Certified payroll time tracking
The hours behind your certified payroll, recorded by day and by project.
Certified payroll time tracking means recording each worker's hours by day on the covered project, plus their hours on every other job that week, because overtime on the weekly certified payroll counts work on and off the project. ZeroBadge records those hours from a company badge each worker wears and splits them by jobsite. Classifications, wage rates, fringe benefits, deductions and the signed Statement of Compliance stay with your payroll and compliance people.
ZeroBadge aids certified payroll reporting by supplying verified hours by worker, day and jobsite. It does not produce or file certified payroll on its own; final certified payroll reports require review by a qualified person.
- Hours by worker, day and jobsite, ask ZeroBadge AI
- Every job that week, for overtime
- Corrections logged with a reason
Crews by jobsite
Jobsite | Mon | Tue | Wed | Thu | Fri | Hours |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Riverside | 6 | 10 | 9 | 9 | 9 | 375.0 |
| Harbor Yard | 10 | 7 | 7 | 7 | 7 | 300.8 |
| Northgate | 8 | 8 | 8 | 8 | 8 | 328.9 |
Form WH-347, field by field
Which certified payroll fields the badge record fills, and which it never touches.
The US Department of Labor's optional Form WH-347 lays out what a weekly certified payroll contains. Most of it is wage and benefit data from payroll. The hours are the part a badge can record.
Project, contract number, wage determination, week ending
Where it comes from
The contract and your compliance file.
What ZeroBadge supplies
Nothing beyond the project's jobsite name and the week's dates.
1B to 1E: worker name and identifying number
Where it comes from
Payroll or HR records. The form uses an individual number such as the last four digits of the SSN, never the full SSN.
What ZeroBadge supplies
The worker each badge is assigned to, matched to the employee ID you map at setup.
2 and 3: journeyworker or registered apprentice, labor classification
Where it comes from
Apprenticeship records and the wage determination, applied by someone who knows what each worker did.
What ZeroBadge supplies
Nothing. A badge records where a worker was, not whether they pulled wire or swept the floor.
4: hours worked each day on this project, straight time and overtime
Where it comes from
The time record.
What ZeroBadge supplies
Badge-recorded hours by day inside the project's geofence, split into regular and overtime under the thresholds you set.
Overtime basis for column 4
Where it comes from
Hours over 40 in the workweek, counting work on and off the covered project.
What ZeroBadge supplies
The worker's hours at every other jobsite that week, so the 40-hour line is visible.
5: total hours worked
Where it comes from
The sum of column 4.
What ZeroBadge supplies
The project total for the week, from the same record.
6A to 6C: hourly rate, fringe benefit credit, cash in lieu of fringe
Where it comes from
Payroll and your benefit plans.
What ZeroBadge supplies
Nothing. Wage rates and fringe benefits are not in ZeroBadge.
7A to 9: gross earned, deductions, net pay
Where it comes from
Payroll.
What ZeroBadge supplies
Nothing. Taxes and deductions stay with your payroll provider.
Page 2: Statement of Compliance and signature
Where it comes from
The contractor or subcontractor, or its agent who pays or supervises payment, signs it.
What ZeroBadge supplies
Nothing. ZeroBadge never signs, certifies or files a payroll.
Use of Form WH-347 is optional. Covered contractors still submit payroll information for each week covered work is performed, in any format, with a signed Statement of Compliance (29 CFR 5.5(a)(3)(ii)). State prevailing wage programs can use their own forms and rules.
Where certified payroll hours go wrong
The wage data is usually right. The hours under it are where the questions start.
Rates come from the wage determination and fringe comes from the plan. Hours come from whatever the field wrote down, often days later.
Days filled in from memory
Column 4 wants hours for each day. A foreman sheet filled in on Friday afternoon gives you a week of round eights that nobody can explain line by line.
Covered and private hours guessed apart
A journeyman who spends Monday on the federally funded job and Tuesday on a private TI needs both days recorded by project, or the split is decided in the office.
Overtime counted on the project alone
The form counts overtime on all hours in the workweek, including work off the covered project. Hours that only exist for the covered job hide the 40-hour line.
