A Kia store pays an apprentice hourly until they certify, splits flag hours three ways for CPO recon, and carries an EV premium with no Kia tier behind it. WageTime runs that pay run the way it works, every EIN in the group.
WageTime serves independently owned and operated dealerships. WageTime is not affiliated with, endorsed by, or sponsored by Kia America, Inc., Kia Corporation, Hyundai, or Genesis. All trademarks belong to their respective owners.
These aren’t edge cases. They’re the shape of a Kia store (the entry pipeline, the certified-used lane, the EV bay, the satisfaction score), and every one is either unpaid office work or a liability compounding while nobody checks.
A KMTSTEP or VTAP apprentice isn’t on flat rate yet: he runs on a guaranteed hourly wage through the training year, then flips to cert-tied flat rate on the certification date. Miss that date and you’re paying flat rate too early, or hourly too long, and cleaning it up with a retro check.
Kia’s 10-year/100,000-mile powertrain warranty covers the original owner only, so used-Kia buyers regain the long coverage by buying certified, and the 165-point CPO inspection and reconditioning becomes its own flat-rate labor stream. A two-bucket payroll folds it into warranty, and the recon account never reconciles.
Kia publishes no high-voltage technician level. So the EV pay premium on an EV6, EV9, or Niro EV can’t key off a manufacturer rung: it has to bind to the ASE and state credentials the tech actually holds, plus your dealer EV policy. Priced off a tier that doesn’t exist, the number is a guess.
Kia stores fold a customer-satisfaction (CSI) threshold into advisor and salesperson bonuses. The score posts after the pay period closes, so the bonus that depends on it can’t ride the scheduled run, and the held-back money is the payment everyone forgets.
Hyundai Motor Group links Kia, Hyundai, and Genesis corporately, but a dealer group with all three plus a used-car company is four separate taxpayers, filing on their own and paying on the same day. Generic payroll treats them as unrelated customers and leaves the group total to be rebuilt by hand.
A KMTSTEP or VTAP apprentice runs on a guaranteed hourly wage through the training year, then flips to cert-tied flat rate the day the certification takes effect: one dated event in WageTime, not a manual re-setup.
| Tech | Guaranteed wage | Status |
|---|---|---|
| J. Alcott #27VTAP yr 1 · $24.00/flag Aug 1 | $22.00/hr | Flips Aug 1 |
| M. Reyes #29KMTSTEP yr 2 · $27.00/flag | $23.50/hr | On track |
| D. Foster #31VTAP yr 1 · flat at cert | $22.00/hr | Guaranteed |
| P. Nash #34KMTSTEP yr 1 · flat at cert | $21.00/hr | Guaranteed |
Replaces the calendar reminder to switch a tech from hourly to flat rate, and the retro check when nobody remembers the date.
WageTime carries three buckets, not two: warranty time, customer-pay, and the reconditioning stream the 165-point CPO inspection generates, each at its own flat rate, imported off closed repair orders so nobody re-keys them.
| Tech | CPO recon | Total flag |
|---|---|---|
| C. Meyer #05CP 41.0 · warranty 16.5 | 16.5 | 74.0 |
| H. Delgado #08CP 44.0 · warranty 20.0 | 13.0 | 77.0 |
| B. Osei #13CP 24.0 · warranty 18.0 | 15.0 | 57.0 |
| R. Tran #18CP 22.5 · warranty 10.5 | 7.0 | 40.0 |
| L. Pope #23CP 12.0 · warranty 9.0 | 10.0 | 31.0 |
Replaces the reconditioning hours a two-bucket payroll quietly folds into warranty, and the account that never ties out.
