Payroll4Construction's Blogs

In the construction industry, the payroll process can be complicated. Legally, payroll has to be accurate under governmental regulations to avoid lawsuits, costly fines and liability claims. For your workers, payroll must be precise so that every worker is paid on time. To keep both the government and your employees happy, you have to ensure accuracy right from the start.

The payroll process begins with time tracking. If your employee’s labor hours are inaccurate, the entire payroll process is at risk. Inaccurate labor hours can come from many different places, but most times it is due to inefficient tracking methods. According to Align Technologies, almost 70% of construction companies are still using outdated time tracking methods that lead to higher labor costs.

However, inaccurate payroll can be avoided with construction time tracking software that integrates with your payroll program. Not only does it provide accurate paychecks, but it can also help to maintain compliance with federal or state regulations and so much more. We’re here to walk you through some of the benefits of synching your payroll with time tracking.

Key Takeaways:

• Synching your payroll with a time tracking solution can automate data exchanges across systems.
• Time tracking software can ensure compliance with government regulations by providing reliable records of all hours worked.
• Most time tracking solutions come equipped with features like geofencing, GPS location tracking or pin entry which is beneficial when processing construction payroll.
• Automating administrative processes like timekeeping and payroll calculations is made simple with integrated time tracking.
• You can build an even stronger tech stack by seamlessly integrating your time tracking solution and construction payroll software with other solutions like accounting and project management.

Payroll and Time Tracking: A Powerful Pair

Connecting your payroll with time tracking software solutions can automate data exchanges across systems. This means you can avoid entering the same data multiple times and dramatically reduce errors.

Precise Labor Cost Calculations

Construction projects often operate on tight budgets, with labor costs being one of the highest expenses. Using a time tracking solution that integrates with your payroll can help ensure that labor costs are calculated appropriately. This enables project managers to monitor expenses in real time, allowing for better budgetary control and preventing cost overruns.

Most time tracking solutions come equipped with features like geofencing, GPS location tracking or pin entry to eliminate buddy punching, which refers to clocking in or out on another worker’s behalf. These features can be extremely beneficial when processing construction payroll to guarantee accuracy on employee timecards.

Compliance with Labor Laws

With various labor laws and regulations that the construction industry adheres to, monitoring overtime pay with detailed recordkeeping is crucial. Time tracking software can ensure compliance with these regulations by providing detailed and reliable records of all hours worked. This can reduce the risk of non-compliance and potential legal consequences.

Most time tracking solutions can also offer mobile signatures where managers can virtually capture employee signatures on timecards for unlimited pay periods. This significantly increases efficiency, as managers can send workers from within the system to confirm their hours are correct.

Elimination of Payroll Errors

Manual data entry for payroll can be prone to errors, leading to pay discrepancies and employee dissatisfaction. An integrated construction time tracking system eliminates the need for manual input because labor hours are uploaded directly from the field. This reduces the likelihood of errors in payroll calculations.

Streamlined Administrative Processes

Construction projects involve managing a large workforce across multiple jobsites. Automating administrative processes like timekeeping and payroll calculations is made simple with integrated time tracking — the field data is synced to the payroll system and the timecards are processed with the click of a button. This can save time for both employees and payroll administrators, allowing them to focus on other important tasks.

Improved Project Planning and Resource Allocation

Accurate time tracking data provides valuable insights into workforce productivity and performance. Project managers can use this to identify trends, pinpoint inefficiencies and make informed decisions about where resources should be allocated. This enables better project planning, optimizes crew scheduling and improves jobsite efficiency.

Multi-Rate Payroll

Often contractors have multiple projects going at once. This means contractors can have multiple workers, on multiple jobsites, with multiple wages and multiple pay rates sometimes even in multiple states. Guaranteeing that payroll is accurate for each worker is crucial to avoid costly liability errors.

With a time tracking solution, employees can clock out and clock in on different jobsites. This allows workers to clock in at one job, then clock out before clocking in at another job all in the same workday.

And with a time tracking system that offers a GPS location feature, contractors can maintain accurate pay rates throughout the task switching.

Seamless Integration with Third Party Software

With the right time tracking solution and construction payroll software that already communicate, you can build an even stronger tech stack by seamlessly integrating your systems with other software like accounting and project management solutions. This further eliminates the need for manual data entry across multiple platforms and improves coordination between different departments.

These integrations also allow for contractors to build a complete payroll system. Having a solution that allows you to onboard employees, track their time accurately, process payroll quickly then immediately upload their data into your budget streamlines the process greatly. This can allow contractors to save time, save money and increase efficiency on the jobsite.

Best Practices for Integration

While integrating time tracking with payroll can reap great benefits, it’s essential to follow best practices to ensure a smooth transition:

• Choose compatible systems: Not all time tracking systems and payroll software are compatible. It’s crucial to choose systems that can seamlessly integrate with each other.
• Train your staff: Make sure your staff understands how to use the system and regularly provide training to ensure everyone is on the same page.
• Test the system: Before fully implementing the integrated system, run tests to identify and fix any potential issues.

Improve Your Construction Time Tracking with WorkMax and Payroll4Construction

Time tracking that integrates with payroll offers several benefits for your construction business, including precise labor cost calculations, compliance with labor laws, elimination of payroll errors and more. By leveraging these benefits, you can optimize operations for reduced payroll costs.

If you’re looking for a payroll service that integrates with a mobile time tracking solution, consider Payroll4Construction and WorkMax. Payroll4Construction is a construction-specific payroll service that prints, stuff and mails your employees’ checks, submits direct deposits and pays taxes on time. WortkMax is a mobile time tracking app with cloud-based features like facial recognition and geofencing, to accurate labor hours from the field in real-time to upload timecards automatically into Payroll4Construction. End your payroll struggles today with this powerhouse pairing.