Payroll manager

Pay: $84,000.00 - $120,000.00 per year

Why This Is a Great Opportunity

Step into a high-impact leadership role with a growing payroll services team where your expertise will directly shape operations, client service, and team success. Lead and develop payroll professionals while remaining hands-on with complex payroll matters and process improvement. Work with a diverse client base, including businesses with multi-state payroll needs, giving you broad exposure and meaningful responsibility. Join a collaborative environment that values accuracy, ownership, critical thinking, and strong client relationships. Enjoy a Monday through Friday schedule, strong benefits, schedule flexibility, and potential work-from-home flexibility after successfully ramping up.

Location: Waukesha, WI. This role will begin full-time in the office so you can become fully integrated with the team and operations. Some schedule flexibility is available, with the potential to work from home one day per week after ramp-up and half-day Fridays when workload permits.

Note: Candidates must have hands-on payroll experience, multi-state payroll knowledge, strong math and critical-thinking skills, a degree, and the ability to work on-site in Waukesha during the initial ramp-up period. Prior payroll leadership or management experience is highly preferred.

About Us

We are a growing financial and payroll services organization that helps businesses operate with greater accuracy, confidence, and clarity. Our team takes a proactive, service-focused approach and works closely with growing businesses and entrepreneurs who value responsive support and trusted expertise.

Job Description

• Lead, coach, and provide day-to-day direction to the payroll processing team.
• Oversee accurate and timely payroll processing for clients with different pay schedules and multi-state operations.
• Review payrolls, reports, employee changes, deductions, garnishments, direct deposits, and adjustments for accuracy.
• Manage workloads, deadlines, client assignments, and quality-control processes across the payroll department.
• Serve as an escalation point for complex payroll questions, client concerns, and payroll-related issues.
• Build strong client relationships through timely, knowledgeable, and professional communication.
• Support new client onboarding by reviewing prior payroll records, gathering information, and coordinating payroll setup.
• Review new payroll configurations before initial processing to ensure accuracy and compliance.
• Support federal, state, and local payroll compliance, payroll taxes, notices, amendments, and agency correspondence.
• Coordinate year-end payroll activities, including reconciliations and W-2 processing.
• Partner with accounting, tax, and administrative teams to resolve issues and support clients.
• Develop procedures, checklists, and improved workflows that strengthen accuracy, efficiency, and the client experience.
• Stay current on payroll laws, regulations, and industry best practices.

Qualifications

• 2+ years of payroll processing experience preferred.
• Hands-on multi-state payroll experience required.
• Degree required.
• Prior payroll leadership, supervisory, team lead, or administrative management experience strongly preferred.
• Experience handling payroll for multiple clients or companies strongly preferred.
• Strong understanding of payroll taxes, filings, notices, compliance, and year-end processing.
• Strong Microsoft Excel, Microsoft Office, math, analytical, and critical-thinking skills.
• Excellent organization, communication, leadership, and client-service abilities.
• Experience with Execupay is strongly preferred but not required.
• Ability to manage confidential information and competing deadlines with accuracy and professionalism.

Why You Will Love Working Here

Make a visible impact on a growing payroll operation and the clients who depend on it. Lead a team while still using your technical payroll expertise. Work alongside knowledgeable accounting, tax, and administrative professionals. Benefit from a supportive team environment that values initiative, collaboration, and continuous improvement. Receive employer-sponsored health insurance, paid time off, paid holidays, and a 401(k) with company match. Gain increasing schedule flexibility after becoming established in the role.

Benefits:

• Dental insurance
• Health insurance
• Paid time off
• Retirement plan
• Vision insurance