Note: The following details represent tips previously published for Tri-Council Grants. Please check with Research Accounting Staff to ensure information is still relevant for any given topic, as funding agency guidelines and institutional policies may change over time.
When submitting a travel claim for reimbursement against a research project, it is important to ensure the affiliation of the claimant to the Principal Investigator is indicated. While it is a best practice to complete this section for all research related travel claims, it is especially important for claims being charged to Tri-Council projects (NSERC, SSHRC or CIHR). During the monitoring visit conducted by the Tri-agencies in May 2011, the agencies disallowed some travel expenses because this section of the claim was not completed.
Therefore in order to avoid processing delays and mitigate the risk of travel expenses being disallowed in future audits or monitoring visits, please ensure this section of all research travel claims is completed prior to submission to Financial Services,
Upon accessing the Travel Expense/Advance form located on the Forms section of our site, this section of the form is not visible at first. However once fund code 30000 (externally sponsored research) or 31000 (internally sponsored research) is entered on the Form under the Account Information section, a drop-down menu will appear which should be used to indicate the Traveller/Acct Affiliation by selecting one of the following options:
- Self
- Co-Investigator
- Student
- Other
If Other is indicated, you will be asked to provide additional details explaining this affiliation.
Economy air travel often includes more than one class of travel. For example, Air Canada economy rates may include “Tango”, “Flex”, or “Latitude”, with “Tango” being the most economical and “Latitude” being the least economical air fare. Price differences between these fares can be significant. The Tri-Council Agencies (NSERC, SSHRC, and CIHR) stipulate the lowest fare available must be used for air travel. Therefore, if all three economy classes of travel are available, the expectation is the “Tango” air fare may be claimed.
If the passenger is limited to a certain flight and the lowest available air fare for that flight is “Latitude”, the “Latitude” fare would be acceptable in this scenario. A written justification must accompany this type of expense claim.
Business class travel may only be used if pre-approved by the Tri-Council Agencies and must be accompanied by a medical note. In cases where business class is claimed because it is more economical than the economy fare, the lowest economy fare available must be used as the comparator.
Example
The following classes of travel and corresponding air fare quotes are available for a given flight.
- Tango (Economy): $1,500
- Flex (Economy): $1,650
- Latitude (Economy): $1,800
- Business: $1,700
In this example, although Business class is more economical than the Latitude (Economy) fare, since the lowest fare available is Tango (Economy) at $1,500, the Tango air fare must be claimed in this scenario.
In order to avoid processing delays, air fare expenses must be accompanied by the quoted available air fares and proof of payment. If applicable, a written justification or a copy of the agency pre-approval must also accompany the expense.
If you have specific questions regarding this communication, please contact Research Accounting at research.accounting@queensu.ca
Prior to April 1st, 2013, grant holders required pre-approval from the Tri-agencies (NSERC, SSHRC and CIHR) before purchasing certain electronic devices (i.e. tablets and iphones), in order to ensure the expenses were deemed eligible by the agencies.
Effective April 1st, 2013, grant holders are no longer required to consult with the agencies in advance of these purchases as long as they are required for research related purposes. Instead, grant holders are asked to provide a detailed justification when submitting the expense for payment. The justification must explain why the purchase is required for research purposes and how it relates to the research project being charged.
Research Accounting will continue to review these explanations and will contact the grant holders or authorized delegates if additional details are required for audit purposes.
When making a purchase on your Tri-Council grant using a Procurement Card, researchers or their official signing delegates must ensure their approval accompanies the monthly activity statement where the related charge is reflected.
The monthly Procurement Card activity statements must be signed by the cardholder and their respective supervisor (this must be a one-over-one approval). When the Principal Investigator is the cardholder, they would provide approval for these purchases on the monthly statement as part of the monthly approval process.
A scenario where the researcher is expected to provide an additional approval is described as follows.
Example:
In the scenario where a Procurement Card is used to make various purchases within a department, the cardholder may be a departmental representative rather than a researcher. If this is the case, the cardholder and their related departmental supervisor would be required to provide signatures on the monthly activity statements for the Procurement Card.
If a Tri-Council grant purchase is made using this card, the Principal Investigator responsible for the related grant or one of their official signing delegates would be required to document their approval of this expense. This could be accomplished by signing the monthly activity statement (along with the cardholder and supervisor), or sending the cardholder an email authorizing the charge.
The approval document should be kept with the monthly activity statement and supporting receipts, in case it is required as part of a future monitoring visit or audit.
Please note that this is a requirement of the Tri-Council agencies.
All research expenditures must be approved by the Principal Investigator responsible for the research project or their signing delegate. Signing delegates must be listed on the “Account Signing Authority” form. A completed and approved form must be submitted to Research Accounting for all new research projects before project spending can begin. The form can be found at our Forms section.
