Certified payroll services handle your weekly WH-347 reports, wage determinations, and fringe benefit calculations so your pay applications clear the first time. For landscape, hydroseeding, and erosion control subcontractors on DOT and Davis-Bacon jobs, that means getting paid on schedule instead of chasing a rejected report.
Certified Payroll Services for Contractors Who’d Rather Be Working
You won the bid. The crew mobilized on schedule, and the work is going fine.
Then the general contractor’s compliance portal kicks your payroll report back for the third week running, and now your pay application is sitting in limbo while somebody tries to work out what a fringe benefit rate is.
That’s not a payroll problem. It’s a paperwork problem wearing a payroll costume, and it’s costing you a pay cycle every time it happens.
What Does a Rejected WH-347 Actually Cost You?
More than the twenty minutes it takes to fix.
A certified payroll report has to go in weekly, for every week you had workers on site, whether or not you’re invoicing that week. Get it wrong and the consequences stack up fast:
- Your pay application stalls. Most generals won’t release payment until compliance clears.
- Cash gets tight. You’re still making payroll on Friday whether or not the GC has paid you.
- The backlog grows. Miss three weeks and you’re not fixing one report, you’re reconstructing a month.
- Your standing takes a hit. Generals remember which subs create compliance work for them, and it shows up at bid time.
- Withheld funds are a real possibility. Under Davis-Bacon, persistent noncompliance can mean withheld contract payments or debarment from future federal work.
Callout: Nobody loses a DOT contract over one late report. They lose the next one over a reputation for being hard to administer.
What Our Certified Payroll Services Cover
Our certified payroll services cover everything between your time sheets and a clean submission.
Weekly WH-347 preparation and filing. Every week, on time, in the format your general or agency requires. The WH-347 form and instructions come from the U.S. Department of Labor, and we fill them out line by line so you don’t have to.
Wage determination review. Making sure every worker is classified correctly against the determination attached to your contract, before the report goes in rather than after it bounces.
Fringe benefit calculations. Cash in lieu, bona fide plans, or a mix. This is where most subcontractors get tripped up, and it’s the most common reason a report comes back.
Statement of Compliance. Signed, dated, and attached correctly every week.
Portal submissions. LCPtracker, eMars, the state DOT system, or a general contractor’s own portal — whatever the job runs on, the report goes where it needs to go.
Correction and back-filing. Already behind? We’ll reconstruct the missing weeks and get you current.
Apprentice and trainee documentation. Ratios, registration paperwork, and the classifications that go with them.
Recordkeeping. Organized and retained, so an audit three years out isn’t a scramble through a filing cabinet.
Signs You Need Certified Payroll Help
Most contractors come to us for certified payroll services at one of these moments. If more than two look familiar, it’s time:
- You just won your first prevailing wage job and nobody in the office has filed a WH-347 before.
- Reports are going in late, or not at all, and you’re hoping nobody notices.
- Your bookkeeper handles regular payroll fine but freezes at wage determinations.
- A general contractor has flagged your compliance paperwork more than once.
- You’re bidding more public work and the admin side already can’t keep up.
- The person who used to handle it left, and the knowledge left with them.
- You’re spending your Sunday on reports instead of with your family.
Why a Green Industry Specialist Beats Payroll Software
Search “certified payroll services” and you’ll get software. Most of it is built for general contractors with a compliance department, and all of it still needs somebody who knows what to type.
That’s the gap. Software doesn’t know that your hydroseeding crew got rained out Tuesday and shifted to a different classification Wednesday. It doesn’t know that erosion control and landscape installation can carry different wage rates on the same project. And it certainly won’t call the general to sort out a classification question.
From our own files: Offshoot has supported 24 green industry businesses since 2012, including landscape and hydroseeding subcontractors running NCDOT work. We’ve built the WH-347 process from scratch for contractors filing their first report, and we’ve reconstructed months of missing reports for contractors who got behind. One landscape contractor in NC came to us mid-project with a compliance backlog and a stalled pay application. We got the reports current and the application moving, then kept the weekly filing running for the rest of the contract.
We’re not a payroll company that also serves contractors. Offshoot is a green industry back-office firm that happens to be very good at this particular form.
