Payroll for small construction companies
Outrigger's Payroll service gathers your crew's hours from your time clock or timesheets, sends you a weekly approval email, and enters approved payroll in your QuickBooks Payroll, while tracking payments to 1099 crews for year end. It is for small construction companies where the owner or a family member has been doing payroll late at night.
How payroll works with Outrigger
Payroll in a small construction company usually means collecting hours from four places: a time clock app, a paper timesheet in the truck, a text that says 'Tuesday 10 hrs' and a phone call. Then someone adds it up, enters it, and hopes nothing was missed. If that someone is you after a full day in the field, payroll is the job you dread every week.
We take over the gathering and the entering. We pull hours from your time clock or timesheets, line them up by worker, and send you one weekly email to approve. Nothing is entered until you say it is right. Once you approve, we enter payroll in your QuickBooks Payroll. You stay the one who decides what everyone gets paid; we do the office work around it.
We also keep track of what you pay 1099 crews and subs through the year, so year end is not a scramble through bank statements. Payroll needs QuickBooks Online with QuickBooks Payroll, which you pay for directly. We work inside your account with accountant access, not a separate system, so your records stay yours.
Best for
- Owners doing payroll at night after field work
- Spouses or family running payroll with no training
- Crews whose hours come in by text and paper
- Companies already on QuickBooks Online
- Contractors paying a mix of employees and 1099 crews
- Companies of about 1 to 25 field workers
What's included
Hours gathered for you
We pull hours from your time clock or field app, or from paper or texted timesheets, and line them up by worker and by job for the week.
Weekly approval email
Each week you get one email showing hours and pay to review. Reply to approve or tell us what to fix. Nothing gets entered without your approval.
Payroll entered in QuickBooks Payroll
After you approve, we enter payroll in your QuickBooks Payroll account using accountant access. You can see everything we enter, any time you log in.
Questions caught early
Missing hours, a new name we have not seen or a timesheet that does not add up gets flagged to you before payroll, not after.
1099 crew payments tracked
Payments to 1099 crews are tracked through the year with their W-9s on file, so your CPA has what they need for year-end paperwork.
Records kept in order
Approved timesheets and payroll records are filed in your shared Google Drive by pay period, so you can find a week when someone asks about it.
What you do
- Keep using your time clock or timesheets
- Reply to the weekly approval email
- Pay for QuickBooks Online and QuickBooks Payroll
- Work with your CPA on classification and taxes
Employees, 1099 crews and what your CPA decides
Most small contractors pay two kinds of people: employees who go through payroll, and 1099 crews or subs who are paid as businesses. Who belongs in which group is a real decision with real rules, and it is not ours to make. Your CPA decides who is an employee and who is a 1099 contractor. We set up payroll and tracking to match what your CPA tells you.
For anyone paid as a 1099 contractor, Form W-9 gives you their name and taxpayer ID, which you need for 1099 reporting. Form 1099-NEC is generally due to the IRS and to the people you paid by January 31. Your CPA handles that filing. Our job is to make sure the W-9s are collected and the payment totals are tracked through the year, so your CPA is not starting from a shoebox in January.
Payroll taxes, filings and deadlines are outside what we do. We do not do tax returns or tax filings, track tax deadlines or give tax advice. Ask your CPA how your payroll taxes and filings are handled and what they need from you. Rules vary by state, so check with your CPA about the ones that apply where you work.
Our process
Setup
We get accountant access to your QuickBooks Online and Payroll, list your workers as your CPA has classified them and connect to your time clock or timesheets.
Hours come in
Through the week your crew clocks in or fills out timesheets as usual. Paper or texted hours can be sent to us by text or email.
You approve
We line up the hours and send you one approval email. You reply to approve or tell us what to change. Nothing moves until you say so.
We enter payroll
Approved payroll is entered in your QuickBooks Payroll. We do not hold or move your money, and we never ask for your bank login.
Year-end ready
Through the year we track 1099 payments and keep W-9s on file, so the numbers are ready to hand to your CPA when year end comes.
Payroll FAQ
How much does a payroll service cost for a small contractor?
Payroll is part of Outrigger's plans, which start at $699 a month. On Essentials, payroll is an add-on at $25 per worker a month with a $100 minimum. Standard includes payroll for up to 10 workers, and Full Office for up to 25. QuickBooks Online and QuickBooks Payroll are paid by you directly. See the Plans page for details.
Do I need QuickBooks Payroll to use your payroll service?
Yes, payroll requires QuickBooks Online with QuickBooks Payroll, which you pay for directly. We work inside your own account with accountant access, so you can see everything we enter. For hours, you can keep using your current time clock or field app, such as Workyard, or use paper or texted timesheets.
Can you decide which of my workers should be 1099 or W-2?
No, your CPA decides who is an employee and who is a 1099 contractor. We do not make that call, give tax or legal advice, do tax filings or track tax deadlines. We set up payroll to match your CPA's decisions, collect W-9s from 1099 crews and track what you pay them so your CPA has clean numbers.
When do I approve payroll each week?
You approve payroll once a week by replying to the approval email we send with the week's hours and pay. We set the day and timing with you at setup so it fits your pay schedule. Nothing is entered in QuickBooks Payroll until you approve it, and if something looks off, you just reply with what to change.
What happens if a worker's hours are missing or wrong?
We flag missing or odd hours to you before payroll, not after. If a timesheet is missing, a name is new or the hours do not add up, it shows up in your approval email as a question. You tell us the right number, and we fix it before anything is entered. You always have the final say.
Do you pay my workers or touch my bank account?
No, we never hold or move client money and we never ask for bank logins. Payroll runs through your own QuickBooks Payroll account, and you approve every payroll before it is entered. We do the gathering, checking and entering; your money stays in your accounts and under your control.
Often paired with
Payroll Cleanup
A one-time $497 cleanup for crews paid through Cash App, Venmo, Zelle or cash all year. We organize the payment records and W-9s so your CPA has what they need.
Learn moreHR Paperwork
New-hire packets for employees and 1099 crews, personnel files kept in order, I-9 and document reminders, and a checklist when someone leaves. Paperwork only, your decisions.
Learn moreSub & Vendor Paperwork
We collect W-9s and certificates of insurance from your subs and vendors before they get paid, track COI expiration dates, request renewals and file everything by sub.
Learn more