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.
Payroll technician responsibilities
Here are examples of responsibilities from real payroll technician resumes:
- 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.
- Collect and summarize timekeeping information, request overtime approvals and approval of time card discrepancies.
- Receive approval for accounts payable invoicing codes and enter information into PeopleSoft or payment processing.
- Validate timekeeping debts and prepare letters to notify employees of indebtedness and mandatory involuntary deduction base on debt regulations.
- Perform payroll calculations that are base on authorize and appropriately approve transactions data.
- Prepare and enter invoices into Quickbooks systems.
- Analyze broker commission schedules to determine bonuses and incentives base on production levels.
Payroll technician skills and personality traits
We calculated that 9% of Payroll Technicians are proficient in Payroll System, Human Resources, and Data Entry. They’re also known for soft skills such as Communication skills, Math skills, and Organizational skills.
We break down the percentage of Payroll Technicians that have these skills listed on their resume here:
- Payroll System, 9%
Updated and maintained payroll accounts for military service members utilizing military payroll systems.
- Human Resources, 7%
Maintained Human Resources documents, and reviewed new incoming registrations.
- Data Entry, 6%
Process data entry for new hires and terminations ensuring all appropriate documentation was received.
- Life Insurance, 5%
Process DCRP /DCRP Life Insurance payment monthly and quarterly.
- Kronos, 4%
Trained all hourly employees and supervisors on KRONOS program and ensured working hours were sent over correctly from KRONOS to Visions.
- Payroll Data, 4%
Verified and provided payroll data to management.
Most payroll technicians use their skills in "payroll system," "human resources," and "data entry" to do their jobs. You can find more detail on essential payroll technician responsibilities here:
Communication skills. One of the key soft skills for a payroll technician to have is communication skills. You can see how this relates to what payroll technicians do because "financial clerks should be able to explain policies and procedures to colleagues and customers." Additionally, a payroll technician resume shows how payroll technicians use communication skills: "reviewed and processed biweekly and semi-monthly payrolls for general communication incorporated. "
Math skills. Another essential skill to perform payroll technician duties is math skills. Payroll technicians responsibilities require that "the job duties of financial clerks includes calculating charges and updating financial records." Payroll technicians also use math skills in their role according to a real resume snippet: "processed month end journal entries and labor statistics. "
Organizational skills. Another skill that relates to the job responsibilities of payroll technicians is organizational skills. This skill is critical to many everyday payroll technician duties, as "financial clerks must be able to arrange files so they can find them quickly and efficiently." This example from a resume shows how this skill is used: "design studies, training programs and organizational strategies for identifying opportunities to improve customer service and process quality. "
The three companies that hire the most payroll technicians are:
- Wells Fargo4 payroll technicians jobs
- Fisher Investments3 payroll technicians jobs
- CareFirst BlueCross BlueShield2 payroll technicians jobs
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Compare different payroll technicians
Payroll technician vs. Commission clerk
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.
There are some key differences in the responsibilities of each position. For example, payroll technician responsibilities require skills like "payroll system," "human resources," "life insurance," and "kronos." Meanwhile a typical commission clerk has skills in areas such as "planning commission," "legal notices," "commission payments," and "word processing." This difference in skills reveals the differences in what each career does.
On average, commission clerks reach similar levels of education than payroll technicians. Commission clerks are 2.7% less likely to earn a Master's Degree and 2.0% more likely to graduate with a Doctoral Degree.Payroll technician vs. Benefits clerk
In addition to the difference in salary, there are some other key differences worth noting. For example, payroll technician responsibilities are more likely to require skills like "kronos," "payroll data," "accruals," and "payroll transactions." Meanwhile, a benefits clerk has duties that require skills in areas such as "open enrollment," "hris," "workers compensation," and "disability claims." These differences highlight just how different the day-to-day in each role looks.
Benefits clerks may earn a lower salary than payroll technicians, but benefits clerks earn the most pay in the government industry with an average salary of $40,253. On the other hand, payroll technicians receive higher pay in the finance industry, where they earn an average salary of $54,585.In general, benefits clerks achieve similar levels of education than payroll technicians. They're 0.3% less likely to obtain a Master's Degree while being 2.0% more likely to earn a Doctoral Degree.Payroll technician vs. Timekeeper
There are many key differences between these two careers, including some of the skills required to perform responsibilities within each role. For example, a payroll technician is likely to be skilled in "life insurance," "accruals," "payroll transactions," and "payroll procedures," while a typical timekeeper is skilled in "per diem," "turnaround," "purchase orders," and "office equipment."
When it comes to education, timekeepers tend to earn similar degree levels compared to payroll technicians. In fact, they're 3.6% less likely to earn a Master's Degree, and 0.4% less likely to graduate with a Doctoral Degree.Payroll technician vs. Paymaster
Even though a few skill sets overlap between payroll technicians and paymasters, there are some differences that are important to note. For one, a payroll technician might have more use for skills like "data entry," "life insurance," "kronos," and "payroll transactions." Meanwhile, some responsibilities of paymasters require skills like "payroll processing," "reconciliations," "labor reports," and "cash receipts. "
The average resume of paymasters showed that they earn similar levels of education compared to payroll technicians. So much so that theyacirc;euro;trade;re 0.1% more likely to earn a Master's Degree and less likely to earn a Doctoral Degree by 0.4%.Types of payroll technician
Updated January 8, 2025
