How To Become A Payroll Associate: What It Is and Career Path

What is a payroll associate and how to become one

Updated January 8, 2025

4 min read

A payroll associate is an individual who is responsible for managing employee and staff payrolls, timesheets, as well as entering payroll and salary documentation. These individuals calculate employee federal, state, and social security taxes, as well as the employer's social security, unemployment, and workers compensation benefits. They also update payroll records and manage exemptions, insurance coverage, and retirement deductions.

Payroll associates typically work in an office environment during a typical workweek and often report to the accounting department of a company. They work to prepare reports by compiling summaries of employee earnings, taxes, deductions, vacation, and disability. The payroll associate must ensure that employees are paid on time and accurately and should possess excellent organizational, math, accounting, computer, and communication skills.

In addition to maintaining and processing payroll information, payroll clerks also must be adept at using computers and spreadsheets and should have a basic understanding of bank transfers and financials as well. Most payroll clerks may have an equivalent of a High School diploma or an advanced degree, but these may not be necessary provided the individual has comparable skills and knowledge for the job. Depending on the company or organization, many payroll clerks can expect to make up to $44,000 per year in the US.

ScorePayroll AssociateUS Average

Salary

3.5

Avg. Salary $45,232

Avg. Salary $59,228

Stability level

6.6

Growth rate -3%

Growth rate 0.3%

Diversity

5.7

Race

American Indian and Alaska Native 1.52%

Asian 6.10%

Black or African American 9.11%

Hispanic or Latino 18.76%

Unknown 6.08%

White 58.43%

Gender

female 84.07%

male 15.93%

Age - 49

Race

American Indian and Alaska Native 3.00%

Asian 7.00%

Black or African American 14.00%

Hispanic or Latino 19.00%

White 57.00%

Gender

female 47.00%

male 53.00%

Age - 49

Stress level

6.6

Stress level is high

7.1 - high

Complexity level

6.9

Complexity level is challenging

7 - challenging

Work life balance

5.9

Work life balance is fair

6.4 - fair

Key steps to become a payroll associate

Explore payroll associate education requirements

Most common payroll associate degrees

Bachelor's

51.2 %

Associate

29.2 %

High School Diploma

9.1 %

Start to develop specific payroll associate skills

Skills	Percentages
Customer Service	11.71%
Data Entry	6.71%
ADP	6.21%
Payroll System	5.92%
Payroll Data	4.93%

Complete relevant payroll associate training and internships

Accountants spend an average of 6-12 months on post-employment, on-the-job training. New payroll associates learn the skills and techniques required for their job and employer during this time. The chart below shows how long it takes to gain competency as a payroll associate based on U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics data and data from real payroll associate resumes.

Research payroll associate duties and responsibilities

Manage annual professional liability in PeopleSoft for faculty and fellows.
Used Kronos, Lawson, and company intranet on a daily basis.
Train and monitor time entry employees and enter data in the KRONOS system.
Import PTO time that are taken each pay period and update the PTO accruals and balances system.

Prepare your payroll associate resume

When your background is strong enough, you can start writing your payroll associate resume.

You can use Zippia's AI resume builder to make the resume writing process easier while also making sure that you include key information that hiring managers expect to see on a payroll associate resume. You'll find resume tips and examples of skills, responsibilities, and summaries, all provided by Zippi, your career sidekick.

Choose from 10+ customizable payroll associate resume templates

Build a professional payroll associate resume in minutes. Browse through our resume examples to identify the best way to word your resume. Then choose from 10+ resume templates to create your payroll associate resume.