Leveraging Certified Payroll in the Construction Industry: Unlocking the Doors to Government Contracts

In the dynamic realm of the construction industry, one pathway is consistently lucrative: government contracts. These contracts, spanning from vast federal infrastructure undertakings to intimate local community initiatives, represent a nexus of stability and substantive revenue. However, the gateway to these contracts often lies in mastering the intricacies of prevailing wages, construction payroll compliance, and certified payroll. Dive into how Points North’s Certified Payroll Reporting, a construction compliance software, can be the linchpin for certified payroll construction businesses aiming to capitalize on these valuable opportunities.

1. Government Contracts: Elevating Your Construction Business

Government contracts offer more than just a financial boost to construction firms. They provide an opportunity to showcase capabilities, build strong relationships with public agencies, and augment the company's profile in the industry landscape.

Though complex, government projects offer several compelling benefits:
  • Access to prestigious large-scale projects like roads, schools, civic buildings that would be rare in the private sector
  • More consistent workflow since public projects continue through downturns
  • Building relationships with contract issuers can lead to more opportunities
  • Helps the community while growing your business

With proper certified payroll construction procedures in place, government contracts can be a key source of stability and growth.

However, mistakes in prevailing wage compliance expose contractors to:
  • Wage restitution to repay underpaid workers
  • Being barred from bidding on future government contracts
  • Civil lawsuits from workers and contract issuers
  • Criminal charges for willful or repeated violations

This makes ongoing compliance an existential need rather than an option.

Turning Compliance into an Asset:

Gone are the days when "construction certified payroll" was just a regulatory mandate. In today's competitive environment, mastering certified payroll compliance can distinguish a firm from its competitors, making it a frontrunner in the race for government contracts. Learn more about the importance of certified payroll and construction compliance reporting.

Rates

2. Rate Management: Navigating the Diverse Terrain of Projects

Each government project, with its unique demands, brings along a set of wage stipulations. Whether it’s an urban redevelopment or rural infrastructure improvement, the prevailing wage rates can vary considerably.

Centralized Rate Management with Points North:
Our software is designed with this diversity in mind. By centralizing and simplifying rate management, it allows construction companies to remain agile and compliant. This efficiency not only ensures timely payments to workers but also solidifies a company’s reputation with government bodies. Discover the features of our rate management system.

Automation

3. Automate Construction Prevailing Wage Reporting

Manual certified payroll reporting can take 8-10 hours each week per project, eating into margins and staff resources. Our construction compliance software integrates with your payroll, timekeeping, and ERP systems to auto-generate certified payroll reports in the required formats. It handles all prevailing wage calculations, benefit rates, job classifications, pay groups, and wage determinations so you can focus on core operations rather than administrative reporting.

Failing to submit accurate and timely certified payroll reports can lead to payment delays, fines, lawsuits, and even debarment from future public projects. Don't let reporting put your business at risk.

4. Davis-Bacon Act Demystified: Paving the Path to More Bids

While the Davis-Bacon Act has been a constant in the backdrop of government contracts, its nuances can often be overwhelming. However, understanding and adhering to its tenets can make the difference in clinching a bid.

Most recently, on August 23, 2023, the Department of Labor published a final rule taking effect on October 23, 2023 for updating the Davis-Bacon and Related Acts. This was the first comprehensive change in almost 40 years. These changes affect construction contractors in a few ways, including:

  • Reverting to the “3-step process” for determining prevailing wages
  • Changes to the definition of “area” which specifically target multi-county project wage determinations and highway construction projects
  • An elimination on the strict ban of mixing rural and metropolitan data
  • Updates to the terms “building” and “work” that includes modern construction projects including solar panels, wind turbines, broadband installation, and electric car charger installation, including cases where it is a portion of a building, work, or installation
  • New definitions for contractor and subcontractor

These are just a few changes made by the final rule. For more information on the changes to the Davis-Bacon Act and Related Acts, see the Department of Labor website.


Prevailing Wage Rates and the Davis-Bacon Act:

  • In 2022, small businesses were awarded a record $159 billion from the federal government, which accounted for 23.3% of the total $682.6 billion awarded in government contracts. (Source: highergov.com)
  • 90% of contractors want an easier way to find and understand prevailing wage rates. (Source OIG.DOL.GOV).
  • Contractors spend 20+ hours each week on manual certified payroll reporting. (Source OIG.DOL.GOV).

Prevailing wage requirements vary by location and change frequently as new determinations are released. It's challenging to keep up with the latest rates for each trade and job classification across multiple projects. Our software centralizes current prevailing wage data in an easy lookup table. You'll never have to hunt down PDF wage determinations again.


Maintain Audit Readiness

In the event of a Department of Labor audit, you can quickly produce detailed certified payroll reports and audit trails. Easily pull historical wage rates and multi-year reports on demand instead of gathering paperwork. With compliance data at your fingertips, you can approach each audit with confidence.

5. Points North: More than a Tool, Your Strategic Partner

Embarking on the journey to secure government contracts necessitates more than just preparation; it requires a partner who understands the terrain.

For contractors taking on government construction projects, meeting certified payroll requirements is a must, but can be a major hassle without the right tools. Certified Payroll Reporting from Points North provides a comprehensive solution to automate this complex process.

With the advanced automation of Certified Payroll Reporting, contractors can pursue government projects fully confident in their ability to meet labor compliance requirements. The construction compliance reporting software pays for itself through administrative time savings and risk reduction.

With Certified Payroll Reporting, you can:

Seamlessly bring in timecard data from any system to auto-populate certified reports based on job, hours, and work classification. No manual conversion needed.

Handle complicated prevailing wage and fringe benefit calculations with flexible rate setup and custom formulas.

Certified reports in all needed formats are produced automatically for submission. Just review and send with one click.

Easily export calculated payroll data to sync directly with your payroll system so checks are cut accurately and on time.
Stay on top of rate changes and compliance needs through instant email updates.

Learn more about leveraging Certified Payroll Reporting for Construction

Contact us today to learn more about leveraging Certified Payroll Reporting, our construction payroll compliance software, for your next construction job. Our experts are ready to guide you towards a streamlined prevailing wage payroll process.