Payroll Clerk
A Payroll Clerk is a professional responsible for managing all aspects of the payroll process within an organization. This role involves tracking employee hours, processing paychecks, and maintaining records of employee benefits, commissions, and deductions, including taxes and insurance payments. Typically found in various settings—such as businesses, hospitals, educational institutions, and government agencies—Payroll Clerks may work in an office environment or remotely, and they often adhere to standard work hours, although overtime may be necessary during peak times.
To succeed as a Payroll Clerk, individuals are generally detail-oriented, organized, and enjoy working with numbers. While a high school diploma is typically the minimum educational requirement, additional training in bookkeeping or accounting can be advantageous. Strong ethical standards and trustworthiness are essential due to the confidential nature of financial information handled in this role. Overall, the position plays a crucial part in ensuring employees receive accurate compensation and benefits, which contributes to overall workplace morale and efficiency.
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Subject Terms
Payroll Clerk
Snapshot
Career Cluster(s): Business, Management & Administration
Interests: Bookkeeping, accounting, business management, mathematics, data processing, finance
Earnings (Yearly Median): $47,070 per year $22.63 per hour
Employment & Outlook: -4% (Decline)
Entry-Level Education High school diploma or equivalent
Related Work Experience None
On-the-job-Training Formal on-the-job training
Overview
Sphere of Work. Payroll clerks implement all stages of the payroll process for their organization. In particular, payroll clerks are timekeepers who track employee hours and time worked, as well as employee commissions and benefits. They must also process paychecks on a regular basis. Payroll clerks are knowledgeable about and help implement changes to insurance deductibles and payments as well as social security and taxes. Payroll clerks often work alongside benefits specialists and certified public accountants in payroll, personnel, or accounting departments.
Work Environment. Payroll clerks work in offices in organizations such as businesses, hospitals, insurance companies, educational institutions, government agencies, and various branches of the military. Depending on the employer and particular job description, a payroll clerk may telecommute from a home office, visit client offices as a contractor, or work on a full-time basis in an employer’s office. Payroll clerks may be hired as full-time members of payroll teams or as term-of-project contractors. Most payroll clerks work forty-hour weeks, but overtime may be necessary during periods of increased seasonal employment.
Occupation Interest. Individuals attracted to the payroll clerk profession tend to be organized and detail-oriented people who find satisfaction in tracking financial information. Those individuals who excel as payroll clerks exhibit financial and mathematical acumen, intense focus, responsibility, accuracy, and effective time management. As they are responsible for compensation and employees’ confidential financial information, prospective payroll clerks must be honest, trustworthy, meticulous, and highly organized. Payroll clerks should enjoy bookkeeping and have a background in accounting or human resources.
A Day in the Life—Duties and Responsibilities. The payroll clerk’s specific daily occupational duties and responsibilities depend on the individual’s job specifications and work environment. In general, a payroll clerk tracks and records employee attendance, hours, bonuses, commissions, sick leave, paid vacation days, and nontaxable wages. Payroll clerks may develop their own systems for employee timekeeping or follow their organization’s existing system. At the end of every pay period, payroll clerks calculate required deductions, including insurance payments, income taxes, and social security payments. In addition to regular deductions, employees may owe one-time annual deductions, such as union dues or medical savings account contributions.
Payroll clerks are responsible for generating paychecks by manually preparing and signing checks or using an automated payroll program. They may manually record the calculated figures onto checks, stubs, and master payroll sheets, or in automated programs, they need only type the wage data into the computer system. Paychecks are either distributed to employees by hand or processed through direct bank deposit into their personal bank accounts. In instances of paycheck error, payroll clerks work with employees to correct the error and ensure proper payment.
Payroll clerks may participate in workshops or training programs offered by the personnel or human resources departments to educate employees about benefits, timesheets, and insurance options. Those employed by learning institutions may also be involved in discussions of work teams, workflows, dynamics, and best practices. In addition, all payroll clerks are responsible for complying with regulatory requirements for financial institutions as well as providing financial records and reports to accountants involved in tax preparation and auditing.
Timekeepers (215.367-022). Timekeepers compile employees’ time and production records and forward them to the payroll department. They review timesheets, work charts, and timecards for completeness, compute the total time worked by employees, and may be in charge of paying the employees.
Flight-Crew-Time Clerks (215.362-018). Flight-Crew-Time Clerks compile flight time records of flight officers for payroll and crew-scheduling departments to ensure the accuracy of the payroll and the legality of flights. They review union agreements to ascertain payroll factors, such as meal expense allowance, billeting allotment, and rates of pay, and compute the pay of employees.
Work Environment
Immediate Physical Environment. Payroll clerks generally work in bright, pleasant office environments in businesses and organizations that have paid employees. The work of a payroll clerk requires sitting at a desk and using computers for long periods each day. Payroll clerks may also work from a home office.
Plant Environment. Payroll clerks working in plant or manufacturing environments supervise the organization’s employee timekeeping and payroll. While a payroll clerk’s office in a plant environment is most often kept separate from production lines, they may experience physical risks resulting from production fumes, noise, or plant accidents.
Human Environment. A payroll clerk’s human environment may be social or isolated, depending on assignment and organization. Payroll clerks may interact regularly with employees, supervisors, or colleagues.
Technological Environment. During the course of their work, payroll clerks use Internet communication tools, financial software programs, adding machines and calculators, facsimile machines, photocopying machines, scanners, and postal machines. They must also consult tax and insurance tables and laws regarding employee compensation and work hours.
Education, Training, and Advancement
High School/Secondary. High school students interested in pursuing a career as a payroll clerk should prepare themselves by building good study habits and by developing ease with numbers and mathematical functions. High school classes in English, typing, bookkeeping, and mathematics will provide a strong foundation for work as a payroll clerk or college-level study in the field. Interested high school students should pursue internships or part-time employment opportunities that familiarize them with business and finance.
Postsecondary. Although an undergraduate degree is not strictly required for payroll clerks, students interested in becoming payroll clerks should work towards an associate’s degree or a bachelor’s degree in bookkeeping, accounting, secretarial science, or general business. Mathematics, communications, data processing, and business courses may also prove useful for their future work. Students can gain work experience and potential advantage in their future job searches through internships or part-time employment with local businesses or financial organizations.
Related Occupations
− Bookkeeper and Accounting Clerk
− Cashier
Bibliography
“Financial Clerks.” Occupational Outlook Handbook. Bureau of Labor Statistics, US Department of Labor, 17 Apr. 2024, www.bls.gov/ooh/office-and-administrative-support/financial-clerks.htm. Accessed 23 Aug. 2024.
“Occupational Employment and Wages, May 2023: 43-3051 Payroll and Timekeeping Clerks.” Occupational Employment Statistics. Bureau of Labor Statistics, US Department of Labor, 3 Apr. 2024, www.bls.gov/oes/current/oes433051.htm. Accessed 23 Aug. 2024.