ERS Coordinators are responsible for monitoring the department’s effort reports.

ERS Coordinators have an ongoing responsibility for monitoring the department’s effort reports in the Effort Reporting System (ERS) and communicating the necessary information to the reviewers and/or certifiers in the department to maintain compliance. 

For details about responsibilities in ERS, refer to Effort Reporting Roles.

Preparation

• Subscribe to the My Certifications and My Projects lists for your PIs so you can see the same lists they see when they log in.

• Create a saved search in ERS for your department using these instructions: How to Create a Saved Search for Departments.  When the steps are followed, the saved search will match the ERS Status Report sent out by Contracts & Grants Accounting.

• Make the department saved search your default list (optional).  In the Manage Searches page, locate your saved search and click the Default column.  At the bottom of the page under ERS Start-up Options, select the first option “When entering ERS, display my default search as defined above.”

• Keep cost share data current in the Cost Share Tracking System for all awards.  Refer to How to Process Cost Share Transactions for instructions.

Monthly Monitoring

New payroll transactions are loaded into ERS monthly, about a week after the ledger close. Each month, log in to ERS and select your department saved search in the Display Saved Search filter.  Make sure the Reporting Periods selection is set to All.

• Any reports with Certified or Not Required status are complete, ALL other reports require action. Set the Show Status filter to “ALL-Open” to display only reports that require action. Refer to Effort Report Status Codes for a description of each status and the required actions.

• Reports with a status of Certified/AdjustReqd or Adjustment Required must be evaluated and corrected. Refer to How Do I Fix an Effort Report with the Status Certified/AdjustReqd?

• If you have made payroll transfers in the past month that affect a prior effort reporting period, those employees may have a report that has re-issued and requires re-certification. The certifier must evaluate the changes prior to making the new certification to ensure the payroll and effort match. Refer to How Do I Fix an Effort Report with the Status Open-Reissued?

• Follow up with certifiers as needed to ensure that any reports requiring action are completed by the end of the month. View the department saved search as needed to monitor completion. Completed reports will drop off the “ALL-Open” list.