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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.
Related: Billing & Posting Clerks  Bookkeeping, Accounting, & Auditing Clerks  First-Line Supervisors of Office & Administrative Support Workers  Human Resources Assistants  Office Clerks, General 
Industries: Professional, Science, & Technical  Administration & Support Services 

  • Summary

  • Details

    • Work Activities

    • 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.
    • Review time sheets, work charts, wage computation, and other information to detect and reconcile payroll discrepancies.
    • Distribute and collect timecards each pay period.
    • Conduct verifications of employment.
    • Prepare and balance period-end reports, and reconcile issued payrolls to bank statements.
    • Provide information to employees and managers on payroll matters, tax issues, benefit plans, and collective agreement provisions.
    • Keep track of leave time, such as vacation, personal, and sick leave, for employees.
    • Train employees on organizations' timekeeping systems.
    • 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.
    • Record employee information, such as exemptions, transfers, and resignations, to maintain and update payroll records.
    • 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.
    • Prepare and balance period-end reports, and reconcile issued payrolls to bank statements.
    • Complete, verify, and process forms and documentation for administration of benefits, such as pension plans, and unemployment and medical insurance.
    • Keep informed about changes in tax and deduction laws that apply to the payroll process.
    • Verify attendance, hours worked, and pay adjustments, and post information onto designated records.
    • Complete time sheets showing employees' arrival and departure times.
    • Process and issue employee paychecks and statements of earnings and deductions.
    • Compile statistical reports, statements, and summaries related to pay and benefits accounts, and submit them to appropriate departments.
    • Balance cash and payroll accounts.
    • Compute wages and deductions, and enter data into computers.
    • Process paperwork for new employees and enter employee information into the payroll system.
    • Coordinate special programs, such as United Way campaigns, that involve payroll deductions.

    Skills

    • Management of Personnel Resources
      • Selecting and managing the best workers for a job.
    • Negotiation
      • Bringing people together to solve differences.
    • Complex Problem Solving
      • Noticing a problem and figuring out the best way to solve it.
    • Troubleshooting
      • Figuring out what is causing equipment, machines, wiring, or computer programs to not work.
    • Operation and Control
      • Using equipment or systems.
    • Persuasion
      • Talking people into changing their minds or their behavior.
    • Social Perceptiveness
      • Understanding people's reactions.
    • Speaking
      • Talking to others.
    • Mathematics
      • Using math to solve problems.
    • Coordination
      • Changing what is done based on other people's actions.
    • Critical Thinking
      • Thinking about the pros and cons of different ways to solve a problem.
    • Equipment Selection
      • Deciding what kind of tools and equipment are needed to do a job.
    • Writing
      • Writing things for co-workers or customers.
    • Management of Financial Resources
      • Making spending decisions and keeping track of what is spent.
    • Equipment Maintenance
      • Planning and doing the basic maintenance on equipment.
    • Active Learning
      • Figuring out how to use new ideas or things.
    • Operations Monitoring
      • Watching gauges, dials, or display screens to make sure a machine is working.
    • Service Orientation
      • Looking for ways to help people.
    • Systems Evaluation
      • Measuring how well a system is working and how to improve it.
    • Quality Control Analysis
      • Testing how well a product or service works.
    • Reading Comprehension
      • Reading work-related information.
    • Learning Strategies
      • Using the best training or teaching strategies for learning new things.
    • Time Management
      • Managing your time and the time of other people.
    • Management of Material Resources
      • Managing equipment and materials.
    • Science
      • Using scientific rules and strategies to solve problems.
    • Monitoring
      • Keeping track of how well people and/or groups are doing in order to make improvements.
    • Judgment and Decision Making
      • Thinking about the pros and cons of different options and picking the best one.
    • Repairing
      • Repairing machines or systems using the right tools.
    • Installation
      • Installing equipment, machines, wiring, or computer programs.
    • Instructing
      • Teaching people how to do something.
    • Operations Analysis
      • Figuring out what a product or service needs to be able to do.
    • Technology Design
      • Making equipment and technology useful for customers.
    • Programming
      • Writing computer programs.
    • Systems Analysis
      • Figuring out how a system should work and how changes in the future will affect it.
    • Active Listening
      • Listening to others, not interrupting, and asking good questions.

