Burnaby Project Reports: Allocate Payroll Without Losing the Employer Total

Keep payroll evidence separate from the allocation

BC employers must retain daily hours records and provide payday wage statements. A project code supplements those employee records; it should not replace the information needed to calculate and explain pay. Use approved records and reconcile gross wages, employer amounts and payroll liabilities before splitting costs between projects.

The allocation is a management-reporting choice, not a new employee pay calculation. Overtime, benefits or other employer costs may require more detailed treatment than a simple hourly average. Explain the method and seek appropriate advice where inventory costing or external financial reporting needs a different basis.

Illustrative example: a Burnaby post-production team

For a simplified period, a team records 600 paid hours at the same $30 hourly wage: 300 on project A, 200 on project B and 100 on administration. Gross wages are $18,000. Assume $1,800 of additional employer costs allocated in the same proportions, giving $9,900 to A, $6,600 to B and $3,300 to administration.

The three allocations total $19,800, matching the stated payroll cost. These assumptions are deliberately simplified and do not calculate anyone's statutory pay or deductions. Actual reports should use the employer costs and approved hours that apply to the period.

Define what the overhead pool includes

Suppose management chooses to allocate a $5,000 shared-cost pool containing the $3,300 administrative payroll plus $1,700 of other overhead. Using the 500 direct project hours, A receives 60%, or $3,000, and B receives 40%, or $2,000. Resulting management costs are $12,900 for A and $8,600 for B.

Together they equal $21,500: $19,800 total payroll plus $1,700 other costs. Do not add the $3,300 administration payroll again after allocating this pool. That duplication would make the two projects appear less profitable without representing another business expense.

Show direct contribution and allocated results clearly

Keep a view before shared overhead as well as the result after the agreed allocation. The first helps compare delivery cost; the second shows the effect of the management method. Financing, income tax or other excluded items should be named before describing either view as final profit.

Review whether the chosen driver remains sensible when workload changes. A project consuming little staff time but substantial specialized equipment may need another cost measure. Date revisions to the method and preserve the rationale so period comparisons reflect real operating changes rather than unexplained shifts in allocation.

Put this into practice

• Payroll bookkeeping →
• Post-production records →
• Management reporting →