How to become a payroll or Wages clerk

Official title: Payroll/Wages clerk

Also called: Paymaster, Payroll clerk, Payroll timekeeper, Salaries clerk, Wages clerk, Ÿ Paymaster

Payroll/Wages clerk maintains individual wage records information on hours worked, rates of pay, overtime, bonus or piece-work earnings and deductions for taxes, social security and other contributions, computes amounts due, and records details manually or using computerised systems. He/she prepares and verifies workers’ pay statements and summaries of payments and deductions, and distributes employee payments and wage packets by cheque or electronic means.

Main tasks

• Checking figures, postings, and documents for correct entry, mathematical accuracy, and proper codes
• Operating computers programmed with accounting software to record, store, and analyse information
• Classifying, recording, and summarising numerical and financial data to compile and keep financial records, using journals and ledgers or computers
• Compiling statistical, financial, accounting or auditing reports and tables pertaining to such matters as cash receipts, expenditures, accounts payable and receivable, and profits and losses

Pay · Outlook · AI and this job

• Median pay: $51,072 a year. The middle half earn $36,000 to $71,400 a year.
• Generative AI could change many tasks in this job, which usually reshapes the work more than it replaces it, by the ILO's global estimate.

Related jobs

• Bookkeeper
• Ledger/Accounts clerk
• Audit clerk
• Billing clerk
• Procurement/Purchasing clerk

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Questions people ask

How much does a payroll or Wages clerk earn in Singapore?

Median full-time pay is $51,072 a year (Ministry of Manpower (via data.gov.sg)). The middle half earn $36,000 to $71,400.

Will AI change the work of a payroll or Wages clerk?

Generative AI could change many tasks in this job, which usually reshapes the work more than it replaces it, by the ILO's global estimate.

Sources

• Ministry of Manpower (via data.gov.sg): Resident Occupational Wages (Occupational Wage Survey) (June 2024 (data.gov.sg update 2026-04-01)), Singapore Open Data Licence v1.0, retrieved 4 October 2026
• International Labour Organization, Generative AI and Jobs: A Refined Global Index of Occupational Exposure (ILO Working Paper 140, Gmyrek et al.) (ILO Working Paper 140, May 2025, Annex Table A1), CC BY 4.0, retrieved 4 October 2026

Updated 4 October 2026