Business & Financial Services

System Access

Department Coordinators:
Your Department SAA must assign you the 'Department Coordinator' role in EACS to access the Payroll Certification system. Once assigned, you can access the system via the R'Space portal under the "Authorized Applications" section to see COA(s) associated with the PIs UCPath Home Department.

Principal Investigators (PIs):
Access to the Payroll Certification system is automatically enabled for Prime PIs on a Contract & Grant. Use the link in the email notification to complete your annual payroll certifications. Departmental SAAs require no action to authorize PI access (no role assignment in EACS).

Annual Payroll Certification Process

Principal Investigators (PIs) and their department administrative staff (Coordinators) receive notifications based on the project period of the sponsored award. The system generates one report per project, detailing all salary charges by employee for the relevant period.

For an award with a project period from 5/1/2022 to 4/30/2025, the following certifications would be required:

• 5/1/2022 to 4/30/2023
• 5/1/2023 to 4/30/2024
• 5/1/2024 to 4/30/2025

Notifications Timeline

Payroll certifications must be completed within 21 days of notification to the PI. The system will send multiple email notifications to guide and facilitate the certification process, ensuring timely completion of required projects. Please refer to the Notifications Timeline below for more details.

Review and Certification

• Department Coordinators review notifications first and examine the reports for completeness. They enter all required adjustments (e.g., pending cost transfers and cost-sharing), review all cost notes, and make the necessary comments and/or adjustments to help facilitate the PI certification.
• PIs should review the report to verify the list of employees, salary charges, cost sharing, and any adjustments.
• PIs are asked to certify that:
  • Payroll expenses are reasonable relative to the work performed.
  • Salary costs directly benefit the project.
  • Expenses conform to the sponsor’s terms and conditions.

Certifier Responsibilities

Certifications made within the Annual Payroll Certification process are good faith acknowledgments. This means the Certifier reasonably believes that the financial and salary information personally known to them is accurate. For information not personally known, the Certifier may rely on the financial/salary data provided, as long as they have no personal knowledge of inaccuracies or weaknesses. If inaccuracies or weaknesses are known and disclosed, it remains reasonable for the Certifier to rely on the information in light of that disclosure. Certifiers carry personal liability only if they knowingly provide false certifications, such as engaging in intentional fraud or deliberate unlawful conduct. Errors resulting from negligence by support staff, which are not obvious or known to the Certifier, do not result in personal liability for the Certifier.

Exceptional Certifications

Certifications were delayed due to the transition to the new Chart of Accounts (COAs) and Payroll Certification system. To address this, an exceptional process has been implemented to catch up on deferred certifications.

Department Coordinators will be notified of each phase's specific release and due dates and have 30 days per phase to gather supporting documentation (e.g., Looker Payroll reports, salary cost transfers, cost-sharing details) to assist PIs. Afterward, Principal Investigators (PIs) will receive system-generated email notifications with a login/training resouces link to complete their reviews.

Deferred certifications will be released in two phases:

• Phase 1: Covers July 1, 2023, to December 31, 2023.
• Phase 2: Covers January 1, 2024, to June 30, 2024.

Training & Support