Accounting and Payroll Specialist

DCE Solar; Cornelius (NC); Hybrid; USD 65,000 - 90,000; Full time

Job summary

DCE Solar in Cornelius, NC is seeking a Payroll and Accounting Specialist to support our Finance and Accounting department. This hybrid role covers both payroll and accounts payable with an emphasis on construction payroll and union/non-union labor across multiple states.

The ideal candidate will manage the full AP cycle, vendor compliance, and job-cost coding while preparing weekly/biweekly payroll via our PEO. Strong Excel skills and confidentiality are essential.

Qualifications

• Three or more years of combined payroll and accounts payable experience, including construction payroll.
• Experience with multi-state payroll and union payroll requirements.
• Knowledge of wage-and-hour rules, prevailing wage, and payroll taxes.
• Strong understanding of full-cycle AP, vendor management, and journal coding.
• Experience with subcontractor compliance (lien waivers, retention) is preferred.
• Associate or bachelor’s degree in accounting, finance, or business administration.

Responsibilities

• Process high-volume vendor and subcontractor invoices, code to GL accounts and jobs.
• Route invoices for approval and ensure timely project-manager sign-offs.
• Manage subcontractor W-9s and lien waivers, reconcile statements.
• Maintain vendor relationships and respond to inquiries promptly.
• Assist with customer invoicing, AP accruals, and expense coding.
• Prepare and review accounts payable distributions and GL entries.
• Coordinate with HR/Operations/PEO to ensure accurate payroll information.
• Prepare certified payroll reports and prevailing-wage documentation.
• Support payroll audits and government inquiries with organized records.

Skills

Payroll

Accounts Payable

Construction Payroll

Multi-state Payroll

Union Deductions

Excel Proficiency

Analytical Thinking

Attention to Detail

Cross-functional Collaboration

Education

Associate or bachelor’s degree in accounting, finance, or business administration

Tools

PEO platforms (Insperity)

ERP systems

Timekeeping systems

AP automation

Job description

We are a privately owned Solar Services firm, focusing exclusively on the development of industry-leading solutions. We develop, design, and sell highly efficient products and custom installation solutions that enhance the overall adoption of solar. Our dynamic, growing company needs a capable, motivated, and detail-oriented Payroll and Accounting Specialist to support our Finance and Accounting department.

The Accounting and Payroll Specialist is a hybrid role supporting both payroll and accounting, with the accounting focus centered on accounts payable. On the accounting side, this role manages the full accounts payable cycle, including vendor and subcontractor invoice processing, job-cost coding, approvals, vendor reconciliations, and month-end close support. On the payroll side, this role is responsible for accurately preparing and submitting multi-state payroll to our PEO, Insperity, for construction employees, including union and non-union craft labor. This role reviews timekeeping and job-cost data, applies collective bargaining agreement requirements, administers deductions and fringes, prepares certified payroll reports, manages union remittance reporting and payments, and supports compliance with applicable wage-and-hour, prevailing-wage, tax, and reporting requirements. The ideal candidate is highly organized, detail-oriented, comfortable working with high-volume transaction data, and experienced in the complexities of accounts payable and construction payroll.

Essential Duties and Responsibilities

Accounting – Accounts Payable Emphasis

• Review and process a high volume of vendor and subcontractor invoices, verifying them against purchase orders and coding them to the appropriate general ledger accounts and jobs.
• Route invoices for approval and follow up with project managers and department leaders to ensure timely approval in accordance with company policy.
• Manage subcontractor compliance documentation, including W-9s, conditional and unconditional lien waivers, and retention tracking.
• Reconcile vendor statements and research and resolve discrepancies, credits, and past-due balances.
• Respond to vendor inquiries promptly and professionally and maintain strong vendor relationships.
• Assist with customer invoicing and accounts receivable as needed.
• Assist with expense management as needed, including reviewing employee expense reports and corporate credit card transactions for proper documentation and coding.

Payroll

• Prepare and submit weekly and/or biweekly payroll to the PEO for union and non-union employees across multiple jobs, entities, jurisdictions, and states, and review payroll previews and registers for accuracy before final approval.
• Review, validate, and import employee time, equipment time, per diem, travel, shift differentials, bonuses, and other payroll inputs prior to submission to the PEO.
• Apply union wage rates, classifications, overtime rules, dues, assessments, and employer-paid fringe benefit requirements in accordance with collective bargaining agreements, and ensure they are set up correctly in the PEO payroll system.
• Maintain current union rate sheets, benefit schedules, deduction authorizations, and employee classifications.
• Import processed payroll data from the PEO into the accounting system and allocate labor costs accurately by employee, project, cost code, department, phase, and labor class to support job-cost reporting.
• Prepare and submit certified payroll reports and other prevailing-wage documentation for public and private projects.
• Monitor payroll data for compliance with applicable federal, state, and local wage-and-hour and prevailing-wage requirements, and partner with the PEO on payroll tax matters.
• Reconcile PEO payroll registers and invoices, union deductions and liabilities, and payroll-related general ledger entries.
• Prepare and submit union remittance reports and issue payments directly to union locals and trust funds, including dues, health and welfare, pension, training, vacation, and other fringe benefit contributions.
• Coordinate new hire setup and employee changes in the PEO system, including pay rates, deductions, union affiliations, and job classifications.
• Research and resolve payroll discrepancies, working with the PEO as needed, and respond promptly and professionally to employee, supervisor, union, project management, and accounting inquiries.
• Coordinate with Human Resources, Operations, Project Management, Accounting, and the PEO to ensure complete and accurate payroll information.
• Support payroll audits, union audits, workers’ compensation audits, benefit audits, and government inquiries by providing organized and accurate records.
• Maintain payroll files and records in accordance with company retention policies and confidentiality standards.

Required Qualifications

• Three or more years of combined payroll and accounts payable experience, including direct experience with construction payroll and union payroll.
• Working knowledge of collective bargaining agreements, union deductions and fringes, certified payroll, prevailing-wage requirements, and construction job costing.
• Experience preparing multi-state payroll and handling varied state and local payroll requirements.
• Working knowledge of payroll taxes and garnishments, and a strong understanding of wage-and-hour practices, deductions, and payroll reconciliations.
• Solid understanding of full-cycle accounts payable, purchase order matching, vendor management, and basic accounting principles, including accruals and account reconciliations.
• Experience with construction subcontractor compliance, such as lien waivers and retention, is strongly preferred.
• Associate or bachelor’s degree in accounting, finance, business administration
• Proficiency with Microsoft Excel, including sorting, filtering, lookups, formulas, and reconciliation of large data sets.
• Experience with payroll or PEO platforms, timekeeping, AP automation, ERP, or construction accounting systems.
• Demonstrated ability to handle confidential information with discretion and sound judgment.
• Strong attention to detail, organizational skills, and ability to meet recurring deadlines in a fast-paced environment.
• Clear written and verbal communication skills and a service-oriented approach to resolving payroll and vendor questions.

Core Competencies

• Payroll and accounts payable accuracy and attention to detail
• Deadline management and follow-through
• Analytical thinking and problem-solving
• Confidentiality and professional judgment
• Customer service and employee and vendor support
• Cross-functional collaboration
• Process improvement and internal controls
• Adaptability in a high-volume environment

Our Values

We are looking for a talented and experienced individual who can run with projects from start to finish. We want a problem solver to interact ambitiously with our business and not just accomplish a task.

The ideal individual will align well with our Core Values: