Over the past decade, the research community has experienced a vast movement toward an increasingly paperless environment.  This paradigm shift in which the administrative aspects of sponsored projects are conducted electronically is referred to as Electronic Research Administration, or eRA.  Research administration professionals who engage in eRA interact with a number of both external systems (e.g. sponsor agency systems, government systems, etc.) and internal systems.  While specific systems vary in complexity, scope and business function, the eRA concept applies to the entire sponsored project lifecycle.