Expenditures must always have a one over one approval signature. This means that the approver of the expenditure must be at a higher level than the individual submitting the claim. Claims submitted for reimbursement by Principal Investigators must be approved by their respective Dean or Department Head.
Note: For Tri-Council grants, any claims submitted by a visiting researcher must be approved by the Department Head.
In order to ensure claims for research expenditures are processed in a timely manner, please ensure the relevant ChartField values are included on the cheque requisition, travel expense claim form or journal entry.
Some important details to remember regarding research related ChartField values are:
- The Fund code must be equal to 30000 (Externally funded projects) or 31000 (Internally funded projects)
- The Fund, Department, Account and Project fields are all mandatory fields for research related claims
- The Project field must reflect the appropriate research project number, which begins with 3xx-xxx. Reminder: Project numbers were the former legacy account numbers.
If you have any questions regarding the appropriate account number to use, please consult with your Business Officer. Reminder: Revenue accounts (accounts beginning with 4xxxxx) should not be used for expenditure claims.
Incorrect or missing ChartField values will result in processing delays, therefore it is important to ensure the required fields are completed and are accurate.
To access information regarding ChartField values, please visit the ChartFields section of our site.
The Tri-Council (NSERC, SSHRC and CIHR) allow certain child care related expenses to be charged to a grantee’s award. Under specific circumstances, child care costs may be claimed by a single parent or a nursing mother.
A single parent is eligible to claim overnight child care costs incurred while the grantee is travelling.
Nursing mothers who are travelling with a caregiver and a child may also claim the cost of overnight child care.
A maximum of $25 per day may be claimed for child care expenses, which must be supported by receipts.
CIHR (only) allows nursing mothers to claim travel and accommodation costs for the traveling caregiver, to a maximum of $1,000, in lieu of claiming child care expenses.
If you have questions regarding a child care expense claim which differs from the above mentioned scenarios, please contact the Tri-Council agency administration team for pre-approval. Contact details are as follows:
NSERC & SSHRC:
- Shawn Ricard, Awards Officer, Awards Administration shawn.ricard@sshrc-crsh.gc.ca
CIHR:
- Ian Raskin, Manager, Internal Controls expense-eligibility@cihr-irsc.gc.ca
When charging the costs of travel to attend a research conference to a grant funded by one of the Tri-Council agencies (NSERC, SSHRC and CIHR), you must ensure you attach a copy of the conference itinerary to the travel claim.
In addition, the Tri-agencies require the following details to be indicated on the related travel claim:
- The name and location of the conference.
- The dates you attended the conference.
- A description of the conference and how it relates to your research project.
- The affiliation of the traveller to the Principal Investigator (if traveller is not the Principal Investigator).
Some other important reminders regarding conference travel are:
- When meals are included in the cost of the conference fees, an additional claim for these meals should not be made.
- Conference registration fees should be reimbursed with all relevant travel expenses on the same travel claim and not through a separate cheque requisition when conference fees are paid by the claimant.
- A travel advance may be issued if payment of fees is required in advance of travel.
In most instances the costs of construction, renovations and expenses for lab rentals or supporting facilities are not eligible expenses on a Tri-Council grant (NSERC, SSHRC or CIHR). These details are available in the Tri-Agency Financial Administration Guide.
These types of expenses may be allowable on a Tri-Council grant in rare circumstances and would require written pre-approval by the research funding agency.
It is important to be aware of this eligibility rule before incurring these types of expenses with external vendors. In addition, when asked by Physical Plant Services to provide a research project for construction or renovation costs, please ensure a Tri-Council project is not used for this purpose. Construction and renovation charges administered by Physical Plant Services do not flow through Financial Services, therefore it is the Principal Investigator’s responsibility to ensure an appropriate research project is used for this type of expense.
If a Tri-Agency project is charged for construction or renovation expenses and has not been pre-approved by the agency, it may be disallowed in a future monitoring visit or audit. For questions regarding appropriate research projects for these types of expenses, please contact Research Accounting at research.accounting@queensu.ca.
When submitting expense reimbursement claims for purchases made using your personal credit card, please ensure the original receipt along with the credit card confirmation slip is attached to your claim. Submitting the credit card confirmation slip alone is not sufficient, as the details of the purchase are included on the original receipt and are required for audit purposes.
During an audit, the Tri-Council (NSERC, SSHRC and CIHR) will review original receipts to ensure expenses are eligible and in accordance with Tri-Council regulations. For example, claims for meal receipts cannot include tips or alcohol, given that the Tri-Council views these charges as ineligible. Therefore it is important to ensure claims are properly supported by detailed receipts.
If you have any questions regarding this requirement please do not hesitate to contact research.accounting@queensu.ca.
Due to increased audit requirements, there is a need to ensure research expenditure claims are supported by detailed justifications, explaining the nature of the research expense and why it is required for the related research project being charged.
