Office of Sponsored Research

Guidelines for Managing YOUR Grant Account

Attached are the Guidelines for Managing YOUR Grant Account. Please read these guidelines carefully remembering that as the project director you are responsible for initiating and monitoring expenditures within your account following all Indiana University policies and procedures.   If you have any questions concerning your grant, contact either TJ Stoops, Director of Sponsored Research at tkstoops@iun.edu or 980-6832 or Susan Schaefer, Director of Accounting services at sujschae@iun.edu or 980-6983.

All funds in any university account belong to the university. All property purchased with funds in any university account belong to the university.  As the account manager, YOU are responsible for initiating and monitoring expenditures within your account following all policies of IU.

In order to maintain fiscal responsibility, a Detailed Budget Plan should be prepared by the project director with the information listed below. A copy of this detailed budget must be submitted to the Office of Sponsored Research, the Director of Accounting Services and any others that have a need to review or becomeinvolved with the account.   This ensures that there is in fact a definite plan and that all commitments resulting from the plan, such as staff benefits, have been recognized and included.

A. Salary - A pay schedule spreadsheet must be prepared for all personnel costs budgeted in the approved grant.  This schedule should include:

• Employee name
• Employee ID
• Type of employee (faculty, professional staff, support staff, hourly, student, etc.)
• Pay schedule for employee-(faculty – type of contract, bi-weekly, monthly)
• Rate of payFringe rate Semester to be worked
• Cost share for which semester
• Hours to be worked
• How many weeks

B. Capital Equipment

C. Supplies and Expenses Expenditures

D. Travel

E. Consultants

F. Participant Costs

G. Hospitality

SALARY- All Human Resource documents must be completed and approved BEFORE any hours may be worked or recorded by any employees.

Faculty Member: If you or another faculty member are receiving course release or summer salary out of your grant accoun, it is up to you to check with the Office of Sponsored Research and your department chair a month ahead of the semester in question to make sure the Department Green Sheet (Contract-see sample) and proper E-doc iscomplete.

Students or Research Assistants: In most cases wages for assistants should be paid on an hourly basis. You are encouraged to employ students qualified for work study since your account will only be charged a percentage of their salary. Please complete all of the necessary paperwork for student employment using the Human Resources website.

Current Employee: If you employ a person who is already a full‑time IU employee, contact Susan Schaefer and she will provide the correct payroll processing procedure.  No matter who you employ appropriate fringe benefits (including FICA, etc.) will be deducted from your account.

Time and Effort Sheets: Time and Effort Sheets documents all personnel costs to be reimbursed with the grant or claimed as matching funds. ALL individuals whose time/salaries are being counted towards the grant shall complete this form for each pay period. Record the number of hours spent on the grant tasks on the Time and Effort Sheet.  After both the individual and supervisor sign the form, file it with your grant records, submit as supporting documentation with the signed A21 Effort Report and submit it with the reimbursement request.  Volunteers may also use a variation of this form.

Indiana University requires that the employee's hours be approved by a person with knowledge of the employee's hours worked. This individual is called the TIME approver.  TIME approvers and payroll processors must review and approve all time and attendance records before they are submitted for payment. During this review/approval cycle it may be necessary for TIME approvers and/or payroll processors to adjust time and attendance to correct any errors in order to provide timely and accurate payments. It is impermissible for any TIME approvers or payroll processor to intentionally or knowingly approve false records.

CAPITAL EQUIPMENT - Capital equipment is defined as any INDIVIDUAL equipment item costing $5,000 or more. You must have a specific capital equipment line in your budget to place an order for capital equipment on a grant account. Capital equipment MUST be ordered through the Purchasing Department. You can search for best prices in the IU contracts through the EPIC system in OneStart.  All capital equipment purchased becomes property of the University and should be maintained under the capital assets inventory of your department.

SUPPLIES AND EXPENSES EXPENDITURES - Supplies should be ordered through the Purchasing Department and charged directly to your grant account. You can search for best prices in the IU contracts through the EPIC system in OneStart.

Similarly,duplicating, postage, etc. can be charged directly to your grant account. If you plan to use your department copier to make copies that need to be charged to your grant account, you will need to have a separate copy card for your grant account for the copier. Large copy jobs should be sent to FedEx and charged to your account.  Mailings that should be charged to your grant account should be bundled with a post-it note referencing your grant account number.

Local telephone rental – May not be an allowable expense as these costs may be included in the indirect cost rate determination. Exception- off campus projects having phone rental.

TRAVEL - All Indiana University travel procedures must be followed.

CONSULTANTS - Include a daily or hourly rate and the number of days or hours the consultant will be working on this project. The consultant's qualifications should be included in the proposal or budget narrative. Include a letter of support for the proposal. Outside consultants should be paid using the EPIC purchasing system.

SPEAKERS – Please refer to the "Paying for Services Guidelines".

PARTICIPANT COST - Please refer to the Paying for Participants.

Expenses for this category include costs of transportation, per diem, stipends, andother related costs for participants or trainees (who are not IU employees) in connection with conferences, meetings, training activities, or workshops.

H.   HOSPITALITY -If approved on the official budget from an external agency you can incur hospitality but you must follow university guidelines.  Alcoholic beverages are never allowed. If you are using our dining services, you need to complete their catering request. If you are purchasing hospitality related items, the EPIC purchasing system shouldbe used.

I.    UNDERWRITING GRANTS AND CONTRACTS - It is the policy of Indiana University that an underwrite request must be initiated by a school or academic unit if the unit wishes to spend funds prior to the formal receipt and acceptance of a notice of award or executed contract. 

Internal Controls include procedures for ensuring reliable financial information, establishing accountability, safeguarding of assets, and determining that transactions are proper for the account and in compliance with Indiana University policies,statutes, regulations and procedures. 

Reports – Monthly Operating Detail (MOD) and Monthly Operating Statement (MOS) - on the IUIE are provided to the project director to assist in a monthly review of the account.  These statements reflect the current budget, cash transactions to date and accrual and encumbrance information.  These statements should be reviewed, along with supporting documentation such as payroll and purchasing documentation, to ensure that all entries recorded are accurate and appropriate to the account. To find the reports on any accounts you manage, go to MyRA-My Research Administration using OneStart.

Cost Share– Cost share is defined as the project or program costs not borne by the sponsoring agency.  Any expenses that are to be cost shared during the grant period must be included in the detailed budget submitted to the Office of Sponsored Research and to the Director of Accounting Services for prior approval. The University is required by federal guidelines to account for all cost share associated with federal, federal pass through or other granteeaccounts.  This is true regardless of the granting agency involved and whether the cost share is considered mandatory or voluntary.

Overdraft Notices -An overdraft notice will be sent to the project director when expenses booked to an account total more than the awarded budget or more than the income that has been received and must be resolved within 30 days of receiving the overdraft notice.

A-21 Effort Reporting Guidelines - The A-21 Effort Report document is an after-the-fact method of accounting for effort of an employee, whose normal salary was paid in whole or part, or cost shared on a sponsored account.  The A-21 Effort Report is created in the Financial Information System (FIS) by IU Research Administration, routes to Fiscal Affairs and is distributed to each department that has contracts and grants.  The A21 serves as the certification documentation required under the OMB Circular A-21. 

The individual who signs the A21 Effort Report must have a suitable means of verificationof the employees effort on the account listed on the A21, verify the activity of the employee and the amount of compensation listed on the A21. It is very important to have a "knowledgeable" person certify (sign) the effort reports as stated in the Important Notice 03-3 "A-21 Effort Reports".