Senior payroll specialist vs payroll bookkeeper

The differences between senior payroll specialists and payroll bookkeepers can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. It typically takes 2-4 years to become both a senior payroll specialist and a payroll bookkeeper. Additionally, a senior payroll specialist has an average salary of $59,503, which is higher than the $46,087 average annual salary of a payroll bookkeeper.

The top three skills for a senior payroll specialist include peoplesoft, payroll data and reconciliations. The most important skills for a payroll bookkeeper are reconciliations, general ledger, and journal entries.

Senior payroll specialist vs payroll bookkeeper overview

	Senior Payroll Specialist	Payroll Bookkeeper
Yearly salary	$59,503	$46,087
Hourly rate	$28.61	$22.16
Growth rate	-3%	-3%
Number of jobs	6,310	8,176
Job satisfaction	-	-
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 58%	Bachelor's Degree, 36%
Average age	48	48
Years of experience	4	4

Senior payroll specialist vs payroll bookkeeper salary

Senior payroll specialists and payroll bookkeepers have different pay scales, as shown below.

	Senior Payroll Specialist	Payroll Bookkeeper
Average salary	$59,503	$46,087
Salary range	Between $42,000 And $82,000	Between $34,000 And $60,000
Highest paying City	San Francisco, CA	-
Highest paying state	New Jersey	-
Best paying company	MongoDB	-
Best paying industry	Technology	-

Differences between senior payroll specialist and payroll bookkeeper education

There are a few differences between a senior payroll specialist and a payroll bookkeeper in terms of educational background:

	Senior Payroll Specialist	Payroll Bookkeeper
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 58%	Bachelor's Degree, 36%
Most common major	Business	Accounting
Most common college	University of Pennsylvania	University of Pennsylvania

Senior payroll specialist vs payroll bookkeeper demographics

Here are the differences between senior payroll specialists' and payroll bookkeepers' demographics:

	Senior Payroll Specialist	Payroll Bookkeeper
Average age	48	48
Gender ratio	Male, 23.2% Female, 76.8%	Male, 12.8% Female, 87.2%
Race ratio	Black or African American, 9.8% Unknown, 6.1% Hispanic or Latino, 18.1% Asian, 6.0% White, 58.5% American Indian and Alaska Native, 1.5%	Black or African American, 9.3% Unknown, 6.1% Hispanic or Latino, 18.5% Asian, 6.1% White, 58.6% American Indian and Alaska Native, 1.5%
LGBT Percentage	10%	10%

Differences between senior payroll specialist and payroll bookkeeper duties and responsibilities

Senior payroll specialist example responsibilities.

Manage payroll imports into and out of HRIS, including master file and pay data additions and changes.
Update the maintenance of all job-relate records in the KRONOS timekeeping system, for all employees.
Perform thorough analysis of UltiPro timekeeping system prior to uploading to the payroll system on a biweekly basis.
Process payroll using ADP/ KRONOS for multiple companies.
Load pay changes for pay period into UltiPro.
Process regular wages, overtime wages, PTO, tips and toke incomes, etc.

Payroll bookkeeper example responsibilities.

Manage AR, prepare deposits and perform basic receptionist/customer service tasks in office.
Perform financial management functions including monthly financial statement preparation and bank reconciliations.
Maintain accounts receivable/accounts payable including handling cash and deposits; process reconciliations and financial reports using SchoolFunds.
Process 1099 and W2's.
Process ACH rejections and stop payments.
Post receivables of checks, ACH and credit card payments.

Senior payroll specialist vs payroll bookkeeper skills

Common senior payroll specialist skills

PeopleSoft, 15%
Payroll Data, 5%
Reconciliations, 4%
HRIS, 4%
ADP Workforce, 3%
Data Entry, 3%

Common payroll bookkeeper skills

Reconciliations, 9%
General Ledger, 7%
Journal Entries, 5%
Tax Returns, 4%
Bank Reconciliations, 4%
Payroll Processing, 4%

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Senior Payroll Specialist
Senior Payroll Specialist vs Payroll Bookkeeper

Updated January 8, 2025

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