What Is The Difference Between a Payroll Administrator and a Payroll Coordinator?

by Laurie Brenner

Both the payroll administrator and coordinator perform duties that assist in creating payroll for employees within a company or organization. For the most part, you won't find a payroll coordinator and administrator working in the same company. The payroll administrator oversees and manages payroll, while a coordinator works for a department within an organization or company.

Payroll Administrator

A payroll administrator is responsible for the payroll and related activities. She must perform the activities required to process the payroll for a company or organization. This includes the recordkeeping responsibilities for all the payroll documents, which include processing payroll, bonuses, commission payments, collecting and entering timesheets, processing accounting transactions related to payroll, wage garnishments and levies, as well as filing voluntary deduction and tax reports. Payroll administrators work mostly in small organizations and companies as the top-ranking payroll employee. Requirements include an associate's degree, three to five years of payroll experience and payroll certification.

Payroll Coordinator

A payroll coordinator acts as a liaison between one or multiple departments in the organization and the payroll department. You will find payroll coordinators in large companies or organizations with multiple departments and a huge staff. She collects time cards, vacation requests, and leave-of-absence or separation paperwork. A payroll coordinator enters payroll hours into the payroll system, then checks payroll records after typing the data into the system. She vets payroll entries and works with the payroll department to make needed corrections or reissue payroll checks. Because of the liaison position she holds, excellent written and communication skills are necessary to perform the job. Other requirements for this position include on-the-job experience with automated payroll systems of up to five years and graduation from high school.


The payroll administrator is responsible for overseeing the entire payroll of a company, while the coordinator is only responsible for the department in which she works. The coordinator works with other payroll department employees to ensure timely entries of payroll time sheets and employee hours. A payroll administrator usually works alone or with another person to help with payroll. The coordinator communicates necessary changes and submits needed signed forms to a multiple-employee payroll department. In small companies, the payroll administrator completes payroll and acts as a liaison between other company departments.

Other Considerations

As the payroll administrator works in a small company, she also performs the duties of a payroll coordinator. She collects health insurance benefit forms, timesheets and all documents related to payroll. She enters the employee hours and adjusts the payroll system information as needed. While a payroll administrator handles the same responsibilities as a payroll coordinator, the coordinator does not have the same level of responsibility for an organization's entire payroll. She is only responsible for the accuracy of the payroll documents for her department. She does not process the entire company's payroll.

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