Accounting/Payroll Admin

What To Expect

Payroll administration professionals are responsible for tracking, recording hours, and accurately paying workers for their time in accordance with state and federal laws. Payroll workers compile data, enter and track time cards, run reports, process checks, and maintain accurate and easily accessible records. These professionals are responsible for time and record keeping and verifications for wages as well as withholding garnishments and applicable taxes for employees.

Payroll departments work on deadline oriented schedules to approve time, enter hours, and process checks within the payroll cycle. Payroll technicians may be responsible for a certain set of employees who can be divided up by location, occupation, or simply by name. Ability to concentrate on a single task for a long period of time is helpful and payroll workers may have little interaction with others in finishing their daily responsibilities.

Recommended Qualifications

Processing payroll requires using accounting software programs to enter data, balance hours, and run reports. People who are good with numbers and pay strong attention to detail are very successful in this field.

Within the payroll field there are positions available from entry level to advanced accounting. Entry level positions require skills in numeric data entry, fast and accurate 10-key, and solid computer knowledge. *These skills can be gained in short clerical or accounting education certificate programs with durations from 3-8 months. Payroll Accountant positions require a bachelor’s degree in accounting.