PBJ reporting requirements for nursing homes.

The requirement applies to long-term care facilities subject to Medicare and Medicaid Requirements for Participation under 42 CFR Part 483, Subpart B. It does not apply to swing beds. Check your facility’s certification rather than assuming every senior-care setting has the same obligation. CMS policy manual §1.1.

For a skilled nursing facility, a useful first step is to name the person gathering records, the reviewer, and the authorized submitter. They may be different people. Give each one the filing quarter and an internal due date so responsibility stays clear when someone is away.

Staffing records identify the employee, work date, reportable hours, CMS job category, and pay type. Include applicable agency and contract staff. Hire and termination dates are optional. CMS derives daily resident census from MDS; month-end census entry is optional. See policy manual §§2.1–2.4.

Keep the original exports alongside the reviewed version. This is a suggested preparation checklist, not an additional CMS form. For file formats and column mapping, follow the payroll-to-PBJ XML guide.

Agency hours can be missing even when payroll totals balance. CMS requires reportable contract hours; they need a collection process when they sit outside your payroll system. CMS FAQ, question 13.

Example: an agency spreadsheet contains 24 hours and the payroll export already includes 8 of those hours. Adding both unchanged would duplicate 8 hours. Compare the person and work date, identify the overlapping records, and retain the explanation for the reviewer. The numbers here are illustrative.

Separate a missing source from a known error. Request the missing record; investigate duplicate hours against the original files. Use the PBJ error and submission checklist for meal deductions, identity links, and correction evidence.

CMS requires submission within 45 calendar days after the federal fiscal quarter ends, by 11:59 p.m. Eastern Time. The recurring dates are February 14, May 15, August 14, and November 14. Federal fiscal Q1 covers October–December. Use the PBJ deadline calendar to match your work dates to the right quarter.

PBJ moved to iQIES on August 17, 2026. Register for the appropriate PBJ roles before submission. Staffing XML must use fileSpecVersion 4.10.0; an older guide’s QIES/CASPER upload instructions are no longer the current submission process. CMS deadlines and technical updates.

Follow the iQIES PBJ submission guide for access, upload, validation, and corrections. Save the submission identifier and validation report with the approved filing revision. A generated XML file alone does not establish CMS acceptance.

1. Confirm scope. Check the facility, quarter, source owners, and authorized submitter.
2. Collect the complete quarter. Account for each payroll period and agency delivery.
3. Review the interpretation. Confirm dates, IDs, roles, pay types, and hour formats.
4. Resolve discrepancies. Reconcile source totals and record the evidence behind corrections.
5. Approve a specific revision. Keep the reviewed records and exported filing documents together.
6. Check the CMS result. Investigate rejected records and complete permitted corrections before the deadline.

Treat this as a handoff checklist: each item needs an owner and a result. If a source changes after approval, send the affected records back through review before preparing the replacement export.

EasyPBJ brings payroll and agency imports, review questions, reconciliation, and CMS XML into one facility workspace. Your team confirms the records and review decisions. Your facility’s authorized submitter uploads the reviewed package in iQIES and checks the CMS result.

Start with the free sample filing to see the steps without an account or payroll upload. Then review how EasyPBJ works and the $149 per-facility quarterly plan. Specialized policy questions may still need a qualified adviser. Software checks do not guarantee CMS acceptance or a staffing rating.