Payroll, Certified Payroll

Streamlining Certified Payroll for Compliance and Efficiency

January 09, 2024

When certified payroll is handled using a manual, in-house approach, it can be a time-consuming and tedious process that still leads to noncompliance penalties, employee retention issues, and detracts from core operational tasks and business growth. This is especially true for businesses in the construction industry that receive federal funding for key projects, demanding more stringent recordkeeping, reporting, and frequent adaptation to regulatory changes.

Businesses taking a manual approach to certified payroll must do all of the following and more:

  • Gather and synthesize employee information across payroll and other HR platforms
  • Determine proper wage rates based on industry, state regulations, and federal regulations
  • Accurately approve and calculate overtime
  • Store and track payroll data, including taxes, wages, overtime pay, and more
  • Generate a Certified Payroll Report that is compliant with the Department of Labor and other entities
  • Submit a weekly or bi-weekly certified payroll report to any government agency that requires it (state or otherwise)

Streamlining Certified Payroll with Payday Payroll

Through a combination of advanced technology and expert support, Payday Payroll optimizes your business’ certified payroll process to fulfill all mandatory requirements, including streamlined payroll processing, recordkeeping, (sub)contractor payroll compliance, adherence to prevailing wage standards, and much more. We provide long-term construction payroll solutions and automated payroll compliance for all businesses that require certified payroll.

Our certified payroll platform seamlessly integrates with related HR processes like time & attendance, scheduling, and benefits, and offers all of the following features:

  • A single, cloud-based platform with mobile, 24-7 access for you and your employees from any device, including flexible permissions-based settings. You can manage recurring payroll, one-time payments, or process contract work through our consolidated platform, utilizing options to pay by direct deposit or paycard.
  • Stress-Free Data Migration – Using our system, you can easily export payroll to your general ledger and bypass double entry associated with this and other HR processes like digital onboarding.
  • Time Tracking and Labor Costs Simplified – With intuitive, user-friendly time clock interfaces, you can simplify time tracking for you and your employees, using reporting functions to gain actionable insights about trends filtered by employee, department, project, or location. You can also easily review construction wage calculations or labor cost distribution (hours worked, wages earned, and benefits accrued) using our reporting functions.
  • Automated Tax Calculations, Payments, and Filings – Our platform automates calculation and payment of all local, state, and federal taxes. We complete all quarterly and annual filings on your behalf – everything from 1099s & W-2s to 940s, 941s, SUI, and other more specialized requirements based on the size of your business, in which jurisdictions you operate, and other factors specific to your business.
  • Garnishment and Termination Processing – Whether you need to administer court-ordered withholdings, severance, third-party payments, or update payroll and employee information, this can all be completed within the Payday platform.
  • Secure, Reliable Payroll and Protected Data – In addition to utilizing a number of advanced security and encryption measures to protect your business and employee data, Payday is annually audited for SSAE-18 compliance standards.

Learn More About the Benefits of Payday’s Payroll & HR Solution

Why Certified Payroll Matters 

Especially in the construction industry, employers use certified payroll as a payment method to ensure compliance with local, state, and federal laws. Certified payroll is required to accurately document (and retain payroll records of) employee/worker hours, wages, and benefits during federally-funded projects. 

Employers must be especially mindful of compliance with regulations like the Davis-Beacon Act (DBA) and McNamara-Ohara Service Act, which require payment of “prevailing wages” (compensation equivalent to similar work in the region) plus fringe benefits to employees and other workers. Of course, a range of other local, state, and federal regulations apply to businesses working under federal contracts, which is why Payday completes all of the following compliance-related services on your behalf:

  • Certified Payroll Report - Federal Form WH-347 Completion and Submission – We help you easily generate DBA-compliant documentation of all worker/employee data, including job classification, pay rate, payroll amount paid, and daily or weekly hours worked.
  • Prevailing Wage Rate(s) + Fringe Benefits Accuracy – Payday ensures alignment based on location of project, worker classification, work type and other applicable factors.
  • Reduction of Noncompliance Risk related to headcount regulations, labor union issues, or audit/recordkeeping requirements. Our regular automated compliance checks keep your business up-to-date with all local, state, and federal regulatory requirements so you can focus on essential business tasks with payroll peace of mind.
  • Enjoy consistently accurate withholding of taxes and benefits from each employee’s paycheck, with all payroll data consolidated with related HR/employee data from time & attendance, benefits, etc.

Payday Payroll offers a comprehensive, user-friendly, and compliant certified payroll solution, simplifying complex certified payroll processes and ensuring regulatory compliance.

Is it time for a change in your payroll process?
Get Started with Payday Payroll today.

FAQs

What is certified payroll?

Among contractors and subcontractors who work on government-funded projects, certified payroll is the required payroll system. Certified payroll confirms worker/employee payroll records related to wages, benefits, and hours worked on public works projects. Especially in the construction industry, federally-funded projects must abide by the Davis-Beacon Act and other regulations that relate to prevailing wages, fringe benefits, project headcounts, and other factors. 

What are certified payroll noncompliance penalties?

When a business fails to comply with certified payroll regulations, they may face severe penalties, including civil charges, criminal charges, withdrawal of federal funding, employee lawsuits, labor union lawsuits, enforced payment of owed wages/fringe benefits, or even disbarment from future federal contracts for up to three years. Responsible payroll reporting for construction (and other industries utilizing federal funding) is imperative to avoid these penalties and other barriers to business growth.

Simplify Payroll Complexities and Ensure Long-Term Compliance with Payday

Approaching certified payroll with an in-house approach often leads to noncompliance penalties, reduced funding, employee retention issues, and a diminished business reputation. Although these issues can be avoided, certified payroll still draws time and resources away from essential business development that helps your business grow and thrive. 

That’s why Payday Payroll offers a comprehensive certified payroll solution to keep your business fully compliant while processing payroll accurately, efficiently, and fully integrated with related HR processes. We offer access to personalized, expert support, advanced security features, and intuitive self-service functions that keep each step of the certified payroll process streamlined and simplified for you and your employees.

Ready to get started with an easy-to-use certified payroll platform? Contact us today for access to a personalized solution that meets your business needs.

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