Some of the funding agencies, including the Tri-Council agencies (NSERC, SSHRC and CIHR), may disallow research expenditures reviewed as part of an audit or monitoring visit, if they find the details provided to support the claim are insufficient.
As such, Research Accounting has increased its diligence when reviewing research expense claims, to ensure the explanation provided contains sufficient details to support the expenditure. This proactive effort should help mitigate the risk of the expense being disallowed by the funding agency due to insufficient details. Disallowed expenditures may require reimbursement by the Principal Investigator to the funding agency, usually from an alternate project.
Therefore, in order to avoid processing delays we ask you to please provide a detailed explanation to support research expenses when submitting a cheque requisition or travel expense claim. This additional effort will also reduce the possibility that your expenditure is disallowed in a future monitoring visit or audit.
Below is a listing of eligible accounts which may be used for expenses charged to Tri-Council (NSERC, SSHRC and CIHR) research projects.
Listing of Eligible Tri-Agency Accounts (PDF, 302 KB)
Please be advised that even if an expense account is included on the list, the related expense must also be deemed eligible per Tri-agency rules and regulations.
Please refer to the Tri-Council Expense Eligibility and Documentation Guide (PDF, 88 KB) for guidance.
Example:
For the purchase of a supply, while Account 600009 (Other Supplies) is included in the attached list, the supply must be eligible per Tri-agency regulations.
Please refer to: Expense Supplies Depenses Articles (PDF, 63 KB) for guidance on the purchase of supplies for Tri-Council funded projects.
If an account is not included in the attached list, it should not be used to pay for a Tri-Council project expense.
If you have questions regarding a specific account, please contact Research Accounting at research.accounting@queensu.ca for guidance.
International travel may sometimes be required for the purpose of carrying out research activities. In these cases, the Tri-Council agencies (NSERC, SSHRC and CIHR) will allow entry visa fees for grantees and/or research personnel, for research related travel. Appropriate supporting receipts must be provided for these claims.
Please note that passport renewal fees are not deemed eligible expenses and cannot be charged to research projects.
If you have any questions regarding these details, please do not hesitate to contact Research Accounting at research.accounting@queensu.ca
Occasionally grant holders may be unsure regarding the eligibility of a Tri-Council (NSERC, SSHRC and CIHR) related expense. In these cases, grant holders are encouraged to contact Research Accounting staff for guidance, prior to incurring the expense.
Research Accounting staff will provide guidance on the eligibility of the expense per agency rules and regulations as well as institutional policies, and may be able to suggest an alternate source of funding if the expense is ineligible on a Tri-Council funded project. If the eligibility of the expense is unclear, grant holders may be advised to contact the Tri-Council directly, to seek pre-approval.
Seeking pre-approval for these types of expenses minimizes the risk of an expense being deemed ineligible in a future monitoring visit or audit. Therefore this best practice is encouraged for uncommon expenses.
Eligibility questions may be directed to Research Accounting staff at research.accounting@queensu.ca
The Fast Administrative Support Tool (FAST) software, which was launched earlier this year, is a new tool which provides quick access to financial reporting information. For example, Tri-Council grant holders may access current information on a specific research project or obtain a financial summary for all their research projects, by using the new Project Summary Report, which is available in FAST. Information is updated from the Queen’s General Ledger on a nightly basis.
Users can access FAST by logging into MYQueensU/SOLUS directly from the Queen's homepage, where authorized users of the tool will find a section called Financial Reporting Information that contains a link to FAST. Once logged in, users can access the Project Summary Report after selecting the Financial Reporting link, followed by the Research Reports tab.
To learn more about FAST visit the Systems Training page in our Learning Catalogue.
The Canadian federal government introduced an employer compliance fee for engaging foreign nationals. Effective February 21, 2015, the federal government implemented an employer compliance system for employers hiring foreign nationals under the federal International Mobility Programs. Additional details regarding this system may be found on the Employment and Social Development Canada website.
As part of the recruitment process, employers are required to pay an employer fee of $230. If the foreign national is recruited to work exclusively on Tri-Agency funded research, the full cost of the fee will be eligible for reimbursement from the related grant. If the foreign national is recruited for a variety of purposes, including conducting research on a Tri-Agency funded grant, a portion of the fee may be charged to the grant based on the anticipated percentage of time the foreign national will spend working on the Tri-Agency funded research project.
If you have additional questions regarding these details, you may contact Research Accounting at research.accounting@queensu.ca or you may contact the Tri-Council Agencies directly.
As the deadlines for the annual Form 300s (Statements of Account) approach for projects funded by the Tri-Council and affiliated agencies (NSERC, SSHRC, CIHR, CRC and NCE), Principal Investigators (PIs) are reminded of their requirement to approve these reports. All Form 300s are prepared by Research Accounting, Financial Services and forwarded to PIs for final approval.
