Payroll administrator vs payroll processor

The differences between payroll administrators and payroll processors can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. It typically takes 2-4 years to become both a payroll administrator and a payroll processor. Additionally, a payroll administrator has an average salary of $46,596, which is higher than the $44,307 average annual salary of a payroll processor.

The top three skills for a payroll administrator include customer service, data entry and payroll system. The most important skills for a payroll processor are customer service, data entry, and ADP.

Payroll administrator vs payroll processor overview

	Payroll Administrator	Payroll Processor
Yearly salary	$46,596	$44,307
Hourly rate	$22.40	$21.30
Growth rate	-3%	-3%
Number of jobs	55,490	11,795
Job satisfaction	-	-
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 51%	Bachelor's Degree, 44%
Average age	48	48
Years of experience	4	4

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.

What does a payroll processor do?

A payroll processor is an individual who processes the payroll of employees for an organization by validating work hours and attendance of employees. Payroll processors must research for discrepancies in payroll information and documentation before processing them, as well as calculate payroll deductions. They assist payroll processing clerks and other team members with all the processes that are related to payroll. The payroll processor must also edit payroll worksheets for the data entry department as well as audit bonus payments for reporting.

Payroll administrator vs payroll processor salary

Payroll administrators and payroll processors have different pay scales, as shown below.

	Payroll Administrator	Payroll Processor
Average salary	$46,596	$44,307
Salary range	Between $33,000 And $64,000	Between $33,000 And $58,000
Highest paying City	Washington, DC	San Francisco, CA
Highest paying state	Maine	New Jersey
Best paying company	Northern Trust	Venable
Best paying industry	Construction	Finance

Differences between payroll administrator and payroll processor education

There are a few differences between a payroll administrator and a payroll processor in terms of educational background:

	Payroll Administrator	Payroll Processor
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 51%	Bachelor's Degree, 44%
Most common major	Business	Business
Most common college	University of Pennsylvania	University of Pennsylvania

Payroll administrator vs payroll processor demographics

Here are the differences between payroll administrators' and payroll processors' demographics:

	Payroll Administrator	Payroll Processor
Average age	48	48
Gender ratio	Male, 16.0% Female, 84.0%	Male, 16.1% Female, 83.9%
Race ratio	Black or African American, 9.5% Unknown, 6.1% Hispanic or Latino, 19.1% Asian, 6.2% White, 57.7% American Indian and Alaska Native, 1.5%	Black or African American, 9.6% Unknown, 6.1% Hispanic or Latino, 18.2% Asian, 6.0% White, 58.6% American Indian and Alaska Native, 1.5%
LGBT Percentage	10%	10%

Differences between payroll administrator and payroll processor duties and responsibilities

Payroll administrator example responsibilities.

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.

Payroll processor example responsibilities.

Manage PTO and cafeteria benefits program.
Assist KRONOS editors as need in the KRONOS timekeeping system.
Input, verify and correct time records using the KRONOS and Lawson software.
Test new software upgrades to payroll HRIS system before implementing to payroll team.
Process, balance and facilitate the transmission of incoming and outgoing ACH files.
Input hours into PeopleSoft and balance batches for assign pay groups according to establish schedule.

Payroll administrator vs payroll processor skills

Common payroll administrator skills

Customer Service, 9%
Data Entry, 7%
Payroll System, 6%
Human Resources, 5%
Payroll Data, 4%
Process Payroll, 4%

Common payroll processor skills

Customer Service, 12%
Data Entry, 9%
ADP, 5%
Payroll System, 5%
Kronos, 5%
Human Resources, 4%

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Payroll Administrator vs Payroll Processor

Updated January 8, 2025

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