Payroll processor vs senior payroll specialist

The differences between payroll processors and senior payroll specialists 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 senior payroll specialist. Additionally, a senior payroll specialist has an average salary of $59,503, 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 senior payroll specialist are peoplesoft, payroll data, and reconciliations.

Payroll processor vs senior payroll specialist overview

	Payroll Processor	Senior Payroll Specialist
Yearly salary	$44,307	$59,503
Hourly rate	$21.30	$28.61
Growth rate	-3%	-3%
Number of jobs	11,795	6,310
Job satisfaction	-	-
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 44%	Bachelor's Degree, 58%
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 senior payroll specialist do?

Senior payroll specialists are professionals who are responsible for calculating the wages of employees of an organization accurately. These specialists are required to analyze and verify payroll reports and documents for accuracy while making the necessary corrections through journal entries or other established procedures. They must authorize and review payroll transactions as well as complete appropriate forms to adjust salary account funds. Senior payroll specialists must also conduct training sessions for other payroll professionals to explain information regarding payroll policies and procedures.

Payroll processor vs senior payroll specialist salary

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

	Payroll Processor	Senior Payroll Specialist
Average salary	$44,307	$59,503
Salary range	Between $33,000 And $58,000	Between $42,000 And $82,000
Highest paying City	San Francisco, CA	San Francisco, CA
Highest paying state	New Jersey	New Jersey
Best paying company	Venable	MongoDB
Best paying industry	Finance	Technology

Differences between payroll processor and senior payroll specialist education

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

	Payroll Processor	Senior Payroll Specialist
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 44%	Bachelor's Degree, 58%
Most common major	Business	Business
Most common college	University of Pennsylvania	University of Pennsylvania

Payroll processor vs senior payroll specialist demographics

Here are the differences between payroll processors' and senior payroll specialists' demographics:

	Payroll Processor	Senior Payroll Specialist
Average age	48	48
Gender ratio	Male, 16.1% Female, 83.9%	Male, 23.2% Female, 76.8%
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, 9.8% Unknown, 6.1% Hispanic or Latino, 18.1% Asian, 6.0% White, 58.5% American Indian and Alaska Native, 1.5%
LGBT Percentage	10%	10%

Differences between payroll processor and senior payroll specialist 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.

Senior payroll specialist example responsibilities.

Manage payroll imports into and out of HRIS, including master file and pay data additions and changes.
Update the maintenance of all job-relate records in the KRONOS timekeeping system, for all employees.
Perform thorough analysis of UltiPro timekeeping system prior to uploading to the payroll system on a biweekly basis.
Process payroll using ADP/ KRONOS for multiple companies.
Load pay changes for pay period into UltiPro.
Process regular wages, overtime wages, PTO, tips and toke incomes, etc.

Payroll processor vs senior payroll specialist skills

Common payroll processor skills

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

Common senior payroll specialist skills

PeopleSoft, 15%
Payroll Data, 5%
Reconciliations, 4%
HRIS, 4%
ADP Workforce, 3%
Data Entry, 3%

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Payroll Processor vs Senior Payroll Specialist

Updated January 8, 2025

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