06Jul 2011 by Nancy Smyth

5 Certified Paroll Reporting Mistakes & How To Avoid Them

Certified Payroll/Prevailing Wage
5 certified payroll reporting mistakes that will cause delayed payments - learn how to avoid them. Filling out weekly certified payroll reports can be a time-consuming and frustrating task, especially if you complete them by hand or have to manipulate data in order to create them.  Transposition errors and other mistakes are bound to happen, no matter how careful you think you are being.  Making mistakes on certified payroll reports will lead to more frustration and you'll  end up spending more time correcting the errors; mistakes will also put your company's good standing in jeopardy with the General Contractor or Project Administrator. Certified Payroll/Prevailing Wage reporting can be complex and varies by state.  Learning how to avoid the following mistakes and submit the reports properly the first time will benefit…
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25May 2011 by Nancy Smyth

The Benefits of Paying Prevailing Wage Fringes to a Bona-fide Plan

Certified Payroll/Prevailing Wage, Construction News, Payroll Tips
The benefits of paying the Prevailing Wage Fringe Benefit portion to bona-fide plan is often misunderstood by employers and employees alike. Prevailing wage jobs, those jobs that are subject to the Davis-Bacon Act and/or State Prevailing Wage Laws, require that all laborers and mechanics {including tradesmen such as carpenters, equipment operators, painters, pipefitters, plumbers, etc.) who perform work on the jobsite are to be paid a set base rate of pay PLUS an hourly fringe benefit rate. Union contractors automatically pay the total hourly fringe benefit rate to the union hall on behalf of the employee, usually splitting the full hourly rate into specific "funds" - Health & Welfare, Pension, Vacation, etc. When this happens the Union contractor doesn't pay payroll taxes, worker's compensation, or general liability insurance on this…
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18Apr 2011 by Nancy Smyth

Prevailing Wage Fringes-Taking Credit for Company 401k Contributions

Certified Payroll/Prevailing Wage, Payroll Tips
Taking a credit against the full prevailing wage fringe benefit for company paid 401k contributions and reporting it correctly on the Federal WH-347 Certified Payroll Report can be very confusing.  This question was asked by a reader who recently requested our 4 Ways Contractors Pay Prevailing Wage Fringe Benefits eBook. We are a non-union shop working on prevailing wage jobs; our Company offers a 401k plan and the company contributes 4% of  our employee's gross wages to the 401k.  We understand that the 401k plan is considered a bona-fide plan, but how do we take an hourly credit when our contributions are based on a percentage of gross?  Currently we just look at an employee's gross wages for the month and make the calculations and contributions. ------------------------------------------------ Taking a credit…
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14Apr 2011 by JProfitt

Prevailing Wage Jobs and the Compensation Package

Certified Payroll/Prevailing Wage, From Our Guest Bloggers, The "Sunburst" Website
A prevailing wage job is typically a government funded project.  The Davis-Bacon and Service Contract Acts govern federal projects.  Most states have a prevailing wage law, but there are some that do not so it is a good idea to know the rules before you bid a project. Governments, in their idea of fairness, mandate union rules and compensation packages on the jobs.  So, one of the simple ways to prepare yourself to do prevailing wage jobs is to have an action plan at the ready that will allow you to cope with the requirements.  We will briefly discuss the compensation package. All prevailing wage projects will come with wage determination schedules that detail the base rate and fringe rates for all craft and trades.  The base rate most likely…
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28Mar 2011 by Nancy Smyth

Are Your QuickBooks Certified Payroll Reports Accurate? How to Check

Certified Payroll/Prevailing Wage, Payroll Tips, QuickBooks Corner, The "Sunburst" Website
Verifying the accuracy of the certified payroll reports that you can generate from QuickBooks Premier and Enterprise versions - IF you also subscribe to Enhanced Payroll, is a must for anyone in the construction industry. I've been watching the posts on the Intuit Community Forums about the alternate, substitute U.S. Department of Labor WH-347 certified payroll reports that can be generated if you have QuickBooks Premier or Enterprise AND an Enhanced Payroll Subscription.  It seems like many people want to know how to generate the reports, if the reports are approved through the DOL (Department of Labor), why they have suddenly stopped working, how to issue "No Work Performed Reports", and how to tell if the reports they are generating are accurate. This article will focus on the requirements of…
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21Feb 2011 by Nancy Smyth

House Effort to Restrict Labor Wage Law Fails

Certified Payroll/Prevailing Wage
By Jim Abrams, Associated Press - Saturday February 19 WASHINGTON – The House early Saturday turned back an effort to suspend a Depression-era law, the Davis Bacon Act, that requires federal contractors to pay locally prevailing wage rates. The vote came amid heightened clashes between the two parties over labor rights. Lawmakers voted 233-189 against barring spending on Davis-Bacon wage requirements on federal work projects for the remainder of this budget year. The measure was offered by Rep. Steve King, R-Iowa, as an amendment to a massive spending bill to keep the government running through Sept. 30, Republicans have long targeted the 1931 law, saying it drives up the costs of public works projects and favors unionized companies over smaller firms that can't pay higher wages. Davis-Bacon enjoys strong support…
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15Feb 2011 by Nancy Smyth

Fair Labor Standards Act-Employee Record Keeping Requirements

IRS Information, Payroll Tips
Employee record keeping requirements must include proper time and payroll records for it's workers.  The Fair Labor Standards Act, as well as most state wage and hour laws, are the ones who determine what is or is not "proper". In January, the USDOL (United States Department of Labor) announced that it had recovered $1 million in unpaid overtime from federal defense contracts in California.  This recovered money was based, in part, on the DOL's findings that the contractors had violated the record keeping requirements, which are part of the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA).  Specifically, the DOL found that the contractors in question had failed to maintain proper time and payroll records for it's workers.  Read the entire article by clicking here. The Fair Labor Standards Act sets minimum wage,…
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02Feb 2011 by Nancy Smyth

