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Payroll officer skills for your resume and career

Updated January 8, 2025

3 min read

Below we've compiled a list of the most critical payroll officer skills. We ranked the top skills for payroll officers based on the percentage of resumes they appeared on. For example, 8.2% of payroll officer resumes contained payroll system as a skill. Continue reading to find out what skills a payroll officer needs to be successful in the workplace.

15 payroll officer skills for your resume and career

1. Payroll System

Here's how payroll officers use payroll system:

Lead role in implementation and stabilization of PeopleSoft HR/Payroll system.
Managed and maintained all facets of an in-house payroll system encompassing 2 housing associations with over 300 employees.

2. Calculation

Here's how payroll officers use calculation:

Corrected timesheet, and benefit deduction calculation.
Compile attendance records and working hours calculation completed to 400 employees in a weekly basismaintaining the rigorous quality controls established.

3. Payroll Data

Here's how payroll officers use payroll data:

Prepare and Input Payroll Data (1800 employees) utilizing both the HR Plus and SAP system.
Prepare and input Payroll Data - (300 employees) utilizing the TIPS system.

4. Direct Deposits

Here's how payroll officers use direct deposits:

Reconcile and prepare all payroll related bank transactions (401k; federal, state and local liabilities; direct deposits).
Issue payroll checks or make direct deposits to employee bank accounts.

5. ADP

Automatic Data Processing, Inc. (ADP) is a US provider of human resource management software and services. A personnel management system with which daily human resources processes are manageable and easily accessible. It fusion human resources as a discipline and its basic HR activities, and processes with the mastery of information technologies.

Here's how payroll officers use adp:

Maintained ADP, E-Time & HR Perspective systems, including troubleshooting & configuration issues.
Review payroll files prior to sending to ADP and review each payroll report.

6. Process Payroll

Here's how payroll officers use process payroll:

Resolve customer complaints via telephone, data entry, customer service, process payroll and leave for employees.
Process payroll for New York based staff, including domestic staff through SAP HRMIS.

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7. Financial Reports

Here's how payroll officers use financial reports:

Analyze financial reports, making recommendations relative to the accounting of reserve and operational expenditures.
Performed travel claim accounting and prepared financial reports.

8. Payroll Policies

Here's how payroll officers use payroll policies:

Review of payroll policies to ensure government regulations are followed.
Communicated regularly with department for interpretations of payroll policies and procedures with strict state and federal guidelines.

9. Manual Checks

Manual checks are payments issued to employees outside an organization's payroll system. It usually occurs for early and late payments, often due to terminations, resignations, job orders, and late submission of requirements.

Here's how payroll officers use manual checks:

Organized file maintenance, and recorded manual checks, pay increases, direct deposit submission, and distributed paychecks.
Worked with bank to stop payments and add manual checks.

10. Journal Entries

Journal entries can be defined as an act of keeping or making records of any transactions either economic or non-economic. The journal entries are made in the accounting systems of an organization. The entries are filled with two main fields; debit and credit. The debit and credit must be equal at the end of a journal entry else it is not considered correct. The journal entries also keep the date of transactions and the names of the accounts that were affected by the transactions.

Here's how payroll officers use journal entries:

Assisted accounting manager with journal entries for payroll adjustments.
Process month-end journal entries & account reconciliations.

11. Payroll Reports

Here's how payroll officers use payroll reports:

Check payroll reports against payroll advice and client's checklist before sending over to client for verification.
Prepare quarterly payroll reports and submit such reports to the accounting firm hired by the company.

12. Human Resources

Human resources is a set of people in a business or a corporation that are designated to locate, interview, and recruit new employees into the company. They are also responsible to maintain the integrity of the employees and help them sort their problems out. They try to introduce and manage employee-benefit programs.

Here's how payroll officers use human resources:

Work in special projects requests by the executive staff for the Finance, Operations and Human Resources departments.
Assist the Director of Human Resources in the administrative work of the Department of Human Resources.

13. General Ledger

Here's how payroll officers use general ledger:

Generated and analyzed monthly payroll and general ledger reports and implemented salary sacrifice schemes.
Generated and analyzed monthly payroll, general ledger reports and reconciled year-end payroll with the general ledger.

14. W-2

A W-2 form is also known as the Wage and Tax Statement. An employer is required to send this document to each employee and the IRS (Internal Revenue Service) yearly. A W-2 details the employee's annual wages and the taxes deducted from their paychecks. This does not include self-employed or contracted workers, who file taxes with separate forms.

Here's how payroll officers use w-2:

Prepare and sort lists of W-2 to delivery to all offices.
Generate W-2 forms and annual reconciliation as government compliances.

15. Health Insurance

Here's how payroll officers use health insurance:

Process employee health insurance, social security, and other benefits.
Deal with the health insurance charges, reconciliation and benefits.

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List of payroll officer skills to add to your resume

The most important skills for a payroll officer resume and required skills for a payroll officer to have include:

Payroll System
Calculation
Payroll Data
Direct Deposits
ADP
Process Payroll
Financial Reports
Payroll Policies
Manual Checks
Journal Entries
Payroll Reports
Human Resources
General Ledger
W-2
Health Insurance

Payroll Procedures
Computer System
Payroll Deductions
Payroll Checks
Payroll Activities
Payroll Issues
FSA
E-Time
IRS
Payroll Taxes
Child Support
W2
Payroll Accounts
Social Security
Maintaining Payroll

Medical Insurance
Bank Accounts
Review Payroll
PowerPoint
Retirement System
Purchase Orders
FMLA
Employment Verifications
Management System
Bank Statements
Financial Statements
QuickBooks
Payroll Operations
Withholding Tax

Updated January 8, 2025

Zippia Team

Editorial Staff

The Zippia Research Team has spent countless hours reviewing resumes, job postings, and government data to determine what goes into getting a job in each phase of life. Professional writers and data scientists comprise the Zippia Research Team.

Updated January 8, 2025

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