    Abilities

    • Flexibility of Closure
      • Seeing hidden patterns.
    • Wrist-Finger Speed
      • Making fast, simple, repeated movements of your fingers, hands, and wrists.
    • Gross Body Equilibrium
      • Keeping your balance or staying upright.
    • Visual Color Discrimination
      • Noticing the difference between colors, including shades and brightness.
    • Rate Control
      • Changing when and how fast you move based on how something else is moving.
    • Written Comprehension
      • Reading and understanding what is written.
    • Hearing Sensitivity
      • Telling the difference between sounds.
    • Speed of Limb Movement
      • Quickly moving your arms and legs.
    • Dynamic Strength
      • Exercising for a long time without your muscles getting tired.
    • Manual Dexterity
      • Holding or moving items with your hands.
    • Finger Dexterity
      • Putting together small parts with your fingers.
    • Time Sharing
      • Doing two or more things at the same time.
    • Oral Comprehension
      • Listening and understanding what people say.
    • Oral Expression
      • Communicating by speaking.
    • 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.
    • Visualization
      • Imagining how something will look after it is moved around or changed.
    • Speed of Closure
      • Quickly knowing what you are looking at.
    • Fluency of Ideas
      • Coming up with lots of ideas.
    • Static Strength
      • Lifting, pushing, pulling, or carrying.
    • Night Vision
      • Seeing at night or under low light.
    • Deductive Reasoning
      • Using rules to solve problems.
    • Dynamic Flexibility
      • Quickly and repeatedly bending, stretching, twisting, or reaching out with your body, arms, and/or legs.
    • Spatial Orientation
      • Knowing where things are around you.
    • Arm-Hand Steadiness
      • Keeping your arm or hand steady.
    • Response Orientation
      • Quickly deciding if you should move your hand, foot, or other body part.
    • Written Expression
      • Communicating by writing.
    • Depth Perception
      • Deciding which thing is closer or farther away from you, or deciding how far away it is from you.
    • Reaction Time
      • Quickly moving your hand, finger, or foot based on a sound, light, picture or other command.
    • Control Precision
      • Quickly changing the controls of a machine, car, truck or boat.
    • Speech Recognition
      • Recognizing spoken words.
    • Near Vision
      • Seeing details up close.
    • Mathematical Reasoning
      • Choosing the right type of math to solve a problem.
    • Number Facility
      • Adding, subtracting, multiplying, or dividing.
    • Category Flexibility
      • Grouping things in different ways.
    • Perceptual Speed
      • Quickly comparing groups of letters, numbers, pictures, or other things.
    • Selective Attention
      • Paying attention to something without being distracted.
    • Problem Sensitivity
      • Noticing when problems happen.
    • Multilimb Coordination
      • Using your arms and/or legs together while sitting, standing, or lying down.
    • Peripheral Vision
      • Seeing something to your side when your are looking ahead.
    • Gross Body Coordination
      • Moving your arms, legs, and mid-section together while your whole body is moving.
    • Memorization
      • Remembering words, numbers, pictures, or steps.
    • Auditory Attention
      • Paying attention to one sound while there are other distracting sounds.
    • Sound Localization
      • Noticing the direction that a sound came from.
    • Originality
      • Creating new and original ideas.
    • Stamina
      • Exercising for a long time without getting out of breath.
    • Speech Clarity
      • Speaking clearly.
    • Glare Sensitivity
      • Seeing something even if there is a glare or very bright light.
    • Far Vision
      • Seeing details that are far away.
    • Explosive Strength
      • Jumping, sprinting, or throwing something.
    • Trunk Strength
      • Using your lower back and stomach.

    Knowledge

    • 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.
    • Computers and Electronics
      • Knowledge of circuit boards, processors, chips, electronic equipment, and computer hardware and software, including applications and programming.
    • 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.
    • Biology
      • Knowledge of plant and animal organisms, their tissues, cells, functions, interdependencies, and interactions with each other and the environment.
    • English Language
      • Knowledge of the structure and content of the English language including the meaning and spelling of words, rules of composition, and grammar.
    • 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.
    • Law and Government
      • Knowledge of laws, legal codes, court procedures, precedents, government regulations, executive orders, agency rules, and the democratic political process.
    • Mechanical
      • Knowledge of machines and tools, including their designs, uses, repair, and maintenance.
    • 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.
    • Economics and Accounting
      • Knowledge of economic and accounting principles and practices, the financial markets, banking, and the analysis and reporting of financial data.
    • History and Archeology
      • Knowledge of historical events and their causes, indicators, and effects on civilizations and cultures.
    • 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.
    • 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.
    • 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.
    • Mathematics
      • Knowledge of arithmetic, algebra, geometry, calculus, statistics, and their applications.
    • Telecommunications
      • Knowledge of transmission, broadcasting, switching, control, and operation of telecommunications systems.
    • 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.
    • 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.
    • 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.
    • Sociology and Anthropology
      • Knowledge of group behavior and dynamics, societal trends and influences, human migrations, ethnicity, cultures, and their history and origins.
    • Production and Processing
      • Knowledge of raw materials, production processes, quality control, costs, and other techniques for maximizing the effective manufacture and distribution of goods.
    • 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.
    • Food Production
      • Knowledge of techniques and equipment for planting, growing, and harvesting food products (both plant and animal) for consumption, including storage/handling techniques.
    • 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.
    • Fine Arts
      • Knowledge of the theory and techniques required to compose, produce, and perform works of music, dance, visual arts, drama, and sculpture.
    • Design
      • Knowledge of design techniques, tools, and principles involved in production of precision technical plans, blueprints, drawings, and models.
    • 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.
    • 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.
    • 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.
    • 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.
    • 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.
    • Transportation
      • Knowledge of principles and methods for moving people or goods by air, rail, sea, or road, including the relative costs and benefits.
    • 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.

    Education

    Education
    High school diploma or equivalent
    Work Experience
    No work experience
    Training
    1 to 12 months on-the-job training
    Education and Training Opportunities

    Pay

    Washington Annual Salary
    62310/yr
    Washington Hourly Wage
    29.96/hr

    Washington Employment Trends

    Currently Employed
    4,570
    Yearly Projected Openings
    500

    Personality

    Conventional: People interested in this work like activities that include data, detail, and regular routines. They do well at jobs that need:
    • Integrity
    • Cooperation
    • Dependability
    • Attention to Detail
    • Self Control
    • Independence

    Tools

    • Desktop calculator
    • Desktop computers
    • Mainframe console or dumb terminals
    • Personal computers

    Technology

    • Accounting software
    • Business intelligence and data analysis software
    • Compliance software
    • Data base reporting software
    • Data base user interface and query software
    • Electronic mail software
    • Enterprise resource planning ERP software
    • Financial analysis software
    • Human resources software
    • Internet browser software
    • Office suite software
    • Presentation software
    • Spreadsheet software
    • Time accounting software
    • Word processing software

ADDITIONAL RESOURCES

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