Payroll Clerk job description: duties, skills and qualifications.

Core duties

15

O*NET task statements

O*NET occupation

Payroll and Timekeeping Clerks

O*NET-SOC 43-3051.00

Preparation

Job Zone 3 of 5

medium preparation

Typical entry education

High school diploma or equivalent

BLS 2025–35

Median pay

$58,260

BLS May 2025

Data Government data groups this job as Payroll and Timekeeping Clerks (O*NET-SOC 43-3051.00). O*NET 31.0 lists “Payroll Clerk” as a job title for this occupation only (evidence: O*NET's Sample of Reported Titles (titles job holders report), O*NET job-incumbent data and employer job postings). Figures on this page are for that occupation. TryHired has no separate career page for this title yet.

1. Verify attendance, hours worked, and pay adjustments, and post information onto designated records. importance 4.7 of 5
2. Process and issue employee paychecks and statements of earnings and deductions. importance 4.7 of 5
3. Compute wages and deductions, and enter data into computers. importance 4.7 of 5
4. Process paperwork for new employees and enter employee information into the payroll system. importance 4.7 of 5
5. Prepare and balance period-end reports, and reconcile issued payrolls to bank statements. importance 4.6 of 5
6. Review time sheets, work charts, wage computation, and other information to detect and reconcile payroll discrepancies. importance 4.6 of 5
7. Distribute and collect timecards each pay period. importance 4.6 of 5
8. Record employee information, such as exemptions, transfers, and resignations, to maintain and update payroll records. importance 4.5 of 5
9. Issue and record adjustments to pay related to previous errors or retroactive increases. importance 4.5 of 5
10. Keep track of leave time, such as vacation, personal, and sick leave, for employees. importance 4.4 of 5
11. Compile employee time, production, and payroll data from time sheets and other records. importance 4.4 of 5
12. Keep informed about changes in tax and deduction laws that apply to the payroll process. importance 4.3 of 5
13. Complete time sheets showing employees' arrival and departure times. importance 4.2 of 5
14. Provide information to employees and managers on payroll matters, tax issues, benefit plans, and collective agreement provisions. importance 4.0 of 5
15. Conduct verifications of employment. importance 3.5 of 5

Work activities O*NET rates most important here: Working with Computers, Processing Information, Getting Information, Performing Administrative Activities and Communicating with Supervisors, Peers, or Subordinates.

Also part of the job

Supplemental tasks O*NET lists for this occupation: less central than the core duties above, and not done in every job.

• 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.
• Complete, verify, and process forms and documentation for administration of benefits, such as pension plans, and unemployment and medical insurance.
• Train employees on organizations' timekeeping systems.
• Coordinate special programs, such as United Way campaigns, that involve payroll deductions.

Knowledge areas: Administrative, Mathematics, English Language, Economics and Accounting and Personnel and Human Resources.

Software O*NET lists for this occupation: Kronos Workforce Timekeeper, Microsoft Excel, Microsoft Office software, Microsoft Outlook, Workday software, Oracle HRIS. These are examples O*NET records for the job, not a list of tools every employer uses or a checklist of what you must know.

• Education: BLS lists a high school diploma or equivalent as the typical entry-level education.
• Experience: BLS lists no work experience in a related occupation as typical to enter.
• Training on the job: BLS lists moderate-term on-the-job training as typical once hired.
• Preparation: O*NET places the job in Job Zone 3 of 5 (medium preparation). Previous work-related skill, knowledge, or experience is required for these occupations.
• Licenses and certifications: not listed here. A license is a legal requirement set by a state; a certification is a credential from a private or professional body. Rules vary by state and employer, and a missing entry on this page does not mean none is required: check with your state's licensing board.

The most common answer among payroll clerks surveyed by O*NET is a bachelor's degree (32%).

Job title: Payroll Clerk
[Company] · [City, State] · [Full-time or part-time] · [Pay range, where your state requires one]

About the role
[Company] is hiring a Payroll Clerk to compile and record employee time and payroll data.
[One sentence on your team and why this role matters.]

What you will do
- Verify attendance, hours worked, and pay adjustments, and post information onto designated records.
- Process and issue employee paychecks and statements of earnings and deductions.
- Compute wages and deductions, and enter data into computers.
- 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.
- Review time sheets, work charts, wage computation, and other information to detect and reconcile payroll discrepancies.
- Distribute and collect timecards each pay period.
- Record employee information, such as exemptions, transfers, and resignations, to maintain and update payroll records.

What we are looking for
- [Education: BLS lists a high school diploma or equivalent as typical for this occupation; set the level this role truly needs]
- [Experience: BLS lists no related work experience as typical to enter; set what this role needs]
- Strength in reading comprehension, active listening and mathematics
- Working knowledge of Administrative and Mathematics
- [Software your team uses, e.g. Kronos Workforce Timekeeper or Microsoft Excel]
- [Any license or certification your state or company requires]

[Schedule, benefits and how to apply]

Illustrative: every name, employer, school, date and number in these samples is fictional or a bracketed placeholder. Replace each bracket with your own true details; never copy a result you did not achieve.

Not a real job posting. This template is TryHired's illustration built from government occupational data. It is not an opening at any employer, and no employer wrote it.

For Payroll and Timekeeping Clerks, the median annual wage was $58,260 in May 2025. The median hourly wage was $28.01. BLS estimates about 153,140 jobs in this occupation in the U.S.

BLS projects employment of Payroll and Timekeeping Clerks to decline 15.9% from 2025 to 2035, with about 11,400 openings a year over that period, including openings to replace workers who leave.

• Read a real payroll clerk posting next to the core duties above. Duties it repeats, such as “Verify attendance, hours worked, and pay adjustments, and post…”, tell you what that employer weighs most; anything it adds is specific to that team.
• Tailor your resume to the posting, not to this page: describe only payroll clerk work you have actually done, with your own results.
• Prepare a story for each of the top-rated skills (reading comprehension and active listening): a real situation, what you did and what changed.