EARS (Effort Allocation and Reporting Solution) is Labor Cost Accounting software. Originally developed as a compliance tool for federally funded institutions, EARS can serve any organization where labor constitutes a significant portion of total expense and these costs are allocated across shifting cost objectives or subject to manager approval.
Key features include complete labor expense distribution, encumbrance posting, integrated retroactive adjustments and the Time and Effort Certification system.
Basically, EARS reads or generates labor costs which it processes through a series of business rules, the most visible of which are the salary allocation rules. The final distribution process is similar to standard payroll or GL based allocations with expanded functionality.
EARS posts summary data (to obscure salaries) directly to the GL and functions as the subsidiary labor ledger. It logs labor effort and retains complete detail for comprehensive reporting, audit support and labor cost certification.
EARS generates useful labor cost metrics and documents all cost sharing. Perhaps the most valuable EARS feature is Effort Forecasting. EARS also calculates fringe expense, supports indirect costs and generates your labor budget. It can even post the payroll gross to net entry.
EARS was first released in 2001 and has evolved to meet a variety of related needs. Institutes that bill other organizations for labor effort use EARS to support the invoicing process. Real Time Allocations allow the user to create custom allocations on the fly. If selected employees use a time card system to clock in and out of projects, EARS can turn clock punches into auditable effort allocation rules.
EARS maintains a detailed edit history and every transaction has a complete audit trail. Because of its modular design, EARS can be molded to fit the distinct needs of any organization.
The EARS system increases compliance while saving resources and empowering the dialog between science and administration.