Why hire a payroll specialist?

The need for new staff can affect both your existing team and your bottom line. A great payroll specialist hire can help your business:

• Collect and update banking information for employee direct deposit
• Document and file all payroll records
• Troubleshoot and resolve any payroll-related issues

Deciding between a full-time vs freelance payroll specialist

Small businesses that have limited payroll information can hire freelance payroll specialists to work part-time hours. They can also hire a freelancer to examine their payroll records, search for inconsistencies and errors, determine what caused any issues and fix the problem. 

Additionally, freelance payroll specialists can train new full-time hires and provide coverage for full-time specialists taking time off work. They can also be hired in an interim capacity to perform payroll services while the company searches for a replacement.  

Many small and large companies hire full-time payroll specialists if they have enough work to justify the cost. 

What are the ranks of payroll specialists?

In the financial field, there are a number of jobs that focus primarily on payroll services. These positions include:

• Payroll clerk: Also known as a payroll assistant, a payroll clerk provides assistance to payroll specialists during their daily tasks. A clerk may be responsible for processing payroll information, entering data and collecting time sheets. 
• Payroll specialist: Payroll specialists perform the daily operations of the payroll department. They process payroll information, train lower-level employees on how to use financial software, manage company expenses and examine payroll records to protect against fraud and mistakes. 
• Payroll manager: Payroll managers are responsible for producing and issuing paychecks, managing digital transfers to employees’ bank accounts, preparing financial reports and resolving payroll issues.
• Chief financial officer: The CFO’s responsibilities encompass all the company’s fiscal matters, including payroll. They make all big decisions regarding the payroll department and resolve major disputes within the department. 

Where to find payroll specialists

To find the right payroll specialist for your business, consider trying out a few different recruiting strategies:

• Promote from within. Assess the knowledge and skills of your payroll clerks. If any are interested in the position and show the required potential, conduct interviews with them to make a decision. 
• Search online. Conduct searches online to see if there are any remote payroll specialists who are looking for work. 
• Network. Maintain avenues of communication with other companies to find leads about recently unemployed payroll specialists. 
• Post flyers. Hang up help wanted flyers advertising the position to encourage quality candidates in the community to send in applications. 
• Post your job online. Try posting your payroll specialist job on Indeed to find and attract quality payroll specialist candidates.

Skills to look for in a great Payroll Specialist

A great Payroll Specialist candidate will have the following skills and attributes as well as work experience that reflects:

• Previous experience in payroll management preferred
• Bachelor’s degree in accounting
• Experience with Microsoft Office
• Precise attention to detail
• Excellent organizational skills
• Maintains employee confidence

Writing a payroll specialist job description

A thoughtful description is important to finding qualified payroll specialist candidates. A payroll specialist job description includes a compelling summary of the role, a detailed list of duties and responsibilities and the required and preferred skills for the position.

When writing your payroll specialist job description, consider including some or all of the following keywords to improve the visibility of your job posting. These are the most popular search terms leading to clicks on payroll specialist jobs, according to Indeed data:

• Payroll
• Payroll specialist
• Accounting 
• Bookkeeping
• Remote work from home
• Data entry
• Accounting specialist
• Human resources
• Accounts payable
• Remote payroll

Interviewing payroll specialist candidates

Strong candidates for payroll specialist positions will be confident answering questions regarding:

• Reconciling payroll reporting with the accounting department
• Maintaining and updating banking records
• Keeping up with workplace payroll trends

Need help coming up with interview questions? See our list of payroll specialist interview questions for examples (with sample answers).