How can I use award funding patterns for project cost distribution in Expenses?

Use funding patterns to eliminate the need to determine cost allocation manually as they automatically apply charges to awards and funding sources based on contractual obligations.

After the Grant Administrator sets up an active funding pattern, employees can enter costs for a project, task, and expense category without filling in the contract number or funding source. When they submit the expense report with those fields blank, the funding pattern automatically assigns the costs, so there’s no need to choose awards or allocate costs manually.

This automation improves compliance, reduces manual errors, and ensures accurate cost alloction for projects with complex funding requirements, without requiring employee intervention.

Here's how you can use this functionality in Expenses:

1. Enable the feature for Expenses (one-time setup)

   Since this is an Opt In feature, ensure that this feature is enabled for Expenses.

2. Create and activate funding patterns

   This step is performed by Grant Administrators after a project is awarded funding.

   1. Define funding patterns that include:
      • Awards and funding sources
      • Distribution percentages
      • Task levels
      • Valid date ranges
   2. Set the funding pattern status to Active.
      Note:

      Active funding patterns are required for automated cost distribution, and expense items must fall within the funding pattern’s date range based on the expense item's date.

3. Enter an expense report

   When submitting an expense for a sponsored project:

   1. Enter the Project, Task, and Expenditure Organization.
   2. Leave Contract and Funding Source blank (if enabled).

After submission, the system uses the active funding pattern to automatically:

• Split the expense across multiple awards or funding sources.
• Apply rules based on the task and expenditure item date.
• Initiate the approval process.

No manual intervention is required by the employee.

Error handling and troubleshooting

What happens when cost distribution fails?

• The expense report remains in the Pending manager approval status and doesn't get routed to the manager.
• Distribution-related errors aren't visible to employees and they aren't notified of the failure.

How to view and fix errors?

1. Ensure you have the following required privileges

   • Manage Expense Auditing (EXM_MANAGE_EXPENSE_AUDITING_PRIV)

     Allows access to the Audit work area

   • Generate Expense Award Distribution (EXM_GEN_AWARD_DIST_PRIV)

     Allows viewing and generating distributions for sponsored projects using active award funding patterns

   Note: You must have access to the relevant business unit for the expenses you need to correct.

2. Go to the Audit work area in Expenses.

3. Search for reports pending manager approval and open a failed report.
4. Go to the View Project Cost Distribution Details section within the report.
5. Review error details, funding rules, and distribution sets.
6. Resolve issues. For example, adjust the funding pattern by coordinating with the Grants Administrator. This is a manual process performed outside Expenses.
7. Click Distribute Project Cost to regenerate distributions.

Once corrected, the report automatically resumes its approval workflow.

Note: Employees aren't usually impacted during the correction process, and the expense report moves forward once resolved. However, if project funding is fully consumed and costs need to be charged to a different project, the expense report is returned to the employee to update the project, task, and expenditure organization before resubmitting.