Payroll Processing Hard Skills — page 1

Payroll

Processing

—

Hard

Skills

01

Payroll

Systems

&

Software

Proficiency

Platform

fluency

—

configuration

,

processing

,

and

reporting

inside

the

payroll

engine

.

Workday

Payroll

Pay

groups

,

earnings

/

deduction

setup

,

EIB

mass

loads

,

payroll

results

and

retro

processing

ADP

Workforce

Now

/

Vantage

Payroll

cycles

,

custom

reporting

,

general

ledger

interface

files

,

SmartCompliance

filings

UKG

Pro

/

UKG

Ready

Time

-

to

-

pay

integration

,

accrual

profiles

,

multi

-

EIN

processing

Ceridian

Dayforce

Continuous

calculation

,

entitlement

plans

,

gross

-

to

-

net

audit

reports

Paylocity

/

Paycom

/

Rippling

Mid

-

market

payroll

administration

,

self

-

service

setup

,

tax

registrations

SAP

SuccessFactors

EC

Payroll

Payroll

control

center

,

wage

types

,

schemas

and

PCR

troubleshooting

Oracle

HCM

Cloud

Payroll

Fast

formulas

,

payroll

flows

,

costing

and

balance

definitions

Paychex

Flex

/

Gusto

/

Justworks

Outsourced

payroll

administration

for

SMB

and

PEO

environments

QuickBooks

&

Sage

payroll

modules

Accounting

-

integrated

payroll

for

close

-

the

-

books

workflows

Report

writer

tools

ADP

Report

Writer

,

Workday

Report

Writer

,

Dayforce

Analytics

Payroll

data

interfaces

GL

interface

files

,

benefits

carrier

files

(834),

positive

pay

and

ACH

file

formats

Advanced

Excel

for

payroll

XLOOKUP

,

INDEX

/

MATCH

,

pivot

tables

,

Power

Query

,

reconciliation

workbooks

1 / 7

Payroll Processing Hard Skills — page 2

02

Payroll

Calculations

&

Wage

Determination

The

math

and

rule

logic

behind

every

paycheck

.

Gross

-

to

-

net

calculation

Earnings

,

pre

-

tax

and

post

-

tax

deductions

,

employer

contributions

,

net

pay

FLSA

regular

rate

of

pay

Including

nondiscretionary

bonuses

,

shift

premiums

,

and

commissions

in

the

OT

base

Overtime

calculation

Weekly

1.5×,

daily

overtime

(

CA

,

AK

,

NV

,

CO

),

seventh

-

day

premium

,

hours

-

worked

rules

Blended

overtime

rate

Weighted

average

for

employees

working

multiple

rates

in

one

workweek

Shift

differentials

&

premiums

Night

,

weekend

,

on

-

call

,

hazard

,

and

lead

-

pay

differentials

Piece

rate

&

commission

payroll

Draw

reconciliation

,

recoverable

vs

.

non

-

recoverable

advances

,

chargebacks

Supplemental

wage

taxation

22%

flat

-

rate

method

vs

.

aggregate

method

;

bonus

and

severance

treatment

Imputed

income

Group

term

life

over

$

50,000,

personal

use

of

company

vehicle

,

domestic

partner

benefits

Retroactive

pay

&

adjustments

Prior

-

period

corrections

,

rate

changes

,

and

amended

tax

withholding

Multi

-

state

allocation

Allocating

wages

for

remote

and

traveling

employees

across

jurisdictions

Exempt

vs

.

non

-

exempt

classification

Duties

test

,

salary

basis

test

,

and

misclassification

remediation

Per

diem

,

mileage

&

travel

pay

Taxable

vs

.

accountable

-

plan

reimbursements

Tip

reporting

&

tip

credit

Form

8027,

allocated

tips

,

and

tip

-

credit

minimum

wage

compliance

Certified

payroll

/

prevailing

wage

Davis

-

Bacon

and

state

prevailing

wage

rate

calculations

with

fringe

credits

2 / 7

Payroll Processing Hard Skills — page 3

03

Payroll

Tax

Compliance

&

Filing

Withholding

,

deposits

,

and

the

full

federal

/

state

/

local

filing

calendar

.

04

Benefits

,

Deductions

&

Garnishments

Everything

taken

out

of

a

paycheck

—

and

the

order

it

comes

out

in

.