What Certified Payroll Services Cost Compared to the Alternatives
| Do it yourself | Hire in-house | Certified payroll services | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Real cost | Your evenings and weekends | Salary, taxes, benefits | Only the weeks you’re on site |
| Learning curve | Weeks, with mistakes along the way | Depends entirely on the hire | None — we already know it |
| Slow season | Nothing to file, but nothing gained | Still on payroll | Scales down with your work |
| Risk of rejection | Highest | Depends on experience | Low |
| Covers | Whatever you get to | One person’s hours | Filing, corrections, portals, records |
| Best for | One small job a year | Steady year-round public work | Seasonal or growing DOT volume |
Warning: Certified payroll is weekly, not monthly. A contractor who plans to “catch up at month end” has already missed three filings. Set it up before the first crew hits the site, not after the first rejection.
How Getting Started Works
Week one, we learn your contracts. Wage determinations, classifications, the portals your generals use, and how your time sheets come in. You forward the contract documents and we read them properly.
Week two, we file alongside you. The first reports go out with you reviewing them, so you can see exactly what’s being submitted under your signature.
By week three, it runs. Reports go in weekly, you get a confirmation, and you go back to running the job.
If you’re already behind, we start with the backlog instead and get you current before moving to the weekly rhythm.
Phones are answered live during Eastern time business hours, so when a general calls with a classification question, somebody picks up.
Want to Check Your Own Compliance First?
If you’d rather see where you stand before talking to anyone, start with our certified payroll checklist. It walks through what a compliant weekly filing includes and where most subcontractors fall short.
For the background, what certified payroll is and who has to file it covers the fundamentals, and how to fill out the WH-347 walks the form line by line. If you’re a landscape or hydroseeding sub specifically, certified payroll for landscapers covers what applies to your trade.
Certified Payroll Services: Frequently Asked Questions
How much do certified payroll services cost?
Cost depends on crew size and how many weeks you’re on site, since filing is weekly. Most landscape and hydroseeding subcontractors pay far less than a part-time in-house hire, because you’re only covered during active contract weeks. Book a consultation and we’ll price it against your actual project schedule.
How often does certified payroll have to be filed?
Weekly, for every week you had workers on a covered site. This holds even in weeks you aren’t invoicing. Missing weeks is the most common compliance failure we’re called in to fix.
Can you fix certified payroll reports I’ve already filed wrong?
Yes. Corrected reports and back-filing are a normal part of the work. We reconstruct the missing or incorrect weeks, file the corrections, and then keep the weekly filing current from there.
Do you work with LCPtracker and other compliance portals?
Yes. Reports are submitted into whichever system your general contractor or agency requires, including LCPtracker, eMars, and state DOT portals.
What if I’ve never filed a WH-347 before?
That’s a common starting point, and it’s the easiest one. We set the process up from scratch before your first crew hits the site, so the first report goes in correctly rather than getting fixed later.
Do I still need my regular payroll provider?
Usually yes. Certified payroll reporting sits on top of your normal payroll — we work from the payroll you already run, translate it into compliant weekly reports, and file them. Your bookkeeper or payroll service keeps doing what they do.
Is this only for NCDOT work?
No. The WH-347 is a federal form used on Davis-Bacon and Davis-Bacon Related Act projects nationwide. State DOT work often adds its own requirements on top. We handle both.
How fast can you take this over?
About three weeks to reach a steady weekly rhythm — week one learning your contracts, week two filing alongside you, week three running on its own. Already behind? We start with the backlog first.
Ready to Stop Losing Pay Cycles to Paperwork?
If certified payroll is the thing standing between finished work and getting paid for it, let’s talk about it.
Book a free 45-minute consultation and we’ll go through your contracts, your current filing situation, and what it would take to get it running properly. You’ll leave knowing exactly where you stand, whether you hire us or not. No pitch, no pressure, no obligation.
Call 828-699-8022 or book a free 45-minute consultation with Offshoot Virtual Landscape Services.
You bid the work and your crew built it. The paperwork shouldn’t be what holds up the check.
I’m an offshoot of your business.
About Offshoot
Debbie Neese is the founder of Offshoot Virtual Landscape Services, LLC, a virtual assistant and back-office firm serving landscapers, hydroseeders, lawn care companies, and tree services across the U.S. She started in the green industry in 2010, studying horticulture and working at a nursery, and founded Offshoot in 2012. Her back-office work includes NCDOT contract administration, certified payroll under Davis-Bacon, and SOP development for green industry contractors. She holds a Horticulture Certification and an Associate of Science in Business Administration. Her gardening expertise has appeared in Men’s Journal, Martha Stewart, Southern Living, The Spruce, Well+Good, and Family Handyman.
