Time and Effort
Overview of Time and Effort - What does this mean?
Grantees are required to report Time and Effort (T&E) for personnel services. Any charges for salaries and wages to federal grant awards must be documented through T&E Reports.
Compensation is paid based on estimates of T&E before the services are performed. T&E Reports document the actual percentage of all T&E expended on the grant even if some of the time is not compensated by the grant. All T&E (up to 100%) is documented on the T&E Report to indicate the full set of duties of the position.
Payroll - Charges to awards for salaries and wages, whether treated as direct costs or indirect costs, are based on documented payrolls approved by a responsible official(s) of the organization.
Personnel Activity Reports (PARs) - The distribution of salaries and wages to awards must be supported by personnel activity reports (also known as T&E Reports). PARs reflecting the percentage of activity of each employee must be maintained for all staff members (professional and nonprofessionals) whose compensation is charged, in whole or in part, directly to awards. For samples of T&E timesheets, visit:
Time and effort reporting templates - Bing images
PARs also must be maintained for other employees whose work involves two or more functions or activities that support the allocation of indirect costs, i.e., an employee engaged part-time in indirect cost activities and part-time in a direct function.
PARs maintained by grantees must:
- Reflect an after-the-fact determination of the actual activity of each employee; budget estimates do not qualify as support for charges to awards
- Account for the total activity for which employees are compensated and is required in fulfillment of their obligations to the organization
- Be signed by the individual employee confirming that the distribution of activity represents a reasonable estimate of the actual work performed by the employee during the periods covered by the report
- Be signed by a supervisor responsible for having first-hand knowledge of the activities performed by the employee
- Be prepared at least monthly and must coincide with one or more pay periods
CFR 200 section 200.430 Compensation - Personal Services
2 CFR Part 230 Subparagraph 8.m.(1) of Appendix B
