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Preparing certified payroll records in QuickBooks
QuickBooks records can be part of your certified payroll workflow. The useful starting point is consistent job and payroll information that you can review and export, with supporting records for the details your setup does not capture.
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General information, not legal or tax advice.
Agree on job and classification labels
Use consistent project names in your bookkeeping and time records. Keep a separate record of the wage classifications supplied for each project. Do not assume an accounting category is the same as a prevailing wage classification.
Track hours and fringe records together
Record hours by worker, job and classification in the time records supporting your QuickBooks entries. Keep benefit contributions and cash fringe amounts identifiable in your supporting records so the report preparer can trace them.
Keep public and private hours available
AB 889 requires credit for employer benefit payments to be annualized when those payments are higher on public works than on private work, with the Director’s discretionary annualization exception removed and revocation of annualization exemptions authorized before January 1, 2026. Keep the full-year records available when preparing the year-end 2026 annualization review.
Sources: AB 889 (2025), chaptered bill text, California Legislature
Review, then export
Review the payroll period, worker information, hours and wage totals against the underlying time records. Export the available payroll and job information from your QuickBooks setup for the reporting workflow. Keep any supplementary fringe or classification worksheet with that export.
Available reports and export options depend on your QuickBooks setup. Check the fields actually included rather than assuming an export is ready to file.
Prepare the required submission
DIR accepts certified payroll through web entry or its published XML format. Check the contract’s federal reporting format and whether DIR reporting also applies. Caltrans’s manual describes weekly reports to Labor Compliance. Review the exported information against the required report before submitting.
Sources: DIR certified payroll reporting; Caltrans Labor Compliance Manual, chapter 13
Where bookkeeping support fits
Tidwell offers QuickBooks ProAdvisor expertise. We help review the records, organize project payroll information and prepare certified payroll filings from the information you supply.
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We can file this for you
We prepare and file certified payroll using the project information, wage rates and classifications you provide. Tell us which reports you need help with.