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Payroll outsourcing · Construction

Piece-rate wages, bad weather, LMV — straight from your tools.

We connect to SORBA, Messerli, BBase and all common Swiss construction solutions. Hours, piece-rate wages and bad-weather days land automatically in the pay slip — LMV-compliant, including FAR filing to portal-bau, travel time and flat-rate expenses.

Book a demo See tool integrations Swissdec ELM 5.1 via partnerELM 5.1 · all 26 cantons
30+
Construction tools connected
LMV
Tables always up to date
FAR
portal-bau direct
Construction software
SORBA
Hours · piece-rate · travel
Construction software
Messerli
Bauadmin · pay items
Construction software
BBase
Hour report · expenses
payrollnow
Output
Pay slip
LMV-compliant · PDF + ESS
Output
FAR & SUVA
portal-bau · monthly
Output
SWE application
UI · 80% wage replacement
Tool integrations · Construction

Your tools stay. We sit on top.

Hours from SORBA, piece-rate wages from Messerli, postings for Bexio — we pick them up. LMV-compliant pay slips, FAR filings, bad-weather applications — we deliver back. All via one central API, in real time.

Construction software
SORBA Messerli BBase + more
Time tracking
Mobile app GPS clock-in Hour report CSV import
Accounting
Bexio Abacus Sage 50 + more
payrollnow API · LMV · piece-rate · travel time
Pay slip
PDF + ESS Employee app LMV-compliant Piece-rate table
Authorities & funds
Swissdec ELM 5.1 FAR portal-bau SUVA · UI-SWE PBK audit
Bank / payout
ISO 20022 All Swiss banks QR-bill SEPA
Tool not listed? We build the integration in — usually within 2 weeks, at no extra cost. Also works with older systems via CSV or file watcher.
See all integrations →
What holds construction firms back today

Six problems. One solution.

What grinds in day-to-day operations — and why it's no longer your problem with payrollnow.

Star feature

LMV compliance

Minimum wages by wage class (C/Q/A/CE), mandatory 13th-month salary, travel-time rules, flat-rate expenses, SUVA rates. The national framework agreement changes every year — one mistake costs back-payments plus a PBK audit.

We keep the LMV tables current. In every pay slip. Incl. wage class, premiums and audit trail.
Star feature

Bad-weather compensation (SWE)

When work is lost to bad weather, the unemployment insurance refunds 80% of pay — but the employer must front the amount, report correctly and break it down by hour. An unverified weather station, and applications get rejected.

SWE application data generated automatically from the hour report & site weather log — including the UI form ready to submit.

FAR filing via portal-bau

Since 2024: the wage-sum filing to the FAR foundation (flexible early retirement) is only possible via portal-bau. Deadline: 31 January — missed means reminders plus late-payment interest.

FAR contributions calculated automatically, wage filing submitted directly from the system to portal-bau — deadline met, audit trail transparent.

Piece-rate wage complexity

Piece-rate pay per employee, several sites in parallel, separating the hour report from piece-rate hours, comparing correctly with the minimum wage. Manually a quick path to an Excel graveyard.

Piece-rate pay items imported directly from SORBA/Messerli, minimum-wage guarantee checked automatically, payout settled per site.

Travel time & flat-rate expenses

Travel time from the meeting point to the site is working time (LMV). Plus meal expenses, travel hours — all separate from base pay. Forget that and you risk back-payments at audit.

Travel time, expenses and travel hours extracted directly from the hour report and shown on pay correctly per LMV rules.

Seasonality & withholding tax

Winter shutdown, apprentices, lots of cross-border workers and residence-permit holders in construction. Assigning the right cantonal withholding-tax rate, filing monthly, registering/deregistering seasonal workers cleanly — a full-time job for the payroll function.

Automatic withholding-tax classification, cantonal settlement, seasonal-worker lifecycle fully automated.
Example · New site

You log the site. We take over payroll.

A new site kicks off, three workers are assigned — what you do, what payrollnow does. Three steps, no phone call needed.

1
You

Assign the site and workers in SORBA / Messerli

Standard dispatching as always: employee, wage class, site, planned hours, piece-rate flat fee. You enter nothing new — nothing twice.

