First Public Job Certified Payroll Kit

A federal Davis-Bacon job requires certified payroll for each week of covered work. The hours, classifications, wage rates, fringe benefit credits and actual pay all need to agree before the Statement of Compliance is signed.

This kit brings those figures together in an Excel workbook. You enter each day's straight time and overtime hours, the rates paid and each worker's pay record. The workbook compares project rows with the rates you enter, flags missing required entries and preliminary wage differences, and prepares a printable certified payroll and Statement of Compliance. Certified Payroll follows the column order of Form WH-347. Statement of Compliance uses the Department of Labor's wording. Compare both with your payroll records before you sign.

You receive a blank workbook for your project, two example copies of the same week (one still in review, one finished) and a guide. One file holds one project and one workweek, for up to 25 workers. Print and sign the payroll and the statement where your agency or prime contractor takes a contractor's own format, or copy the figures to the free Department of Labor form or the reporting system they name. You sign and submit the payroll yourself.

What the workbook does

• Start Here. Follow the setup order and the weekly steps. Links select the week's entries so you can clear them when you start the next payroll week, with an hours only link for a week on the same rows and rates.
• Project Setup. Record the contract details, workweek and certifying official. Eight questions for the contracting agency give you space for each answer, contact and date.
• Classification Log. Enter up to 40 classification rate lines, each marked J or RA, with the applicable basic hourly rate, fringe rate and first work date. Percentage fringe rates are converted to dollars. An apprenticeship training credit you calculate for a classification is entered on its rate lines and applied only to hours in that classification. An apprentice rate line is completed on the Apprentices tab.
• Apprentices. Enter each program once, with its ratio, and each apprentice rate line with the program percentage and the fringe the program calls for. The workbook works out the lowest basic rate the percentage allows, compares the fringe, and counts apprentices and journeyworkers in each craft for each day against the ratio, including a ratio that changes after the first journeyworker. The daily count is a screening check. It does not show who worked together at the same hour, and the workbook does not confirm that a program or a worker is registered.
• Crew Fringe Credit. Calculate hourly credits for up to 25 workers across six benefit plans. For benefits requiring annualization, the workbook spreads qualifying employer costs across the worker's hours for the same period. Qualifying defined contribution pension plans can use the employer's hourly contribution when you confirm the conditions. Credits are rounded down to the cent. Enter each worker's middle initial and a short identifying number for the printed payroll: the last four digits of the Social Security number or a number of your own, never the full number.
• Weekly Hours Split. Record up to 40 rows for one week, with separate rows for each job and classification. Enter straight time and overtime hours for each day, as column 4 of the form asks, and the week totals follow from your entries. Each project row compares cash pay and qualifying benefit credit with the prevailing rate entered. The workbook flags missing information and any amount short of the prevailing rate, and calculates the amounts for columns 6B and 6C. It also checks overtime hours and the overtime rate floor. In a week with more than one basic rate, it compares the overtime pay entered with the weighted average method and with one and a half times the rate in effect, and asks you to confirm your own calculation.
• Weekly Pay Record. Enter each worker's gross pay, tax withholdings, FICA, other deductions and net pay from your payroll record. The workbook compares gross pay with the hours and rates you entered, allowing five cents for rounding, and checks that net pay equals gross pay less deductions. An Additional pay column holds holiday pay, vacation pay or a bonus included in gross wages.
• Certified Payroll and Statement of Compliance. Certified Payroll sets out the week in the column order of Form WH-347 (Rev. January 2025), with a straight time line and an overtime line for every entry, up to 40 entries on two pages. Statement of Compliance carries the Department of Labor's certification wording, the boxes your answers and entries support, the apprenticeship table, the plan table and the signature block. A page printed while the review is open is marked DRAFT. These pages are your own payroll format. They are not Form WH-347. Confirm the format your agency or prime contractor requires before you send them.
• Pre Signature Check. Fourteen automatic workbook checks and a 38 line checklist help you review both pages and the payroll records behind them. The result changes to Review complete only when every required answer is confirmed and no workbook check remains open. Review complete describes the workbook. You still verify your records and sign. More than 130 different Check and Short messages identify entries that need review.
• Payroll Log. Track up to 60 weeks, the payroll numbers used under your agency's instructions, regular pay dates, the dates seven days afterward, submission dates and recipients.
• No Work Letter. Prepare a notice for weeks without covered work when the agency requires or accepts one. The letter uses the project information and dates you enter.
• Correction Worksheet. When an hourly underpayment is found after a payroll is sent, list each worker, the hours, the rate paid and the rate owed, at straight time or overtime. The worksheet checks the rate owed against your rate line, works out the adjustment rate, the gross restitution and the net amount paid, estimates interest at the rate you enter, and prints a correction payroll with a statement to sign, in the layout HUD describes. Other corrections, such as a deduction taken in error, are worked out separately. A payroll reprinted after a correction with no money owed can be marked as a corrected copy.
• Sources. Open the government form, regulations and other references used in the workbook.