Form 300s which are manually prepared (e.g. sub-grants led by another institution) will be emailed to PIs in advance of the deadline, requesting final approval.
PIs will receive an email with detailed instructions for Form 300s which must be approved on the Tri-Council FDSR site.
If you have questions regarding the Form 300 approval process, please contact Research Accounting at research.accounting@queensu.ca
The Tri-Council agencies (NSERC, SSHRC and CIHR) do not consider the cost of gifts to be eligible expenses, as per the section entitled “Services and Miscellaneous Expenses - Non-Eligible Expenses” found in the Tri-Council Administration Guide. Therefore purchases of near-cash or non-cash gifts cannot be charged to Tri-Council grants.
In addition, the Canada Revenue Agency (CRA) considers most near-cash gifts such as gift cards and gift certificates to be taxable income or a taxable benefit depending on the circumstances, therefore the institution strongly discourages the purchase of these items using institutional funding. Near-cash gifts are considered gifts which can be easily converted to cash (i.e. gift card, gift certificate, securities, stocks, etc.).
Effective January 1, 2013, a change was made to the way certain payments to Graduate Research Assistant Fellowships were processed. This fellowship income was previously processed through Payroll as T4 income and was subject to withholdings (CPP, EI, and Employer Health Tax-EHT). However, beginning January 1, 2013 this income has been paid as T4A income and is no longer subject to any withholdings. Please note that in some cases, Graduate Student Research Assistant income is still considered employment income and will continue to be classified as T4 income. Please contact Human Resources if you have any questions about the correct method of payment.
The Graduate Research Assistant Fellowship payments, which are treated as T4A income are now processed through Financial Services instead of Payroll. As such, Tri-Council (NSERC, SSHRC and CIHR) grant holders are reminded they will not see future salary commitments on their Research Statement of Operations for these payments. Therefore grant holders may want to consider these future payments when reviewing the available balances in their research projects.
The guidelines and general principles provided in the “Use of Grant Funds” section of the Tri-Council Agencies’ website may apply to the majority of Tri-Council funded research projects. These details may be viewed at NSERC. However, certain grants and awards may have specific spending restrictions which are not reflected in these guidelines.
For example, NSERC Idea to Innovation (I2I) Grants typically do not allow expenses in relation to publication costs or conference related travel. These costs must be justified during the budget submission process and are approved on a case by case basis. NSERC Research Tools and Instruments (RTI) grants are another example of grants with specific restrictions. For these research projects, grant holders must purchase the specific type of equipment for which the grant was awarded. Any deviation from these details must be formally approved by NSERC, prior to purchase.
Therefore, grant holders may want to review agency guidelines surrounding specific grants or awards following the approval of such funding, in order to ensure compliance with existing spending restrictions prior to spending.
If you have a question regarding a specific grant or award, you may contact Research Accounting at research.accounting@queensu.ca or you may contact the appropriate agency directly. Agency contact information is available in the Managing Specific Funds section of our site.
Hospitality costs (non-alcoholic refreshments and meals) are allowable expenses on Tri-Council grants (NSERC, SSHRC and CIHR) if they are incurred for networking purposes. The Tri-Council agencies define networking purposes as “being in the context of formal courtesy between the grantee and guest researchers; and research-related activities in the context of assemblies that facilitate and contribute to the achievement of the research objectives (e.g., grantee meeting with partners, stakeholders, guest researchers)”. These costs may also be allowable if the related details are included in the approved grant application.
In these cases, funding agency policies will override institutional policies. Therefore, although expenses may follow the Queen’s University Hospitality Policy, if they do not comply with Tri-Council guidelines and are being charged to a Tri-agency grant, they would not be deemed eligible expenses. Please note that alcoholic beverages are not eligible expenses on Tri-agency grants.
If you are unsure if hospitality costs are eligible expenses on your Tri-agency grant, you may contact Research Accounting at research.accounting@queensu.ca or you may contact the Tri-Council agencies directly for a ruling:
NSERC or SSHRC - Celine Monfils
celine.monfils@nserc-crsng.gc.ca
CIHR - Ian Raskin
expense-eligibility@cihr-irsc.gc.ca
Internal and external research funding must usually be segregated and managed in separate research projects. For example, research funding received from an external source should never be deposited into an internally funded project, such as a Special Research Project. While exceptions to this rule may apply, these must be approved by Research Accounting, Financial Services.
Reasons for this necessity vary, including the requirement to maintain a clear and separate audit trail for externally sponsored research projects, as these projects may be subject to external examination. Therefore, expense transactions must be clearly associated with the external funds which relate to it.
In addition, externally restricted research funding is handled differently than internally restricted research funding, for financial statement purposes. Therefore, it is important to maintain a clear separation of these funds, in order to comply with accounting standards.
It is also important to note that new research funding requires that an updated Budget Template Form be submitted through the TRAQ system by Principal Investigators, in order to ensure the project budget is updated accordingly, as this will affect the available balance remaining in the project.
