DEALER PAYROLL · SUBARU RETAILERS & GROUPS

Three door rates. Two head offices. WageTime knows both.

A Subaru store pays flat-rate techs off the Specialist to Senior Master ladder, and up the Northeast it reconciles incentive money from a distributor on its own calendar. WageTime carries the ladder and the distributor money in one pay run.

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 Subaru of America, Subaru Corporation, Subaru of New England, Subaru Distributors Corp, or any manufacturer or distributor. All trademarks belong to their respective owners.

SOUND FAMILIAR?

One all-wheel-drive lineup, and none of the pay plans behind it are ordinary.

A Subaru rooftop pays nothing like a generic store. Every item below is either hours of unpaid office work at close or a liability compounding quietly while nobody has time to check.

THE THREE RUNGS

Specialist, Master, and Senior Master each set a different door rate

Subaru’s ladder runs Specialist → Master → Senior Master, and the top rung takes ASE certification in all eight areas plus years of Subaru experience. Each rung is its own flat-rate figure. When a tech levels up, the rate should move on the award date, not three paychecks later as a retro fight at the counter.

TWO HOME OFFICES

A Northeast store answers to a distributor, not Subaru of America

A store in New England or metro New York is supplied by an independent distributor (Subaru of New England or Subaru Distributors Corp) with its own training and its own “Specials” incentives. That money runs on the distributor’s calendar and books to a different source than Subaru of America’s national programs. Generic payroll sees one blur.

THE CAMERA JOB

EyeSight recalibration is owed after work nobody flags for it

EyeSight’s stereo cameras have to be recalibrated after a windshield, after suspension work, and after any wheel alignment. Even a minor bump can knock the axis out. It’s a premium, trained-tech-only operation, and if the hours land on the wrong tech or get missed, that’s either a shorted check or an untrained calibration.

THE STELLAR SCORE

Recognition money can’t pay until the survey posts

Bonuses gated on the Stellar Care Award and CSI don’t clear on your pay calendar: they unlock the day the Sales and Service scores post, which is rarely a Friday. The store still owes the money, with correct tax treatment, on an off-cycle check nobody scheduled.

BOXER & CVT DRAG

Tight factory times on drivetrain jobs pull a few techs toward the floor

Warranty time books tighter than customer-pay, and Subaru’s work concentrates on boxer engines, Lineartronic CVTs, and AWD driveline jobs. A warranty-heavy fortnight lands on a handful of techs and drags their effective rate toward the minimum-wage floor, and the true-up is owed whether or not anyone did the math.

ONE FRIDAY, EVERY EIN

The used-car LLC and the second rooftop still close together

Each rooftop and the used-car company is its own EIN with its own filings, and the group still closes payroll once. Generic providers answer with a login per entity and a consolidation workbook the bookkeeper keeps by hand.

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

How does the rate follow a tech from Specialist to Senior Master?

WageTime binds a Subaru tech’s flat rate to the level itself, Specialist, then Master, then Senior Master, each with an effective date, so the door rate moves the day the level is awarded, not the next quarter.

  • Senior Master requires all eight ASE areas: the gate is tracked, not guessed.
  • Master and Senior Master ride cumulative Subaru University training and dealer experience.
  • A pending promotion or lapse is flagged before it hits a check.
app.wagetime.com/service/cert-ladder

Certification Ladder · Service Dept

1 rate change queuedSenior Master gate: A1-A8
Subaru levels run Specialist → Master → Senior Master · the top rung takes ASE certification in all eight areas
T. Osei #12 · A4, A5 passed Jul 9
Specialist rate$30.00
Master rate from Aug 1$36.00
Rate lift per flag hr+$6.00
Flag hrs per period78.0
Impact per period≈ +$468
Other techsLevelFlag-hr rate
A. Reyes #04Recert due 2028 · CurrentSenior Master$46.00
J. Whitfield #09A6, A8 for Sr Master · CurrentMaster$38.00
D. Park #17Subaru-U, 3 ASE left · CurrentSpecialist$27.00
Queued now, so the Aug 1 run pays the new rate: no retro check at the counter

Replaces the whiteboard of who’s Specialist and who’s Senior Master, and the retro-pay cleanup after a promotion payroll heard about late.

