Construction accounting is one of the most operationally complex niches in public accounting, and two recurring tasks sit at the center of that complexity: certified payroll reporting for prevailing wage projects and AIA billing coordination for general contractors and subcontractors. Both are documentation-intensive, deadline-driven, and highly vulnerable to costly errors. Both are also heavily administrative — tasks where precision and consistency matter more than CPA-level judgment.
That combination makes them ideal candidates for virtual assistant support.
Certified Payroll Report Preparation
Federal prevailing wage law under the Davis-Bacon Act and state equivalents require contractors on public works projects to pay workers at wage rates set by the Department of Labor for each trade classification, and to submit weekly certified payroll reports (Form WH-347 or state equivalents) documenting those payments. A single active project generates 52 weekly payroll reports per year — and a contractor with five active public projects generates 260.
Each report must show every worker's name, the last four digits of their Social Security number, their work classification, hours worked each day, total hours, rate of pay, gross earnings, deductions, and net pay — certified under penalty of law that the information is accurate and complete.
A virtual assistant working in a construction accounting firm pulls the weekly payroll data from the client's payroll system — Foundation, Sage 300 CRE, Viewpoint Vista, or similar — and populates the certified payroll forms, cross-checking wage rates against the current prevailing wage determination for the project's location and trade classifications. The VA submits the completed reports to the relevant labor compliance system (LCP Tracker, Elation Systems, or the awarding agency's portal), tracks submission confirmations, and maintains a master log of all filings by project.
The Department of Labor's Wage and Hour Division recovered $300 million in back wages for prevailing wage violations in fiscal year 2024 — a figure that underscores the cost of getting certified payroll wrong.
AIA Billing Coordination
AIA G702 and G703 billing forms are the standard format for progress billing on construction contracts. A general contractor submitting monthly pay applications must document completed work, stored materials, retainage, and the net amount due for the period — all tied to the project's schedule of values. For construction accounting firms managing this process for multiple clients, the coordination work is substantial.
A virtual assistant working on AIA billing coordination begins by maintaining the schedule of values in the firm's project accounting system. When billing periods open, the VA contacts the client's project manager or superintendent to gather percent-complete figures for each line item, confirms stored materials documentation, and compiles the G703 continuation sheet from that input. The completed G702/G703 package goes to the project accountant or CPA for review and approval before submission to the general contractor or owner.
The VA also tracks payment status for submitted applications, logs retainage balances, and flags applications that are approaching lien deadline windows under the relevant state's mechanic's lien law. According to the Construction Financial Management Association's 2024 Contractor Survey, slow payment remains the top financial challenge for 63 percent of contractors — and timely, accurate billing is the first defense against that problem.
Throughput and Accuracy Gains
Construction accounting firms that add VA support for certified payroll and AIA billing consistently report two improvements: faster turnaround and fewer errors. When a dedicated VA owns the preparation and tracking workflow, project accountants spend time reviewing and advising rather than data-entering and chasing. Firms report handling 25 to 35 percent more active projects per accounting staff member after implementing VA support in these workflows.
Stealth Agents provides virtual assistants trained in construction accounting workflows, prevailing wage compliance, and AIA billing coordination for CPA firms and project accounting teams serving the construction industry.
Platform Familiarity Matters
Certified payroll preparation and AIA billing live inside specific software environments. Firms should confirm that their VA has worked with the platforms their clients use — Foundation Software, Sage 300 CRE, Procore, or Viewpoint — before assigning live engagements. A VA unfamiliar with construction accounting software will require significant ramp-up time before adding value.
Sources
- U.S. Department of Labor, Wage and Hour Division, "Fiscal Year 2024 Statistics and Accomplishments," 2024
- Construction Financial Management Association, "2024 Contractor Survey: Financial Challenges," 2024
- American Institute of Architects, "AIA Contract Documents: G702 and G703 Forms," 2024 edition