Form

W

-4

administration

2020+

redesign

,

multiple

jobs

worksheet

,

exempt

status

,

state

withholding

certificates

Federal

income

tax

withholding

IRS

Publication

15 (

Circular

E

),

Pub

15-

A

,

Pub

15-

B

,

percentage

and

wage

-

bracket

methods

FICA

taxes

Social

Security

6.2%

to

the

annual

wage

base

,

Medicare

1.45%,

Additional

Medicare

0.9%

FUTA

&

SUTA

Federal

and

state

unemployment

wage

bases

,

credit

reductions

,

new

-

employer

rates

,

experience

rating

State

&

local

income

tax

Local

city

and

county

taxes

(

NYC

,

Philadelphia

,

Ohio

school

districts

,

Kentucky

counties

)

Reciprocity

&

residency

rules

Reciprocal

agreements

,

resident

/

nonresident

withholding

,

telecommuter

tax

rules

Quarterly

federal

returns

Form

941, 941-

X

, 944, 943 (

farm

), 945

Annual

federal

returns

Form

940,

Form

1099-

NEC

/1096,

Form

1095-

C

and

1094-

C

Year

-

end

W

-2

processing

W

-2,

W

-2

c

,

W

-3,

W

-3

c

preparation

,

balancing

,

and

electronic

delivery

Electronic

filing

systems

IRS

FIRE

system

,

EFTPS

,

state

e

-

file

portals

,

and

third

-

party

filing

services

Deposit

schedules

Monthly

vs

.

semiweekly

depositor

status

,

$

100,000

next

-

day

rule

,

lookback

period

review

Tax

notice

resolution

IRS

CP

-210

and

CP

-259

notices

,

SSA

error

reports

,

state

assessment

responses

Year

-

end

reconciliation

Tying

the

payroll

register

, 941

totals

,

and

W

-2

Box

1/2/3/5

figures

together

Tax

registration

&

nexus

Opening

new

state

and

local

withholding

accounts

as

headcount

expands

401(

k

) & 403(

b

)

administration

Deferral

percentages

and

dollar

amounts

,

catch

-

up

contributions

,

Roth

,

safe

harbor

match

,

vesting

Section

125

cafeteria

plans

Pre

-

tax

premium

conversion

,

plan

document

limits

,

and

nondiscrimination

considerations

HSA

,

FSA

,

DCFSA

,

LPFSA

deductions

Annual

contribution

limits

,

proration

on

mid

-

year

hires

,

and

use

-

it

-

or

-

lose

-

it

rules

Insurance

premium

deductions

Pre

-

tax

vs

.

post

-

tax

treatment

for

health

,

dental

,

vision

,

life

,

STD

,

and

LTD

Garnishment

processing

Child

support

,

spousal

support

,

IRS

levies

,

student

loan

and

creditor

garnishments

Consumer

Credit

Protection

Act

limits

25%

disposable

earnings

cap

, 50–65%

child

support

limits

,

state

maximums

Garnishment

priority

&

stacking

Ordering

multiple

orders

,

employer

administrative

fees

,

and

termination

handling

Deduction

arrears

&

refunds

Repayment

schedules

,

uncovered

deductions

,

and

negative

net

pay

resolution

Qualified

Domestic

Relations

Orders

QDRO

review

,

alternate

payee

setup

,

and

plan

-

level

approval

coordination

COBRA

&

leave

premium

handling

Direct

-

bill

premium

collection

and

arrears

during

unpaid

leave

ACA

affordability

&

reporting

Applicable

large

employer

measurement

periods

and

1095-

C

code

assignment

Benefit

plan

funding

&

remittance

Reconciling

carrier

invoices

to

payroll

deduction

registers

3 / 7

Payroll Processing Hard Skills — page 4

05

Time

,

Attendance

&

Leave

Administration

Turning

raw

hours

into

payable

,

compliant

earnings

.

06

Payroll

Accounting

&

Reconciliation

Where

payroll

meets

the

general

ledger

and

period

-

end

close

.

