Electronic signatures on research grant timesheets: what funders accept

Whether funders accept a timesheet signed in software or by email instead of on paper, and what the record has to show, from the Commission's and UKRI's own guidance. Written for research offices moving timesheets off paper.

Checked against the AGA v2.0 and UKRI's RGC 4.6 FAQs · October 2026

The short answer

Yes, for Horizon Europe and UKRI, as long as the system shows who signed and when. Horizon Europe accepts electronic signatures in a computer-based time-recording system that ties each signature to the person's login, controls who can do what, and logs every transaction. UKRI accepts dedicated software that keeps an audit trail of completion and authorisation dates, and says email sign-offs could meet its requirement too.

Innovate UK's terms ask for authorised time records but don't say how they must be signed, so ask Innovate UK or your research office.

What each funder accepts

	Electronic sign-off	What the record must show
Horizon Europe	Yes, in a computer-based time-recording system	Signatures linked to the person's electronic identity, a documented and secure process for managing user rights, and an auditable log of all electronic transactions
UKRI, including EPSRC	Yes, in an electronic workbook or dedicated software. Email sign-offs could also meet it	An audit trail of completion and authorisation dates, with approval by the line manager within two months of the period's end
Innovate UK	Not addressed in its terms	Authorisation by the project manager, as its costs guidance asks

What Horizon Europe says

The Annotated Grant Agreement (Article 20, p. 209): "If the time recording system is computer-based, the signatures may be electronic (i.e. linking the electronic identity data, e.g. a password and user name, to the electronic validation data), with a documented and secure process for managing user rights and an auditable log of all electronic transactions."

It also says to keep originals in the format they were created in (p. 207): documents created electronically "should be kept in their electronic format", and hard copies of them are not required. Paper originals stay on paper. The Commission accepts digitally-signed documents, and scanned copies, only where national law accepts them as originals.

So a timesheet signed in software is kept in that software, or as the file it produced. A timesheet printed, signed in ink and scanned is a paper original, and the scan stands in for it only if national law allows; check that with your research office before shredding anything.

Horizon Europe timesheet requirements, in full

What UKRI says

UKRI's terms define a timesheet broadly. Its RGC 4.6 FAQs quote the definition: "timesheets can be physical copies of paper with wet signatures, or an electronically completed workbook/ dedicated software solution which maintains an audit trail of completion and authorisation dates."

On email (FAQ 6): "It is possible that email signoffs could meet this requirement." But because funding assurance may ask for evidence of approvals, UKRI "would strongly suggest that you implement controls to capture timely approvals"
On dates (FAQ 8): you "may need to demonstrate the date of completion/sign-off", so "you should ensure that a sufficient audit trail is maintained"
On who approves (FAQ 11): "Timesheets should be approved by a relevant line manager within the employing organisation", within two months of the period's end

UKRI timesheet requirements, including EPSRC

Email sign-off: allowed, but weak

UKRI's "could" is permission, not a recommendation. An approval email sits apart from the timesheet it approves: it rarely shows which version was approved, it lives in one person's mailbox, and finding a year's worth for a funding assurance visit means searching for it. If you rely on email, file each approval with its timesheet as it arrives, and make sure the email identifies the person, the month and the version.

What an electronic sign-off should record

Taken together, the funders' wording comes down to this for each timesheet:

Who signed: the person and the approver, each through their own login, never a shared account
When: the date the person completed it and the date it was approved
What: the exact version that was approved, which can't change afterwards
On whose behalf: if a delegate approves, the record says so
Who may sign: a written process for granting and removing user rights, as Horizon Europe asks
Everything else: a log of every change, which you can produce for an auditor

Keep the signed records for as long as the longest rule that applies to the grant: at least 5 years after the balance payment for most Horizon Europe grants, and 10 years after you receive an Innovate UK grant.

How long to keep research grant timesheets

How UniTimesheet fits

UniTimesheet records each sign-off the way the funders describe:

Staff submit and project owners approve signed in, through a dedicated identity provider, under permissions that follow the roles you define
Each approved month becomes a PDF carrying the person's signature image dated the day they submitted, and the approving project owner's dated the day they approved
When a delegate approves, the PDF says so, and the audit log records who acted on whose behalf
The first copy of each PDF is fingerprinted and locked, so the approved version can't change
Every change to projects, allocations, timesheets and settings is in an audit log you can export to CSV, and signed PDFs download in bulk by month

What it leaves to you: the written process for managing user rights, which Horizon Europe asks for; checking with your research office that a dated signature image on an approved PDF meets your institution's rules; and deciding what to keep when paper originals exist from before you switched. It doesn't apply certificate-based digital signatures to the PDF.

Sources

This page summarises the funders' published guidance. It is not legal or audit advice: your grant agreement and your research office have the final word.

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