Overview

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UCOP retired the Direct Retro (DR) tool in UCPath for UC San Diego effective October 1, 2025, due to maintenance concerns and the availability of the Salary Cost Transfer (SCT) tool (launched in November 2023) as the replacement.

After September 16, 2025, users were instructed not to submit Direct Retros; any entries submitted between September 17–30, 2025 were deleted by the UCPath Center. Attempting to process a DR after this date generates the following error:

“Old DR transactions are not eligible. Consult campus GL admin for a manual Journal Entry option.”

Going forward, payroll cost transfers must be completed using the SCT tool in UCPath or, if the transaction is not SCT-eligible, through Oracle PPM. This article provides current guidance for processing both sponsored and non-sponsored project cost transfers now that DR is no longer available. 

Critical Concepts

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Salary Cost Transfer (SCT) in UCPath

Use the SCT tool in UCPath for most payroll cost transfers, except in the following cases:

• Payroll transactions with an earnings period end date before October 4, 2021.
• Payroll transactions that were previously moved using the DR tool and now require an additional correction (i.e., a Direct Retro on a Direct Retro).

If your transaction is not eligible for SCT, you must process the transfer in Oracle PPM.

Steps to Take

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Cost Transfers in Oracle PPM (Sponsored Project)

If the cost transfer involves a payroll reflected in the sponsored project labor ledger, follow these steps:

Step 1: Compliance Documentation

• Submit a Services & Support (S&S) ticket (Required)
• Include:
  • OFC Transaction #s that are being transferred
  • From Project
  • To Project
  • Responses to the four Processing Cost Transfers Justification Questions.
  • Explanation of the error and justification for transferring the expenses after the standard period (enter in the description field or attach).
• Effort Certification (ECERT) (required for federal and federal flow-thru awards):
  • Obtain the ECERT document for both “from” and “to” projects.
  • If it’s within ±5% effort → note this in the ticket (no adjustment required).
  • If an adjustment is required, manually revise the certified effort as follows:
    1. Obtain a PDF copy of the originally certified effort reports
    2. Clearly annotate the revised effort distribution on the ECERT document, ensuring the total effort equals 100%.
    3. Obtain the PI’s signature on the updated ECERT copy to confirm approval.
    4. Attach the signed revised ECERT documents to the record for documentation and audit purposes.
  • Once you complete this step, you must complete Step 2.

Step 2: Identify All Payroll-Related Costs

• To identify costs, see: Finding Payroll-Related PPM Transactions for OFC Transfers (PDF).
• Ensure all related costs are included (salary, benefits, tuition remission, NGN, GAEL, UCRP/RPNI, MCN, HSIT).
• See a full list of Payroll-Related Expenditure Types.
• Guidance: How to Find the Payroll-Related PPM Transactions for an Oracle PPM Cost.

Step 3: Cost Transfer Execution

• Process the cost transfer in Oracle PPM.
  • How to Perform a Payroll-Related PPM Cost Transfer
  • Guidance: Oracle PPM Cost Transfers Blink Page or How to Initiate a Full or Partial Cost Transfer in Oracle PPM

In the transfer justification dialog box (max 1000 characters), include:

• The S&S ticket number.
• The justification for the transfer.
  • An explanation of how the error occurred and a justification for the need to transfer the expenses after the standard period.
  • Who approved the transfer of costs, stating the full name of the individuals, not just the role
  • An explanation of how the transfer benefits or impacts the new funding source being charged. If a cost benefits two or more projects, explain how it benefits each project. This justification may not include using up unexpended balance or clearing cost overruns/deficits.
  • An explanation of the untimeliness of the transfer, presenting  a clear and accountable narrative of the events and plan to prevent recurrence
• If your full comments cannot fit, abbreviate, but reference the ticket containing the full justification

Note: The Sponsored Projects Finance (SPF) team will continue to monitor these transactions. If required documentation or justification is missing, SPF will follow up with the department to obtain it. If the issue remains unresolved, the transfer may be reversed or moved to a default project.

Step 4: Reporting & Tracking

• For SPARCM (Sponsored Projects Accounts Receivable and Cash Management) Financial Expense Reports, reference all Oracle transaction number(s) (from Step 2) on the project you are moving payroll and related transactions from, and include the ticket number in the Pending Expenses column in SPARCM.
• Monitor pending cost transfers in:
  • Pending Costs tab in the Transaction Details Report, or
  • Project Cost Transfer Panorama Workflow Details report.
• View completed cost transfers with justifications in the Project Cost Transfer Panorama.

Note: The labor ledger (DOPES) will not fully align with PPM and payroll reconciliation reports.

Step 5: Post-Audit Review

• SPF will conduct quarterly post-audits of completed cost transfers on sponsored projects.
• You may see variances on the UCPath-Oracle Salary Reconciliation Report; this is a result of correcting in OFC only and not in UCPath. Nothing further can be done to resolve this variance.

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Cost Transfers in Oracle PPM (Non-Sponsored Project)

If the cost transfer involves a non-sponsored project (general/default projects):

Step 1: Identify All Payroll-Related Costs

• To identify costs, see: Finding Payroll-Related PPM Transactions for OFC Transfers (PDF).
• Ensure all related costs are included (salary, benefits, tuition remission, NGN, GAEL, UCRP/RPNI, MCN, HSIT).
  • See a full list of Payroll-Related Expenditure Types.
  • Guidance: How to Find the Payroll-Related PPM Transactions for an Oracle PPM Cost.

Step 2: Cost Transfers in Oracle PPM

• Process the cost transfer in Oracle PPM.
• Guidance: Oracle PPM Cost Transfers Blink Page or How to Initiate a Full or Partial Cost Transfer in Oracle PPM.
• In the transfer justification dialog box (max 1000 characters), include:
  • The reason for the transfer.
  • Responses to the four high-risk questions.

Step 3: Confirm Transactions Are Correctly Processed

• Review pending cost transfers in:
  • Pending Costs tab in Transaction Details Report.
  • Project Cost Transfer Panorama Workflow Details report.
• View completed cost transfers with justifications in the Project Cost Transfer Panorama.

Note: The labor ledger (DOPES) will not fully align with PPM and payroll reconciliation reports.