Senior Payroll Manager

Overview

The Senior Manager of Payroll & Sales Compensation is responsible for managing the entire payroll and commission functions for over 150 employees across multiple pay structures, including salary, hourly, piece-rate, commission, override, and bonus. This role supports operations across Houston, Dallas, Austin, and San Antonio and ensures the accuracy, integrity, compliance, and continuous improvement of payroll and performance-based compensation programs.

This position is suited for an experienced Senior Payroll Manager, Payroll & Compensation Manager, or Payroll Operations Manager ready to take full ownership of the payroll and compensation department and scale it within a private equity-backed residential services platform. The Senior Manager will directly supervise a Payroll Specialist and serve as the subject-matter expert on piece-rate pay and weekly residential services commission calculations.

Responsibilities

Payroll Administration

• Manage end-to-end weekly and bi-weekly payroll processing for all employees.
• Ensure payroll is processed accurately, timely, and in compliance with federal, state, and local laws.
• Review and approve payroll runs prepared by the Payroll Specialist.
• Handle payroll adjustments, corrections, garnishments, final pay calculations, and off-cycle payrolls.
• Serve as the final quality-control checkpoint before payroll submission.
• Maintain payroll records and supporting documentation.

Variable Compensation Administration

• Administer and calculate variable compensation plans for in-home sales representatives, call center representatives, sales managers, market leaders, revenue override programs, quarterly incentive plans, profit-sharing programs, and EBITDA-based bonus programs.
• Calculate production bonuses and operational incentive programs.
• Validate commission calculations and payout accuracy.
• Reconcile compensation calculations against approved plans and operational data.
• Investigate and resolve compensation questions and disputes.
• Maintain documentation supporting all commission and incentive calculations.

Operations Compensation Administration

• Oversee piece-rate compensation programs.
• Validate payroll inputs received from field operations.
• Ensure compliance with applicable wage-and-hour regulations.

Leadership & Team Development

• Directly manage and develop the Payroll Specialist.
• Establish standard operating procedures and payroll controls.
• Assist in building and scaling the Payroll & Sales Compensation organization.
• Promote a culture of accountability, accuracy, responsiveness, and continuous improvement.

Compliance & Controls

• Ensure compliance with federal, state, and local payroll laws and regulations.
• Oversee payroll tax administration and payroll-related filings.
• Develop and maintain audit-ready payroll and compensation processes.
• Implement controls to ensure payroll and compensation accuracy.
• Identify and implement process improvement opportunities.

Systems & Process Improvement

• Serve as the subject-matter expert for payroll systems and compensation administration.
• Maintain payroll and compensation data integrity.
• Collaborate with Finance, HR, and Operations to improve payroll and compensation workflows.
• Develop scalable processes to support future growth and increasing compensation complexity.

Requirements

Required Qualifications

• 7+ years of progressive payroll experience within the residential services industry.
• 2+ years of leadership or supervisory experience.
• Experience processing weekly and bi-weekly payroll for organizations with 150+ employees.
• Experience administering commissioned compensation plans.
• Experience administering piece-rate compensation programs.
• Experience managing incentive, bonus, and override compensation plans.
• Strong understanding of payroll compliance and wage-and-hour regulations.
• Demonstrated ability to build processes and controls.

Strongly Preferred Qualifications

• Experience in residential services industries such as HVAC, Plumbing, Roofing, Pest Control, Solar, Pool Construction, Outdoor Living, Home Remodeling, Garage Doors, Windows & Doors, or Foundation Repair.
• Experience supporting multi-location operations.
• Familiarity with payroll platforms such as Rippling, ADP, UKG, Paylocity, or similar.
• Experience with Salesforce, i360, Service Titan, or other field service management platforms.

Success Metrics

• Payroll accuracy
• On-time payroll processing
• Commission and incentive payout accuracy
• Compliance and audit readiness
• Scalability of payroll and compensation processes
• Development of payroll team capabilities

Location

This role supports operations in Houston, Dallas, Austin, and San Antonio, Texas.