The 6 Best Construction Payroll Software
Our top construction payroll software picks have features that are industry-specific or adaptable, help with job costing, tax compliance, are affordable, and more.
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Expert Analyst & Reviewer
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Construction payroll software should be designed to handle the complex payroll needs of construction companies. Support for multiple pay rates and schedules, 1099 contractor payments, deductions, reporting, integrations, and job costing are just some features the best construction agency payroll software should have.
While there are many payroll software options available, not all are designed for construction companies’ specific payroll needs. Fortunately, most popular payroll software solutions can easily manage running payroll for construction businesses.
Keep reading for an in-depth look at our best construction payroll software picks, including pricing, features, and much more.
Learn More About Our Top Picks
| Company | Best For | Next StepsBest For |
|---|---|---|
ADP Payroll  | Best overall construction payroll software | Best overall construction payroll software
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Rippling  | Best construction payroll software for large businesses | Best construction payroll software for large businesses
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Gusto  | Best construction payroll for mid-sized businesses | Best construction payroll for mid-sized businesses
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Payroll4Construction  | Best construction payroll software for government contracts | Best construction payroll software for government contracts
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Intuit Online Payroll  | Best construction payroll software for small businesses | Best construction payroll software for small businesses
|
Other Featured Options:
- Remote: Best free construction payroll software
Read more below to learn why we chose these options.
Table of Contents
The Best Payroll Software For Construction Companies
The best payroll software for construction companies features robust reporting, geolocational time-tracking, support for 1099 contractors, job costing, and accounting software integrations. Here are our picks for the best construction payroll software.
1. ADP: Best Overall Construction Payroll Software
ADP Payroll
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Pros
- Robust reporting
- Excellent employee management
- Background checks
Cons
- Non-transparent pricing
- Fee-heavy
ADP is an HR and payroll processing software designed for businesses of all sizes across multiple industries. As a full-service payroll provider with strong HR and employee management solutions, ADP Payroll is a strong contender in the construction payroll software market, despite not being construction-specific.
ADP Pricing
ADP does not publish its payroll feature packages’ pricing online but offers eight feature packages across its RUN Powered By ADP and ADP Workforce Now products. Additionally, customers should be prepared for ADP’s notoriously fee-heavy pricing for features not included in its standard packages.
New customers need to reach out to ADP for a quote and product demo.
ADP Features
ADP Payroll wins our pick for the best overall construction payroll software because its services cover construction payroll needs while maintaining flexibility. While you’ll get all the essential payroll processing features, the software’s HR and employee management features push it ahead of the competition.
Here are ADP Payroll’s top features:
- Hundreds of third-party integrations
- Certified payroll reporting through North Point
- New hire reporting
- Multistate payroll
- Pay contractors and employees
- New hire onboarding
- General ledger interface
- Employee self-service portal
- Geolocational time tracking and attendance
- Federal, state, and local tax support
Is ADP Right For You?
With tons of integrations, extensive reporting, geolocational time tracking, 1099 contractor payments, deductions, and full tax support, ADP is a payroll and HR solution that is flexible enough to handle construction payroll needs for businesses of all sizes.
ADP wouldn’t be a good fit for a construction business that requires top-notch customer support, as it’s one of the platform’s biggest weaknesses. While you’ll be able to reach out to customer service representatives, long wait times and challenges solving payroll-specific issues will almost certainly plague your business.
2. Rippling: Best Construction Payroll Software For Large Businesses
Rippling
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Pros
- Over 400 third-party integrations
- Job costing
- Tax compliance and filing
- PEO services
Cons
- Lacks pricing transparency
- Separate time and attendance tracking
As a Professional Employer Organization (PEO), Rippling provides several business management services and solutions, including payroll, HR, benefits administration, and IT management.
Construction companies needing full-service payroll with optional time-tracking, HR, and benefits administration add-ons will find that Rippling delivers on each front.
Rippling Pricing
Rippling’s published pricing starts at $8/month per person. However, new customers will need a custom quote for a more accurate price estimate based on their chosen service package and add-ons.
Additionally, Rippling’s payroll, HR, and time and attendance services are all offered as separate products, so you may need to purchase each service individually to complete your payroll package.
Rippling Features
Although Rippling Payroll is offered as a standalone product, your construction business will need to purchase its time-tracking and attendance, benefits administration, and HR solutions to experience the software’s full functionality. If you opt for the full package, you’ll have access to the following features:
- US and international payroll runs
- Pay contractors and employees
- Geolocation-based time tracking
- Extensive reports
- Tax filing (local, state, and federal)
- Compliance support
- Garnishments and deductions
- Benefits administration
- Job costing
- PTO management
Is Rippling Right For You?
With its customizable payroll and HR service packages, contractor support, scalability, reporting, and compliance support, Rippling is a great option for large construction companies looking for extensive payroll features and HR support. Rippling may be too complex a software if your construction business only requires the payroll basics.
