You can use two kinds of payroll software in your business – standard and certified. Certified Payroll Software is used when government-funded contractors and public work construction projects are paid.
A request for Certified Payroll Software may seem problematic and confusing to any client. However, here is a short guide describing what you need to know.
Certified Payroll Software: What is it?
Certified payroll software is usually needed to maintain the payroll for workers on public work projects. In publicly funded projects, contractors are required to pay their workers a prevailing wage. The contractors must also make a proper payroll report showing each worker’s exact wages.
Certified payroll software makes making such reports easy. An excellent example of accredited payroll software is QuickBooks Certified Payroll. Certified software works as a substitute for the WH-347 Federal Form. They will also work as a substitute for WH-348. WH-348 is the Statement of Compliance, which is required after submitting WH-347.
The following information is required on the WH-347 form:
- A description of the project and the company
- Name of the employee
- Employee’s Social Security Number’s last four digits
- The job classification of the employee
- Employees’ work
- The employee pay rate in addition to any deductions and the net pay.
Most of this information is already stored in payroll software. This is why creating a payroll report with certified payroll software is easier.
After the report is created, it needs to be printed and signed to certify accuracy. This is known as the Statement of Compliance. Completing these steps marks the successful creation of a certified payroll report.
Certain misconceptions about reporting certified payroll include the fact that many believe they require certification to become a payroll professional before being able to file a payroll report. However, that is not true.
Another misconception is that the standards and filing procedures for certified payroll are the same across the United States.
Regardless, you can easily use certified payroll software to make and submit payroll reports.
QuickBooks and Intuit Online Payroll
QuickBooks Certified Payroll and Intuit Online Payroll are the best options for making Certified Payroll Reports.
Intuit Online Payroll allows you to have all the information relevant to creating a certified payroll report in one place. Intuit has a lot more to offer. Once you create the weekly payroll and timesheets, the software’s time tracking can be used to pay employees and workers.
Once you need a report, go to the “Reports” menu and click on the “More Payroll Reports in Excel” option under “Employees and Payroll.” You will see a button labeled “Certified Payroll Report.” From there onward, you must follow the on-screen instructions to get your report.
You can get Intuit Online Payroll at three different prices. The price is the sum of a base rate and per-employee charge. The three packages are:
- Basic: This is the cheapest Intuit Online Payroll plan. It offers the paycheck generation feature but does not include the payroll tax submission feature, and it does not allow you to file a W-2 electronically. The base rate is $20 and $2 per employee per month.
- Enhanced: This plan is one of the most used. It includes all the basic plan features plus other features, including electronic W-2 forms and payroll tax form submissions. The most popular plan of Intuit Online Payroll has a base rate of $31.20 plus a per-employee rate of $2.
- Full service: This is one of the most innovative plans offered by Intuit. It provides an actual Intuit employee to handle your payroll-related tasks. This plan also guarantees against any tax penalties that, if incurred, Intuit would pay for. The plan is priced at the base rate of $79 plus a per-employee rate of $2.
Other Certified Payroll Software is also available, such as:
- Certified payroll solution- This is an add-on for QuickBooks.
- Construction partner- This bookkeeping alternative to QuickBooks costs a hefty $6,000 and is particularly meant for large construction firms.
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