How do I document staff time on a grant (time and effort reporting)?
If you charge staff salary to a grant, you need a record that shows what each person actually worked on, covering all their paid time. Here is a method a small nonprofit can run with a spreadsheet and a monthly habit, and the parts of the federal rule it is built on.
The method
- Check what your funder requires. Look in the award for "personnel", "time and effort", "timesheet" and "salary". A foundation may only want a payroll report. A federal award follows 2 CFR 200.430, and your agreement may add its own rules. Write the requirement at the top of the award folder.
- List every person charged to the award. Name, role, the percentage of their time in the approved budget, and whether they also work on other grants or on unfunded work. This list is your starting point, not your proof.
- Record time against everything the person does. As read on 2026-10-19, 2 CFR 200.430(g)(1) says charges must be based on records that accurately reflect the work performed, and that they reasonably reflect all of the person's compensated activity, not more than 100 percent. So a record that shows only the grant hours is not enough. Each person's timesheet or activity report covers all their paid time: this grant, other grants, general administration and unfunded programs.
- Choose a form and keep it simple. Section 200.430(g)(1), as read, allows records that show a percentage distribution of total activity. Pick a monthly sheet with one row per activity and a column for the percentage or hours, with a total that must reach 100 percent. Employees paid hourly under overtime rules need the hours worked each day, as the rule says for nonexempt employees.
- Have the person fill it in close to the work. Monthly, or at the latest at each pay period, while they still remember. Reconstructing a year of time in one sitting is where the numbers stop being believable.
- Have a second person review and sign. The supervisor or the person themself signs and dates it. The rule as read ties the records to internal controls that give reasonable assurance that charges are accurate, allowable and properly allocated, and a review is how a small team shows that.
- Do not rely on the budget estimate alone. Section 200.430(g)(1)(vii), as read, says budget estimates alone do not qualify as support for charges to federal awards. They may be used for interim accounting if they reasonably approximate actual activity, significant changes are recorded promptly, and periodic after-the-fact reviews make the adjustments. If your payroll charges the budgeted 25 percent every month, review it against the actual records at least quarterly and correct the difference.
- Reconcile against payroll before each report. The percentage of salary charged to the grant each period should match the time record. If it does not, adjust the charge or the record, and note why.
- File the signed records with the award. Save the monthly sheets, the reviews and any adjustment notes in the award folder. They are part of what you keep for the retention period. See how long to keep grant records.
Your award agreement and your funder's instructions are the authority on every date and requirement. This page is a working method, not legal, audit or compliance advice.
A worked example (made-up award)
A part-time program coordinator is budgeted at 40 percent on a federal award, 40 percent on a county grant and 20 percent on general work. Her monthly sheet for April shows 30 percent on the federal award, 45 percent on the county grant and 25 percent on general work, adding up to 100. Her supervisor signs it on 2 May. Payroll had charged the federal award 40 percent, so at the quarterly review the accountant moves the 30 percent actually worked and records the adjustment with a note. Nothing about the budget changed; the record caught the gap.
What a minimal monthly sheet holds (made-up layout)
- Employee name, pay period and total paid hours or 100 percent.
- One row for each award, plus rows for administration, fundraising and other unfunded work.
- Percentage or hours per row, adding up to the total.
- A signature and date from the employee or supervisor, and a reviewer's initials.
Common mistakes
- Recording only the grant hours. The record should cover all compensated activity.
- Copying the budget into the timesheet. Estimates alone are not support for federal charges.
- Filling it in once a year. The longer the gap, the weaker the record.
- Totals that miss 100. Reviewers look at that first.
- Not saving the adjustment. A correction with no note looks like a mistake rather than a control.
The faster path, and what it does not do
GrantClose is not payroll, timekeeping or accounting software. It does not record hours, allocate salary or tell you whether your records meet a rule. What it can do is keep the routine from slipping. Add "monthly time and effort sheets signed" as a recurring deliverable on the award, with one owner, a status and reminders at 30, 14, 7 and 1 days before and on the due date, and attach each signed sheet as evidence. At closeout you can export a ZIP per award with an index and a SHA-256 checksum per file.
- It does not collect timesheets or calculate percentages.
- It holds only what you upload, up to 15 MB per file, and is not for payroll data beyond the signed sheets you choose to store.
- It never contacts a funder.
- The free grant reporting schedule calculator works out recurring due dates in your browser, with no signup.
GrantClose gives every recurring grant task one owner and a reminder schedule, and keeps the evidence beside it. It does not run payroll, write reports or give legal, audit or compliance advice. Free for 1 active award. Create a free account
Questions
What is time and effort reporting on a grant?
It is the record that shows how much of an employee's paid time went to each activity, so a share of salary can be charged to a grant. For federal awards the standards are in 2 CFR 200.430(g).
Do I need timesheets for every employee paid from a grant?
For federal awards, 200.430(g), as read on 2026-10-19, asks for records that accurately reflect the work performed for salary charged to the award. The form can be a percentage distribution of total activity; hours are required for nonexempt employees under wage law. Foundation grants vary, so check the agreement.
Can I use the budgeted percentage instead of actual time?
Not alone for federal awards. Section 200.430(g)(1)(vii), as read, says budget estimates do not by themselves support charges, and allows them for interim accounting only with after-the-fact reviews and adjustments.
Who has to sign the time record?
Your own policy and funder decide. A common practice is the employee or the supervisor, with a reviewer. The rule as read requires internal controls giving reasonable assurance that charges are accurate, allowable and properly allocated.
How often should staff fill it in?
Monthly at most, ideally each pay period. Records made close to the work are easier to defend than ones reconstructed later.
Sources read
- 2 CFR 200.430 (Cornell LII copy of the eCFR), read on 2026-10-19.