Payroll Administrator Job Description, Key Duties and Responsibilities

By | September 1, 2023
Payroll Administrator job description, duties, tasks, and responsibilities
Payroll Administrators perform various tasks, including ensuring prompt and accurate payments to individuals and personnel. Image source: Poehr.com

This post provides detailed information on the payroll administrator job description, to help you understand the duties, tasks, and responsibilities they majorly do.

What Does a Payroll Administrator Do?

The payroll administrator has the responsibility of making sure that individuals and personnel are paid accurately and at the appropriate date.

He/she functions as part of an organization’s accounting team or may be found working for a payroll bureau that offers services to other organizations.

The payroll administrator job description may entail functioning directly to meet stringent payment deadlines and giving useful suggestions on the forms required for use in diverse situations.

This may include issuing of tax refund or putting claims on maternity fund.

His or her role also includes offering assistance to the human resources unit within the organization.

This may involve giving payroll assistance to new personnel and accomplishing paperwork for personnel who are leaving.

Payroll administrators will also be obligated to carry out general administrative duties such as photocopying, filing documents and typing.

They will supervise all aspects related to remunerating a company’s employees.

This conventionally involves finding a way to track the number of hours worked and paying the correct amount of their salaries/wages.

This will also involve estimation, processing, deducting social security withholdings, taxes, and other company offered benefits.

The administrator for payroll is usually the first contact for members of staff in issues of payroll, time and attendance.

The duties of the person in charge of payroll administration can vary from issuance of biweekly checks to a few number of staff, to intricate system that will involve remunerating multitudes of contractors and staff, depending on the scale of the organization.

He/she will also perform functions on issues involving distribution and giving out of paychecks, organizing benefits, garnishment, levies, payroll deductions, federal and state payroll tax deposits and returns, flexible spending accounts, federal payroll summaries and new hire reports.

This job may also include sorting out paid leave, sick time and vacation reporting, as well as hour and wage law.

Quite a number of software applications will assist the payroll administrator in managing the entire payroll administration process.

This position revolves around the organization’s attendance and time payroll operations.

The individual will be completely in charge of providing accurate and prompt issuance of payroll, as well as associated customer service delivery functions such as reporting and keeping of documents.

Payroll Administrator Job Description Example/Sample/Template

Below is a payroll administrator job description sample, showing a list of vital duties, tasks, and responsibilities the individual occupying the position is usually required to execute:

  • Supervise the number of hours worked by members of staff
  • Estimate and give out payments via electronic transfer, cash or checks
  • Reduce national insurance payments and tax
  • Work out maternity, sick and holiday expenses as well as payments
  • Estimate shift payments, pay increases and overtime
  • Respond to personnel inquiries on pay slip and time sheets
  • Carryout activities related to rules and legislation in aspects of tax exemption and payment
  • Work together with human resources and aids the execution, maintenance, security and testing operations
  • Carry out research and find solution to problems while performing programmed activities and connect with service providers

Payroll Administrator Job Description for Resume

The information in the above job description example can be used in writing an effective resume for the position of payroll administrator, which can win an interview appointment with prospective employers.

Payroll Administrator Requirements: Knowledge, Skills, and Abilities for Career Success

Payroll administrators are usually required by employers to possess basic computer skills, as well as a minimum of high school diploma.

In addition to these, the following qualifications and competencies, and qualities will also be relevant:

  • An accredited certificate obtained in business administration or finance from a credible higher institution with practical understanding of payroll practices and procedures
  • Ability to multitask with excellent prioritizing skills
  • Exceptional attention to details and remarkable experience working with attendance and time
  • Ability to integrate cost accounting basics into everyday practice