Payroll Reallocation Instructions

Overview

A payroll reallocation is a transaction to change the funding source (chartfield) of an employee’s pay after the pay has been posted to the General Ledger (GL). A reallocation will not change the amount of pay posted, only the funding chartfield.

A payroll reallocation should be initiated in the Payroll system (using one of the mechanisms described below) to maintain the accuracy of the employee’s payroll record. The reallocation will be processed with the semi-monthly payroll and be included in the payroll journal entry that is posted to the General Ledger.

When reallocating pay, planned employee distributions should also be reviewed and updated as needed to prevent funding errors in future pay cycles.

Reallocation Forms & Applications

Which Should I Use?

Determine whether the payroll reallocation is effort-based or pay-based. Corrections to funding regulated by sponsored award effort certification regulations are considered effort-based and must be submitted using one of the effort-based mechanisms. Generally, reallocations that include fund 5000/5999 projects are effort-based, and those that impact only activities or BU 02 orgs will be pay-based, though there are exceptions. To learn more go here.

Effort-Based Reallocations are initiated multiple ways to facilitate compliance with federal regulations. Identify which scenario below fits the employee and timeliness of the reallocation to determine the appropriate form/application to use:

  • Hourly Employees – all corrections must be made using the Cost Transfer form.
  • Exempt Employees
    • In-Quarter (prior to effort certification) – make corrections using the Effort Distribution Report (EDR) and submit at least 15 days before quarter-end.
    • At effort certification time – make corrections using the Personal Activity Report (PAR) per the PAR instructions.
    • After effort certification – make corrections not identified on the PAR using the Cost Transfer form.

Pay-Based Reallocations – all pay-based reallocations must be made using the Pay-Based Payroll Reallocation form.