About cost transfers
Faculty and staff must make every effort to allocate expenditures (costs) to the appropriate account(s) at the time the costs are initially incurred. However, sometimes it is necessary to transfer costs from one account to another through an after-the-fact re-allocation, otherwise known as a cost transfer.
Transfers that involve a sponsored project account (grant) are monitored by ORSPA’s Post Award Services Team.
Cost transfers involving grants are allowable only in special circumstances, such as:
- Error correction
- Transfers between sub-allocations of the same sponsored project
- Costs benefiting more than one project
- Clearing potential or actual overruns
- Disallowed costs
Any time a transfer is initiated, it invites the assumption that the transaction was not initially handled properly. If expenses are being transferred onto a sponsored project account there will be considerable scrutiny of the reasons for the transfer, and the justification for moving those charges. To adequately support these transfer requests, it is essential to provide justifications explaining how the cost directly benefits the project account being charged.
Mechanisms used to initiate cost transfers are:
| Types of expenses | Cost transfer method |
|---|---|
| Salary and wage corrections for FY19 payroll and beyond | Payroll redistribution application in PeopleSoft |
| Salary and wage corrections for FY18 and earlier payroll | Accounting journal in Workday (refer to full instructions here) |
| Non-payroll cost transfers for FY18 and earlier | Accounting journal in Workday with Non-Payroll Cost Transfer Request (CTR) ORSPA 510 form |
| Non-payroll cost transfers for FY19 and beyond | Accounting adjustment accounting journal in Workday with Non-Payroll Cost Transfer Request (CTR) ORSPA 510 form |
Considerations
Work instructions and training
All employees with a grant manager role in Workday (Grant Manager, Peoplesoft HR Grant Manager) must take the following brief cost transfer training:
ROps: Review and approval of cost transfers on sponsored projects
CTR submitters are highly recommended to take this training as well.
Non-payroll
- Workday home page > work instructions
- Create accounting adjustment
- Create accounting journal
- EIB preparation and submission
Payroll
Payroll redistribution training
Initiation
Identifies the system that the transfer is created in.
Nonpayroll
Workday
Accounting Adjustment (required default):
Retains all the historical journal information of the original transaction.
Can only be used when transferring the full transaction amount of Supplier Invoices, Supplier Invoice Adjustments and Expense reports.
Accounting Journal
Can be used to transfer multiple accounting items from/to multiple accounts.
Can transfer partial dollar amounts, multiple expenditures on multiple accounts to multiple spend categories on multiple accounts.
Does not provide an automated audit trail and should only be used when necessary (i.e., p-card transactions).
EIB
Bulk Import for accounting journals.
Forms and templates > journal bulk import – ORSPA EIB
Payroll
PeopleSoft
Payroll redistribution
Payroll generally processes the Monday through Wednesday before payday but ERE does not post until Thursday. Payroll redistributions submitted on the Thursday/day before payday will not result in ERE being moved.
To ensure salary, ERE and tuition will all move together with the same redistribution, wait until both salary and ERE post in Workday (generally on a payday) to submit a payroll redistribution for that period.
Access
Roles required to submit and approve cost transfers.
Nonpayroll
Submitter (dept): Department Accountant
ServiceNow > Workday Landing Page > FMS Department Role Request
Approval (dept): Grant Manager (ASU)
ServiceNow > Workday Landing Page > FMS Approval Role Request
Payroll
Submitter (dept): ASU_HR_PM Redistribution role in PeopleSoft, also known as the FSO Redistribution role.
Approval (dept): PeopleSoft HR Grant Manager
An employee is not permitted to submit and approve their own payroll redistribution.
90-day Rule: Calculating
Generally, transfers must be in ORSPA’s queue for review no later than 90 days from occurrence (see details in following columns).
Removing an unallowable cost on a sponsored project has no time limit.
Shorter periods are necessary near the project end date to ensure a timely final financial report/invoice to the sponsor. The assigned AMT GCO will be able to answer questions relating to a project end date and/or final invoice/report submission required by the project.
Non-payroll
90-days from the Workday close of the month in which the transaction originally posted.
Payroll
90-days from the close of the month in which the last pay period for the related semester posted and the After the Fact report has not been acknowledged by the PI.
| Semester | Last payday | Fiscal month close | 90-day deadline |
|---|---|---|---|
| Summer 2023 | 8/6/2023 | 9/6/2023 | 12/5/2023 |
| Fall 2023 | 12/24/2023 | 1/3/2024 | 4/3/2024 |
| Spring 2024 | 5/12/2024 | 6/6/2024 | 9/4/2024 |
| Summer 2024 | 8/4/2024 | 9/5/2024 | 12/4/2024 |
| Fall 2024 | 12/22/2024 | 1/6/2024 | 4/5/2024 |
Exceptions
See instructions in following columns for requesting an exception.
Exception approvals are required before processing transactions onto a sponsored grant account that exceed the 90-day rule or, for payroll transfers that fall under cost transfer worktag type category three, if the After-the-Fact report has already been acknowledged.
There are a handful of transfer types that do not fall under the 90-day rule. See cost transfer worktags for details.
Non-payroll
Submit to: AMT AD (or an appropriate post-award services backup/proxy identified by the AD, such as a manager or principal)
Payroll
Submit to: FOT AD (or an appropriate post-award services backup/proxy identified by the AD, such as a manager or principal)
E-mail [email protected] for exception request details.
