Certified Payroll

Overview

Contracts which are funded by federal and/or state money usually require the contractor supplying the labor force, to submit labor verification or Certification reports.

The Standard Edition handles the tracking and reporting of these Certified Payroll requirements. After defining any number of Certified Payroll craft codes, these codes may be attached to budgeted cost codes.

During timesheet entry, the accounting system will supply a default Certified Payroll craft code for each line of timesheet information. The Certified Payroll code may be changed at this time or at any time before payroll posting.

When timesheets are posted, the accounting system tabulates and stores totals by craft code and adds Certified Payroll detail to the Posting file. After payroll posting, a Payroll Certification Report can be printed which reflects Certified Payroll hours and pay by employee.

Defining Certified Codes

Certified codes are defined in the Certified Codes program found in the Payroll Codes menu. The entry screen looks like this.

Entering codes is simple, press the Insert or Change button The following screen will come into view. Enter the Certified Code and Description for each code. The Default Rates for Timesheet Entry may also entered for this certified code. These rates will override the pay rates in the employee file.

Tying Certified Payroll Craft Codes to Job Cost Codes During Cost Code Entry

Certified Payroll craft codes are based on the type of work an employee performs. Because cost code dictionaries are also frequently broken down into types of work an employee might perform, it is logical that the system should be able to tie a particular Certified Payroll craft to a budgeted cost code.

The accounting system provides this capability through the Code Dictionary Entry and Job Entry programs.

Cost Code Entry

After selecting Cost Code from the Job Costing menu, press the Insert or Change button and the following screen will come into view.

This is where cost codes are created and maintained in the Cost code dictionary. As shown above, a Certified Payroll craft code can be permanently tied to this cost code. This will cause the Job Entry program to use the entered certified code in the labor budget entry line by default.

Tying Certified Payroll Craft Codes to Job Cost Codes During Job Setup

As mentioned above, a Certified Payroll code may be tied to a job cost code either during Cost Code Entry or Job Setup. To access the following screen, press the Insert or Change button in the Budget tab.

The craft code will be inserted as a default if it was tied to this cost code during Cost Code Entry. Otherwise the field will be empty by default and will require the Certified Payroll craft code to be entered manually, if desired. To enter the Certified Craft code, Labor must be chosen for the Cost type.

Setting Up Prevailing Wages Through Job Setup

In many cases it will be required to pay a different pay rate depending on the Certified Payroll classification. The Preferred Edition accommodates this requirement by allowing the operator to tie prevailing wage rates and prevailing union fringe setups to specific certified codes by job.

The setup screen is accessed through the Job Setup option on the Job Costing main menu. When the Certified tab is selected, the following screen will appear.

As shown above, one job is displayed on the screen with its prevailing wage rates listed by craft code. Each craft code may have a prevailing regular and overtime rate and a prevailing Union Fringe Benefit Table number. These will be used instead of the employee’s normal rates and union table number during timesheet entry.

Working with Certified Payroll Craft Codes During Timesheet Entry

As timesheets are entered, the accounting system allows for the input of a Certified Payroll craft code for each set of hours entered. If it has been set up to do so, the system will retrieve its default craft code from the job budget file. If no Certified Payroll code is found, the field will be left blank.

Regardless of whether the system inserts a craft code by default, the craft code can always be changed by entering the desired code manually.

Prevailing Wages and Union Tables

If the Wage Rate Table has been set up as described above, the system will first insert the prevailing union table number into the union field. It will then compare the prevailing wage rate to the employee’s normal pay rate. The higher of the two rates will be inserted into the pay rate field. This means the system will use the prevailing wage rate only if it is higher than the employee’s normal pay rate stored in the employee record file.

Certified Payroll Treatment during Payroll Posting

While timesheets are being posted, the system creates a posting file which stores the number of hours worked by each employee on each Certified Payroll craft.

Payroll Certification Reports

Using the limit screen below, certification reports can be printed. This screen can be accessed through the Certification Report option on the Payroll Report menu.

Setting Limits in the Certified Payroll Report Limit Screen

1.The Pay Period End Date allows the operator to choose the Pay Period Date.

2.The Job limit allows the report to be printed for one job or a range of jobs.

3.The Certified Craft limit allows the report to include one craft or a range of craft codes.

4.The Statement of Compliance report certifies that the requirements of the government contract are being met. If the "Print Statement of Compliance" box is checked, this report will be printed.

Setting the Union Fringe Limit

This limit refers to the dollar amount to be printed in the Wage Rate column. If fringe benefits are included in the wage rate, the employee’s wage rate may be increased on the report. For example: if the employee earned $15 per hour, but fringe benefits were accrued for the employee which averaged $1.87 per hour, the employee’s rate would be increased to $16.87 per hour. If Fringe Benefits are to be included in the wage rate, check the box by "Include Fringe Benefits in Wage Rate".

Below are two examples of the Payroll Certification Report. They are both drawn from the same posting file, but the first does not include the fringe benefits in the wage rate. The second DOES include the fringe benefits in the wage rate. Notice that regardless of whether fringes are included in the pay rate or not, the fringe totals will always be itemized at the bottom right .

A statement of Compliance may also be printed. The Statement of Compliance Report certifies that the requirements of the government contract are being met.

Report Sample Without Fringe Benefits included in the wage

Report Sample with Fringe Benefits included in the wage

Do you wish to increment payroll numbers in the Job Header file at this time?

After the Payroll Certification Reports have printed, the following question will come into view. The Payroll number is the number of the payroll. It starts with 1 the first time timesheets are posted and automatically increments by one.

Increase Payroll Numbers

Select the appropriate radio button for which payroll numbers should be increased. For the selected jobs, the Payroll number on the report will increment by one in the Job Header file. The next time the report is run it will be ready for the next payroll.

Do Not Increase Payroll Numbers

Select this option if this is a test print, if the report did not print properly, or it is anticipated that this report will be printed again before the next payroll. The Payroll number on the report will not increment by one in the Job Header file. Warning: If this option is selected, the next time this report is printed, the Payroll number will have the same number.