2
payrollnow · automatic

Contracts & registrations are created

  • LMV-compliant employment contract with the correct wage class
  • OASI/DI/IC registration with the compensation fund
  • SUVA registration (occupational + non-occupational)
  • FAR contribution requirement (from age 25) activated automatically
  • Withholding-tax classification (rate A/B/C/D/F by residence)
3
payrollnow · monthly

Pay slip at month end

  • Hour report imported from SORBA/Messerli (incl. travel time)
  • Piece-rate wages settled per site, minimum-wage check automatic
  • Bad-weather days aggregated from the weather station & SWE application generated
  • LMV premiums calculated (travel time, flat-rate expenses, Sunday)
  • FAR/SUVA/OASI filings bundled monthly
  • Wage statement in the employee app, payment via ISO 20022
LMV · as of 2026

We keep the tables current. You don't have to.

The national framework agreement of the main construction industry binds every Swiss construction firm. Minimum wages by wage class, travel time, flat-rate expenses, FAR contributions — we track every change and apply it automatically to every pay slip.

  • Minimum wages by wage class (C / Q / A / CE)
  • Travel-time rule from the meeting point to the site
  • Flat-rate expenses for meals & travel hours
  • FAR contributions from age 25, wage filing via portal-bau
  • Bad-weather compensation 80% via UI
  • Mandatory 13th-month salary, 5 weeks of holiday
Minimum wages (standard wage zone)
Class C (unskilled)
from CHF 5'320 / mo
Class Q (with vocational certificate)
from CHF 6'030 / mo
Class CE (foreman)
from CHF 7'400 / mo
Premiums & expenses
13th-month salary
mandatory
Travel time from meeting point
100% pay
Bad-weather wage replacement
80% via UI
Funds & authorities
FAR contribution
from age 25, mandatory
FAR wage filing
portal-bau · 31.01.
FAR pension
65% + CHF 6'000 / yr
Note: Reference values per LMV as of 2026, standard wage zone. Actual minimum wages depend on wage zone (region), occupational class, length of service and any local LMV addenda. We check individually with every payroll.
Transparent pricing

CHF 25 per employee / month. Seasonal operations included.

You pay per employee billed — whether permanent, seasonal piece-rate worker or apprentice. No setup fee, no minimum term, no hidden costs for FAR filings or bad-weather applications.

Calculate your savings
Deep dive on the blog

LMV main construction industry 2026: wage classes, minimum wages, working time

Binding values LMV 2026 — wage classes V/Q/A/B/C, minimum wages by zone red/blue/green, working time, site allowance, PBK inspection. Based on the Federal Council decision of 5 March 2026 (BBl 2026 564) incl. original PDF.

Read article
Frequently asked

From the construction industry. Answered concretely.

The questions we hear most often from construction firms, building contractors, civil-engineering firms and general contractors. Something missing? Drop us a line.

Different question?

We normally reply within one working day.

Ask directly →

When work is lost to bad weather, the unemployment insurance refunds 80% of pay. payrollnow generates the SWE application automatically from the hour report plus the site weather log, submits it to the employment office and integrates the refund into the next pay slip. You only release the bad-weather days.

Since 2024 the FAR wage filing only runs through portal-bau, deadline 31 January. payrollnow calculates the contributions per employee, generates the wage-sum filing and submits it directly to portal-bau — on time, no reminders, with full audit trail. Late-payment interest is a thing of the past.

Piece-rate pay is imported directly from SORBA / Messerli / BBase and settled per site. payrollnow checks automatically whether the piece-rate wage falls below the LMV minimum wage per hour — if so, the minimum wage is paid out. Full transparency: every piece-rate item traceable back to the site.

SORBA has integrated payroll software, that's true. The question is: do you want to staff the payroll function yourself or outsource it? payrollnow takes over the entire payroll — even if you keep using SORBA, Messerli or BBase. We import the data, run payroll and feed the postings back into your system.

We deliver every record audit-ready: wage statements with wage-class justification, hour reports with travel time, FAR filings, SUVA settlements, flat-rate-expense reports. For a PBK inspection we accompany you on site — every data point traceable back to the site and to the hour report.

Per LMV, travel time from the meeting point to the site is paid working time. payrollnow extracts travel time, travel hours and flat-rate expenses directly from the hour report and shows them as separate pay items — audit-ready and LMV-compliantly separated from base pay.

We build the integration in — usually within 2 weeks, at no extra cost. For API-capable systems directly; for older Bauadmin solutions via CSV import or file watcher. Also works with in-house developments or proprietary Excel hour reports.

Demo · 30 minutes

Payroll in, demo booked.

In a 30-minute call we walk you through the entire workflow for your construction business. With your tools (SORBA, Messerli, BBase etc.), your LMV setup, FAR requirements and bad-weather practice. No sales pitch.

Book a demo