If new research funding is received, and you are unsure as to where this revenue belongs, you may contact Research Accounting at research.accounting@queensu.ca for guidance.
While professional association or scientific society membership fees are deemed eligible by the Tri-Council agencies (NSERC, SSHRC and CIHR) if they are necessary for carrying out the research project, membership fees which are not directly related to a research project may not be deemed an eligible expense. Important criteria to remember when determining the eligibility of this type of expense would include whether there is a benefit or relationship between the membership fees and the research project.
An example of an eligible membership fee may include membership fees paid to a scientific society (i.e. International Society for Plant Pathology) which directly relates to the research project.
An example of a membership fee which may be deemed ineligible by the Tri-Council agencies may include the professional membership dues for an individual involved in a research project (i.e. Professional Engineers of Ontario annual membership fees), where there is not a direct relationship between the membership fee and the research project. In this scenario, since the individual is receiving the direct benefit (vs. the research project), the Tri-agencies may disallow the expense.
If you have any question regarding the eligibility of this type of expense, we recommend that you contact the Tri-Council agencies directly to obtain a ruling. In instances where the membership fees are an essential part of the research project, it may be prudent to include these details in the application and reference this inclusion when submitting the invoice for payment to avoid processing delays.
Tri-Council agency contact details are as follows:
NSERC & SSHRC:
- Shawn Ricard, Awards Officer, Awards Administration
- Email: Shawn.Ricard@sshrc-crsh.gc.ca
CIHR:
- Ian Raskin, Manager, Internal Controls
- Email: expense-eligibility@cihr-irsc.gc.ca
Four new research training videos have been developed to help provide additional guidance to the Queen’s research community.
The following three videos are an accompaniment to existing PDF documents on these topics:
Research Commitments – A Look Behind This Figure
Gain a better understanding about research commitments. Learn about the different types of commitments and how they are calculated and reflected in research reports.
Research Overhead – Understanding the Basics
Learn the basics of research overhead, including what it is, how it is calculated and recorded, and other important factors to help you manage your research project.
Research Projects – Understanding the Life Cycle
Learn about the life cycle of a research project, from project establishment to project close. This tutorial will describe the requirements of a research project from a Research Accounting perspective.
In addition, a new training video has been created on the following topic:
Research Budget Templates
Learn why a budget template must be submitted before a research project can be established, as well as some guidelines to assist you in completing one of these documents.
The videos are available in the Financial Services Learning Catalogue at: Managing Specific Funds
If you have suggestions for future research training topics, please send your feedback to research.accounting@queensu.ca
Some examples of eligible office supplies include:
- Laboratory notebooks
- Paper used for laboratory operations in the context of a funded research project
- Paper used for data collection (i.e. questionnaires)
- Paper and ink cartridges for printing different manuscript versions
- Research-related paper documents, posters and pamphlets distributed to conference, workshop, and focus group participants
Some examples of ineligible office supplies include:
- Office accessories for laboratory employees, researchers and students (i.e. paper clips, pens, file folders, writing pads, day planners, etc.)
- Paper used by students to print different versions of their dissertation or thesis
- Paper used to prepare course notes
A list of eligible vs. non-eligible expenses for stationery and office supplies may be found on our website at:
Expense Supplies Depenses Articles (PDF, 63 KB)
Important note: If you are submitting an expenditure claim for the purchase of office supplies using your Tri-Council grant funds, a detailed justification must be included with your claim, confirming how the supplies are essential to your research activities.
In order for the purchase to be deemed eligible by the Tri-Council agencies, the item must be deemed an eligible expense and a detailed justification must be provided.
If you will be purchasing supplies using agency funding and the item is not included on the list noted above, we recommend that you seek pre-approval from the appropriate agency, in order to ensure the purchase is in compliance with Tri-council spending rules.
Tri-Council agency contact details are as follows:
- NSERC & SSHRC:
Shawn Ricard, Awards Officer, Awards Administration shawn.ricard@sshrc-crsh.gc.ca - CIHR:
Ian Raskin, Manager, Internal Controls expense-eligibility@cihr-irsc.gc.ca
In the past, each of the three Tri-Council agencies (NSERC, SSHRC, and CIHR) followed different practices with regard to the level of stipends which could be paid to students and postdoctoral fellows.
Effective September 1, 2011, the federal granting agencies have removed the requirement to adhere to specific minima and maxima pertaining to stipends paid from grants. The Tri-Council agencies no longer stipulate the value of stipends that can be paid from grants. In addition, the agencies have removed the restriction on providing supplements from grants (“Top-ups”) to award recipients.
The reason for this change is to improve researchers’ ability to recruit students and provide them with compensation that is fair and competitive. This change will also reduce the administrative burden placed on institutions required to track these amounts.
