Time and effort certification
Charged effort reconciled to certified effort, before your auditor samples it.
Every employee's payroll charges compared line by line against their signed certification, by employee and by funding source.
A gap between charged and certified effort converted into the payroll dollars actually at risk, not just a percentage.
Every certification confirmed as signed and as accounting for 100 percent of compensated effort, with anything missing named by employee.
- 01
Get your ledger
Your accounting system's export.
- 02
Match your columns
Which column is which.
- 03
Name what's in your file
What each code in your ledger really is.
- 04
Fix what's flagged
What your auditor asks first.
An employee paid from a federal award has to certify, in writing, that the effort charged to each funding source matches the work actually performed, covering 100 percent of the compensated activity for that period.
The broader compensation rules require the certification to be signed by the employee, or by a supervisor with direct knowledge of the work, on a schedule that matches how often the organization runs payroll.
6 certifications were reviewed for Riverbend Community Partners for the third quarter of 2025: 5 of 6 are signed, 5 of 6 account for 100% of compensated effort, and $3,900 in payroll charges sits more than 5 points away from what the certification actually says.
| Employee | Role | Certification | What Leap found |
|---|---|---|---|
| David Chen | Family Services Coordinator | Signed | Charged Head Start 70%, certified 55% ($1,950 variance) |
| James Okafor | Program Aide | Signed | Certification accounts for only 95% of compensated effort |
| Priya Nair | Finance Assistant | Missing | No signed certification on file for the period |
| Angela Brooks | Victim Advocate | Signed | Reconciles cleanly: 100% charged matches 100% certified |
| Total variance exposure | $3,900 |
Sampled after the fact, usually by the auditor, not before.
Checked on upload, employee by employee, funding source by funding source.
Found during fieldwork, when it is already a finding.
Flagged immediately. Riverbend's demo shows David Chen's payroll charging Head Start 70% while his signed certification says 55%.
Easy to miss in a stack of signed forms.
Caught automatically. James Okafor's certification accounts for only 95% of compensated activity.
Discovered when the auditor asks to see the file.
Named before that: Priya Nair has no signed certification on file for the period.
A signed statement from an employee, or a supervisor with direct knowledge of the work, confirming that the percentage of time charged to each funding source actually matches the work performed, covering all of the employee's compensated activity for the period.
Payroll usually charges a budgeted estimate at the start of a period. The certification, signed after the period ends, reflects what actually happened. A gap over a few points is exactly what 2 CFR 200.430(i) exists to catch.
It names the employee, the funding sources involved, the size of the gap, and the dollar exposure, so you can correct the payroll charge or document the reason before an auditor samples it.