Payroll & Timekeeping Specialist
Federal Rent-A-Fence
Location: Berlin, NJ
Job Type: Full-time
Workplace: On-site
Pay: $30–$35+/hour
Bonus: 10% bonus opportunity
About Federal Rent-A-Fence
Federal Rent-A-Fence has been securing job sites for more than 30 years. We are a growing construction services and rental company with a simple mission: make it as easy as possible for our customers to get a job site up and running quickly, safely, and with zero friction. We are often one of the first companies on-site and one of the last off-site. Our work keeps job sites secure, organized, and moving.
As we continue to grow, we are investing in better people, better systems, better data, and better processes. Payroll is a major part of that. Accurate time, accurate job costing, and accurate payroll are not just administrative tasks — they are core to how the business runs.
We are hiring a Payroll & Timekeeping Specialist who wants to own a critical function and help build something better.
About the Role
This is not a basic payroll clerk role. This is a hands-on payroll, timekeeping, and process-control role for someone who likes accuracy, systems, follow-through, and accountability. You will help make sure payroll is clean before payroll day by staying on top of timecards, missed punches, PTO, job coding, location data, and manager follow-up throughout the week.
You will work with Paylocity, Paylocity Time & Labor, dashboards, Excel, and Samsara to improve payroll accuracy, job-costing accuracy, and visibility across the company.
The right person will still need to do the detailed work. But the opportunity is bigger than processing payroll. This role can help build the controls, workflows, and habits that make weekly payroll faster, cleaner, and more accurate as Federal Rent-A-Fence continues to scale.
What You’ll Own
Weekly payroll readiness: Prepare weekly payroll for approximately 120 employees across 15 states and get it ready for CFO review and approval.
Timekeeping and attendance controls: Monitor missed punches, incomplete timecards, PTO, sick time, call-outs, no-shows, overtime exceptions, and manager approvals throughout the week.
Job costing and location accuracy: Help ensure employee time is coded to the right job, branch, labor classification, union status, and work location.
Paylocity ownership: Become a strong daily user of Paylocity Payroll, Paylocity Time & Labor, dashboards, exception reports, and manager workflows.
Samsara and operational validation: Use approved vehicle GPS, dispatch, route, and job-site activity data when needed to help validate time and identify discrepancies.
Union, prevailing wage, and certified payroll support: Help maintain accurate documentation and reporting for union payroll, prevailing wage work, certified payroll, Davis-Bacon reports, and customer-required payroll files.
Process improvement: Build better routines, reports, checklists, and controls that reduce payroll corrections, improve close speed, and create accountability across branches and managers.
What Makes This Role Different
Payroll is one of the most important functions in the company. When payroll is right, employees trust the process, managers have better data, Finance has cleaner reporting, and the business can make better decisions.
This role is for someone who wants to be more than a processor. We want someone who can look at a messy process and say, “There is a better way to run this.”
Examples of impact in this role could include:
- Creating a weekly payroll-readiness report by branch.
- Reducing missed punches and late timecard corrections.
- Building a cleaner process for call-outs and no-shows.
- Comparing clock-in times to truck start times or job-site activity.
- Helping managers document overtime explanations.
- Improving job-cost accuracy by catching time coded to the wrong job.
- Shortening the payroll close process because issues are fixed before payroll day.
What We’re Looking For
- 3+ years of payroll, timekeeping, accounting, or payroll administration experience.
- Experience with weekly payroll and hourly employee timecards.
- Strong Paylocity experience preferred, especially Paylocity Payroll and Paylocity Time & Labor.
- Multi-state payroll experience preferred.
- Experience reviewing missed punches, PTO, overtime, payroll adjustments, garnishments, or child support orders.
- Strong Excel/spreadsheet skills and comfort working with dashboards or reports.
- Strong communication skills and the ability to follow up with employees, supervisors, and managers.
- High attention to detail, confidentiality, documentation, and follow-through.
- Comfort working full-time on-site in our Berlin, NJ office.
Strong Plus
- Construction, field services, logistics, equipment rental, or hourly field-labor payroll experience.
- Union payroll or union reporting experience.
- Prevailing wage, certified payroll, or Davis-Bacon reporting experience.
- Job costing, job IDs, labor classifications, or project-based timekeeping experience.
- Samsara or other GPS/telematics experience.
- Experience improving payroll, timekeeping, reporting, or HRIS workflows.
Compensation & Benefits
- $30–$35/hour.
- 10% bonus opportunity.
- Full-time, on-site position in Berlin, NJ.
- Medical, dental, and vision insurance.
- 401(k) plan with company contribution.
- Life insurance.
- Paid vacation and sick/personal time.
- Training, mentorship, and opportunities for advancement.
- Casual, team-oriented work environment.
Why Join Federal Rent-A-Fence
This is a chance to join a growing company where your work will matter every week.
You will not be buried in a narrow back-office function. You will work directly with Finance, HR, Operations, branch leaders, and senior leadership to improve one of the most important operating processes in the company.
For someone who wants to grow in payroll, finance operations, HRIS, workforce analytics, payroll compliance, or business operations, this is a strong opportunity to take ownership, build better systems, and be recognized for improving how the company runs.
How to Apply
Apply directly through this job posting, or email your resume to [email protected] with “Payroll Specialist” in the subject line.
You may also include a brief, optional note explaining why you are interested in the role and what makes your experience a strong fit. A formal cover letter is not required.
Pay: $30.00 - $35.00 per hour
Benefits:
- 401(k)
- Dental insurance
- Employee assistance program
- Health insurance
- Paid time off
- Vision insurance
Application Question(s):
- When managing payroll and timekeeping records, which working style most closely matches your natural preference?
5— I prefer printed reports, physical files, and handwritten notes.
4 — I generally prefer paper-based records but use digital systems when required.
3 — I am equally comfortable with paper and digital workflows.
2 — I generally prefer digital records, dashboards, and electronic workflows.
1 — I strongly prefer fully digital processes and look for ways to reduce printing and manual paperwork.
- Tell us about a payroll or timecard issue you caught and resolved. How did you identify it, and what did you do?
- What interested you about this role, and what would you like to learn, improve, or take greater ownership of in your next position?
Experience:
- Paylocity: 3 years (Required)
- Certified Payroll / Prevailing Wage: 2 years (Preferred)
- Processing Payroll: 3 years (Required)
Work Location: In person