Justifications
Must be clear, concise and comprehensive to provide a proper audit trail. A descriptive phrase or two can suffice if it adequately answers the questions. Examples of poor justifications:
- I am moving this charge to place it on the correct account
- To correct an error
- There is no error
The unit/Financial services, as appropriate, are required to retain the support documentation for the original expense in the event of an audit.
See Cost Transfer Worktags for additional guidance.
Transfers from one sponsored project to another sponsored project to reduce cost overruns, to spend unused balances, to avoid restrictions imposed by law or agreement terms, or for other reasons of convenience are strictly prohibited.
Nonpayroll
Accounting Adjustment/Accounting Journal should stand on its own.
Payroll
Each answer box within the questionnaire, defaults to a 255-character limit. If needed, click on the “Addt’l Text” icon next to the appropriate answer box to be allowed to enter an unlimited number of characters. Third question: Describe one or two specific tasks performed by the employee for the project during the payroll redistribution period, not a list of tasks mentioned in the SOW.
Submission and review checklist
Expense is allowable
- WI-EP-60 > job aid – sponsored projects allowability
Account availability
- The project is still open and the sponsor has not received the final invoice.
- The assigned AMT GCO can advise on the status of the final billing, as needed
Account balance
- Confirm there is available budget for the transactions moving onto the account (including associated ERE and F&A).
- If additional funding is expected but the award notice has not yet arrived, please consider an At-risk increase using a guarantee account.
Dates
- Budget date (non-payroll) / close date (payroll) represents incurred date of original transaction
- Incurred date is within the start/end date period of the grant account
Worktags
- Appropriate cost transfer worktag is applied.
- Use EITHER department reporting roll or department reporting, not both
- Ledger account/spend category is accurate (non-payroll)
Exception reviews
- 90-day calculation has been completed
- Status of the After-the-Fact (ATF) report for the period is known
- Exception approval for these items have been documented, as needed
Memo (non-payroll)
- Journal line memo references original transaction number being moved
Documentation
- Required backup documentation is supplied/attached
- Justifications are sufficient
Routing
Describes how each type of cost transfer routes for approval
Non-payroll
Accounting adjustment
Grant manager > award management specialist > AMT/FOT AD (for >90 days)
Accounting journal (onto a grant)
Grant manager > award management specialist
Payroll
Payroll redistribution
PeopleSoft HR grant manager > fiscal oversight (ORSPA)
An employee is not permitted to submit and approve their own payroll redistribution.
Once the transaction is approved, payroll redistributions post to Workday daily, except on Fridays due to Workday maintenance.
Edit
How to edit draft and in progress transactions
Nonpayroll
Accounting adjustment (draft only)
Find accounting adjustments – pending > related action > accounting adjustment > edit, add/change attachment
accounting journal
Workday: find journals – pending accounting journals > related action > journal > edit, add/change attachment
Payroll
Payroll redistribution
Once submitted, the only information that can be edited are the responses to the three questions. If the accounting information needs to be changed, withdraw the submitted transaction(s) and resubmit new transaction(s).
To edit question responses:
Use the “Edit/Resubmit Redist Trans” in ASU Position Management to search the transaction.
Edit the responses. Additional text can only be modified if it is part of the original request; it cannot be added to a returned request.
Submit transaction again within 5 business days.
Cancel
How to cancel draft and in progress transactions
Nonpayroll
Accounting adjustment
Workday: find accounting adjustments – pending > related action > accounting adjustment > cancel
Accounting journal
Workday: find journals – pending accounting journals > related action > journal > cancel
Payroll
Redistribution
PeopleSoft: ASU customizations > ASU HCM custom > ASU position management > edit/resubmit redist trans. Pull transaction and click the withdraw button at the bottom of the screen.
Redistributions stuck in employee queues due to leave, retirement, etc.
ORSPA’s payroll redistribution approvers can search for the transaction and select the “deny” button by going to Peoplesoft > ASU customizations > ASU HCM custom > ASU position management > ORSPA redistribution approval.
Reconciliations
Required on a monthly basis for all accounts, both sponsored and non-sponsored. Will help minimize the time it takes to identify a cost that needs to be transferred and prevent additional charges from posting. FIN 201: Cost Center, Grant and Project Manager Fiscal Responsibilities
Nonpayroll
Account reconciliation > best practices for reconciling payroll expenses
Payroll
Operational transaction best practices
Purchasing card best practices
Monitoring
View Workday Report “Expenditure Monitoring – Cost Transfer Dashboard” for details and statistics of cost center cost transfer activity.
Contacts
Questions on requesting a cost transfer such as allowability on a project and proper justification may be directed to the unit’s RA staff, or to the assigned AMT GCO. Contacts for the unit can be found by using Who Can Help Me?.
Nonpayroll
Workday (FMS) assistance: Service Now FMS Support, Phone: (480) 965-2334
Payroll
Payroll redistribution grant mailbox: [email protected]
PeopleSoft-payroll redistribution system assistance: UTO CRM (Customer Relationship Management). Submit case at: https://uto.asu.edu
Related content
RSP policies
RSP 506-02, Cost transfers on sponsored projects
RSP 508-01, Charging direct and facilities and administrative costs to sponsored projects
Federal regulations
2 CFR Part 200 (Uniform Guidance), Subpart E – Cost Principles