THE REPORTING REQUIREMENT
What is certified payroll?
Certified payroll is a project-specific payroll reporting process commonly associated with construction covered by the Davis-Bacon Act and Davis-Bacon Related Acts. On covered federal and federally assisted construction, contractors and subcontractors generally submit weekly payroll information for laborers and mechanics performing covered work.
The record documents how workers were classified, the hours attributed to the covered project, wages paid, applicable fringe-benefit information, deductions, net pay, and other required details. A signed Statement of Compliance accompanies each required certified payroll and contains formal representations about the information submitted.
That additional project layer is why ordinary payroll output alone may not complete the certified-payroll workflow.
THE FEDERAL FORMAT
What is Form WH-347?
Form WH-347 is the U.S. Department of Labor’s optional payroll form for contractors and subcontractors reporting weekly certified payroll information for construction contracts subject to the Davis-Bacon and Related Acts.
The form itself is optional. Covered contractors and subcontractors must still submit the applicable payroll information and signed Statement of Compliance. DOL states that a properly completed WH-347 satisfies applicable federal certified-payroll reporting requirements, but contracting agencies may establish their own submission process or request additional information.
Contractor Comply does not claim to be DOL-approved or to guarantee Davis-Bacon compliance. It generates a WH-347-aligned report that gives your team a familiar structure to review, print, save, and maintain with the project.
SEE THE PRODUCT
Generate reports structured to match the WH-347 format
Contractor Comply carries the same project and worker information through the weekly entry and report workflow. Reusable roster details reduce repeat entry; the weekly record captures project-specific hours, earnings, deductions, and payment information; review flags identify incomplete or conflicting entries before the record is saved.
Painter8 · 8 · 8 · 8 · 8$38.00 + $9.75$1,910 / $478.75 / $1,431.25
Information the workflow can organize
- Project, contract, location, wage-decision, payroll number, and week-ending information
- Contractor or subcontractor identity and performing trade name
- Worker identifier, journeyworker or registered-apprentice status, and labor classification
- Daily and total project hours, straight time, overtime, wage rates, and fringe information
- Gross project earnings, gross earnings for all work, tax withholding, FICA, other deductions, and net wages
- Payday, check or direct-deposit reference, review flags, submission status, and Statement of Compliance information
THE WEEKLY SEQUENCE
Why certified payroll gets complicated
The challenge is not completing one form. It is maintaining an accurate sequence throughout the project. A 30-week job may create 30 or more payroll periods for one contractor, plus records from covered subcontractors. Every period must remain tied to the correct project, workers, classifications, hours, rate information, review decisions, and submission history.
A spreadsheet can hold many of these fields. It does not naturally preserve every relationship between the project, worker roster, weekly revision, generated report, supporting evidence, correction, subcontractor, and closeout record.
The workflow should answer
- Which payroll period is being prepared, and are any weeks missing?
- Which workers performed covered work on this project?
- Which classifications and daily hours were entered?
- Have wage, fringe, gross-earnings, deductions, and payment figures been reviewed?
- Has the report been generated, certified, submitted where required, or returned for correction?
- Can the final record be found again without searching several systems?
THE WH-347 RECORD
What information is reported?
Contractor and project information
The report identifies the prime contractor or subcontractor, business address, project or contract, project location, wage determination, payroll number, week ending date, and whether the payroll is final. These fields matter because coverage, wage information, and submission duties are project-specific.
Worker information
The current instructions provide for a worker entry number, worker name, an individual identifying number, journeyworker or registered-apprentice status, and classification. DOL instructs contractors not to use the worker’s full Social Security number; the identifying number may be the last four digits or another worker-specific number.
Earnings, deductions, and payment
The record can distinguish gross earnings for the covered project from gross earnings for all work during the week. It also includes actual deductions—such as tax withholding, FICA, and other deductions—and net payment for all work. Deductions must follow applicable requirements, including the Copeland Act regulations; software should not assume a deduction is permissible.
WORK ACTUALLY PERFORMED
Labor classifications matter
The applicable wage determination contains classifications and corresponding basic hourly and fringe rates. A worker’s internal company title does not automatically settle the labor classification used for Davis-Bacon reporting. The classification should reflect the work actually performed under the applicable requirements.
A worker may perform more than one classification during the same payroll period. Current WH-347 instructions allow separate rows for the hours worked in each classification. If a contractor does not maintain an accurate record of those hours, additional rules can affect how the worker must be paid. Contractor Comply organizes the information entered, but the contractor remains responsible for classification decisions.
THE PROJECT RATE SOURCE
Understanding Davis-Bacon wage determinations
A wage determination lists the classifications, basic hourly rates, and fringe benefits DOL has determined to be prevailing for a labor category and locality. The determination applicable to a project can depend on location, construction type, contract, funding, modifications, and the work performed.
Contractors should use the wage determination incorporated into or otherwise applicable to the contract and follow the contracting agency’s guidance. Current federal determinations can be researched through the official SAM.gov wage-determination search.
Contractor Comply stores the awarding agency, funding source, wage-decision identifier, project rates, and related notes entered by the company. It does not select the legal wage determination on the contractor’s behalf.
MORE THAN THE CASH RATE
Prevailing wage and fringe benefits
For Davis-Bacon covered work, the prevailing wage generally combines the basic hourly rate and applicable fringe benefits listed for the classification. The obligation may be met through cash wages, creditable bona fide fringe benefits, or an appropriate combination, depending on the circumstances and requirements.
The Department of Labor’s Davis-Bacon fringe-benefit guidance explains funded and unfunded plans, cash payment, annualization, and credit principles. Not every employer expense qualifies. Contractor Comply separates cash paid in lieu and entered fringe credit for reporting, but it does not decide whether a plan or cost is legally creditable.
