The single fact that should decide this purchase is whether you bid prevailing wage government work, because Gusto and standard QuickBooks Payroll do not generate WH-347 certified payroll reports natively. A contractor doing straightforward private-sector work is well served by Gusto, starting around $80 base plus $12 per employee per month. A contractor bidding Davis-Bacon or state prevailing wage jobs needs a construction-native platform like Foundation Software, Payroll4Construction or Miter, which handle certified payroll, prevailing wage rate application, and union fringe tracking, at a meaningfully higher price point commonly $450 to $2,500 per month.
Key takeaways
- Gusto does not produce WH-347 certified payroll reports natively; contractors bidding prevailing wage work need to pair it with a certified payroll add-on or switch to a construction-specific platform entirely.
- No general-purpose payroll platform, including QuickBooks Payroll, generates certified payroll natively, a gap that surprises contractors who assume their existing payroll software will handle a first government contract.
- Construction-native platforms like Foundation Software, Payroll4Construction and Miter handle certified payroll, prevailing wage rate application and multi-fund union fringe tracking, commonly priced at $450 to $2,500 per month.
- Gusto's reported pricing runs around $80 base plus $12 per employee monthly for its Plus tier, meaningfully cheaper than construction-native platforms for a contractor who never bids government work.
- Job costing labor back to a specific job, not just processing payroll, is the other feature that separates construction payroll software from generic small-business payroll.
Contractor payroll software compared at a glance
| Platform | Best for | Certified payroll | Price range | Standout |
|---|
| Gusto | Private-sector work, no prevailing wage bids | No, natively | ~$80 base + $12/employee/mo, reported | Simple, well-reviewed general payroll |
| QuickBooks Payroll | Businesses already on QuickBooks | No, natively | Tiered, published on QuickBooks site | Tight accounting integration |
| Foundation Software | Government and prevailing wage contractors | Yes, WH-347 and state equivalents | Higher, quote-based | Deep construction-specific compliance |
| Payroll4Construction | Construction-focused certified payroll | Yes | $450 to $2,500/mo, reported | Purpose-built for construction payroll |
| Miter | Modern construction payroll and HR | Yes | Quote-based | Combines payroll, HR and job costing |
| ADP Workforce Now | Larger crews wanting an established provider | Available with construction add-ons | $23 to $30/employee/mo, reported | Established enterprise payroll infrastructure |
The certified payroll trap that catches contractors off guard
A contractor running Gusto or QuickBooks Payroll smoothly for years can hit a wall the first time they win a prevailing wage government contract. Federal Davis-Bacon work and many state-level prevailing wage laws require certified payroll reporting, most commonly the WH-347 form, documenting exactly what each worker was paid on that specific job against the legally mandated prevailing wage rate. Neither Gusto nor standard QuickBooks Payroll generates this report natively. Contractors discover this gap either during a pre-bid review, the better time, or after winning the job and realizing their existing payroll system cannot produce required documentation, the far more expensive time.
The fix is either pairing general payroll software with a dedicated certified payroll add-on service, or switching to a construction-native platform that handles it end to end. If you already know prevailing wage work is part of your future, building the switch into your plan before you need it avoids a compliance scramble under a real deadline.
Gusto and QuickBooks: fine for private-sector work only
Gusto's reported pricing runs around $80 base plus $12 per employee monthly for its Plus tier, a genuinely competitive price for straightforward payroll, tax filing and benefits administration. It struggles specifically with certified payroll, multi-state complexity beyond basic filing, and union fringe tracking, all real needs for a contractor doing government or union work.
Best for: contractors doing exclusively private-sector work with no prevailing wage or union payroll requirements.
QuickBooks Payroll carries the advantage of tight integration if your accounting already runs through QuickBooks, covered further in QuickBooks job costing setup, but shares the same certified payroll gap as Gusto.
Foundation, Payroll4Construction and Miter: built for compliance
Foundation Software handles certified payroll including WH-347 generation, prevailing wage rate application across job classifications, and union fringe tracking across multiple funds, the depth genuinely required for consistent government contracting. Payroll4Construction is reported in the $450 to $2,500 per month range depending on company size and complexity, purpose-built specifically for construction payroll compliance rather than adapted from a general small-business tool.
Miter takes a more modern approach, combining payroll, HR and job costing in one platform aimed at construction companies wanting current software design without sacrificing certified payroll compliance.
