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The differences between payroll technicians and timekeepers 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 technician and a timekeeper. Additionally, a timekeeper has an average salary of $46,290, which is higher than the $44,971 average annual salary of a payroll technician.
The top three skills for a payroll technician include payroll system, human resources and data entry. The most important skills for a timekeeper are timekeeping, data entry, and human resources.
| Payroll Technician | Timekeeper | |
| Yearly salary | $44,971 | $46,290 |
| Hourly rate | $21.62 | $22.25 |
| Growth rate | -3% | -3% |
| Number of jobs | 11,297 | 754 |
| Job satisfaction | 5 | - |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 45% | Bachelor's Degree, 32% |
| Average age | 48 | 48 |
| Years of experience | 4 | 4 |
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.
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. As a timekeeper, you will be required to maintain an accurate track of the total number of hours worked for payroll purposes. This involves compiling payroll data from timesheets, computing wages, including the removal of taxes and social security withholding, and putting it into the computer system.
Payroll technicians and timekeepers have different pay scales, as shown below.
| Payroll Technician | Timekeeper | |
| Average salary | $44,971 | $46,290 |
| Salary range | Between $30,000 And $66,000 | Between $30,000 And $69,000 |
| Highest paying City | San Francisco, CA | - |
| Highest paying state | New Jersey | - |
| Best paying company | InfosysPublicService | - |
| Best paying industry | Finance | - |
There are a few differences between a payroll technician and a timekeeper in terms of educational background:
| Payroll Technician | Timekeeper | |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 45% | Bachelor's Degree, 32% |
| Most common major | Business | Business |
| Most common college | University of Pennsylvania | University of Pennsylvania |
Here are the differences between payroll technicians' and timekeepers' demographics:
| Payroll Technician | Timekeeper | |
| Average age | 48 | 48 |
| Gender ratio | Male, 19.1% Female, 80.9% | Male, 17.2% Female, 82.8% |
| 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, 11.1% Unknown, 6.1% Hispanic or Latino, 18.0% Asian, 6.0% White, 57.4% American Indian and Alaska Native, 1.5% |
| LGBT Percentage | 10% | 10% |