This page shows you how to record reviews of sponsored project expenses.

EXPENSE REVIEW is Cornell’s campus-wide tool to review PI sponsored project expenses.

Starting the week of February 16, 2026, all units and faculty/PIs must use EXPENSE REVIEW to record their reviews within six weeks to meet federal, sponsored, university, and audit requirements.

EXPENSE REVIEW in the PI Dashboard allows you to:

1. View Expenses—See all your sponsored expenses and details in one place.
2. Share Notes—Share notes on reports & transactions with Department Administrators.
3. Send Questions & Corrections to Your Admins—Submit questions or request corrections to your Department Admins.
4. Record Monthly Review—Record your sponsored account reviews within six weeks.

1. View Expenses

You can view project, account, and transaction expenses and details.

Note: To view someone else’s reports, use Act-as. Work with your unit’s financial staff to get access.

1A. View Expenses

Expenses are displayed by project, account, and category.

Notes:

• EXPENSE REVIEW shows accounts where you are the account manager.
• By default, the page shows transactions that need to be signed off, but all transactions are available.
• Balances in PI Dash do not include encumbrances.
• June reviews are delayed until the year end process is complete.

To view expenses:

1. Open a browser and navigate to: cornell.edu/expense-review.

2. Select a month from the top drop-down.

Data loads:

A header explains how to navigate:

• For more details, click a row.
• To display pre-approved expenses, click the checkboxes.
• Principal Investigators must review their reports within two months of publication.

3. Expenses are split in two sections; click the button you want:

• Sponsored Accounts (default)
• Non-Sponsored Accounts.

4. Expense accounts are organized by sub-account and category.

• Categories are based on categories used in submissions to federal sponsors.
• Account info is sourced from KFS.

5. For completeness, you can view purchase under $75 by clicking Show Expenses Under $75 in the top right.

a. Expenses appear below in applicable accounts:

Note: Labor costs are always displayed, regardless of amount.

6. For completeness, you can view Facilities & Admin (F&A) and benefit expenses by clicking Show F&A and Benefit Expenses at the top right.

a. The Indirect Expenses category appears in applicable accounts:

7. To view details, click on a row within a category (see: View Expense Details).

1B. View Expense Details

Note: Details depend on category type.

To view expense details:

1. In the Expense Review tab, find the account you want.

Note: If there are no account entries in the selected month, “No expenses this month” appears below the account name:

2. To view project details, click the project header. A details panel appears on the right.

a. The Overview shows spending trends.

b. Click Documents to view all documents:

• i. Click the document links to see the underlying document in RASS.
• ii. Click the pencil icon to edit the link.

c. My Project Accounts shows a list of accounts you are responsible for; click the pencil icon to edit the account list.

d. Time and Money for All Project Accounts shows the overall project budget and budget-to-date for the budget period.

e. Project Identifiers shows sponsor names and contacts, names, nicknames, and project IDs:

• i. To add a nickname, click the pencil icon.

f. Primary Investigators shows PI, Fellow, admin, and Grant and Contract Officer (GCO) names.

3. To view account details, click the header. A details panel appears on the right.

a. Scroll to view all details.

b. Details shows identifiers and the spending trend since the start of the project or account.

c. Account shows Cornell and OSP numbers and names:

• i. To add a nickname, click the pencil icon.

d. Finances shows the budget and expenses to date, and any balances:

e. Status shows fund details and the account expiration date:

f. Guidelines shows purpose, income, expense, and indirect cost rate details:

4. To view employee salary data, click the employee name under Salary & Wages. A details panel appears in the right.

a. Overview shows employee contact details:

b. Appointment Details shows title, college, department, and position ID:

c. Transaction Details shows project and account details:

d. Payments shows pay dates, amounts and percentages:

5. To view other details, click a row in the category you want. Details vary by category type.

2. Add Shared Notes

You can leave helpful notes on the overall report and on individual transactions.

