Payroll Specialist - WA

Emerald Auto; Seattle (WA); On-site; USD 65,000 - 90,000; Full time

Job summary

Emerald Auto is seeking a Payroll Specialist to manage multi-entity payroll in Paylocity. The role blends payroll with a small AR workload and requires meticulous attention to taxes, deductions, and compliance. Strong Excel skills and experience with QuickBooks Online are preferred.

The position is full-time and salaried, with a focus on timely payroll runs and accurate financial postings. Washington state payroll knowledge is a plus, and privacy of data is essential.

Qualifications

• 3+ years of hands-on payroll processing experience
• Experience with multi-entity or multi-state payroll
• Strong Excel skills (XLOOKUP/VLOOKUP, pivots)
• Experience with cloud-based payroll/HCM platform
• Knowledge of federal and state payroll tax rules
• Washington L&I or similar workers’ comp familiarity

Responsibilities

• Process multi-entity payroll in Paylocity (time review, earnings, deductions, garnishments, pay runs)
• Calculate taxes, withholdings and benefit true-ups
• Process bonuses and one-off payments on deadline
• Prepare and post payroll journal entries to the general ledger
• Complete L&I filings and remittances on schedule
• Build Excel workbooks for reconciliations and audits
• Partner with finance leadership on payroll questions and month-end close
• Protect confidential employee data
• Accounts Receivable downtime: issue invoices, apply cash, follow up on aging

Skills

Payroll processing

Advanced Excel

Attention to detail

Communication

Multi-entity payroll

Education

High school diploma or equivalent

Associate or Bachelor's degree in accounting, finance, or business

Tools

Paylocity

QuickBooks Online

Job description

Description

PAYROLL SPECIALIST

Full-time | Salaried | Paylocity

ABOUT THE ROLE

This is a full-time salaried Payroll Processor role. Payroll is the job—running accurate, on-time multi-

entity pay cycles in Paylocity, getting taxes and filings right, and catching issues before they hit

employees or the books. Strong Excel skills and exceptional attention to detail are required. Between

payroll cycles, you’ll pick up a small AR balance to stay productive; AR is downtime work, not a co-equal

focus of the role (roughly 70% payroll / 30% AR).

PRIMARY RESPONSIBILITY:

PAYROLL:

• Process multi-entity payroll in Paylocity (time review, earnings, deductions, garnishments, and pay runs)
• Calculate taxes, withholdings, and benefit-related true-ups (medical, retirement contributions, reimbursements, and similar)
• Process bonuses and one-off payments accurately and on deadline
• Prepare and post payroll journal entries to the general ledger
• Complete L&I (workers’ compensation) filings and related remittances on schedule
• Build and maintain Excel workbooks for reconciliations, true-ups, audits, and payroll support schedules
• Partner with finance leadership on payroll questions, audits, and month-end close support
• Protect confidential employee and compensation data

SECONDARY RESPONSIBILITY:

ACCOUNTS RECEIVABLE (downtime): When payroll work is light between cycles, own a small AR book: issue invoices, apply cash, follow up on aging, and clear open items. AR fills available capacity; it should never compete with payroll accuracy or deadlines.

WHAT YOU BRING

• Hands-on payroll processing experience; Paylocity experience strongly preferred (multi-entity or multi-state a plus)
• Strong Excel skills (lookups, pivots, reconciliations, and clean, auditable workbooks)
• Exceptional attention to detail—zero-defect mindset on pay, taxes, and deductions
• Comfort with payroll taxes, withholdings, and benefit true-ups
• Experience preparing payroll journal entries in an accounting system (QuickBooks Online preferred)
• Familiarity with Washington L&I filings (or similar state workers’ comp)
• Ability to use downtime productively on a small AR workload without losing focus on payroll
• Clear written and verbal communication

SCHEDULE & SET UP:

Full-time, salaried. Payroll cycles and filing deadlines drive the calendar; AR is secondary work between

those priorities.

Requirements

Required

• 3+ years of hands-on payroll processing, including multi-entity or multi-state payroll
• Working knowledge of federal and state payroll tax, withholding, and garnishment requirements
• Experience preparing payroll journal entries and reconciling payroll to the general ledger
• Intermediate to advanced Excel (XLOOKUP/VLOOKUP, pivot tables, reconciliation workbooks)
• Experience with a cloud-based payroll/HCM platform
• High school diploma or equivalent

Preferred

• Paylocity experience
• QuickBooks Online experience
• Washington L&I quarterly reporting experience
• Accounts receivable experience (invoicing, cash application, collections)
• Associate’s or bachelor’s degree in accounting, finance, or businessPayroll certification (FPC or CPP)