3. Gusto: Best Construction Payroll Software For Mid-Sized Businesses
Gusto
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Pros
- Built-in time tracking
- Pay Contractors-Only plan
- Transparent pricing
- Employee mobile app
Cons
- Benefits are not available across all 50 states
- Limited support for international contractors
Gusto is cloud-based payroll software with a suite of built-in HR, time and attendance, and compliance solutions. Gusto’s users can pay both employees and contractors across all 50 states, offer benefits, track time, manage PTO, onboard new hires, etc.
Although Gusto isn’t billed as construction payroll software, its services can be used by construction businesses needing basic payroll, HR, and tax support. Better yet, Gusto is notably easy to use, and its customer support options make it easy to get help or guidance when you need it.
Gusto Pricing
Gusto’s pricing starts at $6/month per person for its Contractor-Only plan. For businesses paying employees and contractors, prices start at $39/month + $6/month per person paid. Gusto offers four pricing plans with HR, compliance, and time-tracking features improving as you move up each tier.
If you would like to trial the software before buying, you can play around in the software’s free interactive demo or set up your own account. Either way, you don’t pay until you run your first payroll.
Gusto Features
Gusto’s feature set is extensive enough that it can serve a range of industries, including construction. While it lacks built-in certified payroll reporting, Gusto’s other features, including project costing, tax support, time tracking, employee mobile app, and more, make it a good fit for construction businesses that don’t take on government projects.
Check out Gusto’s top features:
- Geolocational time and attendance tracking
- Pay contractors and employees
- Benefits administration
- Advanced HR support and resources
- Excellent customer support
- Direct deposit and check printing
- 153 third-party integrations
- Project tracking
- Workforce cost reports
Is Gusto Right For You?
Gusto is our pick for mid-sized construction businesses that need simple but feature-rich payroll services. Not only can Gusto handle payroll, but its HR, employee management, and hiring features can streamline your construction business’s entire human capital management operation.
While Gusto doesn’t list a user cap, a sales representative confirmed that it can comfortably handle around 750 contractors and employees. Larger or enterprise-sized businesses should consider payroll software designed for businesses of that size.
4. Payroll4Construction: Best Construction Payroll Software For Government Contracts
Payroll4Construction
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Pros
- Union reporting
- Labor compliance support
- QuickBooks integration
- Employee mobile app
- Certified payroll
Cons
- No published pricing
- Outdated interface
- Limited HR features
Payroll4Construction is cloud-based payroll software designed for construction businesses in the US. In addition to full-service payroll, Payroll4Construction offers a selection of construction-specific reports and labor law compliance support.
For construction businesses that work on government contracts, Payroll4Construction supports certified payroll reporting to keep your business compliant. This is one of the software’s standout features that cement it as a top payroll solution for construction businesses.
Payroll4Construction Pricing
Payroll4Construction does not publish its pricing online. New customers need to get in touch with a sales rep to get a quote and demo the software.
Payroll4Construction Features
Despite offering a wealth of payroll and compliance features, Payroll4Construction lacks the extensive HR features included in most traditional payroll software solutions. Here’s a look at Payroll4Construction’s standout features:
- Union reporting and tracking
- Tons of built-in construction-specific reports
- Certified payroll for government contracts
- Fringe benefits management
- Geotagged time tracking
- Local, state, and federal tax filing
- Multiple jobs and pay rates
Is Payroll4Construction Right For You?
Payroll4Construction is best for construction businesses looking for essential payroll features and compliance support when taking on government contracts. For construction businesses looking to keep payroll, benefits administration, and HR combined within a single solution, Payroll4Construction isn’t the best option, as its HR and benefits administration features are lacking.
5. QuickBooks Online Payroll: Best Construction Payroll Software For Small Businesses
Intuit Online Payroll
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Pros
- Next-day direct deposit
- Clear pricing
- Plenty of integrations
- Extensive payroll reports
Cons
- Up to 150 users limitation
- Hidden fees
QuickBooks Online Payroll is a cloud-based full-service payroll software for small-to-mid-sized businesses with up to 150 employees and contractors to pay. With QuickBooks Online Payroll, construction businesses can run automated payroll, offer employee benefits, let QuickBooks handle payroll taxes, and more.
If you opt for the service’s higher plan tiers, QuickBooks Payroll includes expert payroll support, time and attendance tracking, workers’ compensation, and an extensive HR resources library. Better yet, as QuickBooks Online Payroll is a part of the QuickBooks ecosystem, users can easily integrate the solution with other QuickBooks Online products and third-party solutions.
QuickBooks Online Payroll Pricing
QuickBooks Online Payroll’s lowest tier pricing starts at $45/month + $4 per person paid and increases to $125/month + $10 per person paid. However, the software is riddled with extra costs, including an additional $4/contractor paid via direct deposit and prices starting at $14.99 for 1099 e-filing services.
