Payroll and timekeeping clerks perform a vital function: ensuring that employees are paid on time and that their paychecks are accurate. If inaccuracies occur, such as monetary errors or incorrect amounts of vacation time, these clerks research and correct the records. In addition, they may perform other clerical tasks. Automated timekeeping systems that allow employees to enter the number of hours they have worked directly into a computer have eliminated much of the data entry and review by timekeepers and have elevated the job of payroll clerks, allowing them to perform more complex tasks. In offices that have not automated this function, however, payroll and timekeeping clerks still perform many of the traditional job functions.
The fundamental task of timekeeping clerks is distributing and collecting timecards each pay period. These workers review employee work charts, timesheets, and timecards to ensure that information is properly recorded and that records have the signatures of authorizing officials. In companies that bill clients for the time worked by staff—law or accounting firms, for example—timekeeping clerks make sure that the hours recorded are charged to the correct job so that clients can be properly billed. These clerks also review computer reports listing timecards that cannot be processed because of errors, and they contact the employee or the employee's supervisor to resolve the problem. In addition, timekeeping clerks are responsible for informing managers and other employees about procedural changes in payroll policies.
Payroll clerks, also called payroll technicians, screen timecards for calculating, coding, or other errors. They compute pay by subtracting allotments, including Federal and State taxes and contributions to retirement, insurance, and savings plans, from gross earnings. Increasingly, computers perform these calculations and alert payroll clerks to problems or errors in the data. In small organizations or for new employees whose records are not yet entered into a computer system, clerks may perform the necessary calculations manually. In some small offices, clerks or other employees in the accounting department process payrolls.
Payroll clerks record changes in employees' addresses; close out files when workers retire, resign, or transfer; and advise employees on income tax withholding and other mandatory deductions. These workers also issue and record adjustments to workers' pay because of previous errors or retroactive increases. Periodically, they prepare and mail earnings and tax-withholding statements for employees' use in preparing income tax returns. Payroll clerks need to be aware of changes in tax and deduction laws, so that they can implement them.
In small offices, payroll and timekeeping duties are likely to be included in the duties of a general office clerk, a secretary, or an accounting clerk. However, large organizations employ specialized payroll and timekeeping clerks to perform these functions. In offices that have automated timekeeping systems, payroll clerks perform more analysis of the data, examining trends and working with computer systems. They also spend more time answering employees' questions and processing unique data.
Work environment. Payroll and timekeeping clerks usually work in clean, pleasant, and comfortable office settings, but they also may face pressure to meet deadlines. Clerks usually work a standard 35- to 40-hour week; however, longer hours might be necessary during busy periods.
| 1. | Process and issue employee paychecks and statements of earnings and deductions. |
| 2. | Compute wages and deductions, and enter data into computers. |
| 3. | Compile employee time, production, and payroll data from time sheets and other records. |
| 4. | Review time sheets, work charts, wage computation, and other information to detect and reconcile payroll discrepancies. |
| 5. | Verify attendance, hours worked, and pay adjustments, and post information onto designated records. |
| 6. | Record employee information, such as exemptions, transfers, and resignations, to maintain and update payroll records. |
| 7. | Issue and record adjustments to pay related to previous errors or retroactive increases. |
| 8. | Keep informed about changes in tax and deduction laws that apply to the payroll process. |
| 9. | Provide information to employees and managers on payroll matters, tax issues, benefit plans, and collective agreement provisions. |
| 10. | Complete time sheets showing employees' arrival and departure times. |
| 11. | Post relevant work hours to client files to bill clients properly. |
| 12. | Distribute and collect timecards each pay period. |
| 13. | Complete, verify, and process forms and documentation for administration of benefits such as pension plans, and unemployment and medical insurance. |
| 14. | Prepare and balance period-end reports, and reconcile issued payrolls to bank statements. |
| 15. | Compile statistical reports, statements, and summaries related to pay and benefits accounts, and submit them to appropriate departments. |
| 16. | Coordinate special programs, such as United Way campaigns, that involve payroll deductions. |
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