Payroll technician vs accounting technician

The differences between payroll technicians and accounting technicians can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. While it typically takes 2-4 years to become a payroll technician, becoming an accounting technician takes usually requires 4-6 years. Additionally, a payroll technician has an average salary of $44,971, which is higher than the $41,337 average annual salary of an accounting technician.

The top three skills for a payroll technician include payroll system, human resources and data entry. The most important skills for an accounting technician are customer service, financial reports, and payroll.

Payroll technician vs accounting technician overview

	Payroll Technician	Accounting Technician
Yearly salary	$44,971	$41,337
Hourly rate	$21.62	$19.87
Growth rate	-3%	-5%
Number of jobs	11,297	39,972
Job satisfaction	5	-
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 45%	Bachelor's Degree, 51%
Average age	48	51
Years of experience	4	6

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.

What does an accounting technician do?

An accounting technician is responsible for evaluating financial information procedures to support accounting and taxation tasks, verifying the accuracy of account statements for the reference of accountants. Accounting technicians manage the payroll processes, generate invoices, perform account reconciliations, analyze account receivables, prepare budget reports, and monitor the company's financial transactions. Accounting technicians should always adhere to taxation legislation, comply with accounting disciplines, and coordinate with the account management for any findings and concerns, requiring them to have excellent communication and analytical skills.

Payroll technician vs accounting technician salary

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

	Payroll Technician	Accounting Technician
Average salary	$44,971	$41,337
Salary range	Between $30,000 And $66,000	Between $31,000 And $53,000
Highest paying City	San Francisco, CA	Oakland, CA
Highest paying state	New Jersey	California
Best paying company	InfosysPublicService	W. R. Berkley
Best paying industry	Finance	Government

Differences between payroll technician and accounting technician education

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

	Payroll Technician	Accounting Technician
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 45%	Bachelor's Degree, 51%
Most common major	Business	Accounting
Most common college	University of Pennsylvania	University of Pennsylvania

Payroll technician vs accounting technician demographics

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

	Payroll Technician	Accounting Technician
Average age	48	51
Gender ratio	Male, 19.1% Female, 80.9%	Male, 22.7% Female, 77.3%
Race ratio	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%	Black or African American, 6.7% Unknown, 4.0% Hispanic or Latino, 14.2% Asian, 6.5% White, 68.0% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.6%
LGBT Percentage	10%	7%

Differences between payroll technician and accounting technician duties and responsibilities

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.

Accounting technician example responsibilities.

Develop expertise in use of PeopleSoft system to manage balance accounts for quarterly investment portfolio.
Reconcile the agency SPCC statement each month
Audit includes reviewing SPCC invoices and receipts to ensure appropriate tax exemptions are follow.
Analyze cases to determine if ICD-9 and CPT codes are covered benefits according to insurance's medical policy.
Apply GAAP following applicable federal regulations.
Maintain adherence to university accounting and GAAP standards.

Payroll technician vs accounting technician skills

Common payroll technician skills

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

Common accounting technician skills

Customer Service, 12%
Financial Reports, 10%
Payroll, 8%
Purchase Orders, 7%
Data Entry, 6%
Reconciliations, 5%

Payroll Technician vs. similar jobs

Payroll Technician related careers

Payroll Technician related jobs

What similar roles do

Zippia Careers
Office and Administrative Industry
Payroll Technician
Payroll Technician vs Accounting Technician

Updated January 8, 2025

Browse office and administrative jobs