Payroll supervisor vs payroll processor

The differences between payroll supervisors 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 supervisor and a payroll processor. Additionally, a payroll supervisor has an average salary of $64,422, which is higher than the $44,307 average annual salary of a payroll processor.

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

Payroll supervisor vs payroll processor overview

	Payroll Supervisor	Payroll Processor
Yearly salary	$64,422	$44,307
Hourly rate	$30.97	$21.30
Growth rate	-3%	-3%
Number of jobs	6,668	11,795
Job satisfaction	-	-
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 57%	Bachelor's Degree, 44%
Average age	48	48
Years of experience	4	4

What does a payroll supervisor do?

A payroll supervisor ensures employee salaries are released in a timely manner and accounts for all payrolls and cash released by the company. The payroll supervisor organizes all financial transactions and generates reports for accounting. This position ensures employees are paid accurately and calculates all deductibles such as insurance, child support, taxes, and payroll adjustments. The payroll supervisor must have accounting and bookkeeping skills and has pertinent experience in relevant fields of study.

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 supervisor vs payroll processor salary

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

	Payroll Supervisor	Payroll Processor
Average salary	$64,422	$44,307
Salary range	Between $46,000 And $89,000	Between $33,000 And $58,000
Highest paying City	San Francisco, CA	San Francisco, CA
Highest paying state	New Jersey	New Jersey
Best paying company	eBay	Venable
Best paying industry	Technology	Finance

Differences between payroll supervisor and payroll processor education

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

	Payroll Supervisor	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

Payroll supervisor vs payroll processor demographics

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

	Payroll Supervisor	Payroll Processor
Average age	48	48
Gender ratio	Male, 21.3% Female, 78.7%	Male, 16.1% Female, 83.9%
Race ratio	Black or African American, 9.7% Unknown, 6.1% Hispanic or Latino, 18.4% Asian, 6.0% White, 58.2% 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 supervisor and payroll processor duties and responsibilities

Payroll supervisor example responsibilities.

Manage the administration and processing of KRONOS time reporting system.
Manage installation of automate timekeeping systems in facilities, ensuring accurate, timely processing of time and attendance information.
Act as the HRIS backup running queries and reports as scheduled and upon request via PeopleSoft for management and key stakeholders.
Create journal entries and account reconciliations for key benefit programs and maintain account reconciliations of liability accounts.
Assist in implementing new PTO plan, work with ADP to interface system.
Check all new hire information, ensuring accuracy of information complete in KRONOS system.

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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 supervisor vs payroll processor skills

Common payroll supervisor skills

Customer Service, 9%
Payroll System, 6%
Payroll Tax, 5%
Reconciliations, 5%
Human Resources, 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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Updated January 8, 2025

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