Best certified payroll software for California contractors (2026)

Pick by your situation

What any product must do on most public works projects

On most public works projects, Labor Code section 1771.4(a)(3) requires each contractor and subcontractor to furnish certified payroll records directly to the Labor Commissioner, electronically, on DIR's website. Records go in at least once every 30 days while work is performed, and within 30 days after the final day of work, or more often if your contract with the awarding body says so. Under subparagraph (B), the penalty is $100 for each day in violation, up to $5,000 per project. Under subparagraph (C), the Labor Commissioner cannot levy that penalty until the records are 14 days late.

Some projects are exempt. DIR's certified payroll page says a few categories of public works projects are exempt from reporting online to DIR. Section 1771.4(a)(4) excuses an unregistered contractor on a project where registration is not required, and section 1771.4(b) lets the Labor Commissioner exempt a project in two cases: the awarding body enforces an approved labor compliance program, or it has a collective bargaining agreement that binds all contractors on the project. Check whether your project is exempt before you pay for a filing tool.

DIR's eCPR FAQ gives two ways in: the manual iForm or an XML upload. It also says submitting records to a union, the prime contractor, the awarding body or a labor compliance program does not put you in compliance unless you submit eCPRs directly to DIR. See LCPtracker vs DIR.

The declaration is required by statute, and the signature step is in DIR's portal. Labor Code section 1776(a) requires each payroll record to contain or be verified by a written declaration, made under penalty of perjury, that the information in the record is true and correct and that the employer complied with sections 1771, 1811 and 1815. Section 1776(a) does not say who signs. DIR's Upload eCPR guide has the contractor enter a signature on the manual path ("Enter your Contractor Signature") and a signature on the XML path, so plan to sign yourself. See who signs certified payroll.

The WH-347 is the federal form, and DOL's WH-347 page says using it is optional. It is not what you upload to DIR. See WH-347 vs eCPR.

Does it file into DIR, or write a file you upload?

DIR's eCPR FAQ gives two ways to submit, the manual iForm or an XML upload, and the Upload eCPR guide shows a signature step on both. The contractor guides on DIR's Support Center do not name vendors or third-party filers. They do describe other people acting under a contractor's DIR account. The account sign up guide says a contact can link to a business with a registration code from its primary contact, or ask to link and wait for the primary contact to approve. The Upload eCPR guide has a payroll submitter sign to acknowledge that all information is correct before submitting. The guides do not say whether a vendor can be one of those contacts. DIR's modernization notice says contractor users create an account for their contractor and request to join projects.

Product pages use three kinds of wording. LCPcertified's page says its XML file "can be uploaded to state web portals," which is passive and names no uploader. Sunburst's product page lists "California DIR Electronic Upload" and does not say who uploads. "Direct submission" is a claim to test.

Two of those vendors answer the question on a second page. Sunburst's California DIR page says its CPS software creates the XML file and that you upload it into the DIR website. That page also reports upload problems after DIR system updates and says to contact DIR if you have issues with DIR's website. LCPtracker's DIR XML Export article tells you to browse to the saved file on DIR's upload site and click Upload. Ask any vendor for a DIR confirmation from a customer filing, the DIR account it came from, and who entered the signature.

Vendor by vendor, read October 16, 2026

Every row was read from the linked page on October 16, 2026. "None shown" means the pages we read gave no price. Sunburst's product page was updated November 3, 2025. Its support policy dates from 2013 and says maintenance prices can change.

What the table does not show

• Workyard's ranking list. Workyard's page, updated October 2, 2026, discloses that Workyard publishes the list and is on it, and it ranks Workyard first. It says Workyard handles field time, not the WH-347 or portal submission.
• FOUNDATION. Its payroll page names neither California DIR nor the WH-347, so it is not in the table.
• Which XML guidelines. DIR's certified payroll page names CPR XML schema V1.3 and links guidelines dated January 2016, version 1.10. DIR's Support Center links guidelines dated March 2026, version 2.0. DIR does not say how the two documents relate, and no vendor page we read says which it follows. If an upload fails, see eCPR XML upload errors.

Five questions to ask before you buy

1. Does it write the DIR XML file from my payroll, and to which DIR guidelines?
2. Who uploads it, from whose DIR account, and can I see the confirmation?
3. Does it work from my current payroll, or do I move payroll?
4. Does it handle a week with no work? DIR's XML guidelines include a flag for it.
5. What does it cost in writing, with renewals and maintenance?

Software or a service

At the published prices above, Sunburst and LCPcertified cost less in dollars than a monthly service for a sub with a handful of projects. You pay with time and check the file yourself. A service costs more and takes the weekly work. See software vs a service and how much certified payroll costs.

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