Prevailing wage requirements (for example, public works or government-funded projects) have to be managed and classified manually. This is time‑consuming and error‑prone — especially when there are multiple job types, labor classes, and changing wage determinations. Mistakes can lead to underpayment, overpayment, compliance issues, and extra rework for payroll and project teams. The prevailing wage automation feature simplifies how prevailing wage data is stored, applied, and updated so payroll can be processed more accurately and efficiently.

How it Works

1. Mark the job as certified in Arcoro Time.
2. Mark which benefits count as fringe.
3. Create a pay rate table for the Wage Determination Number (WDN), by hand or with the AI Rate Importer.
4. Link your jobs to the table.
5. Choose how rates are applied.
6. Sync time and validate each payroll.
7. Run certified payroll reports.

Before you begin

• Your role: Application Administrators, Payroll Administrators and Payroll Controllers can create and edit pay rate tables. Application Read Only users can view them only.
• Your information: Have your wage determination document ready. You need the WDN, the classifications, and the base, overtime (OT), double time (DT) and fringe rates.

Step 1: Arcoro Time

Jobs

"Jobs" provides an expanded structure for managing project details. For any user who has jobs turned on, they are now a required field for any employee to choose when they clock in. Jobs sync to Arcoro Payroll automatically.

• Click Add Job to create a new job or click the pencil icon for an existing job.
• Complete the provided fields for the job.
  
  • ID – (Required) Each Job and Subjob requires a unique ID.
  • Name – (Required) Each Job and Subjob requires a unique Name + ID combination.
  • Start Date – Does not currently affect job availability.
  • End Date – Does not currently affect job availability.
  • Certified Job – Enables tagging of jobs for prevailing wage requirements. This flag ensures that a labor class is chosen when an employee clocks into a job.
  • Department – Assigning a department applies that department to all time records for the job.
  • What locations should be associated with this job? – Location Assignment: Select all, one, or multiple locations available for time tracking to the job.
    • When a job is created, locations are associated with that job.  This allows field employees the ability to clock in to the correct location.  When they choose a job on clock in they will only be shown associated locations.
• Click Save or Save + New when finished.

Labor Classes

Employees on a certified job must pick a labor class, and they can only pick from the classes assigned to them. To review labor classes, go to Setup > Labor Classifications in Arcoro Payroll.

Step 2: Mark Which Benefits Count as Fringe

You decide which benefits count toward the fringe rate, because the rules vary by determination.

1. Go to Company > Benefits and open a benefit.
2. Turn on Prevailing Wage and save.
   

Only benefits marked Prevailing Wage count toward fringe in validation and on the WH-347.

Step 3: Create a Pay Rate Table

A pay rate table holds the rates for one wage determination. Create one table per WDN. Every job under that determination shares it. Each WDN can have only one table, including inactive ones.

Option A: Build the table by hand

1. Go to Setup > Wage Determination and click Add Pay Rate Table.
   

2. Complete the pay rate table fields:

   • Enter the Wage Determination Number (WDN) exactly as it appears on the determination. If the WDN already has a table, a red message tells you, and the button changes to Open Existing Table.
   • Choose the Jurisdiction (Federal or a state), then choose the State.
   • Under Counties, check Statewide: every county of the state, or choose the counties the table covers. The county list opens after you choose a State.
   • Choose the Construction type.
   • Check the Table Start Date. It starts as today’s date. The table’s first version starts on this date, so set it when you create the table.
      

   

3. Click the Save button at the bottom of the dialog. The Edit Pay Rate Table page opens. Everything is on this one page.
   
4. In Classifications, click Add Rate. Choose the classification and labor class, and enter the Base, OT, DT and Fringe rates. Repeat for each classification.
   
5. Turn the Active switch at the top of the page on when you are ready to use the table.
6. Add your jobs in the Jobs section (see Step 4).

Add after the steps:

Use the Show filter (All, Active, Inactive) to find a rate. Click History on a rate to see who changed it and when. Click the pencil to change it. Classifications show the newest version. To change an earlier version, open it under Version History.

Important: The WDN cannot be changed after you save. If you made a typo, create a new table with the correct WDN, link the jobs to it, and make the incorrect table inactive. The Copy action is a quick way to bring over classifications. Copy does not copy jobs.

Option B: Import the table with the AI Rate Importer

For federal determinations, you do not have to retype anything. Enter the WDN and the published classifications and rates arrive as a pay rate table.

1. Go to Setup > Wage Determination and click Import from SAM.gov.
2. Enter the WDN or paste the SAM.gov address, then click Look up.
   
   
3. Choose the modification to import. The newest one is marked "(in force)". Import an older modification if your project was awarded under it.
4. Match each published classification to one of your labor classes. Confirm the suggestion or pick a different class. If a classification does not apply to you, choose No labor class: leave it off the table.
   
   
   
   
   
5. Review every imported line, then Approve.
   

Nothing is saved until you approve. The new table starts inactive so you can check it before turning it on.

