Payroll Accountant (Temporary - Medical Leave Coverage)

Location: Berkeley, CA (100% On-Site)
Compensation: $36-$50 per hour
Schedule: Full-time, temporary assignment

Position Overview

We are seeking a detail-oriented Payroll Accountant to support payroll operations during a medical leave coverage period for a client. This role is fully onsite and requires strong payroll accounting skills, excellent knowledge of California wage-and-hour rules, and experience managing multi-state payroll processes. The ideal candidate thrives in a fast-paced, evolving environment and brings a high level of accuracy, confidentiality, and professionalism.

Key Duties

• Manage full-cycle payroll processing, including data entry, wage calculations, adjustments, and payroll release for both exempt and non-exempt employees.
• Organize and execute recurring payroll schedules (semi-monthly and bi-weekly), ensuring all deadlines are met accurately and efficiently.
• Maintain compliance with federal, state, and local payroll and tax regulations, including proper withholding, timely reporting, and remittance.
• Prepare and record payroll-related journal entries; upload transactions into the ERP system as payroll cycles are completed.
• Reconcile payroll and benefits-related general ledger accounts as part of the monthly close process.
• Produce payroll, benefits, and workforce data reports to support internal financial planning, forecasting, and ad hoc leadership requests.
• Partner with HR and benefits teams to align payroll practices with policies, benefits administration processes, and employee recordkeeping requirements.
• Support internal and external payroll audits by preparing documentation and responding to auditor inquiries.
• Review and audit timecards for hourly employees, ensuring accuracy and compliance with California-specific requirements.
  • Verify compliance with meal and rest break regulations.
  • Review and calculate penalties associated with late or missed breaks.
  • Audit timecard and system data to confirm correct application of premiums, penalties, and benefits impacts.

Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree in Accounting, Finance, or a related field-or equivalent professional experience.
• 5+ years of hands-on payroll accounting experience, ideally in a dynamic or rapidly evolving environment.
• Proficiency with payroll software platforms; experience with Rippling is strongly preferred.
• Advanced understanding of California wage-and-hour laws, including meal/rest break rules and penalty calculations.
• Strong knowledge of multi-state payroll practices, federal/state/local payroll tax regulations, and payroll accounting principles.
• Experience preparing payroll-related journal entries and reconciling accounts such as wages, bonuses, PTO, 401(k), HSA, FSA, and other benefit-related transactions.
• ERP system experience required; familiarity with Microsoft Business Central and FloQast is a plus.
• Strong analytical and problem-solving abilities with the ability to reconcile complex payroll accounts.
• Intermediate Excel skills, including formulas, lookups, and data analysis.