for the NIH review of the R01
Building it now: the 9 certifications on HSU-24-0412 for July–December 2026, with marks, explanations, sign-offs, the drafted request and 46 sources, with employee IDs and the student employee record redacted. Dana Whitfield releases it; the requester never does.
12 screens from the working solution, on its sample data. Pick one to see it large.
The rules every statement is checked against come from the institution's effort policy. Only the system administrator changes them, each change with a reason and a new version on the audit trail.
| Setting | Default | Choose from |
|---|---|---|
| Gap threshold | 5 points between committed and charged before a mark | 3 to 10 points |
| Prior-approval reduction | 25% for a PI or key person | Fixed by 2 CFR 200.308(f)(3) |
| NIH salary cap | $225,700 from January 1, 2025 | Earlier rate $221,900 kept for past pay dates; add a new rate with its effective date |
| Statements due | 30 days after release | 20 to 45 days; reminders every 7 days until certified |
| Escalation | Chair 3 days, dean 10 days after the due date | Chair 1 to 7 days, dean 5 to 20 days |
| Cost transfers onto a federal award | 90 days after the charge | 60 to 120 days |
| Reviewer check and transfer approval | 5 and 3 business days | Check 3 to 10, approval 2 to 7 business days |
| Keep records | 3 years after the final financial report | 3 to 7 years; 2 CFR 200.334 minimum |
Every figure is labelled: a target the solution is built to, an estimate, a typical published result, or a proven one.
Sources: 2 CFR 200.430 (compensation, personal services) and 2 CFR 200.308(f)(3) (prior approval), Uniform Guidance as revised October 1, 2024 · NIH Grants Policy Statement 8.1.2.6 and 7.5 · NIH salary limitation, NOT-OD-25-085 ($225,700 from January 1, 2025) · 2 CFR 200.334 (record retention) · FERPA, 34 CFR 99.3 · US Department of Justice, 2018 settlement of $13 million over effort certification at a health science center; a 2015 settlement of $20 million over time-keeping on federal grants · "demo" = seen in the working solution, on its sample data · "target" = design goal, measured in the live solution · "typical" = published figures · "estimated" = our arithmetic from the demo university's inputs. Halden State University, its awards and accounts, and the people named on this page are fictional: characters and sample data in the working solution.
Effort Reporting & Certification is effort reporting in which agents reconcile payroll with the effort committed in each notice of award and with the NIH salary cap, then route each certification to the investigator, with a reviewer check before it closes. Effort reporting is how a university shows that the salary it charged to each federal award matches the work the person did on it, usually through a statement each investigator certifies twice a year.
2 CFR 200.430 requires salary charges to be based on records that accurately reflect the work performed, supported by internal controls; budget estimates alone are not support, and after-the-fact review is the control. The solution makes that review a comparison with what was committed, with every value cited to its source.
Overnight, agents compare payroll with committed effort for every person and award and mark every gap of 5 points or more, every NIH certification over the cap and every reduction that needs prior approval. The department administrator sends the drafted fixes, the investigator certifies once every mark is explained, and a post-award reviewer checks the record before it closes.
A reduction of 25% or more in the time the PD/PI or key personnel named in the notice of award devote to the project needs NIH's prior approval (NIH Grants Policy Statement 8.1.2.6; 2 CFR 200.308(f)(3)). The Change agent finds these reductions from the notice of award and the HR appointment record and drafts the request; only the signing official submits it.
Yes. The Cap agent applies the cap rate for each pay date, $225,700 from January 1, 2025, and computes the amount charged over it with fringe. The Correction agent drafts the cost transfer and the payroll distribution change so the over-cap amount stops at the source, and a reviewer approves it before the ERP posts it.
Yes. The Reconciler adds current and pending support and required teaching to committed effort month by month, flags anyone over 100% before the next award starts, and offers options such as a teaching buyout or a lower commitment at Just-in-Time. The administrator picks an option and the investigator decides.
Yes. Agents never certify, post a transfer, submit to an agency or send an escalation. The investigator certifies, because only they know where the effort went; a reviewer approves every cost transfer and checks every certified statement, and nobody can approve their own work.
The Agentic Solution Engine builds and deploys it from your requirements and documents, such as your effort policy, your payroll and award data and a sample of past statements, and it goes live once every quality gate has passed. We will walk you through it on your own statements first.
Five high-fit calls in minutes, each limit and cost share cited to the sponsor's own text.
1-min demoGrant Proposal ReviewEvery proposal reviewed inside the five-day window, every value tied to its clause.
1-min demoSubrecipient Risk Assessment & MonitoringRisk scored before signing and every invoice line checked before the university pays.
1-min demoWe'll run Effort Reporting & Certification on a sample of your own payroll, awards and statements.