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ECERT: Reading an Effort Report

Summary: Learn about the different areas of an effort report in the Electronic Certification of Effort and Reporting Tool (ECERT).

Note: The checklist below shows an overview of the complete process. If you need more detailed ECERT training, see ECERT Job Aids, or attend the Effort Reporting class.

What to do		Details
	Access the ECERT system.	Go to ECERT. Log in using your UCSD Single Sign-On. If you don't have a Single Sign-On account, contact your Departmental Security Administrator or self-register.
	Display the desired saved search and select an effort report.	Click the down arrow at the top left of the screen and select the Managed Saved Searches page. Find the saved search you want and click the View icon to see a list of effort reports for that search. Click on the appropriate line to select the report.
	View the 5 sections of the report.	These sections list the following: Sponsored Projects: Employee received pay on these projects that require effort certification. Effort calculations are displayed for each project. For more information about a project, place your mouse pointer over the Project Name and see PI, Award Title, Fund Manager and Sponsor Award Number. Other Sponsored Projects: Employee received pay on projects that do not require effort certification. This section displays a cumulative effort calculation for all projects in this area. Non-Sponsored Activities: Employee received pay on non-sponsored funding. This section displays a cumulative effort calculation for all projects in this area. Report options: Allows the user to specify whether different sponsored projects need to be certified by multiple people (such as more than one PI on different indexes). Add a Comment: Area designated for users to input comments related to the effort report.
	Explore the report's 6 columns.	You can use the columns on the report as follows: Original Payroll %: Estimate of effort based on payroll distributions. Percentages are systematically adjusted to reflect exceptions, such as the NIH Salary Cap. Adjusted Payroll %: User can manually enter the effort percent dedicated to each activity. Original Cost Sharing %: This column is not used by UCSD. Adjusted Cost Sharing %: This column is not used by UCSD. Original Total %: Estimated total effort % for each activity as generated by the ECERT system. Adjusted Total %: This is the column being certified. It reflects the amount in the Adjusted Payroll % column plus any amount in the Adjust Cost Sharing % column.
	Check the Payroll Details.	To view the lines of payroll used to generate the estimate percentages in the Original Payroll % column, click the View Payroll Details button.
	Navigate between 3 tabs.	Use these tabs to: Edit Report: Modify the current version of the report you're viewing. View/ History: View previous version of the report. Comment Log: View a compilation of previously saved comments.