Published date:

The Need for a Clean CPR

By Todd Calvert, Account Manager

Contractors working on any project that is funded by the state or federal government must pay all the employees working on that project a prevailing wage. Depending upon the individuals craft and classification there are many differing wage rates that are required by law to be paid to these employees. Also, when working on these projects, it is the responsibility of each contractor to submit a certified payroll report (C.P.R.) each week, documenting the wages that are paid to each worker. These certified payrolls are gathered by the governing body on the project and checked for compliance. If any mistakes are found on these reports, the contractor is responsible for paying fines for incompleteness or late submittals and/or restitution to employees that are underpaid.

These fines and back-pay can become overwhelming to a small contractor that is trying to meet deadlines on the work that has been promised. The need for clean and concise certified payroll is becoming more and more evident as state governments and the federal government are enforcing these laws now more than ever. Handwritten submittals have to be made clear and any error, even as small as a decimal point misplacement, can have a rather large negative impact. Accounting systems offer standardized reports where your employee data can be displayed on a form that will be accepted by certain agencies. Systems like this, however, do not offer many of the varying forms that are required all over the country. Accounting systems also lack the ability to validate and check if the information you have entered is correct and meets prevailing wage rates. Contractors need a solution that offers not only all of the reports that may be required but also validations and fact checks that they are meeting prevailing wage requirements before payrolls are submitted.