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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.
- Process paperwork for new employees and enter employee information into the payroll system.
- Process paperwork for new employees and enter employee information into the payroll system.
- Prepare and balance period-end reports, and reconcile issued payrolls to bank statements.
- Distribute and collect timecards each pay period.
- Keep track of leave time, such as vacation, personal, and sick leave, for employees.
- Compile employee time, production, and payroll data from time sheets and other records.
- Keep informed about changes in tax and deduction laws that apply to the payroll process.
- Complete time sheets showing employees' arrival and departure times.
- Prepare and file payroll tax returns.
- Compile statistical reports, statements, and summaries related to pay and benefits accounts, and submit them to appropriate departments.
- Balance cash and payroll accounts.
- Train employees on organizations' timekeeping systems.
- Provide information to employees and managers on payroll matters, tax issues, benefit plans, and collective agreement provisions.
- Conduct verifications of employment.
- Complete, verify, and process forms and documentation for administration of benefits, such as pension plans, and unemployment and medical insurance.
- Verify attendance, hours worked, and pay adjustments, and post information onto designated records.
- Process and issue employee paychecks and statements of earnings and deductions.
- Review time sheets, work charts, wage computation, and other information to detect and reconcile payroll discrepancies.
- Record employee information, such as exemptions, transfers, and resignations, to maintain and update payroll records.
- Compute wages and deductions, and enter data into computers.
- Compute wages and deductions, and enter data into computers.
- 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.
- Complete, verify, and process forms and documentation for administration of benefits, such as pension plans, and unemployment and medical insurance.
- Coordinate special programs, such as United Way campaigns, that involve payroll deductions.
Subject areas you may need to master.
- 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.
- Computers and Electronics - Knowledge of circuit boards, processors, chips, electronic equipment, and computer hardware and software, including applications and programming.
- Mechanical - Knowledge of machines and tools, including their designs, uses, repair, and maintenance.
- Law and Government - Knowledge of laws, legal codes, court procedures, precedents, government regulations, executive orders, agency rules, and the democratic political process.
- 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.
- 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.
- 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.
- 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.
- 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.
- Mathematics - Knowledge of arithmetic, algebra, geometry, calculus, statistics, and their applications.
- 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.
- 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.
- 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.
- History and Archeology - Knowledge of historical events and their causes, indicators, and effects on civilizations and cultures.
- 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.
- 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.
- 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.
- 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.
- 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.
- 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.
- Design - Knowledge of design techniques, tools, and principles involved in production of precision technical plans, blueprints, drawings, and models.
- 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.
- Economics and Accounting - Knowledge of economic and accounting principles and practices, the financial markets, banking, and the analysis and reporting of financial data.
- Production and Processing - Knowledge of raw materials, production processes, quality control, costs, and other techniques for maximizing the effective manufacture and distribution of goods.
- Food Production - Knowledge of techniques and equipment for planting, growing, and harvesting food products (both plant and animal) for consumption, including storage/handling techniques.
- Sociology and Anthropology - Knowledge of group behavior and dynamics, societal trends and influences, human migrations, ethnicity, cultures, and their history and origins.
- Transportation - Knowledge of principles and methods for moving people or goods by air, rail, sea, or road, including the relative costs and benefits.
- 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.
- 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.
- Fine Arts - Knowledge of the theory and techniques required to compose, produce, and perform works of music, dance, visual arts, drama, and sculpture.
- Telecommunications - Knowledge of transmission, broadcasting, switching, control, and operation of telecommunications systems.
- 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.
Strengths you may need in this role.
- Monitoring - Keeping track of how well people and/or groups are doing in order to make improvements.
- Operation and Control - Using equipment or systems.
- Management of Financial Resources - Making spending decisions and keeping track of what is spent.
- Negotiation - Bringing people together to solve differences.
- Reading Comprehension - Reading work-related information.
- Speaking - Talking to others.
- Repairing - Repairing machines or systems using the right tools.
- Equipment Maintenance - Planning and doing the basic maintenance on equipment.
- Time Management - Managing your time and the time of other people.
- Service Orientation - Looking for ways to help people.
- Operations Analysis - Figuring out what a product or service needs to be able to do.
- Equipment Selection - Deciding what kind of tools and equipment are needed to do a job.
- Technology Design - Making equipment and technology useful for customers.
- Mathematics - Using math to solve problems.
- Writing - Writing things for co-workers or customers.
- Instructing - Teaching people how to do something.
- Programming - Writing computer programs.
