Payroll Accountant

Summary

CodePath is an educator of college computer science students that is expanding its AI workforce programs and scaling its operations. The Payroll Accountant will own assigned multi-entity, multi-state payroll cycles end-to-end, reconcile payroll to the general ledger, support compliance and audits, and improve payroll processes.

Responsibilities

• Payroll processing. Run assigned cycles for exempt and non-exempt employees, including overtime, regular-rate premiums, bonuses, commissions, and off-cycle and correction runs. Maintain pay rates, worksite assignments, deductions, and direct deposit in our PEO platform (CoAdvantage)
• Employee changes and timekeeping. Process new hires, terminations, and pay changes with HR. Review timecards, drive supervisor approvals on schedule, and flag when a new hire’s state requires a new pay schedule or tax setup
• Retroactive pay. Verify approvals, confirm hours have not already been paid, maintain the retro pay tracker and support, and surface root causes of recurring requests
• Accounting and reconciliation. Prepare payroll journal entries coded to the correct entity, program, and account. Reconcile wages payable, tax withholdings, benefit deductions, accrued PTO, and clearing accounts; research and resolve payroll-to-GL variances; own payroll accruals for month-end close
• Compliance. Apply federal, state, and local rules on withholding, taxable wages, pay frequency, and final pay. Support multi-state tax filings, respond to state tax notices, and process wage garnishments and support orders
• Audit readiness. Keep documentation traceable from timecard to approval, payment, and journal entry all year. Prepare reconciliations, schedules, and sample support for financial statement and benefit plan audits
• Process improvement. Document the procedures you run, keep supervisor FAQs and decision guides current, and use AI and automation to cut manual work and errors

Skills

• Bachelor's degree in accounting, finance, business, or a related field, or equivalent experience
• 3+ years owning full-cycle payroll processing, including multi-state payroll for exempt and non-exempt employees (overtime and regular rate, bonuses, commissions, off-cycle payments), wage garnishments, child support orders, and benefit deductions
• Working knowledge of federal, state, and local payroll tax and wage-and-hour compliance: withholding, SUI/SDI, state pay-frequency and final-pay rules, and the taxable treatment of earnings and pre- and post-tax deductions
• First-hand experience with payroll reconciliation: payroll register to GL, payroll liability and clearing accounts, tax withholdings, benefit deductions, and accruals, with a track record of resolving variances and keeping audit-ready support that traces from timecard to payment to journal entry
• Foundational GAAP knowledge, including debits and credits, accrual accounting, and preparing payroll journal entries, plus experience with Sage Intacct or a comparable general ledger system (experience beyond QuickBooks is expected)
• Strong spreadsheet skills in Google Sheets or Excel (lookups, pivot tables) for reconciliations and variance analysis
• Precision under recurring deadlines, adaptability in a fast-scaling environment, and the emotional intelligence to handle sensitive pay questions with employees and managers
• Current FPC or CPP certification
• Hands-on experience across multiple HR and payroll platforms (e.g., ADP, UKG, Paychex, or a PEO such as CoAdvantage)
• Proven experience owning payroll for various worker classifications (salaried exempt, hourly non-exempt, part-time, seasonal, and program fellows)
• Practical experience in multi-entity, fund, or grant-funded accounting, including cost allocation across entities and programs and clearing accounts for pass-through activity
• Direct experience with month-end close for payroll accounts and accruals
• Demonstrated experience supporting financial statement or benefit plan audits, including sample selections and auditor requests
• Applied experience using AI or automation tools to streamline recurring payroll workflows

Qualifications

Must Haves

• Bachelor's degree in accounting, finance, business, or a related field, or equivalent experience
• 3+ years owning full-cycle payroll processing, including multi-state payroll for exempt and non-exempt employees (overtime and regular rate, bonuses, commissions, off-cycle payments), wage garnishments, child support orders, and benefit deductions
• Working knowledge of federal, state, and local payroll tax and wage-and-hour compliance: withholding, SUI/SDI, state pay-frequency and final-pay rules, and the taxable treatment of earnings and pre- and post-tax deductions
• First-hand experience with payroll reconciliation: payroll register to GL, payroll liability and clearing accounts, tax withholdings, benefit deductions, and accruals, with a track record of resolving variances and keeping audit-ready support that traces from timecard to payment to journal entry
• Foundational GAAP knowledge, including debits and credits, accrual accounting, and preparing payroll journal entries, plus experience with Sage Intacct or a comparable general ledger system (experience beyond QuickBooks is expected)
• Strong spreadsheet skills in Google Sheets or Excel (lookups, pivot tables) for reconciliations and variance analysis
• Precision under recurring deadlines, adaptability in a fast-scaling environment, and the emotional intelligence to handle sensitive pay questions with employees and managers

Nice to Haves

• Current FPC or CPP certification
• Hands-on experience across multiple HR and payroll platforms (e.g., ADP, UKG, Paychex, or a PEO such as CoAdvantage)
• Proven experience owning payroll for various worker classifications (salaried exempt, hourly non-exempt, part-time, seasonal, and program fellows)
• Practical experience in multi-entity, fund, or grant-funded accounting, including cost allocation across entities and programs and clearing accounts for pass-through activity
• Direct experience with month-end close for payroll accounts and accruals
• Demonstrated experience supporting financial statement or benefit plan audits, including sample selections and auditor requests
• Applied experience using AI or automation tools to streamline recurring payroll workflows

Benefits

• Fully remote position open anywhere in the U.S.
• Medical, dental, and vision insurance (90% employer-covered for employees and dependents)
• Employer-funded healthcare reimbursement
• FSAs
• Employee Assistance Program
• 401(k)
• Employer-paid life & disability insurance
• Identity theft protection
• Generous PTO
• Paid holidays
• 10 weeks of fully paid parental leave
• Annual year-end company closure (Dec 24 – Jan 2)
• $1,000 annual professional development stipend
• Home office setup support
• CodePath is a qualifying employer for Public Service Loan Forgiveness (PSLF), helping employees manage student loan debt
• Pet wellness plans
• Legal services
• Home/auto insurance discounts
• Exclusive marketplace savings