How to hire a payroll technician

How to hire a payroll technician, step by step

Here's a step-by-step payroll technician hiring guide:

• Step 1: Identify your hiring needs
• Step 2: Create an ideal candidate profile
• Step 3: Make a budget
• Step 4: Write a payroll technician job description
• Step 5: Post your job
• Step 6: Interview candidates
• Step 7: Send a job offer and onboard your new payroll technician
• Step 8: Go through the hiring process checklist

What does a payroll technician do?

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1. Identify your hiring needs

   First, determine the employments status of the payroll technician you need to hire. Certain payroll technician roles might require a full-time employee, whereas others can be done by part-time workers or contractors.

   Determine employee vs contractor status

   Is the person you're thinking of hiring a US citizen or green card holder?

   Yes

   No

   You should also consider the ideal background you'd like them a payroll technician to have before you start to hire. For example, what industry or field would you like them to have experience in, what level of seniority or education does the job require, and how much it'll cost to hire a payroll technician that fits the bill.

   The following list breaks down different types of payroll technicians and their corresponding salaries.

   Type of Payroll Technician	Description	Hourly rate
   Payroll Technician	Financial clerks do administrative work for many types of organizations. They keep records, help customers, and carry out financial transactions.	$14-31
   Timekeeper	A Timekeeper works in various industries and organizations and is typically hired as the acting liaison between payroll coordinators and employees. This is to make sure the pay distribution process runs smoothly... Show more	$14-33
   Payroll Processor	A payroll processor is a professional 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... Show more	$15-27

   Show more

2. Create an ideal candidate profile

   Common skills:

   • Payroll System
   • Human Resources
   • Data Entry
   • Life Insurance
   • Kronos
   • Payroll Data
   • Accruals
   • Payroll Transactions
   • Payroll Procedures
   • Customer Service
   • Personnel Actions
   • Calculation
   • Timekeeping
   • W-2

   Check all skills

   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.

   More payroll technician duties

3. Make a budget

   Including a salary range in your payroll technician job description is one of the best ways to attract top talent. A payroll technician can vary based on:

   • Location. For example, payroll technicians' average salary in alabama is 49% less than in new jersey.
   • Seniority. Entry-level payroll technicians 55% less than senior-level payroll technicians.
   • Certifications. A payroll technician with certifications usually earns a higher salary.
   • Company. Working for an established firm or a new start-up company can make a big difference in a payroll technician's salary.

   Average payroll technician salary

   $44,971yearly

   $21.62 hourly rate

   ---

   Entry-level payroll technician salary

   $30,000 yearly salary

   Updated December 16, 2025

   Average payroll technician salary by state

   Rank	State	Avg. salary	Hourly rate
   1	California	$56,347	$27
   2	District of Columbia	$55,834	$27
   3	Washington	$53,105	$26
   4	New York	$50,630	$24
   5	Minnesota	$50,018	$24
   6	Alaska	$48,559	$23
   7	Nevada	$48,535	$23
   8	Oregon	$44,921	$22
   9	Virginia	$43,550	$21
   10	Colorado	$43,307	$21
   11	Ohio	$41,966	$20
   12	Indiana	$41,080	$20
   13	Pennsylvania	$40,755	$20
   14	Maine	$39,846	$19
   15	Arizona	$38,786	$19
   16	Nebraska	$37,306	$18
   17	North Carolina	$36,276	$17
   18	Tennessee	$34,316	$17
   19	Montana	$33,244	$16
   20	Arkansas	$32,144	$15

   Average payroll technician salary by company

   Company

   Rank	Company	Average salary	Hourly rate	Job openings
   1	Infosys Public Service	$78,430	$37.71	3
   2	Prudential Bank	$65,329	$31.41
   3	Wells Fargo	$62,111	$29.86
   4	The Walsh Group	$54,155	$26.04
   5	City of Roseville Michigan	$49,525	$23.81
   6	Dart Container	$48,434	$23.29
   7	The University of Kansas Health System	$47,913	$23.04
   8	Covenant	$47,674	$22.92
   9	University Hospitals	$47,632	$22.90
   10	City of Reno	$47,499	$22.84
   11	CareFirst BlueCross BlueShield	$46,858	$22.53
   12	Yukon Kuskokwim Health	$46,417	$22.32
   13	University of North Carolina	$45,641	$21.94
   14	Calista	$45,411	$21.83	4
   15	Colorado State Express	$44,751	$21.51
   16	City of Pittsburgh	$43,192	$20.77
   17	University	$42,986	$20.67
   18	Randstad North America, Inc.	$42,945	$20.65	6
   19	Robert Half	$42,182	$20.28	170
   20	4CD Live	$41,494	$19.95

4. Writing a payroll technician job description

   A good payroll technician job description should include a few things:

   • Summary of the role
   • List of responsibilities
   • Required skills and experience

   Including a salary range and the first name of the hiring manager is also appreciated by candidates. Here's an example of a payroll technician job description:

   Payroll technician job description example

   Payroll Technician
   
   Department: Financial Services-AP& Payroll
   
   Purpose: Timely and accurate processing of payroll for the hospital and all related affiliate corporations. Responsible for complying with federal and state reporting requirements and ensures that all federal and state regulations for payroll are followed. Assists with procedures for completion of quarterly and annual governmental reports. Responsible for resolution of payroll related unclaimed property.
   