- Systems Analysis - Figuring out how a system should work and how changes in the future will affect it.
- Troubleshooting - Figuring out what is causing equipment, machines, wiring, or computer programs to not work.
- Complex Problem Solving - Noticing a problem and figuring out the best way to solve it.
- Active Listening - Listening to others, not interrupting, and asking good questions.
- Active Learning - Figuring out how to use new ideas or things.
- Learning Strategies - Using the best training or teaching strategies for learning new things.
- Social Perceptiveness - Understanding people's reactions.
- Coordination - Changing what is done based on other people's actions.
- Persuasion - Talking people into changing their minds or their behavior.
- Judgment and Decision Making - Thinking about the pros and cons of different options and picking the best one.
- Quality Control Analysis - Testing how well a product or service works.
- Management of Material Resources - Managing equipment and materials.
- Operations Monitoring - Watching gauges, dials, or display screens to make sure a machine is working.
- Science - Using scientific rules and strategies to solve problems.
- Critical Thinking - Thinking about the pros and cons of different ways to solve a problem.
- Systems Evaluation - Measuring how well a system is working and how to improve it.
- Installation - Installing equipment, machines, wiring, or computer programs.
- Management of Personnel Resources - Selecting and managing the best workers for a job.
- Stamina - Exercising for a long time without getting out of breath.
- Written Expression - Communicating by writing.
- Speech Recognition - Recognizing spoken words.
- Auditory Attention - Paying attention to one sound while there are other distracting sounds.
- Flexibility of Closure - Seeing hidden patterns.
- Visual Color Discrimination - Noticing the difference between colors, including shades and brightness.
- Night Vision - Seeing at night or under low light.
- Selective Attention - Paying attention to something without being distracted.
- Arm-Hand Steadiness - Keeping your arm or hand steady.
- Manual Dexterity - Holding or moving items with your hands.
- Control Precision - Quickly changing the controls of a machine, car, truck or boat.
- Extent Flexibility - Bending, stretching, twisting, or reaching with your body, arms, and/or legs.
- Explosive Strength - Jumping, sprinting, or throwing something.
- Inductive Reasoning - Making general rules or coming up with answers from lots of detailed information.
- Information Ordering - Ordering or arranging things.
- Wrist-Finger Speed - Making fast, simple, repeated movements of your fingers, hands, and wrists.
- Oral Expression - Communicating by speaking.
- 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.
- Written Comprehension - Reading and understanding what is written.
- Spatial Orientation - Knowing where things are around you.
- Depth Perception - Deciding which thing is closer or farther away from you, or deciding how far away it is from you.
- Speech Clarity - Speaking clearly.
- Visualization - Imagining how something will look after it is moved around or changed.
- Number Facility - Adding, subtracting, multiplying, or dividing.
- Oral Comprehension - Listening and understanding what people say.
- Perceptual Speed - Quickly comparing groups of letters, numbers, pictures, or other things.
- Finger Dexterity - Putting together small parts with your fingers.
- Dynamic Flexibility - Quickly and repeatedly bending, stretching, twisting, or reaching out with your body, arms, and/or legs.
- Static Strength - Lifting, pushing, pulling, or carrying.
- Multilimb Coordination - Using your arms and/or legs together while sitting, standing, or lying down.
- Rate Control - Changing when and how fast you move based on how something else is moving.
- Trunk Strength - Using your lower back and stomach.
- Fluency of Ideas - Coming up with lots of ideas.
- Speed of Limb Movement - Quickly moving your arms and legs.
- Speed of Closure - Quickly knowing what you are looking at.
- Far Vision - Seeing details that are far away.
- Peripheral Vision - Seeing something to your side when your are looking ahead.
- Mathematical Reasoning - Choosing the right type of math to solve a problem.
- Memorization - Remembering words, numbers, pictures, or steps.
- Glare Sensitivity - Seeing something even if there is a glare or very bright light.
- Time Sharing - Doing two or more things at the same time.
- Near Vision - Seeing details up close.
- Gross Body Equilibrium - Keeping your balance or staying upright.
- Dynamic Strength - Exercising for a long time without your muscles getting tired.
- Reaction Time - Quickly moving your hand, finger, or foot based on a sound, light, picture or other command.
- Problem Sensitivity - Noticing when problems happen.
- Deductive Reasoning - Using rules to solve problems.
- Hearing Sensitivity - Telling the difference between sounds.
- Category Flexibility - Grouping things in different ways.
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")