DEALER PAYROLL · MAZDA RETAILERS & GROUPS

A MAST grad on hourly. A Senior Master on flags. WageTime flips one on a date.

A Mazda store runs pay plans generic payroll can’t read: a four-rung cert ladder, a MAST guarantee on a clock, and factory money that ignores your pay calendar. WageTime runs the Mazda pay run the way it’s built.

Built on infrastructure processing $35B+ in payroll & taxes · 2.8M+ employees paid

WageTime serves independently owned and operated dealerships. WageTime is not affiliated with, endorsed by, or sponsored by Mazda North American Operations, Mazda Motor Corporation, or any manufacturer. All trademarks belong to their respective owners.

SOUND FAMILIAR?

One national franchise, and none of the pay plans behind the service drive are ordinary.

Behind every Mazda service drive sits a four-rung rate ladder, a wage guarantee running on a clock, and factory money that ignores your pay calendar. Each item below is either unpaid office hours at close or a liability quietly compounding until someone finds the time to check it.

THE FOUR RUNGS

Certified, Senior, Master Certified, and Senior Master each set a different rate

Mazda’s ladder runs Certified → Certified Senior → Master Certified → Senior Master Certified, each rung earned on more Mazda training and each its own flat-rate door rate. When a tech levels up, the rate should move on the award date, not three paychecks later as a retro fight at the counter.

THE FIRST SIX MONTHS

A MAST grad is on a guaranteed hourly wage, then flips to flat rate

A Mazda Automotive Student Training graduate comes in as a Certified Senior tech on a guaranteed hourly wage for a fixed window before moving to flags. Miss the switch date and you either overpay the guarantee or shove someone onto flat rate early. And the minimum-wage true-up is waiting the moment they’re on flags.

OFF-CALENDAR MONEY

President’s Club and Gold Cup dollars don’t land on a Friday

Recognition money gated on Guest satisfaction unlocks the day the scores post, not on your pay calendar. The store still owes its share, with correct tax treatment, on an off-cycle check nobody scheduled. And the Gold Cup keeps the money only while service and sales staff stay current on Mazda training.

THE CAMERA BEHIND THE MIRROR

FSC aiming hides on a windshield ticket

Mazda’s Forward Sensing Camera has to be re-aimed whenever the windshield comes out: a static procedure most techs can’t rush. The flag line rides in on a glass RO that doesn’t look like a camera job, so it’s an easy operation to pay short, or miss entirely.

ONE FACTORY, MANY RULEBOOKS

There’s no regional distributor, but the pay plans still multiply

A Mazda store answers to one national channel, so there’s no second distributor’s program to reconcile, but the store still runs flat-rate service, commissioned sales, F&I on chargebacks, advisors on gross, and hourly crew in the same run. Generic payroll handles the easy parts and leaves the office the rest.

ONE FRIDAY, EVERY EIN

The store, the second rooftop, and the used-car LLC pay out once

A Mazda group holds each rooftop and its used-car company as a separate EIN filing its own taxes, yet the whole group still wants one pay day and one approval. Generic providers hand back a login per entity and a consolidation workbook someone rebuilds by hand every month.

The first four get a real product screen below, shown with sample store data. The commission close and the group run get straight answers in the FAQ.
01 · THE FOUR RUNGS

How does pay follow a Mazda tech from Certified to Senior Master Certified?

WageTime keys each Mazda tech’s flat rate to their rung on the Certified to Senior Master Certified ladder and starts the new rate on the award date: the day training moves the tech up, not the quarter payroll gets around to it.

  • Four rungs, four door rates: the Mazda ladder priced per level, not per guess.
  • A promotion reprices the tech’s flags on its award date, queued in advance.
  • An expiring credential surfaces with the per-period dollar swing attached.
app.wagetime.com/service/cert-ladder

Certification Ladder · Service Dept

1 rate change queued1 promotion pending
Mazda rungs run Certified → Certified Senior → Master Certified → Senior Master Certified · each rung is its own flat-rate door rate
T. Brandt #14 · awarded Jul 10
Certified Senior rate$34.00
Master Certified rate$40.00
Rate lift per flag hr+$6.00
Flag hrs per period81.0
Impact from Aug 1≈ +$486
Other techsRungFlag-hr rate
J. Okafor #02Training currentSenior Master Certified$52.00
R. Delgado #08Pending review to Sr MasterMaster Certified$44.00
M. Foster #21Two Mazda courses to SeniorCertified$28.00
Queued now, so the Aug 1 run pays the new rate: no retro check at the counter

Replaces the four-color whiteboard of who sits on which rung, and the retro check you cut after a promotion nobody told payroll about.

