Comptracker: Research Administration Tool

Abstract

Comptracker is a project to research and develop a platform that can be used by hospitals and educational institutions to track effort and compensation of research personnel working on multiple grant accounts and income sources. The platform is expected to streamline the process of tracking researchers' effort and periodic changes in salary and salary caps. The project is focused on IU School of Medicine (IUSOM) faculty who practice at IU Health to ensure compliance with NIH requirements for institutions recovering clinical salaries on NIH grant accounts. Comptracker is designed to replace a system of spreadsheets which is nearing its capacity to handle the data involved. A web application with a database will be used. The following functionalities have been identified to make this a viable platform: Method for calculating variance in effort. Actual effort from payroll and labor ledger data is compared with projected effort. Variances are highlighted, and records requiring intervention are flagged. Method for tracking Purchase Orders (PO's). All accounts must have PO's set up, and accounts without PO's are flagged. PO's that have expected effort, but no actual effort are flagged. Method for generating monthly invoice data. Where salaries are cost-shared between IUSOM and IU Health, monthly invoices must allocate the cost between institutions. Method for reconciling effort and invoices. Where discrepancies occur, a method to certify actual effort and salary costs must allow corrections to be made. Method for calculating cost-sharing effort report. Where personnel are shared between institutions, a method to resolve discrepancies in effort allocation is required. Method for accommodating changes. Salary changes and NIH salary cap requirements must be accommodated by the system.