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Payroll and Timekeeping Clerks
Compile and record employee time and payroll data. May compute employees' time worked, production, and commission. May compute and post wages and deductions, or prepare paychecks.
Also Known As:
Payroll Assistant
Payroll Clerk
Payroll Coordinator
Payroll Representative
Payroll Specialist
Payroll Technician
Personnel Assistant
Personnel Technician
Timekeeper
Wages
Annual wages for Payroll and Timekeeping Clerks in United States
Job Outlook
Below Average
New job opportunities are less likely in the future
United States
2034 Projected Employment
134,200
-17% Change From 2024
Explore Payroll and Timekeeping Clerks video
Tasks you might complete in a day.
- Complete, verify, and process forms and documentation for administration of benefits, such as pension plans, and unemployment and medical insurance.
- Prepare and balance period-end reports, and reconcile issued payrolls to bank statements.
- Issue and record adjustments to pay related to previous errors or retroactive increases.
- Prepare and file payroll tax returns.
- Compute wages and deductions, and enter data into computers.
- Compute wages and deductions, and enter data into computers.
- Coordinate special programs, such as United Way campaigns, that involve payroll deductions.
- Conduct verifications of employment.
- Verify attendance, hours worked, and pay adjustments, and post information onto designated records.
- Process and issue employee paychecks and statements of earnings and deductions.
- Record employee information, such as exemptions, transfers, and resignations, to maintain and update payroll records.
- Review time sheets, work charts, wage computation, and other information to detect and reconcile payroll discrepancies.
- Provide information to employees and managers on payroll matters, tax issues, benefit plans, and collective agreement provisions.
- Complete, verify, and process forms and documentation for administration of benefits, such as pension plans, and unemployment and medical insurance.
- Prepare and file payroll tax returns.
- Train employees on organizations' timekeeping systems.
- Process paperwork for new employees and enter employee information into the payroll system.
- Compile employee time, production, and payroll data from time sheets and other records.
- Balance cash and payroll accounts.
- Prepare and balance period-end reports, and reconcile issued payrolls to bank statements.
- Complete time sheets showing employees' arrival and departure times.
- Process paperwork for new employees and enter employee information into the payroll system.
- Keep track of leave time, such as vacation, personal, and sick leave, for employees.
- Compile statistical reports, statements, and summaries related to pay and benefits accounts, and submit them to appropriate departments.
- Keep informed about changes in tax and deduction laws that apply to the payroll process.
- Distribute and collect timecards each pay period.
Subject areas you may need to master.
- Administration and Management - Knowledge of business and management principles involved in strategic planning, resource allocation, human resources modeling, leadership technique, production methods, and coordination of people and resources.
- Medicine and Dentistry - Knowledge of the information and techniques needed to diagnose and treat human injuries, diseases, and deformities. This includes symptoms, treatment alternatives, drug properties and interactions, and preventive health-care measures.
- Public Safety and Security - Knowledge of relevant equipment, policies, procedures, and strategies to promote effective local, state, or national security operations for the protection of people, data, property, and institutions.
- Design - Knowledge of design techniques, tools, and principles involved in production of precision technical plans, blueprints, drawings, and models.
- English Language - Knowledge of the structure and content of the English language including the meaning and spelling of words, and rules of composition and grammar.
- Communications and Media - Knowledge of media production, communication, and dissemination techniques and methods. This includes alternative ways to inform and entertain via written, oral, and visual media.
- Engineering and Technology - Knowledge of the practical application of engineering science and technology. This includes applying principles, techniques, procedures, and equipment to the design and production of various goods and services.
- Building and Construction - Knowledge of materials, methods, and the tools involved in the construction or repair of houses, buildings, or other structures such as highways and roads.
- History and Archeology - Knowledge of historical events and their causes, indicators, and effects on civilizations and cultures.
- Chemistry - Knowledge of the chemical composition, structure, and properties of substances and of the chemical processes and transformations that they undergo. This includes uses of chemicals and their interactions, danger signs, production techniques, and disposal methods.
- Biology - Knowledge of plant and animal organisms, their tissues, cells, functions, interdependencies, and interactions with each other and the environment.
- Education and Training - Knowledge of principles and methods for curriculum and training design, teaching and instruction for individuals and groups, and the measurement of training effects.
- Computers and Electronics - Knowledge of circuit boards, processors, chips, electronic equipment, and computer hardware and software, including applications and programming.