Timekeeping

system

integration

UKG

Dimensions

,

ADP

eTime

,

Workday

Time

Tracking

,

and

time

-

clock

data

imports

Timecard

audit

&

exception

review

Missed

punches

,

unapproved

overtime

,

and

supervisor

sign

-

off

controls

Hours

-

worked

definitions

Rounding

rules

,

de

minimis

time

,

travel

time

,

and

state

rounding

restrictions

PTO

accrual

&

balance

management

Accrual

rates

,

caps

,

carryover

,

waiting

periods

,

and

payout

at

termination

FMLA

&

CFRA

leave

tracking

Eligibility

, 12-

week

entitlement

,

intermittent

leave

,

and

benefit

continuation

State

paid

leave

programs

New

York

,

New

Jersey

,

California

,

Washington

,

and

Massachusetts

PFL

/

PFML

coordination

Paid

sick

leave

compliance

Accrual

requirements

and

paid

-

out

obligations

by

state

and

city

Alternative

workweek

schedules

4/10

and

9/80

schedules

and

their

effect

on

overtime

thresholds

Meal

&

rest

break

premiums

California

and

other

state

premium

pay

calculation

and

documentation

Holiday

&

vacation

pay

rules

Eligibility

windows

,

holiday

-

premium

pay

,

and

state

timing

requirements

Shift

scheduling

data

Predictive

scheduling

compliance

and

schedule

-

change

premium

pay

Payroll

journal

entries

Debiting

wage

expense

and

crediting

tax

,

benefit

,

and

net

pay

liabilities

General

ledger

account

mapping

Earnings

-

to

-

account

mapping

tables

and

interface

file

configuration

Labor

distribution

&

cost

allocation

Cost

center

,

department

,

project

,

and

grant

-

level

wage

allocation

Payroll

liability

reconciliation

Clearing

tax

and

benefit

liabilities

to

zero

each

period

Net

pay

funding

&

ACH

origination

Funding

file

review

,

positive

pay

,

and

bank

account

reconciliation

Accruals

&

reversals

Bonus

,

PTO

,

and

payroll

accruals

supporting

month

-

end

close

Workers

'

compensation

wage

reporting

Payroll

data

for

premium

audits

,

class

codes

,

and

experience

mods

Unclaimed

wages

&

escheatment

Stale

-

dated

check

handling

and

state

unclaimed

property

reporting

Headcount

&

FTE

reporting

Average

headcount

,

FTE

counts

,

and

cost

-

per

-

hire

inputs

4 / 7

Payroll Processing Hard Skills — page 5

07

Controls

,

Auditing

&

Risk

Management

Preventing

overpayments

,

fraud

,

and

audit

findings

.

08

Payroll

Operations

&

Cycle

Management

Running

the

calendar

end

to

end

,

on

time

and

error

-

free

.

SOX

404

payroll

controls

Control

documentation

,

testing

evidence

,

and

remediation

of

deficiencies

Segregation

of

duties

Separating

master

-

file

maintenance

,

time

entry

,

and

pay

approval

access

Pre

-

and

post

-

payroll

audit

reports

Register

review

,

direct

deposit

exception

reports

,

and

pay

variance

checks

Master

file

change

controls

Change

logs

,

approval

workflows

,

and

pay

rate

verification

Gross

-

to

-

net

variance

analysis

Period

-

over

-

period

comparison

with

documented

explanations

above

threshold

Overpayment

&

duplicate

detection

Ghost

employee

testing

,

duplicate

bank

account

queries

,

and

recovery

processing

Direct

deposit

fraud

prevention

Multi

-

factor

bank

account

verification

and

self

-

service

change

alerts

Internal

&

external

audit

support

PBC

request

fulfillment

,

sample

selection

,

and

auditor

walkthroughs

Record

retention

compliance

FLSA

three

-

year

minimum

,

IRS

four

-

year

rule

,

and

state

-

specific

retention

periods

Payroll

business

continuity

planning

Backup

processing

procedures

and

disaster

recovery

for

pay

cycles

Payroll

calendar

management

Weekly

,

biweekly

,

semimonthly

,

monthly

,

and

mixed

-

frequency

environments

New

-

hire

payroll

setup

Form

I

-9

and

E

-

Verify

,

W

-4

entry

,

direct

deposit

,

and

tax

jurisdiction

assignment

Termination

&

final

pay

processing

State

final

-

pay

timing

rules

,

PTO

payout

,

and

severance

handling

Off

-

cycle

&

manual

payments

Same

-

day

pay

,

corrections

,

and

stop

-

payment

/

reissue

procedures

Multi

-

EIN

&

multi

-

entity

payroll

Intercompany

allocation

and

consolidated

reporting

across

legal

entities

Global

payroll

coordination

EMEA

and

APAC

in

-

country

providers

,

gross

-

up

calculations

,

and

data

collection

templates

Payroll

help

desk

&

employee

support

Case

management

,

SLA

response

targets

,

and

escalation

paths

for

pay

disputes

Vendor

&

third

-

party

management

RFP

input

,

service

level

tracking

,

and

payroll

provider

performance

review

Process

documentation

&

SOPs

Writing

repeatable

procedures

,

desktop

guides

,

and

cycle

checklists

5 / 7

Payroll Processing Hard Skills — page 6

09

Reporting

,

Analytics

&

Data

Management

Turning

payroll

data

into

decisions

—

and

keeping

it

accurate

.

