Who likes to take on government jobs? Tons of people! Good funding and reliable payments are appealing to employers, without question.
Who likes to do certified payroll reporting? Almost nobody. Filling out loads of details and double-checking them on a weekly basis is a ton of extra work.
Certified payroll reporting, which needs to be done by government contractors, can be time-consuming. Not to mention, trying to find a payroll professional to do it for you is no easy task. Many payroll services refuse to help because they don’t have the time or resources to accommodate it.
CSI Accounting & Payroll is here to help! Our payroll staff has experience working directly with certified payroll reporting for government contractors and subcontractors, and we’ve compiled the common questions that we’ve been asked about it here:
- What is certified payroll reporting?
- Do I need to use certified payroll reporting?
- How can I get help?
What is Certified Payroll Reporting?
Certified payroll reporting is a lot like doing payroll for union employees - except instead of reporting to a union, you report to the government. Contractors are required to do this with certain government contracts.
It’s reported weekly, and each employee’s documentation needs to be perfect. This is done on Form WH-347.
You’ll likely use prevailing wages, meaning the federal government has decided on a minimum wage for each worker on this job (per the Davis-Bacon Act). Prevailing wages vary by the location and job title of each employee, and they may include fringe benefits.
After all of the details are filled out, the employer will sign a Statement of Compliance on the back of each week’s form to show that all employees were paid a proper wage. It will also need to be signed by an authorized officer to certify its accuracy.
Ultimately, doing certified payroll reporting keeps business owners honest.
Do I Need to Use Certified Payroll Reporting?
As mentioned above, certified payroll reporting isn’t for everyone. To use certified payroll reporting, you should be working on federally funded construction contracts over $2,000.
Typically, the small businesses that need to use certified payroll reporting are federal government contractors or subcontractors that fall under these categories:
- Construction and plumbing companies
- Decorating and painting companies
- Cleaning companies
How I Get Help With Certified Payroll Reporting?
Many payroll services turn up their noses at certified payroll reporting due to the high level of detail in the process. Since certified payroll reporting is required for some government contractors, CSI Accounting & Payroll knew that we needed to step up to the plate.
We can get started if you can provide us with your employees’ accurate details, such as:
- Name
- Social Security number
- Job classification
- Wages (including benefits)
- Withholdings
- Hours worked
No worries! All of your employees’ personal details are stored securely in our payroll system.
We’re also able to be an authorized officer to certify that your Statement of Compliance is correct each week. An authorized officer, or someone else who supervises the payment of wages, is required to sign this statement.
Signing off on the accuracy of Form WH-347 means double-checking all of the details mentioned above, as well as the jobs they worked and all of the details that go into prevailing wages. Other payroll companies will not do this because it is very time-consuming.
With prevailing wages, there are also exceptions and special rules. Employees may have more than one job classification, and if they are involved in multiple jobs, deductions are split between them. Additionally, just because an employer works on a prevailing wage job, doesn’t mean they have it for other jobs.
We also know the common errors that might occur on these forms (such as misclassifying your employees), and we keep an eye out for them.
Work on Your Certified Payroll Reporting With an Experienced Payroll Firm
There are a lot of reasons why government contract jobs might be the right fit for your business, so don’t let the extra work associated with certified payroll reporting keep you from doing what’s best for your company!
Even if you’ve had trouble finding help before, there are now more payroll service providers (such as CSI Accounting & Payroll) that are willing to put in the work for you.
If you had thought to yourself, “Should I be doing certified payroll reporting? What is it, really?” - and then transitioned to, “Well, I need help. What can CSI Accounting & Payroll do for me?”, now the question might be, “How do I take the next step with CSI?”
It’s simple! To schedule a free consultation, click the button below.
Please note: Due to the nature of this service, we can only accept clients on a case-by-case basis, and this is not a standalone service. It must be combined with our payroll service.
If you’re not ready to have a conversation yet, read more about what payroll services cost.
