Payroll processor vs payroll technician

The differences between payroll processors and payroll technicians 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 processor and a payroll technician. Additionally, a payroll technician has an average salary of $44,971, which is higher than the $44,307 average annual salary of a payroll processor.

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

Payroll processor vs payroll technician overview

	Payroll Processor	Payroll Technician
Yearly salary	$44,307	$44,971
Hourly rate	$21.30	$21.62
Growth rate	-3%	-3%
Number of jobs	11,795	11,297
Job satisfaction	-	5
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 44%	Bachelor's Degree, 45%
Average age	48	48
Years of experience	4	4

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.

What does a payroll technician do?

A payroll technician may work in the finance or human resource department of an organization or with a payroll service. They are responsible for the collation and recording of employee payment data. As a payroll technician, you will apply organization systems, relevant laws, and other employment and labour regulations to process employees' payments. Depending on the payroll cycle, as a payroll technician, you will be expected to maintain accurate and up to date detailed information of staff for payroll purposes.

Payroll processor vs payroll technician salary

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

	Payroll Processor	Payroll Technician
Average salary	$44,307	$44,971
Salary range	Between $33,000 And $58,000	Between $30,000 And $66,000
Highest paying City	San Francisco, CA	San Francisco, CA
Highest paying state	New Jersey	New Jersey
Best paying company	Venable	InfosysPublicService
Best paying industry	Finance	Finance

Differences between payroll processor and payroll technician education

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

	Payroll Processor	Payroll Technician
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 44%	Bachelor's Degree, 45%
Most common major	Business	Business
Most common college	University of Pennsylvania	University of Pennsylvania

Payroll processor vs payroll technician demographics

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

	Payroll Processor	Payroll Technician
Average age	48	48
Gender ratio	Male, 16.1% Female, 83.9%	Male, 19.1% Female, 80.9%
Race ratio	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%	Black or African American, 9.7% Unknown, 6.1% Hispanic or Latino, 18.9% Asian, 6.1% White, 57.7% American Indian and Alaska Native, 1.5%
LGBT Percentage	10%	10%

Differences between payroll processor and payroll technician duties and responsibilities

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.

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Payroll technician example responsibilities.

Provide Kronos and Lawson support to management concerning departmental payroll and timekeeping.
Evaluate time cards through KRONOS for accuracy.
Transmit and process payroll for hourly/shift employees on a bi-weekly basis with the use of ADP software.
Process payroll from the loading of time and attendance files to submitting payment data to ADP for check printing.
Provide payroll calculation and leave posting input for computer processing.
Participate in the successful implementation of PeopleSoft from an in-house system.

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Payroll processor vs payroll technician skills

Common payroll processor skills

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

Common payroll technician skills

Payroll System, 9%
Human Resources, 7%
Data Entry, 6%
Life Insurance, 5%
Kronos, 4%
Payroll Data, 4%

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Updated January 8, 2025

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