Welcome to the UCM ECC Self-Service Center
The UCM ECC Self-Service Center provides training and reference material to assist with completing Project Statement certifications in UCM's Employee Compensation Compliance (ECC) tool.
Principal Investigator Responsibilities to Maintain Adequite Documentation for Payroll Expenses
Federal regulations (Uniform Guidance Subpart E §200.430) require that institutions receiving federal or federal flow-through awards maintain adequate documentation for payroll expenses. Payroll expenses charged to federal awards must be based on records that accurately reflect the work performed to provide reasonable assurance that the charges are accurate, allowable, and properly allocated.
Some awards without federal funding also require certification when mandated by the sponsor’s terms and conditions.
Employee Compensation Compliace (ECC) System Overview
ECC is a modern web-based solution designed to help universities and research institutions ensure compliance with federal regulations outlined in Uniform Guidance Subpart E §200.430. Project statements are fully sourced from UCPath Payroll records.
ECC will replace the Effort Reporting System (ERS) as the system of record for verification of UCPath payroll earnings Earn End Date of September 1, 2026, onward.
Highlights
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Customized worklists for Principal Investigators to prioritize work and monitor progress.
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Automated, easy to follow workflow from payroll load to completion of certification.
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Stores copies of certified Project Statements.
Accessing ECC
Users will soon be able to log in to ECC using their UCM ID SSO credentials.
Principal Investigators and Research Administrators will automatically be provisioned access to ECC. Central Office staff that require view-only access to ECC can submit an ECC User Access Provisioning Request.
User Guide Resources
Certifying Project Statements in ECC - Video Presentation
Video presentation that walks through the certtification process in ECC
ECC Quick Start Guide for Certifiers
Explains how to complete certification processes in ECC at a high level
ECC Detailed Guide for Certifiers
Explains how to complete certification processes in ECC in detail
Project Statements
A Project Statement is UCM's method for complying with federal payroll requirements (Uniform Guidance Subpart E §200.430). It is a statement generated at the UCM Project chartstring level listing the payroll directly charged to the project value during the defined reporting period for all individuals paid on the project. The Certifier (Principal Investigator) must review and certify the statement for accuracy, confirming that the payroll charged reasonably reflects the work performed by the individual for the project.
Source of Payroll Data in ECC
UCPath is the source of truth of all payroll record data presented in ECC. Any discrepancies found in Project Statements should be referred back to UCPath payroll records to verify the accuracy of payroll earnings or the associated COA combinations where the earnings were recorded to. If adjustments are needed to the distribution of the payroll expenses, a Salary Cost Transfer (SCT) request can be submitted to UCM Payroll Services for processing in UCPath. Adjustments to payroll distributions made in UCPath will automatically post in ECC after a Monthly or Bi-Weekly Payrun cycle completes the GL Post Confirm process. See the UCM Transactional and Time & Attendance Deadlines calendar to identify specific GL Post Confirm dates for a payrun cycle.
Project Statement Statuses
The table below explains the status of ECC project statements and the corresponding action that is needed to ensure the statement is certified in a timely manner
| Statement Status | Status Explanation | Certifier's Action |
|---|---|---|
| Building | The reporting period that the project statement belongs to is not yet closed | No Action |
| Ready for Certification | The reporting period that the project statement belongs to has closed and is now ready for certification | Certify Report |
| Certified | The project statement has been fully certified | No Action |
Certification Periods and Due Dates
Project Statements are released three times per year. Payroll expenses appear on Project Statements based on the UCPath payroll earning's Earn End Date.
| Reporting Period Name | Reporting Period | Reports Available | Certification Due-Date |
|---|---|---|---|
| Spring | February - May | June 15th | August 29th |
| Summer | June - August | September 15th | November 29th |
| Fall | September - January | February 15th | May 1st |
Certification of Payroll Expenses During Systems Transition Period
Due to the transition process from the legacy ERS system to ECC, effort reporting will be managed between both systems for a limited period of time. The table below explains how effort will be certified during the transition period.
| Payroll Earnings End Date | Payroll Batch Accounting Date | Certification Method |
|---|---|---|
| 6/1/2026 or later | 6/1/2026 or later | ECC Project Statement |
| 5/31/2026 or prior | 2/28/2027 or prior | ERS Effort Report |
| 5/31/2026 or prior | 3/1/2027 or later | PPM Cost Detail Report |
*Central Office staff will proactively coordinate with Principal Investigators when the PPM Cost Detail Report certification method is required. No additional aciton is needed on behalf of PI or Research Administration staff to meet compliacen requirements.
Delegating Certifier Responsibility
Principal Investigators should make every attempt to fully own the certification responsibility of their assigned project statements in ECC. In the event a Principal Investigator has departarted and in the event their active sponsored project will NOT undergo a Principal Investigator change, Project Designee access can be granted to another named individual. PIs or Central Office staff should submit an ECC User Access Provisioning Requst and choose, "Add Project Designee Access" as the User Provising Type.
