Use case
Pass prevailing wage audits
The best time to fix a prevailing wage finding is before you file, not during an audit. Check every classification, rate, and fringe contribution against the governing determination while the payroll is still in your hands.
Passing a prevailing wage audit means your certified payrolls match the governing wage determination on every classification, base rate, fringe amount, and overtime line, with records to prove it. The reliable way to get there is to run the same checks an auditor runs before you submit.
- Federal threshold (Davis-Bacon Act)
- Contracts over $2,000
- California threshold (DIR)
- Public works over $1,000
- Determination lock (Davis-Bacon)
- Set at contract award for the project
The workflow
How Buildalytic gets you audit-ready
Pin the determination
Identify the federal or state wage determination that governs the job and lock it to the contract, so every week is checked against the same schedule.
Resolve every classification
Map each worker to the correct craft and classification, including apprentice steps, for the county the work is in.
Check rates and fringe
Compare paid base and fringe against the determination, accounting for cash-in-lieu fringe and bona fide plan contributions.
Verify overtime and ratios
Confirm overtime is computed on the correct basis and that apprentice-to-journeyman ratios hold for the hours worked.
Resolve findings, then file
Correct each flagged item, keep the trail of what changed and why, and submit clean.
Why audits find things
Findings are rarely fraud. They are drift.
Most audit findings are not deliberate. They are the accumulated drift of small decisions: a worker coded to the nearest classification instead of the exact one, a fringe rate carried over from last year, overtime computed on the base rate instead of the full prevailing rate. Each looks minor. Together they add up to back wages.
An auditor has one advantage over a busy payroll team: time to check every line against the determination. Software closes that gap. When the same line-by-line comparison runs every week on your side, the drift gets caught while it is still a correction and not a liability.
What does the work
The checks that keep you clean
Frequently asked questions
What triggers a prevailing wage audit?
Audits come from worker complaints, routine agency review, random selection, or a labor compliance program flagging inconsistent reports. You cannot control the trigger, so the practical defense is submitting clean reports every week.
Which wage determination applies to my job?
On federal work the Davis-Bacon determination in effect at contract award governs the project. On state public works the applicable state schedule for the county and craft applies. The determination is locked to the contract so it does not shift mid-job.
How are fringe underpayments caught?
The audit compares the total of paid base plus fringe against the required prevailing rate, whether you pay fringe in cash or into a plan. If the effective total falls short, it is flagged with the amount owed.
Does overtime get checked too?
Yes. Overtime on prevailing wage work is generally computed on the full prevailing rate, and some states add daily overtime rules. The check confirms the basis and the multiplier used.
What records should I keep for an audit?
Keep certified payrolls, the governing determination, classification support, and fringe documentation for the retention period. Buildalytic keeps the audit trail of what was checked alongside the reports.
Find your findings before an auditor does
Run a real certified payroll through the same checks an audit uses.