Certified Payroll

The best certified payroll software for construction companies is built for Davis-Bacon and prevailing wage work from the ground up. eBacon assigns the correct wage determination and trade classification to every worker, pulls field hours straight into payroll, and generates the WH-347 automatically, so weekly certified payroll becomes a review-and-sign job.

No re-keying timesheets at 4:45 on a Friday. No spreadsheet held together with hope and conditional formatting.

What is certified payroll, and what does it require?

Certified payroll is the weekly payroll report contractors submit on Davis-Bacon and other prevailing wage projects, usually on the federal WH-347 form. It lists every worker's trade classification, hours, wage rate, and fringe benefits, and the contractor signs a Statement of Compliance certifying that each worker was paid at least the rate in the project's wage determination.

The math isn't the hard part. Keeping up with it is. One missed wage determination modification or one misclassified laborer, and a routine Friday report turns into a restitution calculation and a long email thread with the DOL.

Many states also layer their own certified payroll forms and e-filing portals on top of the WH-347. eBacon generates those state reports from the same payroll data, so one payroll run covers both.

What should construction companies look for in certified payroll software?

Construction companies should look for certified payroll software that matches every worker to the right wage determination, captures hours by project and classification in the field, handles fringe correctly, and generates the WH-347 and state reports from the same payroll data. eBacon does all of that in one platform. Software that only does the last step is a very expensive PDF filler.

General payroll software can pay your crew. It wasn't built to know that the same electrician earns a different rate on the school job than on the warehouse job, or that his fringe needs to land on page two of the WH-347. That gap is where most of a payroll manager's Friday goes.

Who is eBacon's certified payroll built for?

How does eBacon assign the right wage rate to every worker?

eBacon assigns the correct classification and pay rate automatically from more than 187,000 pre-loaded wage determinations, and pulls field time straight into certified payroll without a second data entry pass. 187,000 wage rates. Zero guessing. Zero afternoons spent squinting at SAM.gov.

See how eBacon handles prevailing wage

How does eBacon generate the WH-347?

eBacon pre-fills federal WH-347 and state certified payroll reports directly from your project and payroll data, ready to review and submit. No manual math, no reformatting, and no Sunday scaries about whether Tuesday's overtime made it onto the report.

See eBacon's certified payroll reporting

How does a fringe trust lower labor costs on prevailing wage jobs?

eBacon's bona fide fringe trust saves non-union, open-shop contractors an average of $4 per worker-hour* in payroll taxes and workers' comp, with weekly employee cash-outs. Excludes union work.

Compare cash fringe vs. trust fringe on our Fringe Benefits page, or calculate your savings with the Fringe^MAX Trust Calculator.

See how eBacon's fringe trust works

How does eBacon handle restitution when a worker was underpaid?

eBacon calculates back pay automatically and generates the documentation needed to resolve the underpayment, so fixing one mistake doesn't turn into a second audit.

See how eBacon handles restitution

How does eBacon show labor cost before payroll runs?

eBacon handles scheduling, GPS-enabled time tracking, and spend management from the field, so labor cost is visible while the job is still running, not three weeks later when accounting closes the month.

How does eBacon catch certified payroll errors before they're submitted?

eBacon flags classification errors, missing hours, and fringe miscalculations as they happen, before they become a rejected WH-347 or a letter from the DOL. Think of it as a second set of eyes on every report that never asks to leave early on Fridays.

Set up projects and wage determinations

Enter project details and apply the correct Davis-Bacon wage determinations and classifications from day one, so every hour is tied to the right rate before anyone clocks in.

Capture hours in the field

eBacon tracks labor hours, wages, and classifications across every project as crews clock in, with no paper timesheets or manual entry in between.

Allocate fringe benefits

eBacon applies consistent, compliant fringe benefit calculations to every hour, using workflows built for prevailing wage requirements.

Generate the WH-347

eBacon generates certified payroll reports formatted correctly for submission, ready for review and signature. No reformatting, no copy and paste between systems.

Submit and stay audit-ready

eBacon keeps every report, time record, and correction organized in one place, so responding to an audit or compliance review is a search, not a scavenger hunt.

How does eBacon handle employees who work multiple classifications or projects in the same week?

eBacon tracks hours by classification and project for every employee, then applies the correct prevailing wage rate and fringe to each block of time automatically. Employees select their classification when they clock in, so a worker who pulls wire Monday and runs a lift Thursday is paid and reported correctly for both, with no manual adjustments later.

Can eBacon generate state certified payroll reports, not just the federal WH-347?

Yes. eBacon generates the federal WH-347 and numerous state-specific certified payroll reports from the same payroll data, so contractors on state prevailing wage jobs don't rebuild the report in a second format. Forms, deadlines, and e-filing portals vary by state, so check each awarding agency's current submission method when a new project starts.

See eBacon's Certified Payroll Reports.

Does someone still have to sign certified payroll if software generates it?

Yes. Software can prepare the report, but the contractor or an authorized officer still signs the Statement of Compliance certifying that the payroll is correct and complete. eBacon fills in the report from payroll data, so the person signing spends their time reviewing numbers instead of assembling them from three different spreadsheets.

How long do contractors have to keep certified payroll records?

Under the Davis-Bacon Act regulations, contractors must keep payroll and basic records for each worker for at least three years after all work on the prime contract is complete. Some states and agencies require longer. eBacon keeps every certified payroll report, time record, and correction in one place, so pulling a two-year-old report for an auditor takes minutes.

How do field clock-ins feed certified payroll in eBacon?

Field crews clock in with eBacon's GPS-enabled time tracking, with their project and classification attached to every punch. Those hours flow directly into payroll and then into the WH-347, so there's no paper timesheet to collect, decode, and re-enter. That removes the exact step where a lot of certified payroll errors get started.

How can contractors reduce the time spent preparing certified payroll reports?

The manual work is what eats the time — collecting time records, verifying classifications, calculating prevailing wages, and building the report by hand. eBacon connects time tracking, payroll data, wage determinations, and reporting into a single workflow, and automates the WH-347 and numerous state-specific reporting requirements directly from that payroll data.