Note: Notes can be edited or deleted until you record your review. When the review is recorded, notes are locked.

Note: Notes become part of the review’s official record.

2A. Add Notes to a Report

Department Administrators will add summary notes for the month:

• The bottom right corner shows the admin’s NetID and the date the note was made.
• If you have questions about the note, contact your admins via email.

You can also add your own note:

1. Click the plus sign next to the month you want at the top:

2. In the month summary field, enter your note:

3. To complete the note, click the blue check. Your notes appear below the month.

4. To edit or delete the note, click the blue pencil.

• To edit the note, make your changes and click the check mark again.
• To delete the entire note, click the blue trashcan.

2B. Add Notes to a Transaction

To add a note to a transaction:

1. In the main panel, click the three dots at the end of a row and select Add a Note:

a. Add your note in the box and click the blue check.

2. Or, click the transaction/report you want and click Notes in the details panel:

3. The note appears below the transaction with the Cornell ID of the person adding the note and the date the note was added:

4. To edit the note, click the blue pencil. The textbox with the note appears below.

a. Make your edits and click the blue check.

5. To delete your note, click the blue trashcan.

3. Send Questions and Corrections to Your Admins

Send any questions or corrections to your Department Administrators in EXPENSE REVIEW.

To send questions and corrections:

1. Open a browser and navigate to: cornell.edu/expense-review.

2. Click Expense Report in the top menu and select a month from the top dropdown. The page loads.

3. Find the transaction for which you have a question or correction.

4. On the far right, click the three dots at the end of a row and select Ask a Question.

A text box appears.

a. Put your admin’s email address in the To: field.

Note: Recent Net IDs appear below. Click the Net ID to have it appear in the To: field.

Note: Addresses must have a @cornell.edu suffix.

b. Type your question in the Message box.

c. Click Send. An email is sent to your admin with a link to your report.

Notes:

• Your admin will follow-up with you via email or Teams.
• All questions are part of the public record for the report.
• After you record your review, you cannot direct any more questions or request corrections.

4. Record Monthly Reviews

Record your sponsored account reviews within six weeks to:

• Meet federal sponsor, University, and Audit requirements.

• Give your Department Admins time to implement PI changes.

• You can record your monthly expenses with a single button.

Notes:

• Only PIs can record reviews.
• Only record reviews for sponsored transactions over $75. Derived transactions (Benefits and F&A) do not require review.
• Cornell does not require that all your submitted questions or corrections be resolved before you document monthly expenses as reviewed. Submitting questions or requesting corrections and then documenting monthly expenses as reviewed meets all review requirements.

• Recording a review causes all the notes to be locked.

To record monthly expense reviews:

1. Open a browser and navigate to: cornell.edu/expense-review.

2. Click Expense Report in the top menu and select a month from the top dropdown. The page loads.

3. Review your expenses (see: View Expenses) and ask questions or request corrections (see: 3. Send Questions & Corrections to Your Admins).

Note: After you record your review, you cannot direct any more questions or request corrections.

4. When you are satisfied with the expenses, click Complete Review at the top: .

5. A confirmation pop-up appears; click Confirm:

The status of your monthly expenses is set to Reviewed.

6. If you have questions or find corrections after you clicked Complete Review, in the Status section on top, click Undo:

a. An Update Status confirmation pop-up appears; click Confirm.

The status is now Not Reviewed.

b. Send your questions or corrections to your admins, click Complete Review at the top, and click Confirm. The status is set back to Reviewed.

For Questions

• To launch Expense Review Online Help, click Learn More in the top right.
• For a guided walk-through, click Getting Started in the top right.
• To access online help, click the question icon in the top right:

• • Click PI Dash Guide to launch PI Dashboard online help.
  • Click Access Info to get Access to Your PIs.
  • Select Web Accessibility Help to email rais-help@cornell.edu.
  • Select Chat to talk to someone from the PI Dash team in a pop-up.
  • For other questions, contact: pidash@cornell.edu.