Changes with no history
Payroll records must be kept for at least 3 years after the prime contract's work is complete (29 CFR 5.5(a)(3)(i)). A crossed-out number on a lost sheet is hard to defend that long.
Three weeks on a prevailing wage job
What the record shows, and what the person preparing certified payroll does with it.
A journeyman electrician works Monday to Wednesday on a federally funded clinic and Thursday and Friday on a private TI across town.
What the badge record shows
8.5 hours a day inside the clinic's geofence Monday to Wednesday (25.5), 9 hours a day at the TI Thursday and Friday (18). Week total: 43.5.
What goes on the certified payroll
Column 4 for the clinic shows 8.5, 8.5 and 8.5. The preparer can also see 3.5 hours over 40 in the week and works out with your compliance person how they are reported.
Tuesday, 11:40 AM. An apprentice leaves the clinic for fittings and is back at 12:45.
What the badge record shows
Transit from the clinic at 11:40, a supplier stop from 11:55 to 12:30, transit back until 12:45, all shown apart from time on the clinic site.
What goes on the certified payroll
The office decides, under the contract's rules, whether that hour is reported on the clinic's line. The record makes it a decision instead of a guess.
Monday, 7:15 AM. Payroll prepares certified payroll number 14. A foreman's Wednesday starts at 9:05, but he was on the job at 6:30 with a dead badge.
What the badge record shows
The late start is on the exceptions list. A supervisor corrects the start to 6:30 with the reason, and the correction is logged with who made it.
What goes on the certified payroll
The corrected hours go on the payroll, and the trail behind them is kept. File the approved weekly PDF with your certified payroll records.
How overtime is attributed between covered and non-covered work, and whether off-site time belongs on the project's line, are compliance questions for a qualified person. ZeroBadge records the hours. It does not decide how they are reported.
Capturing hours for certified payroll
Four ways to collect the hours a certified payroll needs, compared.
| Compare | ZeroBadgeBadge per worker | Foreman daily sheetPaper or spreadsheet | Site time clockKiosk at the project | Phone appWorker's own phone |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Hours each day on the covered project | From badge on and off and the project's geofence | Written by the foreman, often late | Punches at that project | Punches, sometimes with a geofence |
| Hours on other jobs that weekNeeded to see the 40-hour line | Same record, every jobsite | A different sheet, if anyone kept one | Only if every site has a clock | Yes, if the worker punches at each job |
| Labor classification | Not recorded | Foreman can write it per line | Some let workers pick a code | Worker can pick a code |
| Corrections | Logged with who, when and why | Crossed out or retyped | Varies by system | Varies by system |
| Depends on | Badges charged, assigned and collected | The foreman's memory | Power and a device at the gate | Each worker's phone and data plan |
Compare ZeroBadge with
| ZeroBadge | Daily sheet |
|---|---|
| Hours each day on the covered project | |
| From badge on and off and the project's geofence | Written by the foreman, often late |
| Hours on other jobs that week | |
| Same record, every jobsite | A different sheet, if anyone kept one |
| Labor classification | |
| Not recorded | Foreman can write it per line |
| Corrections | |
| Logged with who, when and why | Crossed out or retyped |
| Depends on | |
| Badges charged, assigned and collected | The foreman's memory |
The tradeoff
A foreman's sheet is still the easiest place to record which classification a worker performed, and ZeroBadge does not capture that at all. Many contractors keep the classification with the foreman or the project manager and take the hours from the badge record. The badge also answers which jobsite, not which floor, so two covered projects on adjoining lots need geofences drawn with care.
The weekly routine
From the badge record to a certified payroll a qualified person can sign.
Certified payrolls are due for each week covered work is performed, so the routine runs every week the job does.