Fortunately, QuickBooks runs plenty of discounts, including 50% off the first three months of service. However, once you’re out of the discounted pay period, you may find your payroll costs running up toward the expensive end.
QuickBooks Online Payroll Features
Although QuickBooks Online Payroll isn’t a construction-specific payroll software solution, it’s equipped with enough payroll, HR, and time-tracking features to meet the needs of small construction businesses. Here’s a look at QuickBooks Online Payroll’s best payroll features:
- Customizable reports
- 401(k) and health insurance benefits
- Workers’ compensation administration
- Auto-schedule payroll
- Track time by project
- Multistate payroll
- Garnishments and deductions
- Employee portal
- Unlimited payroll runs
- Local, state, and federal tax filing
Is QuickBooks Online Payroll Right For You?
QuickBooks Online Payroll’s full-service payroll, HR resources library, time and attendance tracking, tax support, and seamless integration with the QuickBooks Online product suite make it a good choice for businesses that want to keep everything in one place.
If your construction business will be paying more than 150 employees and contractors, QuickBooks Desktop Payroll is a better option with no user cap; however, you may experience performance issues with more than 800 employees paid. Read our QuickBooks Desktop Payroll review for an in-depth look at the software’s pricing, features, and more.
Get Started with Intuit Online Payroll
6. Remote: Best Free Construction Payroll Software
Remote
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Pros
- Free contractor payments and management
- Employer of record services
- HR integrations
- Multicountry payroll
Cons
- Limited integrations
- No time tracking
- US part-time employees categorized as contractors
Remote is a business management service platform offering payroll for international contractors and employees, HR solutions, benefits administration, hiring and onboarding solutions, employer of record services, etc. Remote’s services can be used by businesses of all sizes across 60+ countries.
Remote Pricing
For businesses that require a service to onboard, manage, and pay contractors, Remote’s Contractor Management service package fits the bill and is completely free (save for a 3% processing fee for credit card payments). Remote does not publish prices for its Global Payroll services, so you’ll need to get in touch for a quote.
If your business needs Remote’s Employer Of Record services, pricing starts at $299/month per employee if you pay annually. If you prefer to pay monthly, you’ll be paying $349/month per employee.
Remote Features
Remote boasts all the features you would expect from payroll software and adds HR services, tax support, compliance support, country-specific benefits administration, and much more. Construction companies using Remote can easily hire, manage and pay employees and contractors across 60+ countries. Remote’s key payroll features include:
- Payments made in the localized currency
- Multicountry payroll
- Payroll and labor law compliance
- Expense management
- Time off and PTO management
- Secure document storage
- Self-managed employee/contractor onboarding
- Wage deductions
Is Remote Right For You?
Remote is a solid payroll solution for businesses that are paying international contractors or want to leave the hassles of international tax laws and compliance to the professionals. While not a construction-specific payroll software, Remote’s payroll and HR services are great for construction businesses that fall under the international enterprise umbrella.
Which Construction Payroll Software Is Right For Your Business?
Choosing the right payroll software for your construction business starts with an assessment of your business’s needs. Fortunately, most popular payroll software solutions can handle the payroll needs of construction businesses.
However, if your business requires construction-specific features, such as fringe benefits management, certified payroll, union reporting, and compliance support, searching for construction payroll software is your best bet.
Beyond the difference between traditional payroll software and construction payroll software, there are a few other things to consider when choosing payroll software for your construction business, including:
- Your business’s budget
- Your business’s current pay schedules
- Level of tax support needed (DIY vs. full-service)
- The software’s scalability
- Time-tracking features
- Service package customization options
- Reports
- Accounting software integrations
- Benefits administration options
Of course, this list is non-exhaustive, as each business is unique and will have different payroll software needs and concerns. The bottom line? If you start your payroll software search with a detailed list of your construction business’s needs, there’s a good chance that you’ll end up with a payroll software solution that meets them.
Also, if you need funding to get your construction business through some lean times, check out our guide on commercial construction loans. Good luck!
Construction Payroll Software FAQs
In Summary: The Best Payroll Software For Construction Companies
- ADP Payroll: Best overall construction payroll software
- Rippling: Best construction payroll software for large businesses
- Gusto: Best construction payroll for mid-sized businesses
- Payroll4Construction: Best construction payroll software for government contracts
- Intuit Online Payroll: Best construction payroll software for small businesses
- Remote: Best free construction payroll software
Davina Ward
Expert Analyst & Reviewer
A New York native, Davina earned her BA in English from SUNY Geneseo in 2018. After graduating, she began her career as a freelance writing generalist before finding a niche writing about SaaS. Davina unironically enjoys testing and reviewing software on her free time but otherwise can be found oscillating between hobbies every few weeks or so — most recently, longboarding.
View Davina Ward's professional experience on LinkedIn.
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