02 · THE MAST WINDOW

Can payroll run a MAST grad’s guaranteed hourly wage, then flip them to flat rate on the date?

Yes: WageTime carries a MAST graduate on a guaranteed living wage, paid hourly, for the whole window, then flips them to their cert-level flat rate on a scheduled effective date. One dated transition, run automatically instead of remembered.

  • The guaranteed hourly wage runs for the full window, tracked to a switch date.
  • The flip to flat rate is scheduled once, effective-dated, and runs itself.
  • Once on flags, the minimum-wage true-up stands behind the new tech automatically.
app.wagetime.com/service/pay-transition

MAST Pay Transition · Service Dept

1 flip due Aug 1guarantee floor active
MAST grads ride a guaranteed hourly wage for a fixed window, then move to their cert-level flat rate on a scheduled date
2On guarantee
1Flip due Aug 1
TechCurrent payStatus
A. Ng #26Hourly → flat rate Aug 1$22.00/hr floorFlip due
D. Iverson #24Hourly → flat rate Oct 1$22.00/hr floorOn guarantee
T. Brandt #14On flat rate · switched May 1$40.00/flag hrTrue-up watch
M. Foster #21Flat rate · switched last yr$28.00/flag hrTrue-up watch
1 flip due Aug 1 · the true-up runs behind every flat-rate tech

Replaces the sticky note that says “move Ng to flat rate in the fall”, and the month you keep paying a guarantee after the window closed.

03 · THE FACTORY MONEY

There’s no regional distributor, so how does recognition money reach the check?

WageTime books President’s Club and Gold Cup money to the person and period it belongs to, then pays it off-cycle the day the score clears, with correct supplemental-wage tax treatment. Unlimited runs mean the extra check costs nothing.

  • One national source, no second distributor calendar layered on top.
  • Each payout holds against its Guest-satisfaction score and releases when it posts.
  • Gold Cup money leans on the same training records that price the rate ladder.
app.wagetime.com/payroll/recognition-bonus

Recognition Payout · Q2

scores posted Jul 91 payout under review
Mazda recognition money (President’s Club, Gold Cup) gates on Guest satisfaction · it can’t pay until the score posts
$2,850.00Releasing off-cycle
Jul 9Scores posted
1Payout under review
GroupPayoutScore
Service dept pool9, $200ea, Gold Cup, off-cycle$1,800.00Cleared Jul 9
Sales team pool7, $150ea, off-cycle$1,050.00Cleared Jul 9
Service manager1 person, Pres. Club bonusHeldUnder review
Released on the score date · off-cycle, correct tax treatment

Replaces the note taped to the monitor to “split the Gold Cup money when it lands”, and the scramble to book it correctly a pay period later.

04 · FSC AIMING

Who catches the i-Activsense line hiding on a windshield ticket, and how does it get paid?

WageTime imports each i-Activsense FSC aiming operation as its own flag line and surfaces it beside the glass RO that triggered it, so the camera work is paid at the right bucket, not lost in a windshield ticket.

  • Warranty vs customer-pay split carries through per operation.
  • The camera feeds Smart Brake Support, radar cruise, and lane-keep.
  • Riding in on a glass RO, aiming is the flag line easiest to miss.
  • Targets at precise distances; below 12 volts, the calibration aborts.
app.wagetime.com/service/fsc-aiming

i-Activsense FSC Aiming · Jun 16-30

4 aiming ops matched1 line recovered from a glass RO
FSC aiming is owed whenever the windshield is replaced or removed · static procedure, battery held above 12V
4Aiming ops matched
5.8Flag hrs this run
1Line recovered
Tech · ROFlag hrsStatus
J. Okafor #0260411 · windshield R&R, wty1.4Ready
R. Delgado #0860455 · wshield R&R, cust-pay1.4Ready
T. Brandt #1460478 · glass+SBS, cust-pay1.6Ready
M. Foster #2160490 · wshield R&R, cust-pay1.4Line recovered
Each aiming op matched to the glass RO that triggered it, recovered before the run

Replaces the aiming line that got buried in a windshield ticket, and the shorted check the tech notices before you do.

