Does TurfTechAdvisor run payroll for my lawn care crew?

TurfTechAdvisor is a built-in payroll and paystub calculator, not a payroll-of-record service. It pulls hours straight from crew clock-in/out, calculates gross pay, overtime, bonuses, commissions, piece-rate, and PTO, computes federal income tax and FICA, and produces a finalized pay run with downloadable paystubs. It does not file payroll taxes (no 941, 940, or W-2) and does not move money by ACH or direct deposit — you or your accountant handle the actual tax deposits and payments.

Where do the hours come from?

Directly from the field. Crews clock in and out per job or for the full day, multi-person crews fan out a session per active member, and those hours flow into the payroll page automatically — so you're not re-keying a timesheet. You can review and adjust before you finalize a pay run.

Does it calculate overtime correctly?

Yes. The payroll engine applies an FLSA regular-rate overtime true-up (29 CFR §778) that folds non-discretionary bonuses, commissions, and piece-rate into the regular rate before calculating the overtime premium. Discretionary bonuses are excluded. The true-up shows as its own column so you can see exactly how overtime was figured.

How does it handle federal income tax and FICA?

Federal income tax uses the IRS Publication 15-T 2025 percentage method driven by each employee's W-4 (filing status, Step 2(c) checkbox, dependents, other income, deductions, and extra withholding). FICA applies 6.2% Social Security up to the annual wage cap, 1.45% Medicare, and the 0.9% Additional Medicare surtax over $200,000 in year-to-date wages. Pre-tax deductions like 401(k), HSA, and Section 125 reduce taxable wages in the correct order.

What about state income tax withholding?

State withholding is entered as a per-pay-period amount. TurfTechAdvisor is intentionally not a 50-state tax engine — you key the state withholding figure for each pay period (from your state's tables or your accountant), and it flows into net pay, the paystub, and the CSV export alongside the federal calculations.

Can I track PTO and add bonuses or commissions?

Yes. You can set a PTO accrual policy (per period, per hour, or fixed annual, with a balance cap), and approving a time-off request automatically debits the balance and drops a PTO line on the pay period. An Adjustments dialog lets you add bonuses, commissions (picked from paid invoices in the period), piece-rate, and PTO per employee, and crew members see their own PTO balance.

Are paystubs and records saved?

Yes. When you finalize a pay run, TurfTechAdvisor writes an immutable snapshot and you can download a per-employee paystub PDF that includes year-to-date totals carried from prior runs. Finalized runs are the source of truth — later edits in the same period create an adjusted run linked to the original rather than silently changing history.

How much does lawn care payroll software cost?

Payroll is part of TurfTechAdvisor's professional toolset, which starts with a free plan (no credit card required) for up to 25 customers. The Growth and Pro plans raise customer limits and unlock the full operations suite. See the pricing page for current monthly and annual rates.

Lawn care payroll built from the hours you already track

TurfTechAdvisor turns crew clock-in/out into pay — gross wages, FLSA overtime, bonuses, commissions, piece-rate, and PTO, with federal income tax and FICA calculated for you and a paystub PDF at the end. It's a payroll and paystub calculator, not a payroll-of-record service, so you keep filings and deposits where they belong.

Start free — up to 25 customers, GPS routing, EPA records, and the mobile crew app. No credit card required.

Payroll that starts in the field

Pay built from clocked hours — Crew clock-in/out flows straight into payroll — no separate timesheet to re-key.
Bonuses, commissions, piece-rate & PTO — Add variable pay per employee; PTO accrues and time-off approvals debit it automatically.
FLSA overtime true-up done right — 29 CFR §778 regular-rate recalculation folds non-discretionary pay into the overtime premium.
Federal income tax & FICA — IRS Pub. 15-T 2025 percentage method from each W-4, plus Social Security and Medicare.
Finalized pay runs with paystubs — Immutable snapshots and per-employee paystub PDFs with year-to-date totals.
A calculator, not payroll-of-record — No 941/940/W-2 filings, no ACH; state withholding entered per pay period.