- 01
Draw the covered project as its own jobsite
One geofence per contract, so hours on the prevailing wage job never blend with the private job next door.Setup
- 02
Map workers to employee IDs
Each badge is assigned to a named worker and matched to the ID your payroll uses, so the hours line up with the right person.Setup
- 03
Clear exceptions and approve
Missing clock-outs, late starts and time outside approved sites are fixed with a reason before a manager approves the week.Every week
- 04
Hand the hours to the preparer
Approved hours go to your payroll provider, or out as CSV, Excel or PDF, by worker, day and jobsite.Every week
- 05
A qualified person completes and signs
Classifications, rates, fringe, deductions and the Statement of Compliance are added in your payroll or compliance system and reviewed before submission.Your team
Honest limits
What ZeroBadge does not do for certified payroll.
Knowing where the line sits keeps the person who signs the statement from relying on the wrong record.
No classifications
A worker who spends the morning as an electrician and the afternoon as a laborer has two classifications. The badge sees one jobsite all day.
No rates, fringe or deductions
Wage determinations, fringe benefit credits, cash in lieu, taxes and deductions are never in ZeroBadge.
No signing or filing
ZeroBadge does not complete Form WH-347, sign the Statement of Compliance or submit anything to an agency or prime contractor.
Raw location is not kept forever
Raw location history is deleted after 90 days. Timesheets, corrections and every version of the weekly PDF are kept, so file the approved PDF with your certified payroll records.
Jobsite, not task
GPS outdoors and Wi-Fi positioning indoors place a worker at a jobsite. They do not show which part of a building a worker was in.
Unpaid meal breaks
Hours are recorded from badge on to badge off. ZeroBadge does not deduct an unpaid meal break automatically, so apply your break policy in review or in payroll.
ZeroBadge AI
Ask ZeroBadge AI for the hours behind the report
ZeroBadge AI can pull verified hours by worker, day and jobsite without a spreadsheet pass, and every figure links to the timesheet it came from. It is read-only, it does not produce or file the report, and admins control who can ask.
You ask
How many hours did each worker log on the Lakeview library project this week?
Nine workers logged 341.5 hours in total, from 22.0 to 44.5 hours each. The two over 40 also worked other jobs that week, so their overtime counts hours across every job.
You ask
Which workers split the week between the Lakeview project and private work?
Three. Between them they logged 58 hours on Lakeview and 71 hours on private jobs. The split by day is in each timesheet; classification and the final report stay with your reviewer.
You ask
Were any hours corrected this week?
Two corrections, both with a reason logged: a missed power-off on Monday and a site change on Wednesday. The original records are kept next to each edit.
Answers come only from your company's own records. Every number links to the records behind it. Read-only; admins control access.
How ZeroBadge AI worksQuestions
Questions about certified payroll and the badge record.
Does ZeroBadge produce or file certified payroll?
Why does certified payroll need hours from my other jobs?
Is Form WH-347 required?
Who has to sign the Statement of Compliance?
How long do we need to keep the time records?
Does this work for state prevailing wage jobs?
Keep exploring
Next: payroll, overtime and the WH-347 itself.
- SolutionPayroll integrationApproved hours sent to your payroll provider automatically. Nobody re-keys a timecard.
- SolutionConstruction overtime trackingDaily and weekly thresholds, overtime by job, and seeing it build during the week.
- SolutionExport timesheets to payrollCSV, Excel and PDF files of approved hours, and how they import.
- SolutionCertified payroll explainedWhat certified payroll is, who files it and when it is due.
- SolutionDavis-Bacon ActThe federal prevailing wage law behind weekly certified payrolls.
- SolutionMulti-jobsite time trackingSite transfers, transit and supply runs inside one shift record.
This is general information, not legal advice. Laws differ by state and change over time.
Last updated
Sources
- 1.Instructions for Completing Davis-Bacon and Related Acts Weekly Certified Payroll Form, WH-347 · US Department of Labor, Wage and Hour Division
- 2.29 CFR 5.5(a)(3), Payrolls and basic records · Electronic Code of Federal Regulations
- 3.Davis-Bacon and Related Acts · US Department of Labor, Wage and Hour Division
Get started
Give your certified payroll preparer a record to work from.
We'll walk through drawing covered projects, the weekly approval and how hours by worker, day and jobsite reach the person who prepares certified payroll.
What we will walk through
- 01Geofences for covered and private jobs
- 02Hours across every job in the workweek
- 03Corrections, the audit trail and the weekly PDF