Payroll means a list of employees or workers showing how much benefits they will receive for a specific period for work completed. When preparing a payroll, many calculations are done to ensure that every employee receives what is due them and that the organization keeps the employment act.
In most organizations, the Human Resource department handles the payroll and is usually in charge of staff management, coordination, and welfare. In other organizations, the business owner and the top-level management prepare and approve the payroll.
The process of payroll can differ by organization. However, there are standard payroll details that you must know if you want to become a payroll professional.
- There is no specific degree in payroll management. However, you will need to obtain a finance, accounting, or Human Resources degree to learn about the payroll process. You can also learn the payroll process by taking professional courses in these fields.
- As a person who prepares payroll, you may have different titles based on your expertise, job description, or the organization’s title preference. Here is a list of titles you may be called across various organizations:
- Accountant
- Human Resource manager
- Payroll officer
- Payroll clerk
- Payroll Manager
- Payroll Administrator
- Payroll Specialist
- To be a payroll professional, you need to have adequate information about tax deductions in order to calculate the actual income of the employees on the payroll. Most times, to become a payroll professional in a different location, you will need to learn about their system of taxation to prepare payroll for organizations in that location correctly.
- You will prepare payroll in different frequencies based on the employee’s contract and the organization’s pay system. You may prepare payroll on a daily, weekly, monthly, and, in rare cases, annual basis. You will need to be aware of the agreed-upon contract between the employee and the organization to prepare payroll properly.
- Your calculative skills are highly needed to be an excellent payroll professional. This is because most information on the payroll will be numerically represented.
- It would help if you were an excellent communicator because you will collect and share information across all levels of employees as a payroll professional. Therefore, you will need to communicate appropriately to aid your workflow.
- Problem-solving skills are necessary to show your expertise and professionalism. In addition, because you are working with numbers, a miscalculation can easily create a problem. As a payroll professional, you need to ensure that the problem is solved smoothly enough to avoid making problems for the employee or organization.
- As a payroll professional, you must learn to work under pressure. The work pressure you will feel mostly depends on the frequency of the payroll process in your organization. Also, the payroll process’s sensitivity may pressure you to avoid making any mistakes.
- Time management is very necessary to be an excellent payroll manager. As stated earlier in the article, payroll processes may be daily, monthly, or annually, and you have to ensure that you meet the payment deadlines because employees depend on your timeliness for their livelihood. In addition, time management will help you develop and maintain a work-life balance.
- Payroll processes will involve you working with various teams and departments to gather information. This is why you will need to have teamwork skills to be able to work hand-in-hand to ensure that the process is successfully completed.
- As a payroll professional, you must learn to keep records. Keeping records can help your work get easier subsequently and can serve as a reference should there be an issue in the future.
- As a payroll professional, you must pay attention to detail to ensure that you eliminate the chances of making mistakes in your processes. Your attention to detail will also help you deduce if any issues arise in the future.
- Having discretion is very necessary for you to be an expert and a professional in the payroll field because you will be collecting and handling confidential information that you will need to be discrete about.
- Sometimes, payroll processes are outsourced. If an organization is hiring you to prepare its payroll, your customer service must be top-notch, and you must understand that customer experience is key for client retention.
- We live in a digital age, and for you to be an expert in most fields, you must possess technical skills, including proficiency in computers and software. In addition, there is software that aids the payroll preparation process, and it will be in your best interest to have adequate knowledge about how they function to make the process faster and more accurate.
If you have all these characteristics and knowledge about what the payroll preparation process entails, then you are on the right path to becoming a professional payroll officer.