The Payroll Clerk computes and records the earnings owed to each company employee on a computer and ensure employees are paid on time.
Primary Responsibilities:
- The Payroll Clerk is responsible to record the earnings owed each employee on a computer and this is referred to as posting.
- The Payroll Clerk is responsible for calculating deductions from the employee’s payroll.
- The Payroll Clerk pays the employee either by a company check or by electronic fund transfer.
- The Payroll Clerk is also in charge of recording commissions and bonuses for the employees.
- The Payroll Clerk is expected to have a two year degree from an accredited two-year business school or junior college.
The Payroll Clerk is responsible for recording the employee’s earnings on a computer and the information is taken from paper worksheets and work tickets. In some business’s timekeeping has been automated and an electronic time clock is in place. When the employee punches in and punches out the electronic time clock automatically records the amount of time the employee worked and the amount of time they used during lunch times and breaks. The Payroll Clerk is required to check the electronic data for every employee in case there are errors.
The Payroll Clerk is responsible for calculating deductions, such as income tax withholding, Social Security payments, insurance, and union dues. The Payroll Clerk makes sure that each employee is paid the right amount of money with the right amount of deductions so that the employee does not end up having to pay the government at the end of the year back taxes. After the calculations have been carefully made and checked then the Payroll Clerk prepares an envelope for each employee to receive their paycheck. The employee may receive a check from the company with a stub that shows the following information:
- The employee pay check stub records the gross amount of income earned as calculated by the Payroll Clerk.
- The employee pay check stub records the amount of each deduction that is taken from their check by the Payroll Clerk for taxes and other things like union dues etc.
- The employee pay check stub records the same information on a year-to-date status by the Payroll Clerk.
The recording of this information on a pay check stub helps the employee to be able to keep up with their earnings, deductions, and other important information. When the employee feels that something is amiss then they can consult with the Payroll Clerk and get an adjustment when it is required, change information concerning their dependents, or fix any difference in their salary. The information that a Payroll Clerk is kept in the computer data bank for several years then it is stored on a disc where it can be recovered if necessary. In the smaller to medium size business one or two people may be the Payroll Clerk taking care of all payroll issues. In larger companies where employee’s get bonus checks and commission checks often there is a special Payroll Clerk that takes care of just that part of the payroll.
The Payroll Clerk in charge of commissions and bonus checks is referred to as the Bonus/Commissions Payroll Clerk. When an employee is short on their check because of one of these things then they must go to the specialty Payroll Clerk to get an adjustment. The Payroll Clerk that is in charge of commissions and bonuses is also responsible to make deductions of taxes on these accounts before the employee receives their money. Often the Payroll Clerk is instructed to deposit the employee’s money in their own bank account. The idea of direct deposit has really become a popular method for Payroll Clerks to pay the employee.
Most employers prefer to know that their Payroll Clerk has had two years of Business College or a junior college program that includes office skills. In this way the employer does not need to worry if the Payroll Clerk is capable of using the computer keeping track of all important information in their data base. Then some businesses prefer that the Payroll Clerk just have a high school diploma so that they can train them to operate in their business the way they prefer. They do want their Payroll Clerk to have a strong background in mathematics and accounting to be able to calculate employee’s wages and deductions.