Best Construction Payroll Software in 2026, Compared

How We Compared Construction Payroll Software

Construction payroll is a different problem than payroll everywhere else, because most jobs eventually intersect with certified payroll and prevailing wage rules that a general-purpose payroll platform doesn't handle out of the box. Before comparing vendors, decide whether you need full payroll processing (running pay, filing taxes, direct deposit) or just a way to produce an accurate WH-347-style report from hours and rates you already track elsewhere — those are two different products, priced very differently.

Pricing transparency is the second filter. Most of the vendors in this space, including Foundation, Sage, Gusto, ADP, and eBacon, do not publish pricing on the pages we checked, so budgeting means requesting a quote before you know the real cost. LeaveSheet is the one option here with a published flat price for its certified payroll add-on, which makes it easy to compare on cost alone even though it does far less than a full payroll platform.

Finally, weigh company size against features. A large GC running dozens of projects across multiple states needs multi-state reporting and possibly job costing baked into an ERP; a small subcontractor handling one or two prevailing-wage jobs a year mostly needs an accurate weekly report and doesn't need to pay for or learn a full construction ERP to get it.

The Options, Compared Honestly

Foundation and Sage are full construction ERPs with payroll as one module among job costing, accounting, and project management. Both target mid-size to large firms already invested in one platform for the whole business; neither publishes pricing on the pages we reviewed, so cost only becomes clear once you're in a sales conversation.

Gusto, ADP, and QuickBooks Payroll are general-purpose payroll platforms with a construction-industry landing page rather than construction-specific compliance tooling built in. They can run payroll for a construction company like any other business, but none of the three pages we checked details how, or whether, they generate a WH-347-style certified payroll report — check that specifically before assuming it's included.

eBacon and Payroll4Construction are construction-specific payroll processors: they run pay, file taxes, and generate certified payroll reports from the same payroll data, removing double entry. Payroll4Construction's own marketing highlights free certified reports as part of its service. Both are quote-based, with no public pricing on the pages we reviewed.

LeaveSheet Certified Payroll is not a payroll processor. It's a $19/month (or $190/year) add-on to a LeaveSheet organization that tracks worker classifications and up to four fringe plans, takes weekly straight-time and overtime hours by worker and project, and exports a WH-347-style PDF and Statement of Compliance with the 6B fringe math reconciled automatically. Your existing payroll provider keeps running pay and taxes.

What LeaveSheet doesn't do

LeaveSheet Certified Payroll does not process payroll, file payroll taxes, or handle direct deposit — that's the core function of Foundation, Sage, Gusto, ADP, QuickBooks Payroll, eBacon, and Payroll4Construction, and LeaveSheet isn't a substitute for any of them if that's what you actually need.

It also doesn't include job costing, project accounting, HR functions like onboarding, or electronic filing to state DIR, eCPR, or DAS portals — you enter hours and rates yourself, and you file or submit the finished report yourself. It's built narrowly around producing one accurate WH-347-style document, not managing the rest of a construction back office.

When You Need Full Payroll Processing vs Just a WH-347 Report

If you don't currently have a payroll provider, or you're unhappy with the one you have, this is the moment to evaluate Foundation, Sage, Gusto, ADP, or QuickBooks Payroll on their own merits — certified payroll reporting is a secondary concern to picking a payroll system you'll run every pay period.

If you already have a payroll provider you're happy with and the only gap is producing an accurate WH-347-style report for the occasional prevailing-wage job, adding a payroll processor like eBacon or Payroll4Construction on top means migrating payroll you don't need to migrate. A flat-priced add-on like LeaveSheet, or a free Excel template if you only need the blank form, solves that narrower problem without the switch.

Our Pick by Use Case

Running payroll for the whole company and want it construction-specific end to end: Foundation or Sage if you're mid-size to large and want an ERP; eBacon or Payroll4Construction if you specifically want certified payroll baked into payroll processing.

Already have a payroll provider, just need an accurate WH-347-style report a few times a year: LeaveSheet's $19/month add-on is the cheapest published option we found, or the free Excel WH-347 template if you'd rather not pay for software at all.

Running payroll for a general, non-construction business and don't need certified payroll: Gusto, ADP, or QuickBooks Payroll are general-purpose options worth a look, though check directly whether they support WH-347-style reporting before assuming it's included.