- Mathematics - Knowledge of arithmetic, algebra, geometry, calculus, statistics, and their applications.
- Sales and Marketing - Knowledge of principles and methods for showing, promoting, and selling products or services. This includes marketing strategy and tactics, product demonstration, sales techniques, and sales control systems.
- Customer and Personal Service - Knowledge of principles and processes for providing customer and personal services. This includes customer needs assessment, meeting quality standards for services, and evaluation of customer satisfaction.
- Physics - Knowledge and prediction of physical principles, laws, their interrelationships, and applications to understanding fluid, material, and atmospheric dynamics, and mechanical, electrical, atomic and sub-atomic structures and processes.
- Law and Government - Knowledge of laws, legal codes, court procedures, precedents, government regulations, executive orders, agency rules, and the democratic political process.
- Foreign Language - Knowledge of the structure and content of a foreign (non-English) language including the meaning and spelling of words, rules of composition and grammar, and pronunciation.
- Personnel and Human Resources - Knowledge of principles and procedures for personnel recruitment, selection, training, compensation and benefits, labor relations and negotiation, and personnel information systems.
- Mechanical - Knowledge of machines and tools, including their designs, uses, repair, and maintenance.
- Philosophy and Theology - Knowledge of different philosophical systems and religions. This includes their basic principles, values, ethics, ways of thinking, customs, practices, and their impact on human culture.
- Administrative - Knowledge of administrative and office procedures and systems such as word processing, managing files and records, stenography and transcription, designing forms, and workplace terminology.
- Production and Processing - Knowledge of raw materials, production processes, quality control, costs, and other techniques for maximizing the effective manufacture and distribution of goods.
- Psychology - Knowledge of human behavior and performance; individual differences in ability, personality, and interests; learning and motivation; psychological research methods; and the assessment and treatment of behavioral and affective disorders.
- Fine Arts - Knowledge of the theory and techniques required to compose, produce, and perform works of music, dance, visual arts, drama, and sculpture.
- Economics and Accounting - Knowledge of economic and accounting principles and practices, the financial markets, banking, and the analysis and reporting of financial data.
- Food Production - Knowledge of techniques and equipment for planting, growing, and harvesting food products (both plant and animal) for consumption, including storage/handling techniques.
- Therapy and Counseling - Knowledge of principles, methods, and procedures for diagnosis, treatment, and rehabilitation of physical and mental dysfunctions, and for career counseling and guidance.
- Transportation - Knowledge of principles and methods for moving people or goods by air, rail, sea, or road, including the relative costs and benefits.
- Sociology and Anthropology - Knowledge of group behavior and dynamics, societal trends and influences, human migrations, ethnicity, cultures, and their history and origins.
- Geography - Knowledge of principles and methods for describing the features of land, sea, and air masses, including their physical characteristics, locations, interrelationships, and distribution of plant, animal, and human life.
- Telecommunications - Knowledge of transmission, broadcasting, switching, control, and operation of telecommunications systems.
Strengths you may need in this role.
- Complex Problem Solving - Noticing a problem and figuring out the best way to solve it.
- Science - Using scientific rules and strategies to solve problems.
- Critical Thinking - Thinking about the pros and cons of different ways to solve a problem.
- Active Learning - Figuring out how to use new ideas or things.
- Learning Strategies - Using the best training or teaching strategies for learning new things.
- Coordination - Changing what is done based on other people's actions.
- Persuasion - Talking people into changing their minds or their behavior.
- Management of Personnel Resources - Selecting and managing the best workers for a job.
- Installation - Installing equipment, machines, wiring, or computer programs.
- Systems Evaluation - Measuring how well a system is working and how to improve it.
- Active Listening - Listening to others, not interrupting, and asking good questions.
- Social Perceptiveness - Understanding people's reactions.
- Management of Material Resources - Managing equipment and materials.
- Operations Monitoring - Watching gauges, dials, or display screens to make sure a machine is working.
- Quality Control Analysis - Testing how well a product or service works.
- Judgment and Decision Making - Thinking about the pros and cons of different options and picking the best one.
- Operation and Control - Using equipment or systems.
- Management of Financial Resources - Making spending decisions and keeping track of what is spent.
- Monitoring - Keeping track of how well people and/or groups are doing in order to make improvements.
- Equipment Selection - Deciding what kind of tools and equipment are needed to do a job.
- Operations Analysis - Figuring out what a product or service needs to be able to do.
