California does not accept the WH-347 for state-funded public works. Instead, contractors file weekly through the California Department of Industrial Relations (DIR) eCPR system. Arcoro Payroll builds the eCPR XML file for you from the payroll you already ran. You upload the file to the DIR eCPR portal and certify it there. Arcoro Payroll does not file with the state for you.
This article shows what to set up, how to generate the file, what the file contains, and how to fix the most common messages.
Using the CA eCPR Certified Payroll Report
- Set up the job as a certified job in Arcoro Time.
- Link the job to an active pay rate table with the jurisdiction set to California.
- Enter the California details for your company and for each California job.
- Process payroll for the week.
- On the Certified Payroll by Job report, choose the CA eCPR (XML) format, select the job and the week ending date, and generate the file.
- Review the file, upload it to the DIR eCPR portal, and certify it there.
Why is CA eCPR (XML) Not Listed?
The CA eCPR (XML) format appears in the Format list only when your company has at least one qualifying California job. Check each item below.
- A pay rate table has the jurisdiction set to California. A table saved as Federal, blank or another state does not count. If you just changed the jurisdiction, save the table first.
- That pay rate table is active.
- The table has at least one job linked to it.
- The linked job is both active and certified. Jobs that are not active, or not flagged as certified in Arcoro Time, are not listed on the report, so they cannot turn the format on.
- Your company uses the multi-FEIN setting. A Business Unit uses the pay rate tables of its parent Organization. The California table and job links must be set up there.
The other formats (LCP Tracker CSV, WH-347 CSV and WH-347 PDF) are always listed.
Setup Checklist Before Running Report
Company Settings
Go to Company Settings and complete the California Certified Payroll group. Leave it blank if your company has no California public works jobs.
- Contractor License Type: CSLB, PL, or OTHER.
- Contractor License Number.
- DIR PWCR Number: your 10-digit DIR Public Works Contractor Registration number, or NA.
- Workers' Comp Policy Number, or NA.
The file also needs these from the rest of Setup:
- Setup > Tax Parameters: the company's 9-digit federal EIN.
- Setup > General Information: the company's full address (street, city, state and 5-digit ZIP code) and a valid company email, up to 60 characters.
Job Details
On each California job's pay rate table, enter:
- DIR PWC-100 Project ID: the ID the DIR assigns to the public works project. The DIR schema accepts digits only.
- Contracted With: who your company is in direct contract with.
Arcoro Payroll asks for both when you add a job to a California pay rate table.
Employees
- A 9-digit Social Security number and a complete home address (street, city, state and 5-digit ZIP code) for every worker on the job that week. California requires the full SSN.
- California DE 4 allowances, when the employee has them on file.
- A labor classification on every earning for the job.
Pay
- Pay the job's work at an hourly rate. California eCPR files take hourly rates only. Annual and piece rates are refused, and the message names the worker and the payroll.
Weeks with No Hours
On Setup > Jobs, the job's Weeks with No Hours setting decides whether a week without work is filed. See "Weeks with no work" below.
Running the Report
- Go to Reports and open Certified Payroll.
- In Format, choose CA eCPR (XML).
- In Certified Job, choose the job. A job is required, because each file covers one job. Only jobs linked to a California pay rate table are listed.
- Enter the Week Ending Date. Each file covers one 7-day week.
- Generate the report.
- Read the Review Before Upload message and confirm. This is an acknowledgment that you will review the file before you upload it. The legal certification happens in the DIR eCPR system.
- Open the downloaded XML file, review it, then upload it to the DIR eCPR portal.
If anything required is missing, no file is created. The message lists everything to fix at once, one item per line, so you can correct it all and run the report again.
What Does The File Contain?
- One file per certified job and week ending date.
- Contractor details: company name, license type and number, PWCR number, EIN, address, email and workers' comp policy number.
- Project details: the DIR PWC-100 Project ID and Contracted With.
