White Collar Jobs

How To Get A Job As A Payroll And Timekeeping Clerk

Virtually all business, private and public, need to fulfill the duties of a Payroll and Timekeeping Clerk.  In small concerns, the duties may be taken on by any employee, but in larger businesses, the duties become complex enough to need professional skills.

Payroll and Timekeeping Clerks deal with the concerns and problems of  both employees and management so the job necessitates a high level of interpersonal skills.  Payroll and Timekeeping Clerks must also be well-organized, detail oriented, computer literate, exacting, patient, discreet, and diplomatic.  They must be good listeners, manage their time well, and  have good math skills and good language skills, both spoken and written.

If you become a Payroll and Timekeeping Clerk you will work a regular work day and forty hour week.  Occasionally, during rush periods, some overtime may be required.  Clerks work in comfortable, well-lit, clean surroundings.  The work may involve some stress, due to pressure to meet payroll deadlines, coupled with the fact that you may be required to deal with the questions and personal problems of employees.

The duties of Payroll and Timekeeping Clerks may vary slightly depending on the size and nature of the business, its degree of automation, and individual company policies.  In general, these Clerks are responsible for keeping accurate records of employees work hours and dealing with all matters related to payrolls, and employee payments.  Some degree of data entry is usually still involved.  Payroll and timekeeping Clerks  may issue and collect time cards, review time sheets and check these for accuracy of hours and times at work, record data, report discrepancies and make adjustments as required.  They may inform management and all employees of any changes in payroll policies,  and tax and deduction laws that affect them.  They may calculate hours dedicated to different clients to ensure they are correctly charged.  Using the information gathered from attendance records and employee data, they may create  payrolls and wage statements.  In order to calculate wages correctly, they must consider such things as sick leaves, vacations, bonuses, overtime, pay adjustments, taxes, union dues, pension plans, as well as garnished wages, automatic savings plans and charitable deductions.  Payroll and Timekeeping Clerks answer employee questions, correct errors, and enter information for new employees.  They must constantly update records, solve problems, keep files, process paperwork, and create reports as needed by the various departments within the firm.

Education

Employers prefer that their Payroll and Timekeeping Clerks have at least a high school diploma.  Try to get more education than is minimally required so you can be ready for additional responsibilities or a change of profession if you so choose.

If you want to become a Payroll and Timekeeping Clerk, it would be wise to take courses in English, computer technology, mathematics, as well as any business, bookkeeping, calculus or statistics courses available.

Although, most training for Payroll and Timekeeping Clerks is done on the job, there are training courses available in business schools and community colleges.  If you have some formal education specific to Payroll and Timekeeping, you will be more attractive to employers, and more likely to be promoted.  While jobs for Payroll and Timekeeping Clerks are still available, it pays to be as qualified as possible.

Certification is available for payroll clerks  from the American Payroll Association.  There are two levels of certification available, one for beginners with a minimum of experience, and one for those with at least three years experience.  Both require the passing of an exam in addition to experience.