The Tri-Council agencies (NSERC, SSHRC and CIHR) do allow monthly charges for the use of home internet as well as monthly plan fees for electronic devices (i.e. cellular phones) as long as they are required for research purposes and with adequate justification.
It is recommended that grant holders pay for these services in advance and submit a personal reimbursement claim for these costs. The reimbursement claims must sufficiently document how these expenses relate to the research project being charged.
In rare circumstances where a procurement card has been used to prepay these types of charges, grant holders are responsible for forwarding a detailed justification to Research Accounting, to be retained on file for future audit purposes.
This document should contain the following details:
- The project number being charged
- A description of the type of expense
- An explanation regarding why the expense is necessary for the research project being charged
- Affirmation regarding the proportion (percentage) of the expense used for business purposes. For example if the full expense is being claimed, the proportion used for business purposes is 100%, which must be indicated in the document. If a partial claim is being made, a reasonable allocation supporting the proportion of the claim must be included in the document.
- The document must be signed by the grant holder.
Please be advised the Tri-Council monitoring team may call upon grant holders to further discuss these claims as part of future monitoring visits or audits.
If you have any questions regarding this requirement, please contact Research Accounting at research.accounting@queensu.ca
Research Accounting recently completed a review of transactions posted to projects funded by the Tri-Council agencies (NSERC, SSHRC and CIHR). The goal of this review was to first identify transactions posted to expense accounts which the Tri-Council agencies deem ineligible. The second step involved determining if the transaction was ineligible in nature per Tri-Council regulations, or if the transaction was in fact eligible and simply charged to an incorrect account. Depending on the final determination, the appropriate journal entry was then processed in order to correct the issue.
As such, the annual Form 300s or statements of account for the period ending March 31, 2014, may contain adjusting entries which do not appear familiar to grant holders as a result of the review. However, please note that ending balances reported on the annual Form 300s will be reconciled to the General Ledger.
Going forward, rules will be implemented in PeopleSoft Finance, in order to prevent transactions from being posted to ineligible accounts. A listing of eligible accounts is available on the Managing Specific Funds section of our site.
Prior to the final allowable spending date for Tri-Council funded projects (NSERC, SSHRC and CIHR), Principal Investigators must ensure the following steps are completed:
- Final spending must be completed
- Outstanding purchase orders and salary commitments must be cleared
- Outstanding advances must be accounted for and cleared
- If the project is in a deficit position, alternate ChartField values must be provided to Research Accounting staff in order to clear the deficit
All of these items must be completed before a final report can be prepared and submitted to the Tri-agencies by the required deadline. Any unspent balances remaining at the end of the project will either be returned to the agency (CIHR) or will be transferred to one of the General Research Funds (NSERC & SSHRC) if approved by the respective agency. General Research Funds fall under the authority of the VP (Research) office.
Project end date reminders are sent to Principal Investigators by Research Accounting staff at the beginning of the calendar year. Principal Investigators are asked to be aware of their final spending dates and to take the necessary measures to ensure their projects are ready for closure by the final spending date. Any questions regarding project closure requirements may be directed to Research Accounting staff at research.accounting@queensu.ca
All projects funded by one of the Tri-Council agencies (NSERC, SSHRC or CIHR) will have an official end date. For some projects, an automatic extension period is granted by the agencies, to allow grant holders to complete their spending. Other projects allow extensions by request only. For these programs, the grant holder must submit an official request to the agency before the official end date. It is suggested that the request is submitted at least 30 days before the end of the automatic extension period. The request must explain the need for an extension and provide a date when the research activities will be completed. Please ensure an appropriate staff member from both the Research Accounting unit and the Office of Research Services are copied on your request to the agency.
To determine whether your project qualifies for an automatic extension, please visit the NSERC Annual Funding page for specific details.
To request an official extension for projects which do not have an automatic extension period or if you require additional time to complete your spending past the automatic extension period, please contact the Tri-Council agencies:
NSERC & SSHRC: Shawn Ricard, Awards Officer, Awards Administration
Email: shawn.ricard@sshrc-crsh.gc.ca
CIHR: Ian Raskin, Manager, Internal Controls
Email: expense-eligibility@cihr-irsc.gc.ca
If your end date extension request is approved by the agency, please notify the Office of Research Services, as you will be required to update the Data Summary Sheet in relation to this project with the new end date.
Once the final spending date has passed, grant holders have up to three months to clear existing commitments. During this three month period, new spending is not permitted.
In order to assist Principal Investigators and their authorized delegates with managing their Tri-Council research projects (NSERC, SSHRC & CIHR), the first round of reminder emails were recently sent regarding upcoming Project Spending Deadlines (PSDs).
Reminder email notifications will be sent at 90, 60 and 30 day intervals prior to the PSD. PSDs can be viewed in the FAST research reports. The email notifications will include details regarding various scenarios which may apply to the research project and the related actions required. Once the PSD has passed, the project will be inactivated in PeopleSoft Finance.