- Each worker: name, full SSN, home address and DE 4 allowances.
- Entries: one entry for each labor class and pay rate a worker had on the job. A worker with more than one appears more than once, and double time is on its own line.
- Pay: what the employee was actually paid, not the pay rate table rate. Hours, gross pay and the payment type (paper check or direct deposit), with the check or advice number.
- Fringe benefits: Health and Welfare and Pension contributions are shown separately from deductions.
- Withholdings: split into federal, FICA, state, California SDI and Other. Items in Other are named in the notes.
The file takes at most 500 worker entries for a week.
Weeks with No Work
When a job has no hours for the week you choose, what happens depends on the job's Weeks with No Hours setting in Setup > Jobs.
- Number every week: the report creates a No Work Week file, a header-only statement of non-performance.
- Skip weeks with no hours: no file is created and the report tells you why. To file a statement of non-performance for that job, change Weeks with No Hours to Number every week and run the report again.
Which Payrolls are Included
The file includes the payrolls that fall inside the week and have hours on the job, whatever their pay day. A payroll that covers more than the chosen week cannot be used, so choose the week ending date that its period falls in. A payroll with hours on the job that is not yet processed stops the file. Process it, then run the report again so the file includes those hours.
Audit History
Every file generated, including a No Work Week file, is recorded in Audit History with who generated it, when, the job and the week.
Troubleshooting
The CA eCPR (XML) format is not listed. See "Why the CA eCPR (XML) format is not in my Format list" above.
"Select a job linked to a California pay rate table." Choose a job from the list. The CA eCPR format is filed per job, and only for jobs on a California pay rate table.
"Fix these first" with a list. Each line names what is missing and where to enter it. Typical lines:
- Company Settings, California Certified Payroll: choose the Contractor License Type, or enter the License Number, PWCR Number or Workers' Comp Policy Number.
- Setup > Tax Parameters: enter the company's 9-digit federal EIN.
- Setup > General Information: enter the company's full address or a valid email.
- The job: enter its DIR PWC-100 Project ID or Contracted With on its California pay rate table.
- A worker: no 9-digit Social Security number, or no complete home address, on file.
Fix every line, then run the report again.
"The job is not linked to a California pay rate table for the week ending..." The job's link to the California table does not cover that week. Check the table's effective and expiration dates and the job's link dates.
"The job was not active during the week ending..." The job's start or end date falls outside the week. Choose a week the job was active.
A payroll is "still" in a status such as Draft. The payroll has hours on this job but is not processed. Process it, then run the report again.
A payroll covers more than the week. California files cover one 7-day week. Choose the week ending date the payroll's period falls in.
A worker is paid at a rate that is not hourly. Pay the work at an hourly rate, then run the report again.
The job has no hours and no file is created. The job skips weeks with no hours. See "Weeks with no work" above.
The DIR upload rejects the Project ID. The DIR schema takes digits only. Edit the Project ID on the job's California pay rate table so it contains digits only, then generate the file again.
I generated a WH-347 earlier and want the California file too. Run the report again with the CA eCPR (XML) format. The WH-347 and the California file use the same pay rate tables, labor classes and payroll data.
FAQs
- Does Arcoro Payroll file with the DIR for me?
No. Arcoro Payroll generates the file. You upload it to the DIR eCPR portal and certify it there.
- Is the Review Before Upload message the certification?
No. It is an acknowledgment that you will review the file. The legal certification happens in the DIR eCPR system.
- Can I run several jobs or weeks in one file?
No. Each CA eCPR file covers one job and one week ending date.
- Do the rates match my pay rate table?
The file reports what each employee was actually paid, not the rate on the pay rate table.
- Does this cover other states?
No. The CA eCPR format is for California only. Other states are not included.
- Who can run it?
Application Administrators, Application Read-Only users, Payroll Administrators, Payroll Controllers and Payroll Managers can open the Certified Payroll report.