If some published lines are left off the table, a 1 item needs attention message appears on the pay rate table and lists them. Unlink the table to add them with Add Rate, or match them to a labor class with Review Mapping.

Good to Know About Imports

• Only federal determinations on SAM.gov can be imported. Build state and local determinations by hand.
• The jurisdiction, counties and construction type come from the published determination.
• An inactive determination can be imported. You will see a warning to use it only for projects already awarded under it.
• If an imported rate is lower than a rate already on your table, Payroll keeps your higher rate unless you choose the published one. You see both side by side.
• If a line shows a fringe written as text, enter the fringe amount (or $0) before you approve.
• If a determination shows no publication date, you type the date before you approve.
• Always check the review screen before you approve.

Step 4: Link jobs to the table

Open the pay rate table. The Jobs section is near the top of the page.

1. Click Add Job.
   
2. Choose the Job.
   
3. Enter the Effective Date (see below).
4. Click Add. Repeat for each job.

The Jobs list shows each job’s Effective Date, Rate Version and Status. Under the list, the page says: “Each job uses the rate version in effect on its effective date. Adding a version never changes a job dated before it.”

Job effective date. The help icon next to the field explains it. This date decides which version of the table’s rates the job uses. It is up to you to enter it. Use the date your agreement’s wage rates were set:

Sealed bid: 10 calendar days before bid opening. Negotiated agreement: the award date. Federally assisted project: the start of construction. Check that the Rate Version shown matches the modification number in your agreement. If you change the date, processed payrolls keep their rates. Time synced again into an unprocessed payroll uses the new version’s rates.

• Link as many jobs as you need. Edit the table once and every linked job follows.
• A job can be linked to only one table for any period. If dates overlap, a message names the job and the other table.
• A table with no linked jobs does not affect payroll.
• Tables created before the WDN update show their original job and "WD Number Not Set". Add a WDN once, then link other jobs to combine duplicate tables.
• For a California table, you may be asked for the DIR PWC-100 Project ID. Enter PWC-100 pending if you do not have it yet.

Step 5: Choose how rates are applied

Automatically Set Rates (on each pay rate table)

When on, Payroll raises base, OT and DT pay to the table rate during the Arcoro Time sync if the employee’s rate is lower. It creates a rate code named with the job, labor class and time category. It never changes fringe. You turn this on in Table Details on the pay rate table.

Important: Once a table is active, you cannot change this setting. Decide before you activate the table.

Automatically Calculate Fringe Cash Shortfalls

If benefits do not cover the fringe rate, you may pay the difference in cash. This setting works it out for you and adds a Cash in Lieu of Fringe earning to the payroll. It counts in validation and appears on the WH-347.

1. Go to Setup > Company Settings. In the Wage Determination group, check Automatically Calculate Fringe Cash Shortfalls and save.
   
2. Open the pay rate table. In Table Details, turn on Automatically Calculate Fringe Cash Shortfalls and save.
   

• The switch covers every classification on the table.
• Cash = (table fringe rate minus the fringe the employee already gets per hour) x hours worked. Cash is taxable like wages.
• It is calculated when time syncs from Arcoro Time, when you click Validate Payroll or Refresh Validation, and when you run the Prevailing Wage Summary report.
• It applies to every Draft or Submitted payroll, including one that is already open. Paid payrolls are never changed.
• If benefits already cover the fringe, no cash is added and nothing is taken away.
• Cash lines cannot be deleted on the Employees tab. To stop them, turn the table switch off. Draft and Submitted payrolls lose the cash lines at the next sync or validation. Processed and paid payrolls keep theirs.
• If you use Multi-Entity, turn on the company setting in each business unit.
• If the payroll is still calculating, the first validation may not add the cash. Validate again. Payrolls with more than 500 items calculate in the background, so the cash appears at the next sync or validation.

Wage Determination Rate Comparison (company setting)

This setting decides how base pay above the table is treated. It is in Setup > Company Settings, in the Wage Determination group.

• Individual rates (default): The base rate and the fringe rate must each meet the table. Base pay above the table does not count toward fringe.
• Total rates: The base rate must still meet the table. Base pay above the table counts toward fringe.

Example. The table is $25.00 base and $5.50 fringe. An employee earns $28.00 for 20 hours and has no benefits.

• Individual rates: the fringe shortfall is $5.50, so automatic cash is $110.00.
• Total rates: the extra $3.00 of base counts toward fringe, so the shortfall is $2.50 and automatic cash is $50.00.

In Total rates, a base rate below the table is still flagged. Overtime and double time premiums do not count toward fringe. Each job is calculated on its own. New companies start on Individual rates.

Step 6: Sync time and validate payroll

1. Sync time from Arcoro Time to Arcoro Payroll as usual. Job, labor class and rates are matched to the pay rate table during the sync.
2. Open the payroll and go to the Wage Determination tab.
3. Click Validate Payroll. After you make changes, click Refresh Validation.