DAILY PROJECT TIME
Hours, overtime, deductions, and net pay
The WH-347 structure records hours by day and classification, not only one weekly total. That matters when workers move between projects, classifications, covered and non-covered work, or straight-time and overtime hours. Accurate field time upstream makes the weekly report much easier to prepare.
Overtime can involve the Contract Work Hours and Safety Standards Act, other federal or state law, and contract requirements. Deductions can raise separate Copeland Act issues. Contractor Comply surfaces missing rates, overtime without a rate, incomplete payment references, and figures that conflict with the entered project requirement; qualified users must resolve the underlying payroll question.
A FORMAL CERTIFICATION
The Statement of Compliance
Each required certified payroll must be accompanied by a signed Statement of Compliance using page two of WH-347 or another document with identical wording. The certification addresses the accuracy and completeness of the payroll and required representations concerning wages, fringe benefits, classifications, apprentices, deductions, and records.
The current DOL WH-347 instructions allow legally valid electronic signatures when the process indicates acceptance of the record and includes a method to verify the signer’s identity. The instructions state that photocopied or scanned signature copies do not satisfy that requirement.
Contractor Comply prepares the record and preserves the review trail. The contractor or authorized representative who paid or supervised payment remains responsible for reviewing and signing the certification and understanding what is being represented.
PROGRAM DOCUMENTATION
Registered apprentices require special attention
Under Davis-Bacon requirements, reduced apprentice rates generally depend on the worker’s participation in an applicable registered apprenticeship program and compliance with the program’s terms. Wage progression, ratios, fringe benefits, and supporting documentation may all require review.
The current WH-347 asks contractors to identify registered apprentices and applicable program information in the Statement of Compliance. Contractor Comply records apprentice status and keeps supporting project information organized, but it does not validate program registration, ratios, wage progression, or eligibility.
PRIME + LOWER-TIER VISIBILITY
Prime contractors and subcontractor certified payroll
A prime contractor’s payroll view may need to extend beyond its own employees. Covered subcontractors can have weekly payroll duties, and the prime may need oversight of missing periods, corrections, project associations, and supporting documentation.
Contractor Comply connects subcontractor assignments and payroll records to the project, allowing the team to see what has been received and what needs follow-up. The broader Subcontractor Compliance Software workflow also organizes insurance, credentials, upload requests, waivers, and closeout evidence.
For the surrounding prevailing-wage, DBE, material, testing, payment, and agency record, explore Public Works Compliance Software.
COMPLEMENTARY SYSTEMS
Certified payroll software vs. regular payroll software
Your payroll system and certified-payroll workflow serve related but different purposes. Contractor Comply is intended to work beside payroll—not replace it.
| Regular payroll software | Certified payroll management |
|---|---|
| Processes employee payroll | Organizes project-specific reporting |
| Calculates ordinary payroll and withholding | Tracks covered project payroll periods |
| Issues checks or direct deposits | Connects workers, classifications, and hours to the project |
| Maintains employee payroll records | Maintains weekly certified-payroll history and status |
| May provide job costing | Supports WH-347-aligned preparation and project compliance records |
Why spreadsheets become difficult
A spreadsheet may capture worker hours while payroll lives elsewhere, the generated report becomes a PDF, subcontractor records arrive by email, and a calendar tracks the due week. The company is then managing pieces of certified payroll across several systems. Read the detailed comparison of manual certified payroll and Contractor Comply.
A REPEATABLE WEEKLY SYSTEM
How Contractor Comply handles certified payroll
- 01
Open the project
Keep the legal company or authorized trade name, agency, funding, wage decision, and payroll requirement connected to the job.
- 02
Build the worker roster once
Save the worker identifier, default classification, apprentice status, wage, overtime, and fringe information for reuse.
- 03
Start the payroll period
Choose the project, payroll number, week ending date, and applicable project rate information.
- 04
Enter weekly figures
Add daily project hours, gross all-work earnings, deductions, per diem where used, and the payment reference.
- 05
Review exceptions
Resolve missing classifications, hours, rates, payment references, and figures that conflict with entered requirements.
- 06
Save the weekly record
Preserve the project payroll period and reopen it later for review or correction.
- 07
Generate the WH-347-aligned report
Open the printable report, review every figure, and complete the authorized Statement of Compliance workflow.
- 08
Record submission and return next week
Track submission status, notes, corrections, and the complete sequence of project payroll periods.
The result is continuity. Instead of unrelated weekly PDFs, the company maintains a searchable project history showing payroll numbers, weeks, workers, exceptions, corrections, and status.
WHAT CREATES CORRECTIONS
Common certified payroll problems
A weekly requirement is easy to miss without a clear sequence by project.
The contract, location, wage decision, payroll number, or week may be incomplete.
The reported classification may not match the work actually performed.
Missing daily, project, classification, or overtime details can force reconstruction.
Entered cash and benefit credit may not reflect the applicable requirement or allowable treatment.
Program registration, ratio, wage progression, or supporting records may need review.
Late or missing lower-tier payroll can leave the project history incomplete.
Even an accurate report creates risk when nobody can find the final version or submission history.
A better weekly routine
During the week: capture accurate project, classification, and time information. At payroll: review wage, fringe, deduction, and payment figures. Before certification: resolve exceptions and review the complete report. At submission: follow the agency’s method and deadline. After submission: preserve the record with the project, then repeat the same controlled process next week.
Certified payroll should remain part of the project compliance record through payment and closeout. See how it connects with the broader Construction Compliance Software workflow.