How to hire payroll and timekeeping clerks
A job description you can copy, interview questions tied to the real work, and what to pay. Free.
Job description template
Copy it, fill in the brackets, and remove anything that does not fit your job. Keep only must-haves you would really turn someone away for.
[Job title] at [Company name] [City, State] · [Full-time / Part-time] · [Pay range] About the role [Two or three sentences about your team, the work and why it matters.] What you will do • Compute wages and deductions, and enter data into computers. • Distribute and collect timecards each pay period. • Prepare and balance period-end reports, and reconcile issued payrolls to bank statements. • Process and issue employee paychecks and statements of earnings and deductions. • Process paperwork for new employees and enter employee information into the payroll system. • Record employee information, such as exemptions, transfers, and resignations, to maintain and update payroll records. • Review time sheets, work charts, wage computation, and other information to detect and reconcile payroll discrepancies. • Verify attendance, hours worked, and pay adjustments, and post information onto designated records. What you bring • [Required license, certification or years of experience, if any] • [Education, only if you truly need it. Typical to start in this job: High school diploma or equivalent] • Strong reading comprehension, active listening, mathematics, critical thinking, speaking and writing skills • Working knowledge of administrative, mathematics, English Language and economics and accounting • [Anything else you would really turn someone away for] Pay and benefits [Pay range]. For reference, the U.S. median for this job is $28.01 an hour ($58,260 a year). [Benefits, schedule and anything else candidates should know.] How to apply [Apply on JAI Bot. Every applicant hears back.]
Interview questions for payroll and timekeeping clerks
Ask every candidate the same questions, in the same order, and write down what they say. Questions about past work show what someone has actually done.
- Tell me about a time you had to compute wages and deductions, and enter data into computers. What did you do, and how did it turn out?
- Tell me about a time you had to distribute and collect timecards each pay period. What did you do, and how did it turn out?
- Tell me about a time you had to prepare and balance period-end reports, and reconcile issued payrolls to bank statements. What did you do, and how did it turn out?
- Tell me about a time you had to process and issue employee paychecks and statements of earnings and deductions. What did you do, and how did it turn out?
- Tell me about written instructions, a policy or a manual you had to follow closely. How did you make sure you followed it correctly?
- Tell me about a time you had to understand a request or problem that was explained poorly. How did you make sure you got it right?
- Walk me through a calculation you do regularly at work and how you check it.
- Why this job, and why now? What would make you stay here for the long term?
Good answers name a real situation, what the person did themselves and what happened. Avoid questions about age, family plans, religion, health, national origin or anything else unrelated to the job.
What payroll and timekeeping clerks do
- Compute wages and deductions, and enter data into computers.
- Distribute and collect timecards each pay period.
- Prepare and balance period-end reports, and reconcile issued payrolls to bank statements.
- Process and issue employee paychecks and statements of earnings and deductions.
- Process paperwork for new employees and enter employee information into the payroll system.
- Record employee information, such as exemptions, transfers, and resignations, to maintain and update payroll records.
- Review time sheets, work charts, wage computation, and other information to detect and reconcile payroll discrepancies.
- Verify attendance, hours worked, and pay adjustments, and post information onto designated records.
Skills that matter most
Education, experience and outlook for payroll and timekeeping clerks
- Typical education to start: High school diploma or equivalent (BLS)
- Related work experience most have: 2 to 4 years (O*NET)
- Training on the job: Moderate-term on-the-job training (BLS)
- Job outlook: -15.9% over ten years, declining · about 11,400 openings a year (BLS)
What to pay payroll and timekeeping clerks
Pay depends a lot on where the job is. Highest and lowest median yearly pay by state:
| State | Median yearly pay |
|---|---|
| California | $65,340 |
| Washington | $64,560 |
| Colorado | $64,140 |
| Massachusetts | $63,670 |
| New Hampshire | $63,090 |
| Alabama | $46,170 |
| Arkansas | $46,110 |
| Mississippi | $45,170 |
See payroll and timekeeping clerks pay in every state
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Post this job on JAI Bot. Free to start: JAI Bot reads every applicant against your must-haves, shows the resume evidence behind each one, and helps you reply to everyone. People make every decision.
Post a job freePay by areaJob duties and skills: O*NET 31.0 Database by the U.S. Department of Labor, Employment and Training Administration (USDOL/ETA), used under the CC BY 4.0 license; O*NET® is a trademark of USDOL/ETA. JAI Bot has modified this information; USDOL/ETA has not approved, endorsed, or tested these modifications. Pay: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics OEWS, May 2025. Interview questions and the job description template: JAI Bot, based on the duties and skills above.