What does a Payroll Administrator do?
A payroll administrator is responsible for processing the wages of employees in a company or organization. Aside from issuing payments, it is also the payroll administrator's task to audit, process taxes and other deductions, keep and maintain an organized record of data, respond to inquiries and resolve issues, and tally employee work hours. Furthermore, a payroll administrator needs to have efficient attention to detail as most of the tasks require accuracy and speed. It is also essential to communicate and coordinate with team members at all times.
Payroll administrator responsibilities
Here are examples of responsibilities from real payroll administrator resumes:
- Manage year-end W2 audit/corrections and distribution.
- Manage employee direct deposit accounts and initiate ACH reversals when necessary.
- Manage all requisitions using PeopleSoft for the administrator and all assign departments.
- Maintain KRONOS timekeeping system, review, sort and distribute employee upload file and multiple misc.
- Maintain and monitor PTO balances and provide executive reports relate to vacation accruals.
- Assist in implementing and training of MyTime and Lawson systems.
- Enroll new hires, process payroll (ADP) and benefits for 300 plus employees.
- Upload parking deductions, bonuses, and record hours in the KRONOS time and attendance system.
- Enter new hire personal information as well as updated employee information into the Lawson data base system.
- Play a key role in the conversion of the current UltiPro payroll system to ADP beginning in 2015.
- Process payment of all payroll deposits, state tax deposits, quarterly taxes, year-end reconciliation and w-2's.
- Collaborate with HRIS to make changes in exemptions, benefits deductions, paid-time off and LOA status, and pay.
- Provide assistance with ADP registrations and navigation.
- Perform all eligibility/tracking for benefits/paid-time off (PTO) utilizing case management tools.
- Prepare payroll-related journal entries and perform account reconciliations while complying with SOX requirements.
Payroll administrator skills and personality traits
We calculated that 9% of Payroll Administrators are proficient in Customer Service, Data Entry, and Payroll System. They’re also known for soft skills such as Communication skills, Math skills, and Organizational skills.
We break down the percentage of Payroll Administrators that have these skills listed on their resume here:
- Customer Service, 9%
Provided immediate and attentive customer service regarding all aspects of payroll administration to all associates throughout the company.
- Data Entry, 7%
Implemented several automated processes, eliminating need for extra personnel, reducing data entry errors and expedited payroll cycle turnaround time.
- Payroll System, 6%
Prepared quarterly tax reports, managed/updated benefits reports, and updated new hires/ terminations in payroll systems.
- Human Resources, 5%
Performed administrative functions for human resources, including unemployment form processing, benefits coordination, and weekly payroll.
- Payroll Data, 4%
Provide monthly budget variance analysis as well as provide assistance with annual budget preparation and budget software system payroll database maintenance.
- Process Payroll, 4%
Process payroll relocation payments, tuition reimbursements payments and travel reimbursements.
"customer service," "data entry," and "payroll system" are among the most common skills that payroll administrators use at work. You can find even more payroll administrator responsibilities below, including:
Communication skills. One of the key soft skills for a payroll administrator to have is communication skills. You can see how this relates to what payroll administrators do because "financial clerks should be able to explain policies and procedures to colleagues and customers." Additionally, a payroll administrator resume shows how payroll administrators use communication skills: "coordinate webinars for manual checks discussing miscommunication and misunderstanding evolving procedures and necessities between the corporate office and the branches. "
Math skills. Another essential skill to perform payroll administrator duties is math skills. Payroll administrators responsibilities require that "the job duties of financial clerks includes calculating charges and updating financial records." Payroll administrators also use math skills in their role according to a real resume snippet: "filed data for the department of labor and statistics.year end w-2 processing. "
Organizational skills. payroll administrators are also known for organizational skills, which are critical to their duties. You can see how this skill relates to payroll administrator responsibilities, because "financial clerks must be able to arrange files so they can find them quickly and efficiently." A payroll administrator resume example shows how organizational skills is used in the workplace: "managed monthly journal entries, organizational charts, corporate and payroll bank reconciliations. "
The three companies that hire the most payroll administrators are:
- Robert Half129 payroll administrators jobs
- Paychex19 payroll administrators jobs
- Accenture16 payroll administrators jobs
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Compare different payroll administrators
Payroll administrator vs. Benefits clerk
A Timekeeper works in various industries and organizations and is typically hired as the acting liaison between payroll coordinators and employees. This is to make sure the pay distribution process runs smoothly. As a timekeeper, you will be required to maintain an accurate track of the total number of hours worked for payroll purposes. This involves compiling payroll data from timesheets, computing wages, including the removal of taxes and social security withholding, and putting it into the computer system.
There are some key differences in the responsibilities of each position. For example, payroll administrator responsibilities require skills like "customer service," "payroll data," "kronos," and "reconciliations." Meanwhile a typical benefits clerk has skills in areas such as "open enrollment," "life insurance," "health insurance," and "disability claims." This difference in skills reveals the differences in what each career does.
Benefits clerks tend to make the most money working in the government industry, where they earn an average salary of $40,253. In contrast, payroll administrators make the biggest average salary, $53,461, in the construction industry.On average, benefits clerks reach similar levels of education than payroll administrators. Benefits clerks are 0.1% less likely to earn a Master's Degree and 0.6% more likely to graduate with a Doctoral Degree.Payroll administrator vs. Timekeeper
Each career also uses different skills, according to real payroll administrator resumes. While payroll administrator responsibilities can utilize skills like "customer service," "process payroll," "reconciliations," and "hris," timekeepers use skills like "per diem," "turnaround," "purchase orders," and "office equipment."
Timekeepers earn similar levels of education than payroll administrators in general. They're 3.3% less likely to graduate with a Master's Degree and 0.6% less likely to earn a Doctoral Degree.Payroll administrator vs. Payroll/human resource manager
Some important key differences between the two careers include a few of the skills necessary to fulfill the responsibilities of each. Some examples from payroll administrator resumes include skills like "customer service," "data entry," "reconciliations," and "multi-state payroll," whereas a payroll/human resource manager is more likely to list skills in "open enrollment," "federal laws," "benefits administration," and "health insurance. "
When it comes to education, payroll/human resource managers tend to earn similar degree levels compared to payroll administrators. In fact, they're 0.3% more likely to earn a Master's Degree, and 0.3% more likely to graduate with a Doctoral Degree.Payroll administrator vs. Payroll bookkeeper
Types of payroll administrator
Updated January 8, 2025