The two examples

Both example files hold the same week for Example Builders LLC, with three workers, one of them a registered apprentice, two classifications and two benefit plans. One worker splits the week between two classifications and a private job with overtime.

The Worked Example shows the week in review. One overtime confirmation is left unanswered and the example entries are still in place, so two workbook checks stay open and you can see how open items read. Its printed pages are marked DRAFT. The Finished Example shows the same week with the review complete and the payroll and statement ready to print.

The figures match the examples in the guide, so you can follow the entries and results together.

What the guide covers

• Confirm the contract details, applicable wage rates and agency instructions, with a first week checklist.
• Calculate qualifying fringe benefit credit, including annualization and the pension exception.
• Review a workweek by job and classification, including overtime under the two federal laws that may apply.
• Understand the main review messages and what to check next.
• Compare the week with your payroll record, including deductions and net pay.
• See the example week in the column order of Form WH-347, with gross pay columns 7A and 7B worked through.
• Complete the review before signing, start the next week, understand where state requirements may differ, and consult the government sources used in the kit.

Files

Your download includes six files.

• Certified Payroll Workbook (Excel, 14 tabs). The blank working copy for your project.
• Certified Payroll Workbook Worked Example (Excel, 14 tabs). One sample workweek in review, with open items showing.
• Certified Payroll Workbook Finished Example (Excel, 14 tabs). The same week with the review complete.
• First Public Job Certified Payroll Guide (PDF, 19 pages).
• TrueStep HR Product License (PDF). The Standard License covers internal use within one legal entity. Contact TrueStep HR about an Extended License for multiple entities or client work.
• Using This Workbook in Google Sheets (PDF, 1 page).

The workbook images show the example files. Your working copy opens with blank entry cells.

Who it is built for

Built for

• An owner or office manager preparing certified payroll for a first federal Davis-Bacon job.
• A subcontractor preparing weekly certified payroll for a prime contractor or contracting agency.
• A construction payroll or HR lead who wants another check of classification rates, fringe credits, overtime entries, gross pay and net pay before signing.

Free resources

• Use our free Davis-Bacon Fringe Benefit Credit Calculator to calculate one worker's credit.
• Read How to complete Form WH-347 for guidance on both pages of the government form.

Before you buy

How is the kit different from the free calculator and note?

The free Davis-Bacon Fringe Benefit Credit Calculator works out a credit for one worker. The free note explains how to complete Form WH-347.

The kit brings up to 25 workers and 40 weekly rows into one working file. It compares project entries with the prevailing rates you enter, shows any amount still short, checks selected overtime entries, and compares gross and net pay with your payroll record. It also prepares a printable certified payroll and Statement of Compliance and guides your review before signing. Payroll Log keeps the submission history across weeks.

What format are the files, and what do I need?

The three workbooks are Microsoft Excel files (.xlsx), and you need Excel to use them. They were tested in desktop Excel for Windows and have not been tested in Excel for Mac. Enter information in the amber cells. Calculated cells are protected to reduce accidental edits, and the protection can be removed if you need to inspect a formula.

The guide, Google Sheets note and license are PDFs.

Is Form WH-347 in the kit?

No. The form is free from the Department of Labor, and the workbook's Sources tab links to it. The workbook prints your week as a certified payroll in the form's column order and a Statement of Compliance in the form's wording. Federal rules allow a contractor's own payroll format when it holds the required information (29 CFR 5.5(a)(3)(ii)), and the form's instructions allow a statement on another document with identical wording. Many agencies and prime contractors require their own system, so the workbook has you ask before the first payroll. You can also copy the figures to Form WH-347.

Does it handle daily hours, deductions and net pay?

Yes, as entries you bring from your own records. You enter straight time and overtime hours for each day from your time records, and each worker's deductions and net pay from your payroll record. The workbook adds the week, checks that net pay equals gross pay less deductions and shows the amounts under columns 4, 5, 8 and 9 on Certified Payroll. It does not calculate taxes or withholding.

Does it calculate overtime pay?

The workbook checks whether the required overtime hours have been entered and whether the entered overtime cash rate meets the applicable floor.

When a worker has more than one basic rate during the week, or additional pay such as a bonus, the workbook compares the overtime pay entered with the weighted average method and with one and a half times the rate in effect, and you confirm your own calculation. It does not decide which method applies or include a bonus in the regular rate. The guide includes the Department of Labor's examples of two permitted calculation methods and works one through for the example week.

Does it handle apprentices?