   Report To: Manager, Accounts Payable/Payroll
   
   Supervisory Responsibility: Guidance: The job requires the provision of occasional guidance and training to others. The job does not have formal or official supervisory responsibilities.
   
   Materials Responsibility: Limited: Work requires limited responsibility for material resources. Examples of resources could include supplies, equipment, inventories, small budgets, and other similar material assets. The employee has a limited amount of control over these resources. The cost of errors is also limited in terms of damage, waste or financial loss. Problems associated with material resources are not complex. The volume of resources may vary, but the level of difficulty in dealing with these resources is uncomplicated.
   
   Key Relationship: Co-workers/Health System Employees, General Public/Visitors/Volunteers, Physicians/Medical Office Staff
   
   POSITION SPECIFICATION
   
   Education: 2 year college program or equivalent experience
   
   Field Of Study: Accounting, Finance, Business or related field
   
   Special Training: Word processing with minimum of 45 wpm; spreadsheet and database applications
   
   Training Preferred: Payroll and basic accounting fundamentals
   
   Licensure/Registration: N/A
   
   Experience: More than 2 years experience required.
   
   Interpersonal Skills: Interaction is with a variety of people. These may be fellow employees, customers, the public or others outside the organization. Communications are of limited difficulty. Interactions usually involve short, straightforward exchanges of information. The job requires a limited amount of interpersonal skills. Interactions are non-stressful encounters and dealing with uncomplicated problem situations.
   
   Working Conditions: There is limited exposure to adverse environmental conditions. Some undesirable or unpleasant environmental characteristics may occur but the physical environment is generally safe and there is minimal health risk. No safety equipment or unusual precautions are required. The occasional exposure to these minor adverse conditions would be limited to 35% or less of the work day.
   
   Possible Exposure to Blood Borne Pathogens: None
   
   Miscellaneous:

   Copy this example

   

5. Post your job

   There are a few common ways to find payroll technicians for your business:

   • Promoting internally or recruiting from your existing workforce.
   • Ask for referrals from friends, family members, and current employees.
   • Attend job fairs at local colleges to meet candidates with the right educational background.
   • Use social media platforms like LinkedIn, Facebook, and Twitter to recruit passive job-seekers.

   Post your job online:

   • Post your payroll technician job on Zippia to find and recruit payroll technician candidates who meet your exact specifications.
   • Use field-specific websites such as efinancialcareers, financialjobsweb.com, careerbank, financial job bank.
   • Post a job on free websites.

6. Interview candidates

   Your first interview with payroll technician candidates should focus on their interest in the role and background experience. As the hiring process goes on, you can learn more about how they'd fit into the company culture in later rounds of interviews.

   It's also good to ask about candidates' unique skills and talents. You can move on to the technical interview if a candidate is good enough for the next step.

   The right interview questions can help you assess a candidate's hard skills, behavioral intelligence, and soft skills.

7. Send a job offer and onboard your new payroll technician

   Once you've found the payroll technician candidate you'd like to hire, it's time to write an offer letter. This should include an explicit job offer that includes the salary and the details of any other perks. Qualified candidates might be looking at multiple positions, so your offer must be competitive if you like the candidate. Also, be prepared for a negotiation stage, as candidates may way want to tweak the details of your initial offer. Once you've settled on these details, you can draft a contract to formalize your agreement.

   It's also important to follow up with applicants who do not get the job with an email letting them know that the position is filled.

   To prepare for the new employee's start date, you can create an onboarding schedule and complete any necessary paperwork, such as employee action forms and onboarding documents like I-9 forms, benefits enrollment, and federal and state tax forms. Human Resources should also ensure that a new employee file is created.

8. Go through the hiring process checklist

   • Determine employee type (full-time, part-time, contractor, etc.)
   • Submit a job requisition form to the HR department
   • Define job responsibilities and requirements
   • Establish budget and timeline
   • Determine hiring decision makers for the role
   • Write job description
   • Post job on job boards, company website, etc.
   • Promote the job internally
   • Process applications through applicant tracking system
   • Review resumes and cover letters
   • Shortlist candidates for screening
   • Hold phone/virtual interview screening with first round of candidates
   • Conduct in-person interviews with top candidates from first round
   • Score candidates based on weighted criteria (e.g., experience, education, background, cultural fit, skill set, etc.)
   • Conduct background checks on top candidates
   • Check references of top candidates
   • Consult with HR and hiring decision makers on job offer specifics
   • Extend offer to top candidate(s)
   • Receive formal job offer acceptance and signed employment contract
   • Inform other candidates that the position has been filled
   • Set and communicate onboarding schedule to new hire(s)
   • Complete new hire paperwork (i9, benefits enrollment, tax forms, etc.)

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How much does it cost to hire a payroll technician?