Administrative occupations: finance

How to become a book-keeper, payroll manager or wages clerk

Official title: Book-keepers, payroll managers and wages clerks

Also called: Pay clerk, Wage clerk, Audit clerk, Wages clerk, Book keeper, Ledger clerk, Account clerk, Invoice clerk, Payroll clerk, Ledger keeper, Wages manager, Wages officer

Book-keepers, payroll managers and wages clerks maintain and balance records of financial transactions, oversee the operation of payroll functions and calculate hours worked, wages due and other relevant contributions and deductions.

Main tasks

Records and checks accuracy of daily financial transactions
Prepares provisional balances and reconciles these with appropriate accounts
Supervises payroll team and develops payroll systems and procedures
Calculates and records hours worked, wages due, deductions and voluntary contributions
Processes holiday, sick and maternity pay and travel and subsistence expenses
Compiles schedules and distributes or arranges distribution of wages and salaries
Calculates costs and overheads and prepares analyses for management

How to become one

There are no minimum academic requirements, although entrants typically possess GCSEs/S grades or equivalent qualifications, and maths may be required. Training is typically provided on-the-job. NVQs/SVQs in relevant areas are available, and apprenticeships may be available in some areas.

Ways in

Apprenticeship (England): Accounts or finance assistant (level 2). England. Typically 12 months. Skills England standard ST0608.
Apprenticeship (England): Assistant accountant (level 3). England. Typically 15 months. Skills England standard ST0002.
Apprenticeship (England): Payroll administrator (level 3). England. Typically 18 months. Skills England standard ST0073.
Apprenticeship (England): Payroll assistant manager (level 5). England. Typically 24 months. Skills England standard ST0869.
University: Arts & Humanities degrees, Offered by 27 universities in the UK
University: Business & Commerce degrees, Offered by 27 universities in the UK

Pay · Outlook

Median full-time pay: £31,560 a year The middle half earn £26,802 to £40,123.
About 539,300 people work in this job now, and about 512,200 are projected by 2035. (-5%)

Questions people ask

How do I become a book-keeper, payroll manager or wages clerk?

How much does a book-keeper, payroll manager or wages clerk earn in the UK?

Median full-time pay is £31,560 a year (Office for National Statistics). The middle half earn £26,802 to £40,123.

Is a book-keeper, payroll manager or wages clerk a growing career in the UK?

Employment is projected to fall 5% by 2035, from about 539,300 to about 512,200 people (Department for Education).

Do you need a degree to become a book-keeper, payroll manager or wages clerk?

Not always. 39% of people in this job hold a bachelor's degree or higher. Ways in include: Arts & Humanities degrees; Business & Commerce degrees; Accounts or finance assistant (level 2).

Sources

Office for National Statistics: Annual Population Survey: employment by occupation (April 2025 to March 2026), OGL v3.0, retrieved 2026-10-03
Office for National Statistics: SOC 2020 Volume 1: structure and descriptions (2026-08-27 edition), OGL v3.0, retrieved 2026-10-03
Department for Education: Skills Imperative 2035: employment projections by occupation (2021 to 2035 (Warwick IER / Cambridge Econometrics)), OGL v3.0, retrieved 2026-10-03
Office for National Statistics: Annual Survey of Hours and Earnings, Table 14 (2025 provisional), OGL v3.0, retrieved 2026-10-03

Updated 2026-10-03

Graduate outcomes: Discover Uni dataset, HESA (www.hesa.ac.uk), licensed under CC BY 4.0 (creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0). Aggregated by subject and adapted by Peernovo.