Education, certification, and experience are the three steps to becoming a payroll specialist. To work as a payroll specialist, you’ll need to have all three. A payroll specialist is in charge of a company’s entire payroll process. Maintaining records, calculating salary, deductions, and remittance are among their responsibilities.
You’ll need to complete a post-secondary education in accounting or payroll to work as a payroll specialist. A diploma in payroll or payroll accounting is commonly offered community and career colleges. These programs last between two and three years. They frequently include a co-op or job placement term to provide students with valuable work experience.
Basic accounting, payroll calculations, and remittances are covered in the first year of the payroll diploma. Human resources courses on hiring practices, termination requirements, and record keeping rules are covered in the second year. Additional courses on various computer systems, data management, and archiving rules are available.
The American Payroll Association offers certification as a payroll specialist. This organization is in charge of assessing postsecondary education, developing certification courses, and administering exams. The exams take place four times a year in a large hall or auditorium.
A minimum of two years of experience working in a payroll or human resources department is required to become a specialist. You will learn about standard business practices as well as how to work with a diverse group of people and clients in these positions. Year-end reporting, reconciliation, and transaction audit tracking are examples of additional skills.
The responsibilities of this position can be divided into two categories: payroll processing and accounting. Computer software now handles almost all payroll processing. The payroll specialist’s job is to make sure that the system has the right rules, adjustments, and exceptions in place to calculate payroll correctly. They must become computer system experts and be able to train others as needed.
Reconciliation, cost accounting, and remittances are the main responsibilities of the accounting department. The process of reconciling two sets of data to ensure that the transactions posted correctly is known as reconciliation. The allocation of expenses to a specific account based on activity is known as cost accounting. The calculation and payment of amounts due to external agencies, such as the Internal Revenue Service or a company pension plan, is known as remittance.
Once you become a payroll specialist, you will have a plethora of job opportunities. Additional business or management qualifications can help you advance your career to include department management. Take the time to figure out what you want to do with your life so that your career can evolve to meet your needs.