Effort reporting
The records that show how staff time charged to an award was actually spent. Federal rules require charges to be supported by records reflecting real activity, not by a budget estimate carried forward every month.
Part of the GrantTrove grant funding glossary — one entry for every field the catalogue stores.
Also called Time and effort reporting · Personnel activity reports
In detail
The standard is that the records support the charges. A monthly journal entry allocating a salary by the percentages in the proposal, unchanged for three years, is the pattern auditors look for and the one that most often produces a repayment.
Universities run formal certification systems for this; smaller organisations usually run timesheets. Either satisfies the rule if it reflects what happened.
Against a cost allocation plan
An allocation plan is the documented method for splitting shared costs. Effort records are the evidence that the method matched reality for personnel. A sound plan with no supporting records is still a finding. Neither is a field on an opportunity: both belong to a recipient’s own books.
How GrantTrove stores it
- We hold no recipient accounting data of any kind, and say so rather than shipping columns that would be empty on every row.
- `application_effort` records how heavy a submission looks where a notice indicates it. It is about the cost of applying, and it is not a personnel record.
Common questions
Are timesheets required?
Records supporting the charges are required. Timesheets are the common way to produce them.
Can I charge the budgeted percentage every month?
Only if it is what actually happened. Records must reflect activity, not the proposal.
Do you hold effort data?
No. Nothing about a recipient’s accounting is stored here.