If you have any questions regarding this communication, please contact Research Accounting at research.accounting@queensu.ca
Prior fiscal year expenses charged to Tri-Council projects (NSERC, SSHRC and CIHR) have already been reported in the annual statements of account (Form 300s) as well as various other documents, including the University financial statements. Therefore, before recoding prior period transactions, please contact Research Accounting for guidance at research.accounting@queensu.ca.
Determining factors for approving journal entries involving prior period transactions include the dollar value of the transaction(s), funding agency eligibility rules, available balances and project end dates.
Costs associated with regulatory compliance are not eligible costs on Tri-Council Grants (NSERC, SSHRC and CIHR).
These types of expenses include the following:
- Ethical reviews
- Biohazard safety
- Radiation Safety
- Environmental assessments
- Animal care
- Provincial or municipal regulations and by-laws
If you have further questions regarding the eligibility of these types of expenses, the Tri-Council agency contact details are as follows:
NSERC & SSHRC: Shawn Ricard, Awards Officer, Awards Administration
Email: shawn.ricard@sshrc-crsh.gc.ca
CIHR: Ian Raskin, Manager, Internal Controls
Email: expense-eligibility@cihr-irsc.gc.ca
View Research Expense Checklist (PDF, 419.3 KB)
In order to ensure transactions posted to Tri-Council projects are accurately reflected in the General Ledger, please ensure that revenue accounts are never used when processing journal entries to these projects (accounts beginning with 4xxxxx). Tri-Council revenues are administered by Research Accounting; therefore the use of revenue accounts for Tri-agency projects is restricted to Financial Services.
Research Accounting must report on externally funded revenues received to the external granting agencies, therefore it is important to ensure these are the only revenues residing in the projects, in order to maintain a clear audit trail. When revenue accounts are used by sources outside of Financial Services, this requires correcting entries and causes delays in meeting research reporting deadlines.
If you are attempting to recover costs using a Tri-Council project, the appropriate journal should reflect cost recovery transactions, using expense accounts. Please refer to the Financial Services website for guidance on preparing journal entries for cost recoveries. This topic can be viewed on our Revenue and Cost Recoveries page.
If you are processing a journal entry and require guidance regarding the appropriate accounts to use, please contact your Faculty Business Officer. For research related journals you may also contact Research Accounting at research.accounting@queensu.ca.
The Tri-Council agencies (NSERC, SSHRC and CIHR) have very specific rules surrounding expenses incurred by grant holders while on sabbatical leave.
Expenses incurred to conduct research field trips while on sabbatical leave are deemed eligible by the Tri-agencies and may include travel, accommodation and meal expenses. However, accommodation and meal expenses incurred at the official sabbatical location are deemed living expenses by the agencies and are thereby ineligible.
Therefore it is important to indicate specific information on travel claims for expenses incurred while on sabbatical leave, including:
- the length of the sabbatical leave
- the official sabbatical location
- a detailed description for each trip and how the expenses relate to the research project being charged
These details will help avoid processing delays and will also reduce the risk of the expenses being disallowed in a future monitoring visit or audit.
In order to ensure these types of expenses are deemed eligible prior to travelling, please do not hesitate to contact Research Accounting at research.accounting@queensu.ca. Research Accounting will advise the claimant on the eligibility of the expenses and if there is any uncertainty, Research Accounting may advise claimants to contact the Tri-agencies for pre-approval.
Salary expenses charged to Tri-Council grants (NSERC, SSHRC and CIHR) must contribute towards the direct cost of research for which the funds were awarded.
Some important considerations regarding salary expenses include the following:
- Salaries paid to individuals who are eligible to apply for Tri-agency grants would not be an eligible expense. Please note some exceptions may apply to this rule depending on the type of project.
- Management and administration personnel expenses are not eligible, unless under special circumstances where these costs have been included in the approved grant application.
For additional details regarding compensation related expenses, please visit the Tri-Council website. If you would like to request pre-approval regarding a potential salary expense, please contact the Tri-agencies:
NSERC or SSHRC - Celine Monfils
celine.monfils@nserc-crsng.gc.ca
CIHR - Ian Raskin
expense-eligibility@cihr-irsc.gc.ca
The cost of salaries and non-discretionary benefits paid to postdoctoral fellows who are contributing towards a research project funded by NSERC or SSHRC, are considered eligible research expenses. However, both agencies limit the compensation paid to postdoctoral fellows to a maximum of two years.
In some instances, NSERC (only) may approve three years of compensation to postdoctoral fellows, in order to attract exceptional talent. However certain guidelines must be followed in order to pursue a three year appointment. For one, the three-year appointment must be offered to the postdoctoral fellow in advance of the appointment. Secondly, a detailed justification must be provided to NSERC regarding the appointment, within one month of the acceptance of the offer.