- Technology Design - Making equipment and technology useful for customers.
- Reading Comprehension - Reading work-related information.
- Writing - Writing things for co-workers or customers.
- Systems Analysis - Figuring out how a system should work and how changes in the future will affect it.
- Programming - Writing computer programs.
- Repairing - Repairing machines or systems using the right tools.
- Time Management - Managing your time and the time of other people.
- Troubleshooting - Figuring out what is causing equipment, machines, wiring, or computer programs to not work.
- Service Orientation - Looking for ways to help people.
- Mathematics - Using math to solve problems.
- Speaking - Talking to others.
- Negotiation - Bringing people together to solve differences.
- Instructing - Teaching people how to do something.
- Equipment Maintenance - Planning and doing the basic maintenance on equipment.
- Multilimb Coordination - Using your arms and/or legs together while sitting, standing, or lying down.
- Dynamic Strength - Exercising for a long time without your muscles getting tired.
- Rate Control - Changing when and how fast you move based on how something else is moving.
- Reaction Time - Quickly moving your hand, finger, or foot based on a sound, light, picture or other command.
- Trunk Strength - Using your lower back and stomach.
- Fluency of Ideas - Coming up with lots of ideas.
- Category Flexibility - Grouping things in different ways.
- Mathematical Reasoning - Choosing the right type of math to solve a problem.
- Glare Sensitivity - Seeing something even if there is a glare or very bright light.
- Peripheral Vision - Seeing something to your side when your are looking ahead.
- Speed of Closure - Quickly knowing what you are looking at.
- Near Vision - Seeing details up close.
- Static Strength - Lifting, pushing, pulling, or carrying.
- Speed of Limb Movement - Quickly moving your arms and legs.
- Problem Sensitivity - Noticing when problems happen.
- Deductive Reasoning - Using rules to solve problems.
- Hearing Sensitivity - Telling the difference between sounds.
- Memorization - Remembering words, numbers, pictures, or steps.
- Far Vision - Seeing details that are far away.
- Time Sharing - Doing two or more things at the same time.
- Gross Body Equilibrium - Keeping your balance or staying upright.
- Wrist-Finger Speed - Making fast, simple, repeated movements of your fingers, hands, and wrists.
- Written Comprehension - Reading and understanding what is written.
- Number Facility - Adding, subtracting, multiplying, or dividing.
- Visualization - Imagining how something will look after it is moved around or changed.
- Spatial Orientation - Knowing where things are around you.
- Dynamic Flexibility - Quickly and repeatedly bending, stretching, twisting, or reaching out with your body, arms, and/or legs.
- Gross Body Coordination - Moving your arms, legs, and mid-section together while your whole body is moving.
- Response Orientation - Quickly deciding if you should move your hand, foot, or other body part.
- Originality - Creating new and original ideas.
- Sound Localization - Noticing the direction that a sound came from.
- Speech Clarity - Speaking clearly.
- Oral Comprehension - Listening and understanding what people say.
- Perceptual Speed - Quickly comparing groups of letters, numbers, pictures, or other things.
- Oral Expression - Communicating by speaking.
- Depth Perception - Deciding which thing is closer or farther away from you, or deciding how far away it is from you.
- Finger Dexterity - Putting together small parts with your fingers.
- Stamina - Exercising for a long time without getting out of breath.
- Auditory Attention - Paying attention to one sound while there are other distracting sounds.
- Written Expression - Communicating by writing.
- Flexibility of Closure - Seeing hidden patterns.
- Night Vision - Seeing at night or under low light.
- Explosive Strength - Jumping, sprinting, or throwing something.
- Extent Flexibility - Bending, stretching, twisting, or reaching with your body, arms, and/or legs.
- Inductive Reasoning - Making general rules or coming up with answers from lots of detailed information.
- Information Ordering - Ordering or arranging things.
- Speech Recognition - Recognizing spoken words.
- Visual Color Discrimination - Noticing the difference between colors, including shades and brightness.
- Arm-Hand Steadiness - Keeping your arm or hand steady.
- Selective Attention - Paying attention to something without being distracted.
- Control Precision - Quickly changing the controls of a machine, car, truck or boat.
- Manual Dexterity - Holding or moving items with your hands.
Average Education Attained
Highest level of education earned by people in this career.
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Content sourced from United States Department of Labor Employment and Training Administration ("DOLETA") and the Minnesota Department of Employment & Economic Development ("DEED")