San Diego, California
Payroll built for San Diego trades & restaurants.
San Diego contractors, restaurants, and home-service crews get squeezed between California's toughest overtime rules, prevailing wage jobs, and SDI/PFL filings. We run payroll, classify your crew correctly, and wire up Profit First so the owner gets paid first — flat monthly fee, no surprise bills.
— What you get
The full payroll stack, run by humans in California.
Owner-first payroll
We restructure the payroll cycle so you — the owner — get paid first, every period.
Workers' comp audit defense
We handle the annual NCCI audit directly. You don't lose a day off the job.
W-2 vs 1099 review
Nevada's misclassification penalties are brutal. We document the call so you survive it.
Modified Business Tax filings
Quarterly MBT, UI, 941, 940 — filed and paid on time, every time.
— Nevada specifics
No state income tax. Plenty of other traps.
Modified Business Tax
1.378% on wages over $50k/quarter (general business). Easy to miscalc, expensive to fix.
Workers' Comp
Mandatory from employee #1 in Nevada. Annual NCCI audit determines your final premium.
Unemployment Insurance
New employer rate ~2.95%. Filed quarterly with DETR. Late = penalties.
No state W-4
Federal only. But local jurisdictions and tip credits still apply.
— Neighborhoods we serve
From Downtown to Escondido.
- Downtown
- La Jolla
- North Park
- Mission Valley
- Chula Vista
- El Cajon
- Carlsbad
- Encinitas
- Oceanside
- Escondido
Industries we run payroll for in San Diego:
- General Contractors
- HVAC
- Plumbing
- Electrical
- Restaurants
- Landscaping
- Roofing
- Auto Service
— What San Diego owners say
"Daily OT used to wreck my margins. Now it's priced in and payroll just runs."
"First time in 8 years I take a paycheck on the 1st and 15th. Every time."
"They caught a misclassification that would have cost us $22k in an audit."
— FAQ
Do you handle California daily overtime (1.5x after 8, 2x after 12)?+
Yes — daily OT, 7th-day rules, meal-and-rest premiums, and split-shift premiums are baked into every San Diego payroll run.
How much does payroll cost for a San Diego small business?+
Flat monthly fee starting around $189/mo for small crews. Includes CA tax filings, SDI/PFL, EDD reporting, and Profit First bucket setup.
Can you run prevailing-wage and certified payroll (DIR/DAS-140)?+
Yes. We file weekly certified payroll for public-works jobs in San Diego County and handle DIR registration.
Do you serve North County — Escondido, Carlsbad, Oceanside?+
Yes — we work with crews from Chula Vista to Oceanside, including Escondido, Carlsbad, Encinitas, and El Cajon.
Can you set up Profit First for a California LLC or S-Corp?+
Yes. We open the bucket accounts, set sweep percentages, and benchmark a defensible reasonable comp salary for S-Corp owners.
Stop overpaying for payroll in San Diego.
Free 20-minute diagnostic. We'll tell you straight whether we can save you money — or whether you're already in good hands.
— Founder story
Built by blue-collar, for blue-collar.
Profit First Payroll was founded by Matt Frechette, who brings 20+ years of hands-on experience in blue-collar environments. He's seen shops thrive — or unravel — because of poor cash flow, inconsistent owner pay, late crew checks, and workers' comp audit nightmares. PFP is built explicitly for trades and labor-heavy businesses: proper crew classification, project-based volatility, and protecting profit in high-risk industries.