What certified payroll software should actually solve
Certified payroll software should make a covered weekly reporting process repeatable: import hours and pay data, map workers to the labor classifications in the contract’s wage determination, calculate wage and fringe treatment, produce required payroll information, route it for review and signature, and retain the record.
The federal WH-347 is available for contractor convenience, but the form itself is optional. Covered contractors and subcontractors still must submit payroll information weekly and accompany each certified payroll with a signed Statement of Compliance. The Department of Labor makes that distinction. The current WH-347 carries OMB Control No. 1235-0008 and expires January 31, 2028.
What certified payroll is
On covered federal or federally assisted construction contracts, contractors and subcontractors submit weekly payroll information. The signed Statement of Compliance says the payroll is accurate and complete and that each laborer or mechanic received at least the required Davis-Bacon prevailing wage, including fringe benefits, for the work performed. See the current WH-347 instructions.
Davis-Bacon and Related Acts generally apply to contractors and subcontractors on federally funded or assisted construction contracts above $2,000 for construction, alteration, or repair of public buildings or public works. They must pay laborers and mechanics no less than locally prevailing wages and fringe benefits for corresponding work. The Wage and Hour Division summarizes coverage. Contract clauses and the applicable wage determination remain the operational source for a specific job.
Why the process breaks when data is disconnected
The form combines worker identity, journeyworker or registered-apprentice status, labor classification, daily straight-time and overtime hours, actual rates paid, fringe credits, cash in lieu of fringes, gross earnings, deductions, and net payment. That data usually lives in different systems and reaches payroll on different schedules.
Split classifications are a major control point. If a worker performs more than one labor classification during the week, the contractor uses separate rows and reports the hours in each classification. Without an accurate breakdown, the worker must be paid for all covered hours at the highest applicable prevailing wage rate. DOL’s instructions state that rule. Software cannot fix weak field coding after the fact; the time workflow has to capture project and classification at entry.
What the software should do
A useful system should ingest approved time and payroll data without rekeying, preserve the governing wage-determination number and revision, support separate rows for split classifications, distinguish cash wages from fringe credits and cash in lieu, validate required fields, manage the certification workflow, and export or submit in the format the contract recipient accepts.
For federal work, SAM.gov defines a wage determination as the wages, fringe benefits, and work rules DOL has found prevailing for a labor category in a locality. Use SAM.gov to identify and monitor wage determinations. Software should preserve the wage determination assigned to the contract rather than silently swapping in whatever rate is newest. It should also create an audit trail showing source hours, edits, approvals, calculations, submission, and signer.
Run one difficult week through every vendor
Do not compare products with a clean sample file. Use one anonymized week that contains the complications your team actually handles. Score each vendor against the same evidence and pass condition.
| Test | Evidence to bring | A pass looks like |
|---|---|---|
| Import | Approved time and payroll exports | Records load without rekeying or silent field loss |
| Contract setup | Wage-determination number and revision | The system stores the contract version and makes changes reviewable |
| Classification | One worker with more than one classification | Hours remain separate and traceable to source time |
| Fringes | Benefit-plan credit and cash-in-lieu examples | The calculation is visible and can be reconciled |
| Exceptions | A missing classification, unexplained deduction, or rate shortfall | The system blocks or clearly routes the exception for review |
| Certification | A completed weekly record | A knowledgeable signer sees what changed and what is being certified |
| Submission | The contract’s required format and recipient | Export or submission produces evidence that can be retained |
| Correction | One approved value changed after review | The original value, edit, approver, and corrected output remain visible |
Use pass, fail, or unresolved rather than a weighted feature score. A polished dashboard cannot compensate for a failed classification, fringe, certification, or audit-trail test.
Who needs a dedicated certified payroll workflow?
Start with the contract, not the company’s trade. A contractor or subcontractor on a covered federal or federally assisted construction contract has the weekly federal reporting obligation. A contract may name additional requirements, formats, recipients, or submission systems. Treat those items as contract-conditional and check the bid package rather than assuming the federal workflow covers them.
A dedicated tool is most valuable when you run several covered projects, use multiple classifications, employ registered apprentices, provide benefit-plan fringes, pay cash in lieu, or have field time and payroll in separate systems. A contractor with rare, simple covered work may use the current fillable WH-347 and disciplined review instead. The construction time tracking guide helps assess the upstream data, while the construction accounting software guide covers the financial system beside it.
What to Look For
- Does it produce the federal weekly payroll information and any additional format named in each contract?
- Can it export or submit to the recipient and destination specified in the contract?
- How does it preserve the wage-determination number and revision assigned to the contract?
- Can it handle a worker split across multiple classifications during one week?
- Does it account separately for cash in lieu and credits for bona fide benefit plans?
- Does it pull approved hours from time tracking and reconcile reported pay to the payroll run?
- Does it flag missing or inconsistent data before the Statement of Compliance is signed?
- Does it retain source data, edits, approvals, signer identity, submission evidence, and corrections?
The WH-347 instructions say the Statement of Compliance is subject to 18 U.S.C. § 1001, with a fine, possible imprisonment of not more than five years, or both. Read the DOL signing instructions.
Certified payroll software questions
Is WH-347 mandatory? No. DOL says the form itself is optional, but covered contractors and subcontractors must submit weekly payroll information and a signed Statement of Compliance.
Does certified payroll mean payroll is filed only once? No. The covered federal process requires weekly payroll information.
Where do federal prevailing rates come from? DOL wage determinations available through SAM.gov set wages, fringe benefits, and work rules by labor category and locality.
What if one worker performs two classifications? Report the hours separately by classification. Without an accurate breakdown, DOL says all covered hours must use the highest applicable prevailing wage rate.
Can regular payroll software be enough? Sometimes, if it supports the contract’s classifications, fringes, certification, required format, integrations, and audit trail. Test the workflow rather than the product label.
Who should sign the Statement of Compliance? The contractor, subcontractor, or agent who paid or supervised payment for the covered week and knows the facts represented as true.