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The differences between payroll managers 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 manager and a payroll processor. Additionally, a payroll manager has an average salary of $86,147, which is higher than the $44,307 average annual salary of a payroll processor.
The top three skills for a payroll manager include customer service, human resources and payroll system. The most important skills for a payroll processor are customer service, data entry, and ADP.
| Payroll Manager | Payroll Processor | |
| Yearly salary | $86,147 | $44,307 |
| Hourly rate | $41.42 | $21.30 |
| Growth rate | -3% | -3% |
| Number of jobs | 6,972 | 11,795 |
| Job satisfaction | - | - |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 57% | Bachelor's Degree, 44% |
| Average age | 48 | 48 |
| Years of experience | 4 | 4 |
A payroll manager is responsible for monitoring the payment process of all employees. Payroll managers oversee payroll records, reviewing calculable taxes and other deductions, creating a comprehensive summary of payroll details, managing payroll discrepancies, and releasing payroll checks through the organization's payment method. They must also follow strict procedures on legal requirements and tax obligations. A payroll manager must have excellent analytical and communication skills, especially on responding to the employees' inquiries and concerns, as well as managing the performance of the payroll staff.
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 managers and payroll processors have different pay scales, as shown below.
| Payroll Manager | Payroll Processor | |
| Average salary | $86,147 | $44,307 |
| Salary range | Between $63,000 And $117,000 | Between $33,000 And $58,000 |
| Highest paying City | San Francisco, CA | San Francisco, CA |
| Highest paying state | California | New Jersey |
| Best paying company | Ep Energy | Venable |
| Best paying industry | Finance | Finance |
There are a few differences between a payroll manager and a payroll processor in terms of educational background:
| Payroll Manager | Payroll Processor | |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 57% | Bachelor's Degree, 44% |
| Most common major | Accounting | Business |
| Most common college | University of Pennsylvania | University of Pennsylvania |
Here are the differences between payroll managers' and payroll processors' demographics:
| Payroll Manager | Payroll Processor | |
| Average age | 48 | 48 |
| Gender ratio | Male, 22.0% Female, 78.0% | Male, 16.1% Female, 83.9% |
| Race ratio | Black or African American, 9.9% Unknown, 6.1% Hispanic or Latino, 18.6% Asian, 6.1% White, 57.8% 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% |