QuickBooks is a solid accounting tool. It’s familiar, widely used, and gets the job done for general bookkeeping. But when it comes to running payroll for a construction team? That’s where it starts to crack.
If you’re trying to manage union rates, prevailing wages, certified payrolls, and multiple job sites with QuickBooks alone, you’re probably using spreadsheets, workarounds, or spending hours double-checking data. And if QuickBooks Payroll is your go-to? That’s an even bigger problem—especially with the desktop version of QuickBooks Payroll being phased out.
Let’s break down where things go wrong and what you can do about it.
The Truth About QuickBooks and Construction Payroll
QuickBooks may be a great system, but the truth is it wasn’t made for construction payroll. Here’s a look at some of the biggest construction and contractor needs it can’t handle well:
- Union wage tracking and fringe benefits
- Certified payroll reports for government jobs
- Multi-rate pay across different job sites or trades
- Job-based tax calculation for different states or cities
Workarounds might seem to “get it done,” but they waste time and invite costly errors. And with QuickBooks Desktop Payroll services ending, now’s the time to rethink your system.
Common Payroll Challenges for Construction Teams
Most construction teams deal with at least one of the following headaches. Odds are, you’re facing several:
- Tracking fringe benefits and union dues across jobs
- Generating WH-347 and certified payroll forms for public projects
- Allocating labor costs by trade or job site for accurate job costing
- Handling tax withholding across multiple states or municipalities
- Avoiding misclassification and compliance penalties
QuickBooks just isn’t built for these realities. Let’s dig a little deeper into how QuickBooks could fail your firm.
Why QuickBooks Falls Short for Contractors
QuickBooks Payroll lacks several crucial features for construction teams, including the ability to generate certified payroll reports, built-in union wage tables, and support for multiple trades or crew roles on a single paycheck. It also doesn’t offer job-level tax calculation and compliance tools for multi-state payroll, nor does it provide connected workflows between timecards, job costing, and payroll.
What ConstructionPayroll.com Does Differently
Skip the hours of problematic workarounds and let ConstructionPayroll.com help you handle your payroll differently.
- Handles Union Payroll with Precision: We include union rate tables, fringe tracking, dues, and remittances—right out of the box.
- Davis-Bacon & Certified Payroll Compliance: We auto-generate certified payroll forms like WH-347 to keep you audit-ready.
- Integrates with QuickBooks (Not Replaces It): We work with your existing QuickBooks setup, syncing data so you don’t have to start from scratch.
- Job-Based Costing and Tax Calculations: We use GPS and job data to automate wage allocation and calculate local tax rates accurately.
Features That Actually Support Construction Teams
Our software was built for this work. Here’s a look at some of our features:
- Certified payroll report generation
- Multi-state, multi-job, and multi-trade rate tracking
- Union benefit tracking and compliance
- GPS-based timecard integration
- Seamless job costing support
Still Using QuickBooks? No Problem
You don’t need to throw it out. You can still use QuickBooks as your main accounting tool and integrate our system with it for payroll.
ConstructionPayroll.com plugs into your workflow, fills in the gaps, and takes over the hard stuff QuickBooks can’t touch.
Built for Every Trade and Crew Type
Whether you’re a one-crew operation or managing dozens of jobs across states, we’ve got you covered:
- General contractors
- Remodelers
- Electricians, roofers, plumbers
- Union labor and subcontractors
- Mixed W-2 and 1099 teams
Construction Payroll Software FAQs
Q: What’s the difference between contractor and employee payroll?
Contractor payroll involves job-based pay, union requirements, and compliance documentation. Employee payroll is more static. We handle both.
Q: Why doesn’t general payroll software work for contractors?
Because it doesn’t offer tools for certified payroll, union dues, job costing, or compliance across states. Construction requires more than a standard system can provide.
Don’t Let Payroll Hold Your Team Back! Stay Ahead with ConstructionPayroll.com
QuickBooks is great for accounting, but it’s not a payroll solution for construction.
If you’re dealing with certified payrolls, union requirements, and job-based pay rates, you need a system built for the job.
We invite you to explore the payroll features of ConstructionPayroll.com. Get a quote today to learn more about how we can help your payroll headaches.