Payroll Accountant in Schiller Park, Illinois

Payroll Processing - Biweekly | ADP Workforce Now

• Run biweekly payroll for approximately 200 U.S. employees across five sites, plus remote and sales employees, using ADP Workforce Now as the system of record.

• Own the full payroll checklist: time close, pre-process audit, preview, finalize, and funding, following documented steps at each stage.

• Apply OT and double-time rules, holiday/weekend premiums, shift differentials, and call-in/reporting pay as applicable to a union and shift-premium environment.

• Validate payroll outcomes using ADP registers, time exception reports, and earnings code reporting before finalizing each cycle.

• Manage exceptions and corrections, including retro pay, off-cycle checks, termination payments, garnishments, and one-time earnings/deductions.

• Support quarter-end and year-end payroll activities, including W-2 balancing support and reconciliation.

• Track and help resolve payroll tax notices in partnership with ADP.

• Prepare and validate payroll reporting and respond to information requests from HR and operations.

• Experience processing Union 401(k) and FSA benefit files into third-party platforms is a nice to have.

• Prepare and post journal entries in SAP with appropriate supporting documentation and review trail.

• Independently reconcile assigned accounts (accrued liabilities, prepaid/expense accruals) and clearly explain reconciling items: what they are, why they exist, and when they'll clear.

• Support month-end and year-end close activities, including tie-outs, variance explanations, roll-forwards, and audit schedule support.

• Build and maintain standard recurring entries with clear logic, consistent timing, proper reversals, and control documentation.

• Process weekly freight invoices.

Listed as nice to have, since this is teachable: covers invoice processing and vendor payments roughly twice weekly as backup.

• Step in to process AP when needed.

• Validate invoices, including 3-way match where applicable (PO/receiver/invoice or cost center approval workflow).

• Process invoices through the OCR workflow (or MIRO), including coding, exception handling, and duplicate detection.

• Generate payment proposals and issue vendor payments twice weekly as backup.

• Confirm approvals before release and ensure proper remittance communication.

• Able to work independently with minimal day-to-day oversight.

• Strong Excel skills:
Pivot Tables, XLOOKUP, SUMIFS.

• Handles sensitive payroll and employee information with discretion.

• Coordinates across HR, Plant Operations, and Payroll/Accounting to resolve time, pay, and general accounting issues.

• Bachelor's degree in Accounting, Finance, or a related field.

• 3-5+ years of relevant accounting experience with direct, hands-on responsibility for U.S. payroll processing.

• Hands-on experience running payroll in ADP Workforce Now is required; ADP Comprehensive or a comparable full-service ADP model is a plus.

• Experience using SAP for general ledger postings, journal entries, and account reconciliations; AP exposure preferred.

• Experience in a union and shift-premium environment; manufacturing experience preferred.

• Strong Excel skills, including Pivot Tables, XLOOKUP, and SUMIFS, with the ability to analyze payroll and AP exports.

• Strong controls mindset, confidentiality, attention to detail, and commitment to accurate, well-supported work.

• Payroll processing accuracy and control discipline in ADP Workforce Now.

• Month-end close readiness and audit-ready documentation.

• Confidential handling of employee and payroll information.

• Clear communication with HR, operations, ADP, and accounting stakeholders.

• Ability to manage recurring payroll and close deadlines while providing backup coverage across accounting processes.

• Balance sheet reconciliations.