#Payroll Tip – Snow Days and Pay, Questions & Answers

Payroll Tips
Yet another massive winter storm is threatening snow and freezing rain from Colorado to the East Coast this week. Do you know what your obligations are to employees who cannot get to work on these bad weather days? ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^ Q: We are expecting more snow and ice this week and anticipate that employees may have a difficult time getting to work. Several of our employees have already used up their paid days because of bad weather this winter. How should we deal with these absences? A: If you have operations in areas that experience severe weather, such as winter storms, flooding, or hurricanes, you should include provisions in your policies for weather-related absences. Most employers discuss weather-related absences in their attendance policies. Any policy dealing with attendance during periods of…
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25Jan 2011 by Nancy Smyth

QuickBooks Payroll Tip – Tracking Union Fringe Benefits

Certified Payroll/Prevailing Wage, Payroll Tips
Setting up and tracking Union Fringe Benefits in QuickBooks can be a fairly straightforward task, after all Union Fringes are just a specified hourly dollar amount that the company pays to the Union on behalf of the employee. Union fringes often consist of contributions to Vacation/Holiday, Health & Welfare, Pension, Training, and sometimes Travel & Subsistence, Savings, or Fund Administration.  Depending upon the Union that you are dealing with, some of the fringe benefits could be subject to payroll taxes, while others are not. Most of the time fringes are calculated and paid based on the number of hours the employee works on the jobsite, occasionally, however, they are a based on a percentage of gross pay. Regardless of how they are paid (based on an hourly amount or a…
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13Jan 2011 by Nancy Smyth

Payroll Tip – Davis Bacon Wages & Holiday Pay

Certified Payroll/Prevailing Wage
Payroll which involves the payment of Davis Bacon or prevailing wage can be quite complex, especially for non-union or open shop contractors, who work on both private and prevailing wage jobs. When a contractor works on both prevailing wage and non-prevailing or private jobs there is often times two different sets of hourly wage rates that an employee might be paid; one for when he works on a Davis Bacon project and another, usually lower rate, for when the company works on a non-prevailing wage job. One specific and complex issues involves the question of whether or not the contractor is required to pay his/her employees the Davis Bacon wage scale rate for the holidays that they are eligible for OR if they can pay them their normal non-scale rate…
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08Dec 2010 by Nancy Smyth

Payroll Tip – Time off for School Activities and “Small Necessities”

Payroll Tips
Many states require you to give employees time off to attend school functions, take family members to the doctor, and even to volunteer to be organ, bone marrow, and blood donors. Find out what these laws cover. You are probably familiar with your obligations under federal law to grant employees time off for family, medical, or pregnancy-related leaves or military service. (These leaves are covered under the Family and Medical Leave Act, the Americans with Disabilities Act, the Pregnancy Discrimination Act, and the Uniformed Services Employment and Reemployment Rights Act.) (Download free Short-Term Absences model policy including HR best practices and legal background.) But are you aware that many states have passed “small necessities” laws that also require you to grant employees time off on a short-term basis for a…
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06Dec 2010 by Nancy Smyth

Prevailing Wage Fringes-Taking a Credit for Health Insurance

Certified Payroll/Prevailing Wage
Taking a Health Insurance credit against the full prevailing wage fringe benefit and reporting it correctly on the Federal WH-347 Certified Payroll Report can be very confusing.  This question was asked by a reader who recently requested our 4 Ways Contractors Pay Prevailing Wage Fringe Benefits eBook. This is an issue that has been extensively belabored in our office (by me). We are an open shop, but sometimes do jobs with a union agreement.   We do a lot of prevailing wage jobs and private work. We offer all of our employees health insurance - the company paying 75% of the monthly premium and the employees paying the remaining 25% through employee deductions. It gets so confusing and reading all the blogs etc. does not clarify it for me.  I must…
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23Jul 2010 by Nancy Smyth

Frequently Asked Questions – California Prevailing Wage

Certified Payroll/Prevailing Wage, Construction News, The "Sunburst" Website
California prevailing wage laws and certified payroll reporting requirements are quite complex and can be mandated by any of the following agencies or organizations, each with their own unique set of reporting requirements. The California Department of Industrial Relations (DIR) and the filing of Form A-1-131. The California Department of Transportation (CALTRANS) and the filing of a modified WH-347 form. The U.S. Department of Labor and the filing of a standard WH-347 Form. Electronic filing requirements on specific construction projects through the use of LCPtracker, TRS Consultants, and/or Elation Systems, Inc. D-BAS Labor Compliance Software. Additional "paper filing requirements" by Labor Compliance Organizations, such as, Golden State Labor Compliance, LLC or CalLCP. Electronic filing requirements being introduced on August 1, 2010 through the California Department of Industrial Relations Compliance Monitoring…
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12Jul 2010 by Nancy Smyth

Calculating & Displaying Fringe Benefits on a Certified Payroll Report

Certified Payroll/Prevailing Wage, QuickBooks 2010 - What's New?, The "Sunburst" Website
One of the biggest causes of confusion for contractors working on government funded construction projects is “how to calculate and display fringe benefits” on a certified payroll report. In recent months, I have repeatedly seen posts from QuickBooks users on the Intuit Community Forums asking how the fringe benefit rate is calculated and then displayed on the Certified Payroll Report in Excel, which is now a standard function of QuickBooks Premier and Enterprise when used in conjunction with Enhanced Payroll, and I really haven’t seen any good responses.  Hence today’s blog post. Background: Contractors who work on government funded construction  projects are required to pay their employees a “prevailing” rate of pay; based on where the project is located and the type of work they are performing.  This “prevailing rate…
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