Supporting Documentation, for the purposes of payment/reimbursement, are those documents used to substantiate the costs incurred by the sub-recipient, as reported in the Periodic Financial Reimbursement Template. Together with the detail and remarks information supplied in the Template, costs should be traceable to the goals or objectives of the grant as outlined in the contract or Memorandum of Agreement with your Sponsoring Department.
In general, supporting documentation must be gathered and maintained to allow a third party to trace the expenditure from the Periodic Financial Reimbursement Template, to the invoice or receipt for the service or product, to the payment. In other words, in addition to showing what a cost was for, supporting documentation must clearly show what costs were incurred and give proof of payment.
Regardless of expenditure type, the following rules apply to all submissions of supporting documentation for payment/reimbursement:
Two (2) copies of receipts, bills and invoices, reports, etc., bundled separately, must accompany the completed Workbook along with adding machine tape showing calculations. Copies must be made on 8" x 11" paper, and must be legible.
All documentation and copies must be legible. Packets with illegible documentation and copies, or without adding machine tape showing calculations, will be returned to you, resulting in processing and payment delays.
The copied pages of receipts should be numbered sequentially in the upper-right hand corner. That number should be used as a reference on the Detail Cost sheets of the Period Financial Reimbursement Template. Related copies should be attached together and given one Receipt Number.
Below is information on supporting documentation definitions related to specific types of expenditures:
Costs Incurred:
Signed Time Sheets: Time sheets must incorporate the following elements:
Acceptable Timesheet Format Example
The name and signature of the employee
The name and signature of the Supervisor or official having first hand knowledge of the work performed by the employee, attesting to the veracity of the information contained on the time sheet.
The total hours worked by the employee broken down by day.
The distribution of total hours worked across all grants or cost objectives
If an employee works on multiple grants or cost objectives, the distribution of hours worked will indicate the number of hours worked in support of the specified grant.
If an employee only works on the specified grant, the percentage indicated would be 100%.
Proof of Payment:
Signed, system generated reports (e.g., Payroll Register): Reports should indicate the name of the employee; the employee identification number; the date worked; the time worked (to/from); the employee's normal rate; the rate at which the employee was paid; and the date and check number of the check by which the employee was paid for the specified time.
Employee Activity:
Completed and signed Employee Activity Sheets must be submitted for each employee paid with grant funds.
Employee Activity Sheets
Note: Both the Employee Activity Sheets and the Time Sheets must reflect an after-the-fact distribution of the actual activity of each employee; budget estimates or other distribution percentages determined before the services are performed do not qualify as support.
Costs Incurred:
Invoice from Contractor or Consultant: The invoice should give the name of the contractor or consultant; your organization's identifying number for the contractor/consultant; the time and/or date of services (to/from); and the rate and/or total payment, and a brief summary of the services provided. The invoice should be on letterhead, or if an individual/sole proprietor, should state the address and telephone number. Note: For Consultants with a rate greater than $450/day, a copy of the Grantor's approval must be included in the Reimbursement Packet.
Proof of Payment:
Signed system generated report(s): Reports should indicate the name of the contractor or consultant; your organizations identifying number for the contractor/consultant; the time and/or date of services (to/from); and the rate and/or total payment; and the date and check number of the check by which the contractor or consultant was paid for the specified time; or, Copy of Checks
Further, you will be required to maintain for seven years any contract documentation between your organization and the contractor or consultant, including: the rationale for method of procurement; the method used to select the contractor; justification of the sub-contractor's price; a copy of the final, signed contract. These documents will be requested during audits of your paperwork.
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Costs Incurred:
Invoice: The invoice should give the name and/or description of the item, date of purchase, unit cost, number of items, and extended cost. The invoice should clearly indicate the vendor name. If the invoice has items not covered by the grant, highlight the purchases that are included on the Detail worksheet.
Further, you will be required to maintain for seven years any contract documentation between your organization and the contractor/vendor, including: the rationale for method of procurement; the method used to select the contractor; justification of the price; a copy of the final, signed contract. These documents will be requested during audits of your paperwork.
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Retention of Supporting Documentation:
Originals must be kept on file for seven (7) years. Because grant related expenditures generally are required to be kept longer than normal business transactions, it is recommended that you establish a retention system for grant supporting documentation separate from your regular business documentation. If you have more than one grant funding source, you may wish to keep each grant separate from another.