02 · TWO HOME OFFICES

Can payroll tell distributor money from Subaru of America money?

Yes: WageTime tags every spiff, sales incentive, and Subaru University completion bonus to its paying source, so distributor money and Subaru of America money reconcile cleanly instead of blurring into one line.

  • Each earning tags its source: distributor program vs Subaru of America national.
  • Distributor spiffs run off-cycle, on their calendar, with correct tax treatment.
  • A group across two territories tracks both rulebooks in one system.
  • Subaru of New England supplies the six New England states.
  • Subaru Distributors Corp supplies New York and northern New Jersey.
app.wagetime.com/payroll/incentive-recon

Incentive Reconciliation · June

2 paying sourcesoff-cycle, correct tax treatment
Subaru of New England “Specials” run on the distributor’s calendar · Subaru of America national money runs on its own, each booked to the right person and source
$13,550.00June incentives
21Payouts
2Paying sources
ProgramAmountPay run
Summer sales spiffSubaru New England · 6 people$4,200.00Off-cycle Jun 20
Subaru-U completionSubaru New England · 2 people$1,000.00Off-cycle Jun 20
National retail bonusSubaru of America · 9 people$6,750.00Jul 3 run
Loyalty retention spiffSubaru of America · 4 people$1,600.00Jul 3 run
Every payout booked to its person and paying source · nothing held to the next Friday

Replaces the highlighter pass over the distributor’s statement, and the “which program paid this, and when?” argument at close.

03 · THE CAMERA JOB

Who’s allowed to flag an EyeSight recalibration, and how does it get paid?

Only a trained tech, and WageTime enforces it: each EyeSight recalibration imports as its own flag operation, split warranty or customer-pay, with the hours routed by the tech’s Subaru training record.

  • Recalibration imports as its own flag op, matched to the RO that triggered it.
  • Hours route by training record: the calibration pays the tech cleared to do it.
  • Static calibration: OEM target board at exact distance and height, roughly 60-90 minutes.
  • An untrained tech’s calibration RO is held for reassignment before it pays.
app.wagetime.com/service/eyesight-calibration

EyeSight Calibration Ops · Jun 16-30

1 RO held: untrained techgated to trained techs
EyeSight recalibration is owed after glass, suspension R&I, and any wheel alignment, even a minor collision · only a trained tech may flag it
4Calibration ops
5.6Flag hrs this run
1RO held
Tech · ROFlag hrsStatus
A. Reyes #04RO 51188 glass R&I · static CP1.6Ready
A. Reyes #04RO 51204 align · dynamic CP0.8Ready
J. Whitfield #09RO 51160 susp R&I · static wty1.6Ready
D. Park #17RO 51231 collision · static CP1.6Held
Each op matched to the RO that triggered it · the held one waits on training, not on pay

Replaces the sticky note on the alignment rack listing who’s cleared for the camera bay, and the recalibration that quietly never got flagged.

04 · THE STELLAR SCORE

Can a CSI-gated bonus pay the day the score posts, not the next Friday?

A Stellar Care or CSI bonus can pay the day the score posts: WageTime holds each one pending until the number clears, then releases it on its own run, so nothing pays early on a guess or slips through as an untracked adjustment.

  • Bonuses hold against the score and release the day it posts.
  • Off-cycle payout carries correct supplemental-wage tax treatment.
  • Nothing pays before the number clears; nothing waits for the next Friday.
  • The gate asks participation across all customer-focused Subaru programs, not one metric.
  • Every payout books to the person and period it belongs to.
app.wagetime.com/payroll/recognition-bonus

Recognition Bonus · Q2

score posted Jul 81 payout under review
Stellar Care recognition gates on Sales + Service CSI and full program participation · the bonus can’t pay until the score posts
$2,500.00Releasing off-cycle
Jul 8Score posted
1Payout under review
GroupPayoutScore
Service dept pool8 at $200 on CSI · off-cycle$1,600.00Cleared Jul 8
Sales team pool6 at $150 on CSI · off-cycle$900.00Cleared Jul 8
Store manager1 person · Stellar CareHeldUnder review
Released on the score date · off-cycle, correct tax treatment

Replaces the calendar reminder to “pay the CSI money once the scores are in”, and the untracked adjustment when it slips.

