Software for certified payroll: what a prime should compare

The right software for certified payroll depends on whose payroll it handles. A sub needs a tool that produces its own WH-347; a prime needs one that collects every sub's report, chases the late ones and checks each against the wage determination. Most products are built for the first job, so decide which one you have before you compare features.

This guide is for the prime: the compliance coordinator or accounting manager who receives a stack of weekly reports from subcontractors and must review them before the draw. It covers the kinds of tools, what each does for a prime, and how to test one against a real week.

What does a prime need from certified payroll software?

A prime needs four things from a tool, and only the first one is about forms:

• Collection. A request goes to every sub on every job each week, and the report comes back to one place instead of a dozen inboxes.
• Chasing. Subs who do not send get reminded, and you are told which ones are still silent.
• Checking. Each worker line is compared with the classifications and rates in your contract's wage determination.
• A package for the draw. The reports, the exceptions and a summary, in order, ready to submit with the pay application.

On federal work the prime is expected to review its subs' payrolls, not just forward them. The Department of Labor's Wage and Hour Division has a seminar presentation on exactly that question: what a prime is supposed to do with all of the certified payrolls it receives. A tool that only builds a sub's own report does none of the four jobs above.

What kinds of certified payroll software are there?

Tools that file to agency portals and tools that collect and check are different products. If your agency requires a portal upload, you may need both.

How do you test software for certified payroll on a real week?

Run one past week of reports from one job through the tool before committing. A good test covers:

• A sub that did not send on time, to see what the chase does and who is told.
• A report with a worker at more than 40 hours and no overtime hours.
• A worker whose classification is not on your wage determination.
• A rate below the base rate, and one that is only below base plus fringe.
• An unsigned Statement of Compliance.
• A scanned PDF, to see whether it reads it or asks you to type the rows.

Count the minutes. A tool that saves reading time but needs you to chase by hand has only done half of it.

What does Sub Certified Payroll do for a prime?

Sub Certified Payroll emails each subcontractor every week for that week's WH-347 or state report, with a link that needs no login. The sub uploads a PDF, Excel or CSV file up to 4 MB, or says no work was performed. If a sub does not send, it reminds them 2, 4 and 6 days later, then stops and lists the week as stalled in your Monday digest so you know whom to call.

When a report arrives, it reads text PDFs, Excel and CSV files, and you approve each one before it counts. Scanned PDFs have no text to read, so you type the worker rows beside the file. For every worker line it checks that:

• the classification is on your table;
• the rate is at least the base rate (or base plus fringe, unless you mark fringes paid to plans);
• hours over 40 show overtime hours at 1.5 times the base rate;
• gross pay matches rate times hours;
• the Statement of Compliance is filled in and ticked signed.

One click sends the sub an email naming each worker line to fix. For the draw you download a ZIP of the approved reports, a CSV of exceptions and a summary.

You can run the check on a fictional job in the free sample with nothing to sign up for. It does not look up your wage determination: you enter the classifications and rates from your contract, and every check compares a report with that table. It also does not choose the right classification, apply state daily overtime or apprentice ratio rules, verify fringe plan payments, or say a report is compliant or will be accepted by an agency.

How should you choose?

If your problem is your own company's report, look at payroll add-ons and reporting platforms, and read the WH-347 review guide to see what the form needs. If your problem is the weekly chase and the by-eye review of subs' reports, look for collection, reminders and a line-by-line check, and read how a prime collects certified payroll from subcontractors. The certified payroll review checklist works with any tool, or none.

FAQ

What is the best software for certified payroll?

There is no single best one. Platforms suit agency submission and large programs, payroll add-ons suit a contractor producing its own report, and collect-and-check tools suit a prime reviewing many subs. Pick by which job you need done.

Does certified payroll software check wage rates?

Some do and some only format the report. Ask whether it compares each worker line with a wage table and whose table that is. Sub Certified Payroll compares against the classifications and rates you enter for each project.

How much does certified payroll software cost?

It varies by type. Comparison pages we read in October 2026 list LCPtracker at $200 or more a month and Points North at $175 or more plus per-report fees, and those figures are unverified. Check current pricing with each vendor, and compare the total for your number of projects and subs.