Payroll Accountant

Kamran Culinex; Fargo (ND); Hybrid; USD 65,000 - 95,000; Full time

Job summary

Kamran & Company is seeking a Payroll Accountant to own end-to-end payroll processing, tax withholding, and labor cost allocations for a multi-state workforce. The role combines payroll execution with the accounting entries that feed the general ledger, requiring precision, discretion, and adherence to deadlines.

Responsibilities span payroll processing, tax compliance, and benefits administration, with a focus on multi-state registrations, certified payroll reporting, and journal entries.

Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree in Accounting, Finance, or related field, or equivalent payroll experience.
• 2–4 years of hands-on payroll processing, multi-state.
• Experience with payroll tax withholding, deposits, and filings (941, 940).
• Understanding of FLSA, overtime, multi-state wage/hour rules.
• Experience preparing payroll journal entries and reconciling GL accounts.
• Advanced Excel skills (Pivot, lookups, large data sets).
• Discretion with confidential compensation information.
• Ability to hit fixed payroll deadlines every cycle.

Responsibilities

• Process end-to-end multi-state payroll with ADP on schedule.
• Review timekeeping, overtime, per diem, and PTO before each payroll run.
• Maintain employee payroll records and tax elections.
• Administer garnishments and other withholdings per law.
• Process off-cycle payments, bonuses, and manual checks.
• Reconcile payrolls and prepare journal entries.

Skills

Payroll processing

Multi-state payroll

Advanced Excel

Discretion

Communication

Education

Bachelor’s degree in Accounting/Finance

Tools

ADP

NetSuite

ERP systems

Job description

If you are unable to complete this application due to a disability, contact this employer to ask for an accommodation or an alternative application process.

Payroll Accountant

Full Time Fargo, ND, US

2 days ago Requisition ID: 1072

KAMRAN & COMPANY

Job Description

Payroll Accountant

Department: Accounting / Finance – Reports To: Controller – FLSA Status: Exempt

About Kamran & Company

Kamran & Company is a leading commercial foodservice equipment dealer and design-build contractor with over 34 years of industry history and $1B+ in completed project value. We serve casinos, stadiums, hospitals, and hospitality venues nationwide, delivering the full project lifecycle — from specification and design through procurement and installation. We are growing, and we are looking for people who take pride in their work, own their responsibilities, and want to build something lasting.

Role Summary

The Payroll Accountant owns the accurate and timely processing of company payroll and the accounting behind it. This is a hybrid payroll and accounting role: it runs the payroll cycle end to end — timekeeping, earnings and deductions, taxes, and funding — and then owns the reconciliations, journal entries, and labor cost allocations that carry those numbers into the general ledger. Because our work is project-based and spans multiple states and job sites, this role is also responsible for correct multi-state tax registration and withholding, prevailing wage and certified payroll reporting where applicable, and getting labor costs coded to the right job. Payroll is the one deadline that never moves and the one number every employee checks — the ideal candidate is precise, discreet, and takes full ownership of getting it right.

Key Responsibilities

Payroll Processing

• Work with ADP to process end-to-end multi-state payroll on the published schedule, including hourly, salaried, commissioned, and field personnel.
• Review and validate timekeeping data, overtime, per diem, shift differentials, and paid time off before each run; resolve discrepancies with managers ahead of the deadline.
• Maintain employee payroll records — new hires, terminations, pay rate and status changes, direct deposit, and tax withholding elections.
• Administer garnishments, child support orders, levies, and other mandatory withholdings in accordance with applicable law and remittance deadlines.
• Process off-cycle payments, final pay, bonuses, commissions, and manual checks in compliance with state-specific final pay rules.
• Serve as the first point of contact for employee payroll questions, responding promptly, accurately, and with discretion.

