What You'll Learn
- What Column 7 represents and why it's different from Column 6B
- How to calculate it for workers on multiple projects
- Why Column 7 drives the deduction calculation in Column 8
- Common mistakes with multi-project workers
What Column 7 Means
Column 7 on the WH-347 is titled "Gross Amount Earned, All Work This Period." It captures the worker's total gross earnings for the week across every project they worked on, not just the project covered by this certified payroll report.
If a worker only worked on one project this week, Column 7 equals Column 6B. If they split time between two or more projects, Column 7 will be larger than Column 6B.
Why Column 7 Exists
The federal income tax, FICA, and other deductions in Column 8 are calculated based on the worker's total weekly earnings, not just their earnings on one project. Column 7 tells DOL auditors the full weekly earning amount so the deduction amounts in Column 8 can be verified against it.
Without Column 7, an auditor looking at an underpaid worker couldn't tell whether the deductions were proportionally correct. Column 7 is the reference point.
Worked Example
A Carpenter works 30 hours on the Main Street project and 15 hours on the Elm Avenue project this week. Prevailing wage for both projects is $52/hr (base + fringe cash-in-lieu).
- Main Street WH-347, Column 6B: 30 × $52 = $1,560
- Main Street WH-347, Column 7: $2,340 (30 × $52 + 15 × $52 = total weekly earnings)
- Elm Avenue WH-347, Column 6B: 15 × $52 = $780
- Elm Avenue WH-347, Column 7: $2,340 (same total — it's weekly, not per-project)
Column 7 Is the Same Across Both Reports
If a worker appears on two separate WH-347s in the same week (because they worked on two projects), Column 7 should be identical on both reports. It represents the worker's total weekly earnings, not a project-specific subtotal.
Common Column 7 Mistakes
Putting the project subtotal in Column 7
The #1 mistake. Contractors treat Column 7 as "gross earned on this project" when it should be "gross earned all work." If a worker only had one project this week, you won't notice the bug. If they had two, the DOL will.
Not updating Column 7 when a worker joins a second project mid-week
If a worker moves to another jobsite on Wednesday, Column 7 on the Monday-Tuesday project's WH-347 must still reflect their full weekly earnings, including Wednesday-Friday on the other project.
Using prior-week Column 7 as a shortcut
Column 7 changes every week based on actual hours worked. You can't copy last week's value. It needs to be recalculated based on the current week's hours across all projects.
How Column 7 Connects to Column 8
Column 8 (Deductions) should equal the deductions proportional to Column 7, not Column 6B. If Column 7 is $2,340 and federal tax withheld is $280, the $280 in Column 8 should match what the paycheck actually showed for that total weekly gross, not a pro-rated per-project slice.
Related Columns
Column 7 works with Column 6A (Hourly Rate) and Column 6B (Project-specific gross). For the full walk-through, see the WH-347 line-by-line guide.
Track Workers Across Multiple Projects
CertifiedPayrollPro automatically populates Column 7 from the worker's total weekly hours across every project.