The tab lists employees on jobs linked to an active pay rate table. For each one, Payroll checks:

• Individual rates: Base, OT, DT and fringe are each compared to the table.
• Total rates: If your company uses Total rates, extra base pay counts toward fringe.

Click the Fringe Rate to see how it was calculated.

Alerts. After you validate, the result is saved. You see a red banner on the payroll, a count on the Wage Determination tab, a red icon on the Payrolls list, and a message on the Certified Payroll report page. The report still downloads. To clear the alerts, fix the employee's pay, benefits or earnings, then click Refresh Validation.

Things to know

• The tab shows on Draft, Submitted and Pending payrolls. It does not show after a payroll is paid.
• Salaried employees and contractors are not validated. Employees on non-certified work do not appear.
• If you enter hours by hand or import a CSV, click Validate Payroll to run the checks.
• After you change a table's rates, validate draft payrolls again.

Step 7: Run certified payroll reports

Go to Reports > Certified Payroll (By Job). Select the Certified Job and Format, choose your dates, and download the report. You can create the WH-347 as a PDF or CSV. An LCP Tracker CSV is also available. For what is on the WH-347 and where each value comes from, see WH-347 Certified Payroll Report in Arcoro Payroll.

To keep off-site work, such as shop fabrication, off these reports while still paying and job costing it, see How to exclude a labor class from certified payroll reports.

Keeping rates current

Link and unlink

A pay rate table shows its link status at the top of the page. A linked table reads Linked to SAM.gov: modification [number], published [date].

• Link a hand-built table to a SAM.gov determination so Arcoro tracks its revisions.
• Unlink a table to edit its rates yourself, for example if you need a rate that is not in the publication. Click Unlink at the top of the page. Unlinking stops revision tracking. The table keeps its rates, versions, job dates and history.
• On a linked table, the rates cannot be edited. The page shows this notice in Version History: “Read-only. This table is linked to SAM.gov, so its rates cannot be edited. Unlink the table to change rates by hand.” You can still add and change jobs.

Revisions on SAM.gov

Arcoro checks SAM.gov every night for tables that are linked. When a new revision is found, an orange badge shows on the Wage Determination menu the next time you log in. No email is sent. You can also click Check SAM.gov for Updates at the top of the pay rate table at any time.

1. Open the table and review the revision, including any new or changed classifications.
2. Confirm the labor class matches and approve.

Revisions are never applied automatically. If you do not want a table checked, turn off Automatically Look For SAM.gov Updates on that table. It is on by default.

Versions and effective dates

Approving a revision adds a new dated version. Jobs already linked keep their rates. Jobs linked afterward get the new rates.

Open Version History on the pay rate table to see every version. Each version shows its dates, its source (for example, SAM.gov, Modification 2), and who approved it and when. The newest version opens first. Click History to see who changed what, and when. Only the newest version of a table you built by hand can be edited.

If a job was certified after the fact

Update the job and rate table, then re-sync time from Arcoro Time. If the payroll is still Draft, Submitted or Pending, validate it and resolve the flags. If it was already paid, Payroll cannot recalculate it. Pay any shortfall as a cash or non-hourly earning on a future payroll, and keep a record of the pay periods and amounts. Check with your legal or compliance advisor for larger corrections.

Troubleshooting

• An employee does not appear on the Wage Determination tab. 
  • Check that the job is certified and linked to an Active pay rate table, and that the table's dates cover the work date. Also check that the employee is hourly and that their time has a job and labor class.
• I cannot create a table for a WDN. 
  • That WDN already has a table, possibly an inactive one. Select Open existing table.
• I cannot link a job to a table. 
  • The job is already on another table for overlapping dates. Change the Effective Date when you add the job, or remove the job from the other table first.
• The rates were not raised during sync. 
  • Check that Automatically Set Rates is on for the table. It cannot be turned on after the table is active, and it does not change fringe.
• An imported table is read-only. 
  • It is linked to a SAM.gov determination. Click Unlink at the top of the pay rate table to edit the rates.
• An import did not find my determination.
  • Check the WDN for typos. Only federal determinations on SAM.gov can be imported.
• The fringe cash did not appear. 
  • Click Refresh Validation again. Check that both the company setting and the table switch are on, and that the payroll is Draft or Submitted.

Frequently asked questions

Do I need a separate table for every job?

No. Create one table per WDN and link every job that uses it.

Can I still enter rates by hand?

Yes. The AI Rate Importer is optional. State and local determinations are always entered by hand.

Does the importer change my table without asking?

No. You review every match and approve before anything is saved. You also approve every later revision.

Are salaried employees checked?

No. Salaried employees and contractors are not validated. Use reports such as the Payroll Register to review them.

Can I use Wage Determination for union payroll? 

Pay rate tables do not currently support escalation schedules, so union customers get only partial validation value today.

Still need help?

Contact Arcoro Support and share the job, pay day and WDN you are working with.