Payroll Tax & Compliance

• Ensure accurate federal, state, and local payroll tax withholding, deposits, and filings; monitor jurisdictions where employees work and register in new states as needed.
• Reconcile and review quarterly and annual filings — Forms 941, 940, state unemployment returns, W-2s, and W-2c corrections.
• Research and resolve payroll tax notices from taxing authorities; track issues through to written resolution.
• Prepare certified payroll and prevailing wage reports for applicable public and Davis-Bacon projects, including fringe benefit documentation.
• Maintain compliance with FLSA, multi‑state wage and hour rules, overtime and meal/rest requirements, and recordkeeping retention standards.
• Support workers’ compensation audits, 401(k) audits, and annual financial statement audits with reconciled payroll schedules and supporting detail.
• Prepare and post payroll journal entries, including wages, employer taxes, benefits, accruals, and PTO liability.
• Reconcile all payroll‑related general ledger accounts monthly — payroll clearing, tax liabilities, benefit deductions, and accrued wages — and resolve variances promptly.
• Allocate labor costs to the correct jobs, cost codes, and departments; partner with Project Managers to validate field time coding and burden rates.
• Reconcile payroll register totals to bank funding, tax deposits, and the general ledger every cycle.
• Provide labor cost reporting and analysis to support job costing, WIP schedules, and management review.

Benefits & Systems Support

• Process benefit deductions and reconcile carrier invoices to payroll deductions; research and correct discrepancies.
• Administer 401(k) contributions, loan repayments, and employer match funding within required deposit timelines.
• Support annual open enrollment and ACA reporting, including Forms 1094-C and 1095-C.
• Maintain and improve payroll system configuration, earnings and deduction codes, and workflow documentation.
• Document payroll procedures and help strengthen internal controls over pay changes, approvals, and payroll disbursement.

Qualifications

Required

• Bachelor’s degree in Accounting, Finance, or a related field — or equivalent payroll experience.
• 2–4 years of hands‑on payroll processing experience, including full‑cycle responsibility for a multi‑state employee population.
• Working knowledge of payroll tax withholding, deposits, and quarterly and annual filings (941, 940, state unemployment, W-2).
• Understanding of FLSA, overtime calculation, and multi‑state wage and hour requirements.
• Experience preparing payroll journal entries and reconciling payroll‑related general ledger accounts.
• Advanced Excel skills (pivot tables, lookups, large data sets) and comfort reconciling across systems.
• Absolute discretion with confidential compensation and employee information.
• Meticulous attention to detail and the ability to hit a fixed payroll deadline every cycle, without exception.
• Clear, direct written and verbal communication skills, including the ability to explain pay calculations plainly to employees.

Preferred

• Experience with NetSuite or a comparable ERP, and with a major payroll platform (ADP, Paylocity, Paycom, UKG, or similar).
• Certified payroll and prevailing wage / Davis-Bacon reporting experience.
• Construction, contracting, or other job‑cost environment experience with labor allocation to projects.
• Union payroll, fringe benefit, and multi‑employer plan reporting experience.
• FPC or CPP certification, or active progress toward it.

Our Core Values — RACE

RACE is more than an acronym — it’s how we show up every day for our clients, our teammates, and our partners:

• Responsiveness. Payroll is the one deadline that never moves. Employees, managers, and taxing authorities all depend on this role delivering on schedule — and an employee with a pay question deserves an answer today, not next cycle. If something is at risk, it gets flagged the same day, not the same week. Responsiveness is the foundation of trust, and nowhere is that trust more personal than someone’s paycheck.
• Accountability. Every check, deduction, and filing has your name on it. You own the cycle — the clean ones and the corrections. When something is wrong, we tell the employee, fix it quickly, and repair the process behind it. We don’t pass the problem and we don’t wait for someone else to notice. Late flags create crises; early flags create options.
• Collaborative. Payroll sits at the intersection of Accounting, HR, Project Management, and outside providers and auditors. No one wins alone here. We share information freely, explain the numbers in plain language, and solve problems together rather than around each other — while protecting the confidentiality this role requires.
• Empathy. We lead with respect for the people around us — teammates, vendors, clients, and partners alike. A pay issue is never just a number to the person it affects; we take time to understand before we act, and we treat people the way we want to be treated. Empathy isn’t a soft skill — it’s a business skill that keeps relationships intact and teams moving.

What Success Looks Like

In the first 90 days, a successful Payroll Accountant will:

• Be independently running the full payroll cycle on schedule, with accurate first‑run results and minimal off‑cycle corrections.
• Have all payroll general ledger accounts reconciled monthly, with variances identified and explained rather than carried forward.
• Have labor costs coding cleanly to the correct jobs and cost codes, with any field timekeeping issues addressed at the source.
• Have payroll tax registrations, deposits, and filings current across every state where we have employees, with no open agency notices.
• Proactively flag compliance risks, coding errors, and process gaps before they reach an employee’s paycheck or a filing deadline.

Kamran & Company is an equal opportunity employer. We are committed to building a team that reflects the communities we serve.