If you require additional details regarding the payment of a postdoctoral fellow, please contact Research Accounting directly at research.accounting@queensu.ca
When research funding is awarded and a new project is ready to be established, Research Accounting will notify the Principal Investigator (PI) through the TRAQ system, requesting the submission of a Signing Authority & Research Reports Access FIN-FRM-008R form (PDF, 257 KB) along with other required documents.
This form is used to provide an example of the PI’s signature and may also be used to grant certain permissions to authorized delegates for the given project. Permissions may include granting access to research reports, electronic signing authority for online salary requests, or manual signing authority.
In addition, this form is often referred to by both internal and external auditors, in order to confirm the signatory for a specific transaction is appropriately authorized and meets audit requirements. Secondly, it is also referred to by Financial Services to ensure expenses have been appropriately authorized, in an effort to safeguard PI research funds. The exception to this would be where the PI has submitted a claim for reimbursement. In these cases, a “one-up” signature is required by the Department Head or Dean, who is not required to be indicated on the form. In order to ensure a clear audit trail exists, one form is required for each individual research project.
For all of these reasons, a research project cannot be established until the completed form is submitted to Research Accounting.
The Tri-Council (NSERC, SSHRC and CIHR) will allow the purchase of specialized software if required for a research project and is not normally provided by the institution. All specialized software purchases must be accompanied by an adequate justification, explaining why it is necessary for the purposes of carrying out the research project.
Important Note: “Off the shelf” software purchases are not eligible Tri-Council expenditures (i.e. Microsoft Office). If the software can be found in a store which sells this type of merchandise, it is not considered specialized software and is deemed ineligible.
If you are thinking of purchasing software using agency funds and are unsure if the purchase will be eligible, we recommend that you seek pre-approval from the appropriate agency in order to ensure the purchase is in compliance with Tri-council spending rules.
Tri-Council agency contact details are as follows:
NSERC & SSHRC:
- Shawn Ricard, Awards Officer, Awards Administration shawn.ricard@sshrc-crsh.gc.ca
CIHR:
- Ian Raskin, Manager, Internal Controls expense-eligibility@cihr-irsc.gc.ca
Costs associated with thesis preparation, examination and defense are not considered eligible costs by the Tri-Council agencies (NSERC, SSHRC and CIHR).
Ineligible thesis costs may include:
- Education related costs related to thesis preparation, including tuition or course fees leading up to a degree.
- Costs associated with thesis examination/defense, including external examiner costs.
The Tri-Council agencies do consider certain types of financial support provided by a grant holder to a trainee, to support them while they are working on their research thesis and/or gaining research experience, as eligible costs.
If you are unclear about the eligibility of an expense, you may contact Research Accounting at research.accounting@queensu.ca or you may contact the Tri-Council agencies directly at:
NSERC & SSHRC:
Jonathan Cyr, Awards Administration
jonathan.cyr@nserc-crsng.gc.ca
When a travel advance is issued to an individual through a research project, it is the responsibility of the Principal Investigator (PI) to ensure the claimant accounts for his or her expenses by submitting a travel expense claim with the appropriate supporting documentation.
When advances are issued through a research project, it is usually due to a business/research relationship between the PI and the claimant. Given the PI has entrusted this individual to receive an advance on their project, which is demonstrated by the approval of such payments, the PI is responsible for ensuring the individual accounts for their claim, prior to the claimant leaving the University.
Outstanding advances are considered a debt to the institution and must be repaid if not accounted for. When not accounted for, these payments present a risk to the institution from a research funding agency perspective as well as Canada Revenue Agency, given an amount has been paid to an individual without any tax implications.
Helpful Tips When Travelling
In order to help keep your finances in order when travelling for research purposes, the following are some tips which may be helpful to you:
- Bring an envelope for each different trip and label it with the trip location, dates of travel and research project which the travel relates to in order to help you keep your documentation in order by trip. Individuals must submit a separate travel claim form for each travel event.
- Bring a copy of the Queen’s Policy for Travel and Related Expenses with you for easy reference, in case you need to refer to specific information in the policy while traveling: Travel and Expense Reimbursement Policy
- It may be helpful to bring a copy of your research award document terms & conditions or funding agency guidance on expense eligibility, as research projects may have overriding restrictions on travel that must be followed.
- For a list of suppliers offering preferential rates to individuals travelling for Queen’s University business purposes, please visit the Strategic Procurement Services website.
- Meal reimbursement is now limited to Treasury Board of Canada Meal Allowances (Appendix C) as a maximum claim.
- An important reminder regarding travel is that the Tri-Council agencies do not permit gratuities of any kind or alcohol to be charged to their grants. This may be helpful to keep in mind when incurring meal or taxi costs. Principal Investigators should also ensure other individuals incurring travel expenses to their grants are aware of these eligibility guidelines.