It’s no secret that payroll in the construction sector is highly complex. With projects spread across multiple sites, and a workforce made up of full-time staff, contractors, casual labourers and subcontractors, keeping track of hours worked and varying pay rates is a constant challenge. Yet many firms still choose to run payroll manually, either in the belief that they are saving costs or simply because they’re unaware of the benefits of using a modern, automated solution.
What these companies fail to realise, says CRS general manager Ian McAlister, is that they are putting their businesses at risk. “The hidden costs of processing payroll manually often outweigh any short-term savings, and the consequences of relying on spreadsheets or paper timesheets can be severe in the long run.”
“Because you’re dealing with multiple employment types and fluctuating hours, any mistakes made in payroll quickly ripple across the business,” he explains. “Late or incorrect payments cause employees to lose trust and impacts their morale, while management is left to deal with potential legal disputes.”
The solution, he says, lies in an automated payroll system tailored to the construction industry – one that can handle multiple project sites and different types of employees.
“It’s the only way to ensure that hours worked, deductions, overtime and allowances are calculated consistently, and that employees are paid accurately and on time, every time.”
Key system essentials
When choosing a construction payroll solution, important features to look for include compliance updates and mobile self-service for staff.
“Payroll systems that automatically adjust to changing labour laws, tax regulations and union agreements help reduce the risk of penalties and disputes without requiring manual intervention,” says McAlister. “Additionally, providing employees with secure, mobile access to their payslips and other personal information helps lighten the admin workload.”
Leveraging the cloud enhances payroll efficiency even further and gives managers real-time visibility into payroll costs and workforce data, enabling them to instantly generate reports and drill down into specific projects or teams.
“This makes it easier to identify issues early and address them before they escalate,” McAlister notes. “And with up-to-the-minute insights at their fingertips, decision-makers can control labour costs and keep projects on schedule and within budget.”
Of course, payroll doesn’t operate in isolation, he adds. “It works best when integrated with the rest of your business systems like your HR and project management tools, so that information flows smoothly across operations and your teams aren’t stuck duplicating work.”
Finally, the system should be intuitive and easy to use, so that payroll teams can adopt it quickly without frustration. It also needs to be scalable, capable of growing alongside the business and handling an expanding workforce.
Transitioning from paper to digital payroll is like upgrading from a hand tool to a power tool,” McAlister concludes. “Payroll teams spend less time correcting mistakes and more time adding real value to the business. Managers gain better visibility into costs and workforce data, enabling smarter decisions, while employees enjoy timely, accurate pay and easy access to their own information – a win-win for everyone.”