The premium binds to the ASE and state EV credentials a tech actually holds, plus your dealer-set EV policy, because Kia publishes no high-voltage technician level to key it to.
| Tech | EV premium | Status |
|---|---|---|
| C. Meyer #05ASE + HV cert · $45.00 base | +$6.00 | Active |
| H. Delgado #08ASE xEV (L3) · $36.00 base | +$5.00 | Active |
| B. Osei #13HV cert · $32.00 base · Sep 20 | +$4.00 | Lapses Sep 20 |
| K. Serrano #26ASE xEV Jul 2 · $30.00 base | +$4.00 eff. Aug 1 | Premium Aug 1 |
Replaces the spreadsheet that guesses an EV rate off a tier Kia never published.
A dealer-defined bonus holds until the CSI score you enter clears its threshold, then releases on an off-cycle run: no waiting for the next scheduled payroll, and only the people who cleared get paid.
Replaces the held-back bonus nobody remembers to pay once the CSI report finally lands.
WageTime keeps a Hyundai Motor Group dealer cluster separate where the filings require it and joined where the office needs it: distinct EINs and distinct returns for the Kia, Hyundai, Genesis, and pre-owned companies, with one sign-in and a single Friday approval.
| Company | Net pay | Status |
|---|---|---|
| Northgate Kia LLC••-•••5108 · 52 people | $191,400 | Ready |
| Northgate Hyundai LLC••-•••8231 · 44 people | $158,900 | Ready |
| Northgate Genesis LLC••-•••3390 · 12 people | $63,200 | Ready |
| Northgate Pre-Owned LLC••-•••7654 · 17 people | $54,300 | Ready |
Replaces a login per franchise, and the consolidation workbook that stitches the group together every Friday.
Full-service payroll is $10 a month per person paid that month, plus $50 a month per company, with unlimited runs. No long-term contracts, no per-run charges.
Off-cycle runs and bonuses cost nothing extra. No long-term contracts; cancel anytime.
Example: 50 people paid × $10 + $50 company = $550 for the month
HR & hiring, onboarding, PTO, time tracking, benefits, and workers’ comp are optional add-ons, priced separately when you’re ready.
See a demoPay the guaranteed hourly wage during the KMTSTEP or VTAP year on the same run as everyone else. WageTime binds the flat-rate figure to the certification with an effective date, so on the day the tech certifies as a Kia Service Technician the rate flips automatically: no retro check, no forgotten calendar reminder.
It stays separate by default. The GI Bill Monthly Housing Allowance is a federal veterans’ benefit paid by the VA, not through your payroll. WageTime runs only the guaranteed dealer wage; it never receives, disburses, or nets the housing allowance against what the apprentice earns on your run.
WageTime carries three flag-hour buckets, not two: warranty, customer-pay, and CPO reconditioning, each at its own flat rate. Because Kia’s 10-year/100,000-mile powertrain warranty covers the original owner only, certified pre-owned recon concentrates at Kia stores. It imports off closed ROs and posts to its own QuickBooks account, not blended into warranty.
Kia publishes no high-voltage technician level, so the premium binds to the ASE and state EV credentials a tech actually holds plus your dealer EV policy, not an OEM rung. It’s effective-dated like any cert-tied rate, and a lapsing credential is flagged before the premium would be paid on hours the tech isn’t credentialed to bill.
Yes. Set the CSI threshold and the bonus amount; WageTime holds the bonus until you enter the score, flags who cleared, and releases it on an off-cycle run at no extra cost. WageTime pays a dealer-defined bonus against the score you provide: it does not compute Kia’s CSI or any manufacturer payout.
$50 per month per company, plus $10 per month per person paid that month: no long-term contracts, cancel anytime. The four-rooftop group in the screens above, 125 people paid, comes to $1,450 for the month: $200 in company bases plus $1,250 in per-person fees. Payroll runs are unlimited, so off-cycle CSI and spiff runs cost nothing extra, and year-end W-2s and 1099s are included.
The apprentice about to certify, a fortnight of three-bucket flag hours with a CPO lane, the EV bay, and last quarter’s held CSI bonuses. Twenty minutes with a payroll specialist on a live demo store: if WageTime can’t carry your comp plans, you’ll know before the meeting ends.
Book a 20-minute demo