05 · THE ONE-FRIDAY CLOSE

Can the whole group’s commission month close in one approval?

The whole group’s commission month closes in one approval: WageTime runs it as a single payroll pass, settling front-end packs, unit minis, volume tiers, and F&I with chargeback netting per person, with every rooftop EIN and the used-car company closing together.

  • Imported flag hours arrive without re-keying; draws offset a running balance.
  • The minimum-wage true-up on warranty-heavy boxer and CVT jobs runs automatically.
  • Each rooftop and the used-car LLC keeps its own EIN, one login.
  • Tell us your DMS on the demo and we’ll confirm the exact flow.
  • Recovery from a final paycheck is blocked where state law prohibits it.
app.wagetime.com/payroll/commission-close

Commission Close · June

1 deal rolled forward1 negative draw carried
Front-end pack $500/unit applied · chargebacks net against June gross before the draw offset
$20,540.00Net commission
4Paid this close
Priya S. · 16 units$7,060.00
gross $8,960.00 · minis +$900.00draw −$2,800.00
Marco T. · 12 units$3,940.00
gross $6,240.00 · minis +$500.00draw −$2,800.00
Elena V. · F&Ichargeback$6,740.00
gross $11,320.00 · −$980.00 netteddraw −$3,600.00
Sam K. · 5 unitsbalance carried−$800.00
gross $2,000.00 · no adjustmentsdraw −$2,800.00
Dana L. · 10 units$2,800.00
gross $5,100.00 · minis +$500.00draw −$2,800.00
Sam K. −$800 draw balance carried, not clawed from final paypays on the Jul 3 run

Replaces the commission workbook, the by-hand true-up, and the consolidation sheet that ties the rooftops together every Friday.

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

Subaru dealer payroll FAQ

How do Specialist, Master, and Senior Master certification levels change what a Subaru technician is paid?

Each level is its own flat-rate door rate. WageTime binds the rate to the tech’s Subaru level (Specialist, Master, or Senior Master, the top rung gated on all eight ASE areas) with an effective date, so a promotion moves the rate on the award date, not three paychecks later, and a recert drifting toward lapse is flagged before it costs a retro adjustment.

We’re a Subaru of New England or Subaru Distributors store: can payroll handle incentive money that comes from the distributor, not Subaru of America?

Yes. Spiff, sales-incentive, and Subaru-U completion money from Subaru of New England or Subaru Distributors Corp runs on the distributor’s own calendar; national money runs on Subaru of America’s. WageTime books each earning to the right person, period, and paying source, and off-cycle runs for distributor money cost nothing extra.

How do you flag an EyeSight recalibration, and can the pay be gated to a trained tech?

EyeSight recalibration (owed after glass, suspension work, and any wheel alignment, even a minor collision) imports as its own flag operation, split warranty or customer-pay. Hours route by the tech’s Subaru training record, so an untrained tech’s calibration RO is flagged for reassignment before it pays a premium operation to the wrong person.

Can bonus money tied to the Stellar Care Award or CSI scores be paid off-cycle with correct tax treatment?

Yes. Recognition bonuses that unlock only when Sales and Service CSI scores post can be released on an off-cycle run the day the score clears, with correct supplemental-wage tax treatment, instead of being held to the next scheduled Friday or pushed through as an untracked adjustment. Unlimited runs mean the extra check costs nothing.

Who can be paid to work on a Solterra’s high-voltage system?

Only a tech who completed Subaru’s hybrid and high-voltage training. Subaru publishes no tiered high-voltage levels (it’s trained or not), so there’s no intermediate HV pay step to map. WageTime gates those flag hours to the trained tech’s record, the same way it gates EyeSight calibration and cert-tied flat rates.

What does WageTime cost, and what does switching involve?

$50 per month per company plus $10 per person paid that month: no long-term contracts, cancel anytime, with unlimited payroll runs so off-cycle spiff and final-check runs cost nothing extra. Onboarding and migration are full-service and paid: a specialist configures your entities, pay plans, and people with you. Support after go-live is real humans, around the clock.

Bring your worst Subaru pay period.

Last month’s commission sheets, a warranty-heavy fortnight of boxer and CVT flag hours, the cert list with who’s Specialist and who’s Senior Master, and the distributor’s spiff statement. 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