Multi-State Payroll Specialist

PetWise; Mundelein (IL); On-site; USD 55,000 - 75,000; Full time

Job summary

PetWise is seeking a Payroll Specialist to deliver accurate, timely payroll for office and manufacturing teams across multiple states, working closely with Human Resources, Finance, managers, and timekeepers.

This on-site role will involve data collection and validation, reconciling payroll, taxes, and deductions, producing reports, and supporting quarterly and year-end close while upholding confidentiality and compliance.

Qualifications

• Three years of hands-on payroll experience with data collection, validation, and reconciliation.
• Experience supporting employees across multiple locations or states.
• Knowledge of payroll fundamentals, wage/hour rules, taxes, deductions, and confidentiality of data.
• Experience with payroll, HRIS, or timekeeping systems.
• Intermediate Excel skills with formulas, lookups, filtering, sorting, and data reconciliation.
• Ability to organize detailed work around fixed deadlines and explain payroll information clearly to employees and managers.
• Bilingual English and Spanish required for Mundelein candidates.

Responsibilities

• Support each payroll cycle from data collection and validation through final review, funding, and reconciliation.
• Review time and attendance records, pay changes, new hires, transfers, leaves, bonuses, deductions, garnishments, and terminations for completeness and accuracy.
• Audit payroll registers, control totals, and exception reports; research discrepancies before payroll finalization.
• Reconcile wages, payroll taxes, deductions, benefit contributions, funding totals, and payroll-related GL activity.
• Process or coordinate off-cycle payments, reversals, voids, and corrections with required documentation and approvals.
• Coordinate with HR, Finance, managers, and timekeepers; resolve missed punches and transmission issues.
• Prepare recurring and ad-hoc payroll reports; support system testing, implementation activities, and training.
• Track recurring errors and identify control gaps; propose improvements.

Skills

Payroll knowledge

Excel skills

Organization

Bilingual English/Spanish

Education

High school diploma

Associate or Bachelor’s degree (accounting/finance/business/human resources)

Tools

Paycor

HRIS

Timekeeping systems

Job description

PetWise is seeking a Payroll Specialist to deliver accurate, timely payroll for office and manufacturing teams across multiple states, working closely with Human Resources, Finance, managers, and timekeepers.

This on-site role will involve data collection and validation, reconciling payroll, taxes, and deductions, producing reports, and supporting quarterly and year-end close while upholding confidentiality and compliance.