Payroll in the construction industry differs significantly from payroll in typical corporate companies.
Since construction workers may work in varying shifts and locations, tracking time and factoring in overtime hours can make payroll processing a lot more complicated and time-consuming.
Staying compliant and adhering to tax regulations is another major challenge!
Here are some tips for efficiently managing payroll in the construction business.
Table of Contents
1. Outline Important Payroll Steps
Having a list of all the important steps in your payroll process will ensure you don’t miss anything important.
These details might seem minute, but play a huge role in ensuring compliance and meeting other legal requirements for payroll processing.
A general list of steps can look something like this,
- Verify employee information.
- Set a clear payroll policy that covers pay cycles, time tracking and tax information.
- Calculate gross pay with tax deductions and non-statutory deductions.
- Set deadlines for issuing payslips.
- Update payroll records for compliance and audits.
While making this list, remember that construction laws and time schedules work differently, so be as specific as possible.
2. Stick To Digital Tracking Systems
Manual time tracking has the potential for a lot of errors, especially in the construction business, where many employees work on multiple projects in a year.
The supervisor may miss out on recording their time or in situations, record a time when a worker is absent.
Verifying this is a meticulous task and at times impossible.
With digital time tracking systems, construction workers can input their hours directly at the job site and their employers can track the hours from the app.
There are also options for tracking hours spent on each specific project, depending on the payroll software you choose.
This eliminates errors, saves time and ensures that the wages are calculated fairly. Construction workers benefit from the transparent wage calculator system and are also motivated to be more productive.
3. Outsource Payroll
Processing payroll in-house puts a lot of administrative burden on the construction company.
Apart from this, it ends up being more expensive and there is more potential for errors, especially if the team is not trained to handle payroll processing.
With the complexities involved in payroll processing for construction businesses, it is better to outsource it to a qualified service provider.
Their payroll services are legally compliant, accurate and cost-effective.
If your construction company grows or decreases in size, these services can easily adapt to the change in a short period.
4. Classify Construction Workers
Many construction companies fail to accurately classify their employees, resulting in legal and financial issues.
Generally, a construction project payroll involves paying employees and independent contractors. Some employees are paid by the hour and they qualify for overtime pay.
Employees who are paid a fixed salary typically do not qualify for overtime.
Independent contractors do not get the benefits that fixed employees have – for example, social security benefits and medicare facilities. They are also responsible for managing their taxes.
5. Stay Compliant & Updated About Payroll Taxes
Construction business employers must adhere to the local laws and taxation regulations to avoid penalties.
Some of the common penalties are jail time, fines and withholding of payments.
If you have a hard time understanding payroll laws in construction, consider getting legal advice from a professional or outsourcing to a payroll service provider.
Conclusion
There are many remote payroll services and software providers, but not all of them are equipped to deal with payroll processing for construction companies.
Ensure that you carefully select one that meets your company’s requirements and can accommodate changes in company size over time.