10

Regulatory

&

Statutory

Knowledge

The

legal

framework

every

payroll

decision

sits

inside

.

Payroll

register

production

Full

-

register

review

,

tie

-

out

to

funding

,

and

distribution

to

approvers

Custom

report

building

ADP

Custom

Reports

,

Workday

Report

Writer

,

Ceridian

Dayforce

reporting

Labor

cost

&

overtime

analysis

Overtime

trend

reporting

,

department

cost

per

hour

,

and

budget

variance

Headcount

&

turnover

metrics

Beginning

/

ending

headcount

,

attrition

rate

,

and

average

tenure

reporting

Data

validation

&

reconciliation

queries

Finding

and

fixing

exceptions

before

the

pay

run

is

confirmed

Basic

SQL

for

payroll

data

Extracting

,

joining

,

and

validating

payroll

records

from

HCM

databases

Dashboards

&

visualization

Power

BI

or

Tableau

views

for

labor

spend

and

compliance

metrics

Mass

data

uploads

EIB

and

import

templates

,

validation

errors

,

and

rollback

procedures

Confidential

data

handling

PII

safeguards

,

access

controls

,

and

privacy

law

obligations

for

payroll

records

Fair

Labor

Standards

Act

Exempt

/

non

-

exempt

tests

,

overtime

rules

,

recordkeeping

,

and

child

labor

provisions

IRS

payroll

publications

Publication

15, 15-

A

, 15-

B

,

and

the

Employer

'

s

Tax

Guide

Affordable

Care

Act

Employer

shared

responsibility

,

measurement

periods

,

and

1094-

C

/1095-

C

reporting

ERISA

Fiduciary

obligations

,

plan

document

rules

,

and

401(

k

)

reporting

requirements

State

wage

payment

laws

Pay

frequency

,

pay

stub

content

,

and

lawful

deduction

requirements

by

state

Final

pay

&

notice

requirements

Immediate

-

pay

states

,

waiting

-

time

penalties

,

and

accrued

leave

payout

rules

Equal

Pay

Act

&

pay

transparency

Pay

range

disclosure

laws

and

pay

equity

audit

support

Employee

data

privacy

GDPR

and

state

privacy

laws

as

applied

to

payroll

and

benefit

data

Prevailing

wage

regulations

Davis

-

Bacon

Act

and

state

prevailing

wage

compliance

for

public

works

Workers

'

compensation

&

disability

State

disability

insurance

and

paid

family

leave

integration

into

payroll

6 / 7

Payroll Processing Hard Skills — page 7

Core

systems

typically

listed

by

role

level

PLAT FO RM

VENDO R

CO MMO NLY

REQ UIRED

FO R

Workday

Payroll

Workday

Enterprise

and

mid

-

enterprise

HCM

-

integrated

payroll

ADP

Workforce

Now

ADP

Mid

-

market

payroll

with

tax

filing

service

ADP

Vantage

HCM

ADP

Large

multi

-

state

and

multi

-

EIN

employers

UKG

Pro

UKG

Payroll

tightly

coupled

to

time

and

attendance

Ceridian

Dayforce

Ceridian

Continuous

,

real

-

time

payroll

calculation

Paylocity

/

Paycom

Paylocity

,

Paycom

Mid

-

market

single

-

platform

HR

and

payroll

Rippling

/

Gusto

Rippling

,

Gusto

High

-

growth

and

SMB

payroll

administration

SuccessFactors

EC

Payroll

SAP

Global

and

complex

multi

-

country

payroll

Oracle

HCM

Cloud

Payroll

Oracle

Enterprise

payroll

with

fast

formula

configuration

QuickBooks

Payroll

Intuit

Small

business

payroll

with

GL

integration

7 / 7

Payroll Processing Hard Skills

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