PRICING

Simple payroll pricing. No surprises.

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.

  • Full-service payroll, unlimited runs
  • Federal, state & local tax filing
  • Year-end W-2s & 1099s
  • Direct deposit, checks & pay cards
  • Contractor payments & filings
  • Off-cycle runs & bonuses, no extra fee
  • Employee paystubs & W-2 access
  • QuickBooks integration
$10/mo per person paid
+ $50/mo per company

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 demo
THE INFRASTRUCTURE BEHIND WAGETIME
$35B+
in payroll & taxes paid
2.8M+
employees paid
4.3M+
W-2s & 1099s filed
100%
of tax filings automated

Mazda dealer payroll FAQ

How do Certified, Master Certified, and Senior Master Certified levels change what a Mazda technician is paid?

Each of Mazda’s four rungs (Certified, Certified Senior, Master Certified, Senior Master Certified) carries its own flat-rate figure. WageTime keys the rate to the tech’s current rung and starts the new one on the award date, so leveling up reprices their flags immediately instead of three paychecks later, and an expiring credential surfaces before it becomes a retro fix.

We just had a MAST graduate start: how do you pay the guaranteed hourly wage before flat rate?

A MAST grad enters on a guaranteed hourly wage for a fixed window (about the first six months) before moving to flags. WageTime holds the hourly guarantee to a scheduled switch date, flips the tech to their cert-level flat rate the day it lands, and runs the minimum-wage true-up behind the flags from then on so a slow first stretch can’t drag them below the floor.

Can President’s Club or Gold Cup recognition money be paid off-cycle with correct tax treatment?

Yes. Recognition money gated on Guest satisfaction unlocks only when the scores post, rarely on a Friday. WageTime holds each payout until its number clears, then releases it on an off-cycle run with correct supplemental-wage tax treatment. Payroll runs are unlimited, so the extra check costs nothing.

How does i-Activsense FSC aiming get flagged and paid after a windshield job?

FSC aiming (owed whenever the windshield is replaced or removed) imports as its own flag operation, split warranty or customer-pay, and is matched to the RO that triggered it. Because it rides in on a glass ticket that doesn’t look like a camera job, WageTime surfaces the aiming line beside its parent RO so it’s paid at the right bucket instead of being missed.

Do Mazda MX-30 or CX-90 PHEV high-voltage jobs need a separate pay tier?

No. Mazda publishes no tiered high-voltage pay levels: authorization is simply trained or not, and the MX-30’s high-voltage pack can’t be opened by dealer techs at all. So unlike brands with Level 1/2/3 HV rungs, there’s no extra HV rate to model: those hours pay at the tech’s normal flat rate, tracked against the same credential record as the rest of the ladder.

Does this handle the commission close and a multi-rooftop group, or just the service side?

Both. The month-end commission close (minis, volume tiers, F&I with chargeback netting, and draw offsets against a running balance) runs as payroll, with any unreconciled deal rolling forward, and recovery from a final paycheck blocked where state law prohibits it. Each rooftop and the used-car LLC keeps its own EIN with its own filings, and the whole group closes under one approval.

What does WageTime cost, and what does switching involve?

It’s $50 per company per month plus $10 for each person you pay that month (no long-term contract, cancel anytime), and payroll runs are unlimited, so an off-cycle Gold Cup check or a final paycheck costs nothing extra. Switching is full-service and paid: a specialist sets up your entities, rungs, and pay plans with you. After go-live, support is real people, around the clock.

Bring your worst Mazda pay period.

Last month’s commission sheets, a MAST grad due to flip to flat rate, a warranty-heavy fortnight of flag hours, and the Gold Cup bonus you still owe from when the scores posted. 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