Best for: contractors who regularly bid Davis-Bacon or state prevailing wage government work and need certified payroll built in, not bolted on.
Job costing labor: the other construction-specific need
Beyond certified payroll, the feature separating construction payroll software from generic small-business payroll is job costing labor back to a specific project. A crew splitting hours across two job sites in one day needs that labor cost allocated correctly to each job's budget, not lumped into a single undifferentiated payroll expense. Construction-native platforms build this allocation into the payroll process itself; general platforms usually require a manual workaround or a separate integration to get labor costs into project-level reporting.
What to check before you sign a certified payroll contract
Before switching to a construction-native platform for an upcoming government contract, confirm three things directly with the vendor rather than assuming coverage. First, ask which specific state prevailing wage laws the platform supports beyond federal Davis-Bacon, since state requirements vary and not every construction payroll platform covers every state equally well. Second, ask how union fringe benefits are tracked if any of your crew is union, since fringe calculations across multiple funds are a common source of certified payroll errors even on platforms built to handle them. Third, ask for a sample WH-347 report generated from test data so you can confirm the output actually matches what your specific contracting agency requires, since agencies occasionally have formatting preferences beyond the bare federal minimum.
Multi-state complexity for crews that travel
A contractor whose crews cross state lines for jobs faces a real compliance burden most general payroll platforms handle only partially: withholding rules, unemployment insurance, and reporting requirements all vary by state, and getting this wrong creates real liability. ADP Workforce Now, reported at $23 to $30 per employee monthly, brings established enterprise-grade multi-state payroll infrastructure that smaller providers sometimes lack, worth the premium for a contractor genuinely operating across several states regularly.
Choose based on whether you bid government work
- Choose Gusto if you do exclusively private-sector work with no prevailing wage requirements on the horizon.
- Choose Foundation Software or Payroll4Construction if certified payroll and prevailing wage compliance are a current or near-term need.
- Choose Miter if you want construction-specific compliance with a more modern software experience.
- Choose ADP Workforce Now if multi-state complexity across a larger crew is your primary challenge.
Payroll data only tells the full story alongside proper job costing; see job costing for contractors and best accounting software for contractors for the accounting side of the same problem, and contractor marketing budget: how much to spend in 2026 for how payroll fits into a wider fixed-cost picture worth reviewing whenever a major software switch is on the table. If you are also weighing document management for the certified payroll paperwork itself, document management software for contractors covers that separate but related need.
How we put this together
Certified payroll and prevailing wage requirements described here reflect standard Davis-Bacon Act and state-level prevailing wage law provisions as of 2026. Pricing figures for Gusto, Payroll4Construction and ADP Workforce Now are drawn from multiple independent industry sources reporting consistent ranges, since we could not directly verify current pricing on every vendor's own site. Foundation Software and Miter pricing is quote-based and not publicly listed. Confirm current pricing and compliance capabilities directly with any vendor before switching payroll providers.
Frequently asked questions
Does Gusto do certified payroll?
No, Gusto does not generate WH-347 certified payroll reports natively. Contractors bidding prevailing wage work need to pair Gusto with a certified payroll add-on service or switch to a construction-native platform.
What is certified payroll and why does it matter?
Certified payroll is required documentation, most commonly the WH-347 form, proving workers on a federal Davis-Bacon or state prevailing wage project were paid at least the legally mandated prevailing wage rate for their classification. Missing or inaccurate certified payroll reporting on government work creates real compliance and contract risk.
Does QuickBooks Payroll handle certified payroll?
No, standard QuickBooks Payroll shares the same gap as Gusto and does not generate certified payroll reports natively, despite being a common general accounting platform for contractors.
How much does construction-specific payroll software cost?
Platforms built for certified payroll and construction compliance, like Payroll4Construction, are commonly reported in the $450 to $2,500 per month range depending on company size and complexity, meaningfully higher than general payroll software like Gusto.
Can I use Gusto and add certified payroll separately?
Yes, some contractors pair Gusto with a dedicated certified payroll add-on service like LCPtracker rather than switching platforms entirely, though a fully integrated construction-native platform often reduces the administrative overhead of managing two separate systems.
What is job costing in the context of payroll?
It means allocating each employee's labor hours and cost to the specific job or project they worked on, rather than treating payroll as one undifferentiated expense, which construction-native payroll platforms handle natively and general small-business payroll typically does not.
