Workflow
Certified Payroll Automation
On public work, a contractor files a certified payroll report for each project, each week: every worker, their classification, hours by day, the applicable wage and fringe rates, and a signed statement of compliance. Most contractors build those reports by hand from timesheets, which is slow, error-prone, and the same job repeated on every project. This page covers two things honestly: when certified payroll software is the right fix, and when a custom workflow that assembles and checks the reports from the timekeeping and payroll systems you already run is the better answer. Either way, a person reviews and signs. The system never submits on its own.
Examples, not client case studies
What this can look like
These are illustrative examples, not promises of results. Every project starts with your own workflow.
Certified Payroll Automation
Before
Each week, someone exports timesheets per project, re-sorts them by worker and day, looks up each worker's classification and the project's wage determination, types it into the report form, checks that the fringe calculations agree with payroll, and gets it signed. Two projects take an afternoon. Six take two days, and errors get caught by the awarding agency.
After
Timesheet and payroll data are pulled automatically per project. Workers are mapped to classifications, hours laid out by day, and wages and fringes checked against the project's rates and against what payroll actually paid. Anything that doesn't reconcile is flagged with the specific line. The report is assembled in the required format and waits for a person to review, sign, and submit.
Classification and rate changes mid-project
Before
A worker moves from laborer to operator on Wednesday. The timesheet says one thing, payroll says another, and the certified payroll report says whichever the person building it noticed. The discrepancy is found in an audit months later.
After
Classification is recorded per day, not per week. A mismatch between the timesheet classification, the payroll rate paid, and the project's wage determination for that classification is flagged before the report is assembled, with all three values shown.
Approach
How it works
- 01
Map the data sources
Where hours, classifications, projects, and pay rates live today: timekeeping app, payroll system, project software, or spreadsheets.
- 02
Encode the checks
Worker to classification mapping, wage determination per project, fringe rules, daily hour limits, and the reconciliation against payroll actually paid.
- 03
Assemble the report
The required format for each awarding body, populated from the checked data, with the statement of compliance ready for signature.
- 04
Review, sign, submit
A person reviews the flagged items and the finished report, signs, and submits through whatever channel the project requires. The workflow logs it.
What we need from you
- Timesheet and payroll access, scoped to the projects and fields the reports need
- The wage determination and required report format for each active public project
- Your worker-to-classification list and who is allowed to change it
- A named person who reviews, signs, and submits each report
Software vs custom
When certified payroll software is the right answer, and when it isn't
We don't sell certified payroll software, so this is an honest comparison rather than a pitch.
Software fits when
Your payroll provider already offers certified payroll reporting, your timekeeping feeds it cleanly, you work in one or two jurisdictions with standard formats, and the report is the only pain. Turn it on and use it.
Custom fits when
Hours live in a system the payroll tool can't read, classifications change by day or task, you file to several awarding bodies with different formats, or the real problem is the reconciliation between timesheets and what payroll paid.
Both need the same discipline
A correct worker-to-classification mapping, the right wage determination per project, and a person who reviews before signing. Software doesn't remove those; it assumes them.
What we'd tell you in an assessment
If your payroll provider's module would do the job, we say so and stop there. If not, you get a written scope for the workflow that fills the gap.
Rules vs AI
Why this workflow is almost entirely rules
Certified payroll is arithmetic and lookup: hours by day, classification, rate, fringe, totals. Every one of those is a rule against data you already hold, and every check is readable and auditable. There is very little for a model to do, and we would be suspicious of a vendor who put one in charge of a compliance report.
The one place AI earns a role is reading inputs that arrive as documents rather than data: a subcontractor's certified payroll submitted as a PDF that you must review as the prime, or a handwritten daily log. There it extracts the fields with a confidence score, and the rules take over from that point.
Integration requirements
What we connect to
- Timekeeping: mobile time apps, project software time modules, or spreadsheets, by project and by day
- Payroll: the system of record for what was actually paid, read access to earnings by employee and period
- Project data: which projects are public work, their wage determinations, and the required report format
- Document storage: signed reports filed per project and week, retrievable for audit
- Subcontractor submissions, if you review theirs as the prime
Limits
Error handling and what the system will not do
Never submitted without a signature
The report is assembled and checked. A person reviews, signs the statement of compliance, and submits. That step is not automated, by design.
Reconciliation before assembly
Timesheet hours versus payroll hours, timesheet classification versus rate paid, project rate versus rate paid. Any mismatch holds the report with the line shown.
No legal advice
Which projects are covered, which classifications apply, and which rates are current are your determinations, made with your counsel or the awarding body. The workflow applies what you tell it and shows its work.
Every report is retrievable
Filed by project and week with the data it was built from, so an audit question years later is answered in minutes.
Where this shows up
Signs this is your problem
- An afternoon a week, or more, spent rebuilding the same reports from timesheets
- Classification errors caught by the awarding agency rather than before submission
- Timesheets and payroll that disagree, and nobody sure which is right
- Different report formats for different agencies, each built by hand
- Reviewing subcontractors' certified payroll PDFs line by line as the prime
- Audit requests that take days because the source data has to be reconstructed
Scope and cost
What influences the price
Two workflows that sound the same can differ a lot in effort, so we don't quote from a menu. These are the things that move the number. You get a written price and timeline after the free assessment.
- How many active public projects and how many awarding bodies with distinct formats
- Where hours and classifications live, and whether each system has an API or only exports
- Whether classifications change by day or task, or are fixed per worker
- Whether subcontractor certified payroll review is in scope
- How much of the reconciliation against payroll is needed
- Whether your payroll provider's certified payroll module could cover part of the job
Often combined with
Related solutions
Where we see this most
Related industries
FAQ
Certified Payroll Automation: common questions
Is this certified payroll software?
No. It is a workflow built around the timekeeping and payroll systems you already use. If your payroll provider's certified payroll module would do the job, the assessment says so and we stop there. Custom makes sense when your data lives in systems the software can't read, classifications change by day, or you file to several formats.
Will it submit reports for us?
No. It assembles and checks the report and hands it to a named person to review, sign, and submit. Automating the signature on a compliance statement is not something we would build.
How does it know which wage rate applies?
You tell it, per project, from the wage determination attached to the contract. The workflow applies those rates by classification and flags any worker paid a different rate in payroll. Determining which rates apply is your decision, made with the awarding body or counsel.
Can it handle workers who change classification during the week?
Yes, if classification is recorded per day or per task in your timekeeping. If it is only recorded weekly, the workflow flags weeks where a worker's rate paid doesn't match a single classification, so the gap in the data is visible instead of hidden.
What about reviewing our subcontractors' certified payroll?
Their submissions, usually PDFs, can be read and checked against the same project rates and classification rules, with discrepancies listed for your review. That is the one part of this workflow where AI reading is useful.
How long does it take to set up?
One timekeeping system, one payroll system, and one report format can be running in a few weeks. Several formats, spreadsheets as the source of hours, or subcontractor review add time. You get a written timeline after the free assessment.
Get started
Show us how certified payroll gets built this week.
Tell us where hours and classifications live and how many projects you report on. We'll tell you honestly whether software or a custom workflow is the answer, and what it would cost.
We'll reach out at a time that works for you. No cost, no obligation.
Serving businesses nationwide
We work with businesses in every state.
A few states have their own page with local detail. The list is selective, not a limit on where we work.