Sage 300 Construction and Real Estate: California certified payroll and the DIR eCPR XML

The short answer

We found no Sage page that says Sage 300 Construction and Real Estate (Sage 300 CRE) writes the XML file DIR's eCPR system takes. Sage documents Aatrix state reports for some states and a generic Certified Report in Payroll, and neither is described as a DIR upload. Aatrix's own forms page lists a California A-1-131 Report marked efile only, without saying what file it sends or where. Users on Sage's community hub describe no built-in DIR export. So you need another path to the file, or you enter the payroll in DIR's online form.

What Sage and Aatrix say

Sage's article Can I print a state-specific Certified Payroll Report? applies to Sage 300 CRE. Sage shows it as last modified June 10, 2025. It says three things that matter here:

• Aatrix supplies state certified payroll reports for some states. You reach them under Tasks, then State eFile and Reporting.
• If your state is not in Aatrix, run the Certified Report in Payroll and use its figures for your state's reporting. From version 25.1 you can pick one project or job.
• The only state note is for New York, where the state labor department wants an XML upload and Aatrix can only print the report for now.

The article does not name California, DIR, or the WH-347, and it does not list the states Aatrix covers.

Under California, Aatrix's Forms & Deadlines page for Sage 300 CRE lists a CA A-1-131 Report, described as a California Department of Industrial Relations Certified Payroll Report and marked "THIS REPORT IS EFILE ONLY". It does not say XML or where the report files. Aatrix's Sage 300 CRE page says its eFile Center sends processed forms to the agency, but it describes payroll tax forms such as W-2s and never mentions certified payroll or DIR.

A reply marked Verified Answer in a Sage community thread about Elation Systems says Aatrix state reports can be submitted through the Aatrix efile system for most states Aatrix covers. It does not name California or DIR. See our Elation Systems guide.

The older "record only" note

A Sage community thread more than ten years old quotes Sage article 26311, dated 9-10-2015 by the poster, as calling the Aatrix California A-1-131 a "record only" copy that Aatrix hoped to make e-fileable. When we asked Sage's support site for article 26311, it returned the article above, which does not mention California or Form A-1-131. That wording is gone, and "efile only" does not tell you what changed.

If you find an A-1-131 in your menus

DIR's public works forms page says the A-1-131 will not be used to satisfy the eCPR initial reporting requirement. Under 8 CCR 16401(a), the Labor Commissioner may require it if a contractor does not comply with Labor Code section 1776. See our Form A-1-131 guide.

What the DIR file has to hold

Labor Code section 1771.4(a)(3)(A) has you furnish certified payroll records directly to the Labor Commissioner at least once every 30 days while work is under way, and within 30 days after the last day of work, in an electronic format, in the manner the Labor Commissioner prescribes on DIR's website. See certified payroll deadlines.

DIR's Public Works FAQ gives two ways to file: the online form or an XML upload. For XML, DIR's Certified Payroll Reporting page tells you to create your own template using the CPR XML schema V1.3 and names no software vendors. DIR's Upload eCPR guide and eCPR XML Guidelines (Version 2.0, March 2026) add these rules:

• A valid file holds the Project ID, employee names, SSNs, addresses, days and hours worked, rates, and total hours worked.
• Project ID is the only mandatory project field, and it must match the project you are filing for.
• Each employee name carries an id built from the SSN and the name, with the name in upper case.
• Fringe benefits go in with hourly amounts. Deductions go in as lump sums for the pay period.
• The file name only has to end in xml. The system takes several minutes to process it.

The DIR Project ID comes from DIR, and our guide shows how to find it. Sage's article describes none of the shaping into this file. Our XML upload errors guide covers what bounces a file.

What Sage 300 CRE users report

In a thread titled California DIR Certified Payroll - Import File (Sage 300 CRE), a user asked for a file to import into the DIR portal. One user replied that nothing in Sage imports to DIR directly and that the company uses a third party vendor. A consultant said a Crystal Reports export could be written in a third party's format. A second consultant wrote that Sage 300 CRE has no built-in export for this and offered a custom export service. The thread is marked Not Answered, and the replies are not Sage's position. Sage 100 Contractor is a different product, covered on our Sage 100 Contractor page.

Three ways to file from Sage data

1. Type it into DIR's online form

The Upload eCPR guide shows the manual route: Submit, then Manual, then each worker's craft, classification, level, rates, fringe benefits, hours, deductions, and gross wages. For a crew of 20, that is retyping every worker, every payroll.

2. Pay a consultant to build a custom Sage export

You own the upkeep, so ask who updates it when DIR changes its guidelines. DIR's eCPR FAQ says that if an upload validates but nothing appears, there most likely is an error in your code. Test one real week before you trust any file. See payroll systems that export DIR eCPR XML for how to check a vendor's claim.

3. Hand the Sage export to a service

WellStanding prepares the WH-347 and the eCPR from the payroll export you already run, and a person reviews every filing. You review the finished filing and sign the certification in one step, and nothing is filed until you have signed. The certification is always yours; we never sign for you. Setup is $995 one time, then $249 per month for crews up to 25 workers or $449 for 26 to 50. First filing free. We also prepare the DAS 140 and DAS 142. Reach us Monday to Friday 7:00 to 5:00 Pacific.

Whichever you pick, a prime contractor's portal is not a substitute for the DIR filing, as DIR's Public Works FAQ says. See general contractor portals and DIR.

The DAS 140 and DAS 142 sit outside the payroll file

Under 8 CCR 230, contract award information goes to the apprenticeship committee within ten days of signing the contract, and no later than your first day with workers on the job. A DAS 140 can serve as that notice. Under 8 CCR 230.1, a dispatch request needs at least 72 hours written notice, not counting Saturdays, Sundays, and holidays, and the DAS 142 is an optional form for it. Neither runs on a pay period, and Sage's article mentions neither. See DAS 140 and DAS 142, explained.

Ask Sage in writing before you pay for anything

1. Which version am I on, and does State eFile and Reporting list a California certified payroll report?
2. Aatrix lists a CA A-1-131 Report marked efile only. What does it send, to whom, and in what file? Is it a paper record, or an XML file DIR accepts? Ask for a sample.
3. Who updates it when DIR changes its XML guidelines?

Questions