Payroll and Accounting Specialist

Job Summary

We are seeking a detail-oriented Payroll and Accounting Specialist for a temp-to-hire opportunity in San Marcos, CA with a growing construction team. This role is ideal for an experienced payroll and project accounting professional who understands the complexity of construction payroll, union reporting, prevailing wage requirements, certified payroll, and job cost support.

The Payroll and Accounting Specialist will work in a fast-paced, team-oriented environment where accuracy, compliance, and strong communication are essential. This opportunity offers a supportive leadership team, steady construction industry work, strong benefits upon hire, and the chance to contribute directly to successful residential and commercial construction projects.

This is a great fit for someone who takes pride in producing accurate payroll, supporting project teams, maintaining compliance, and helping improve accounting processes in a collaborative workplace.

Key Responsibilities

- Process accurate and timely multi-state payroll, including timesheet entry, employee updates, direct deposit changes, new hires, transfers, and terminations.
- Prepare certified payroll reports for prevailing wage projects using platforms such as LCPtracker, eMars, Elations, and related reporting systems.
- Manage union payroll reporting and apply union agreements, master labor agreements, prevailing wage requirements, and trade-specific payroll rules.
- Calculate payroll taxes, maintain payroll tax tables, support tax compliance, and assist with payroll-related journal entries.
- Assist with project accounting, job cost administration, project setup, labor reporting, cost reporting, and construction project documentation.
- Support payroll for multiple construction trades, including Carpenters, Ironworkers, Laborers, and Operating Engineers.

- Pay: $25.00 to $41.00 per hour DOE
- Job Type: Temp-to-Hire.

Equal Opportunity Employer / Disabled / Protected Veterans

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For temporary assignments lasting 13 weeks or longer, AppleOne is pleased to offer major medical, dental, vision, 401k and any statutory sick pay where required.

We are committed to working with and providing reasonable accommodations to individuals with disabilities. If you need a reasonable accommodation for any part of the employment process, please contact your staffing representative who will reach out to our HR team.

AppleOne participates in the E-Verify program in certain locations as required by law. Learn more about the E-Verify program.

We also consider for employment qualified applicants regardless of criminal histories, consistent with legal requirements, including, if applicable, the City of Los Angeles’ Fair Chance Initiative for Hiring Ordinance. Pursuant to applicable state and municipal Fair Chance Laws and Ordinances, we will consider for employment-qualified applicants with arrest and conviction records, including, if applicable, the San Francisco Fair Chance Ordinance. For Los Angeles, CA applicants: Qualified applications with arrest or conviction records will be considered for employment in accordance with the Los Angeles County Fair Chance Ordinance for Employers and the California Fair Chance Act.

Additional Skills

Qualifications

- Process complex construction payroll across multiple states and employee classifications.
- Prepare certified payroll reports and support prevailing wage compliance.
- Manage union payroll reporting and apply master labor agreements.
- Support project accounting, job costing, payroll journal entries, and construction administration.

- 4+ years of payroll, accounting, or construction payroll experience required.
- Strong knowledge of federal, state, and local payroll tax laws, payroll compliance, and reporting requirements.
- Experience with certified payroll, prevailing wage requirements, and union payroll processes.
- Ability to process payroll for multiple construction trades and workers' compensation classifications.
- Proficiency with Microsoft Office, including Word, Excel, and Outlook.
- Journal entry and general accounting experience.
- Excellent attention to detail, organizational skills, follow-through, and ability to manage multiple priorities in a deadline-driven environment.
- Strong communication skills and ability to work effectively with accounting, payroll, field, and project teams.

Preferred Qualifications

- 4 to 6 years of construction payroll and project accounting experience preferred.
- Experience with Sage 100 Contractor is highly preferred.
- Experience with QuickBooks is a plus.
- Experience using LCPtracker, eMars, Elations, or other certified payroll reporting platforms.
- Knowledge of CCIP, OCIP, and UCIP enrollment processes is a plus.
- Bilingual English/Spanish skills are a plus.