Enter each program once, with its ratio, and each apprentice rate line with the program percentage and the fringe the program calls for. The workbook works out the lowest basic rate the percentage allows, compares the fringe, and counts apprentices and journeyworkers in each craft for each day against the ratio, including a ratio that changes after the first journeyworker. The daily count is a screening check. It does not show who worked together at the same hour, and the workbook does not confirm that a program or a worker is registered. Up to four programs and twelve apprentice rate lines. The printed statement shows three programs, and a fourth goes on an addendum of your own.

What if I find a mistake after I submit?

When an hourly underpayment is found after a payroll is sent, list each worker, the hours, the rate paid and the rate owed, at straight time or overtime. The worksheet checks the rate owed against your rate line, works out the adjustment rate, the gross restitution and the net amount paid, estimates interest at the rate you enter, and prints a correction payroll with a statement to sign, in the layout HUD describes. Other corrections, such as a deduction taken in error, are worked out separately. A payroll reprinted after a correction with no money owed can be marked as a corrected copy. Twenty correction lines. Interest is an estimate at one rate. Ask your agency or prime contractor how it wants a correction sent.

How much does one workbook hold?

One working copy holds the entries for one payroll week, with up to 40 weekly rows, 25 workers, six benefit plans and 40 classification rate lines. Hours do not carry from one week's file to the next.

Payroll Log holds 60 weeks. For each new week, save another copy, click the links on Start Here one at a time and press Delete after each one. Your project details, classifications, crew information and Payroll Log carry forward.

Does it connect to my payroll software?

No. The workbook is used alongside your existing time and payroll records. Enter the daily hours, the rates and each worker's pay record in the amber cells. The kit does not import payroll data, process wages or submit certified payroll electronically. If your timesheet export has a row for each worker and a column for each day, the hours can be pasted into the daily hours cells as values.

Does it work in Google Sheets?

Plan to use Microsoft Excel. The workbooks are designed for Excel, were tested there, and have not been tested after conversion to Google Sheets.

A one page note explains how to make a Google Sheets copy and which results and controls to compare with Excel before using it.

Does it cover state prevailing wage jobs?

The calculations and the printed pages cover federal Davis-Bacon work and Form WH-347. State prevailing wage requirements, forms and filing systems are separate.

The guide explains differences to confirm with the state agency and includes California, Illinois and New York as examples.

Can I use the files for more than one company?

The Standard License covers internal use within one legal entity. For multiple legal entities or client work, email support@truestephr.com about an Extended License.

The license does not expire, and this is a one time purchase rather than a subscription.

What if the rules change after I buy?

Version 1.1 was researched 12 November 2026. The guide and workbooks state that date and identify the government sources used.

Use the wage determination incorporated into your contract and the reporting instructions from your agency. If TrueStep HR publishes a revised edition, your original download link provides the revised files.

What is the refund policy?

Digital products are covered by a 30-day money-back guarantee. To request a refund, email support@truestephr.com or reply to your receipt within 30 days of purchase.

What happens after I buy?

Your download link appears immediately after checkout, and your receipt arrives by email with the same link. Open the guide first, then the Worked Example and the Finished Example, then the Start Here tab of your own working copy. If Excel opens a workbook in Protected View, choose Enable Editing. For setup questions, email support@truestephr.com. Support is by email only.

How the download works

Your files arrive as a single ZIP download, best opened on a computer. Save it and extract it (right-click and select Extract All on Windows, or double-click on a Mac). PDFs open in any reader, and the workbooks open in Microsoft Excel. Step-by-step help for every device is at truestephr.com/pages/download-help.

What the kit does not do

• It does not run payroll, taxes or withholding.
• It does not file with an agency or export to a system.
• It does not read a timesheet file or look up wage rates.
• It covers federal work only. State forms are separate.
• One file holds one project and one workweek, with up to 25 workers and 40 rows.
• It prepares one business's own payroll and does not collect subcontractor payrolls.
• It does not decide which overtime method applies.
• It does not confirm that a program or a worker is registered, see who worked at the same hour, or handle trainee programs.
• Interest on a correction is an estimate, and liquidated damages are not worked out.
• The workbooks have not been tested in Excel for Mac.

Scope

This kit supports the preparation and review of weekly certified payroll under federal Davis-Bacon requirements, as researched 12 November 2026. Confirm the wage determination, classifications, benefit eligibility and wages actually paid for your contract. Your payroll system handles wages, taxes and withholding. The workbook compares overtime pay with the weighted average method, but you confirm which method applies.

Each working file holds one project and one workweek, with up to 25 workers and 40 rows. The kit does not prepare state prevailing wage forms, collect subcontractor payrolls or submit reports to an agency. It never requires a full Social Security number. Column 1E uses the last four digits or another short identifying number. The printed pages are your own payroll format, and the agency or prime contractor decides which format it takes. Correction interest is an estimate. The kit provides general information, not legal advice.