Payroll4Construction's Blogs

Construction payroll processing is one of the most time-consuming elements of a construction business, and it’s also one of the most important operational tasks a company has to manage.

Inaccurate payroll processing can lead to a drop in employee retention because of pay discrepancies or delays. And contractors can be subject to harsh government fines and penalties if mandated compliance forms like certified payroll reports feature incorrect information.

Efficient payroll processing begins with timecards. If the timecards are accurate:

• Employees are paid the correct wages
• Contractors can precisely measure and project labor costs
• Accurate compliance items are submitted on time

Poorly tracked timecards can throw your entire payroll process into chaos. But by leveraging modern technology — such as using a construction payroll service that boasts automatic timecards — contractors are putting fail-safes in place to keep their accounts precise.

Key Takeaways:

• Automated timecards track employee hours digitally and have more safeguards in place than traditional paper timecards.
• The data from automated timecards can be transferred into a payroll software to simplify the payroll process.
• Construction payroll services can ease the burden involved with submitting compliance items.
• Integrating a payroll software or service with a time tracking software gives you greater control over your labor costs.

What are Automatic Timecards?

Traditionally, information from each employee’s timecard had to be manually entered and approved. Then, a payroll clerk would calculate the payroll for each employee based on hours worked and type of work performed while also calculating for taxes & deductions.

Automatic construction timecards are a means of doing all that work electronically. Instead of a typical paper timecard, contractors can enter, edit and submit timecard information with the help of a construction payroll software. This saves hours upon hours of administrative time and keeps payroll accurate.

Even if Employee A is working at two different jobsites, while completing three different trades, automatic timecards can easily track these varying rates.

How Does Automation Impact Construction Payroll?

In and of themselves, automated timecards keep the payroll accurate and give contractors better visibility into their labor costs.

When paired with additional payroll features, like those offered by construction payroll software, automated timecards are the start to an efficient processing machine.

Starting with automated timecards, users can enter, submit and approve timecard data and pass it down the payroll pipeline.

This means users can take the information from the field and import it directly into their payroll software without having to manually enter it. Then, with a few clicks of the button, payroll clerks can run their payroll in minutes.

One of the biggest bonuses is that all the data gathered through the automated timecards can be applied to government reports like those needed for certified payroll and union jobs. Contractors can hit their compliance requirements right after payroll is run each week.

Overall, by automating timecards and payroll calculations, construction owners experience a reduction time spent on payroll and eliminate costly errors related to manual data entry.

What are the Payroll Benefits of Using Automating Timecards?

There are several benefits of automating payroll timecards, and they include:

1. Reduced Manual Entry

Automated timecards can be uploaded directly into the payroll system — eliminating the need for double entry. The software or service will then automatically calculate accurate payroll information for the user based on the employee’s timecard information.

2. Enhanced Field Control

Supervisors can leverage their payroll software or service to approve employee timecards. They can submit a digital signature from wherever they are, and then the timecard data is automatically calculated within the same software.

This approval feature helps contractors address any timecard inconsistencies before payroll calculation begins.

3. Better Data

The data you collect from your timecards and payroll are crucial to your entire operation. Automated timecards improve the accuracy of your payroll — giving you valuable insights into the rest of your business and future project opportunities.

Contractors who harness automated timecard data can use it to:

• Project labor costs for job costing
• Enhance future estimates
• Make more informed scheduling decisions

Contractors can easily compile accurate data if they employ a construction payroll software or service that offers automated timecards.

What’s the Importance of a Construction Payroll Service?

A construction payroll service can greatly improve your payroll processing capabilities because it does all of the heavy lifting for you.

For example, some payroll software offer mobile timecard apps that allow:

• Your workers to clock in/clock out digitally
• Your supervisors to approve timecards and verify them with digital signatures
• Integrations with accounting systems for more control of labor costs

With all this access and information at your fingertips, contractors can process payroll quicker and submit their reports on time.

Furthermore, by using digital tools to calculate rates from automated timecards, construction professionals can quickly recognize inconsistencies in the data before filing incorrect payroll.

Additionally, some payroll software and services can take payroll visibility to the next level by assigning payroll expenses to each job. This gives you a more accurate depiction of labor costs for each project — improving your job costing capabilities.

What are the Benefits of Integrating Payroll with Time Tracking Software?

Some construction payroll software integrates with time tracking software to seamlessly sync data from automated timecards to save time and offer more precise payroll calculations.

Construction time tracking software, like WorkMax, gives contractors access to features like facial recognition and GPS location tracking to help reduce or eliminate time stealing so contractors can calculate more accurate labor costs. Users can also send notifications directly to their workers’ mobile devices to remind them to clock in and clock out.

This integration increases payroll accuracy, the likelihood of compliance with government and union regulations and seamlessly bridges the administrative gap between timekeeping and payroll.

How Does Automated Timecards Fit in With Payroll4Construction?

There are many payroll software and services available. But contractors should focus their research on construction-specific options that offer automated timecards because they’ll receive features to simplify timekeeping and payroll processing.

Payroll4Construction is a full-service construction payroll provider that automates timecards and gives its users benefits like:

• Seamless payroll processing as data flows from automated timecards directly into Payroll4Construction’s payroll system
• The ability to identify and address mistakes before processing payroll
• Identify when and where workers clocked in and clocked out with geotagging

Ultimately, automating timecards helps contractors avoid inflated labor costs while improving employee retention and submitting accurate payroll and compliance items on time.