Ensure your CV format is structured to best highlight your unique experience and life situation.

Payroll CV template (text format)

PERSONAL STATEMENT

Highly focused and analytical professional with 5+ years of experience overseeing payroll processes across various organisations. Proven track record of using software platforms such as Paylocity and Gusto to process payroll for 250+ employees. Instrumental in creating reports, reducing errors in payroll processing, and saving costs. Possess excellent communication, collaboration, and problem-solving skills.

WORK EXPERIENCE

Payroll Administrator, Hays

London | 20XX–Present

  • Process multi-unit biweekly payroll worth £20.4M for 267 employees, ensuring accuracy and timeliness
  • Improved payroll processing and reduced errors from 12% to 5% in first 6 months by integrating new software
  • Collaborate with HR to create custom reports, including details of all employees on paid and unpaid leave
  • Administer seamless rollout of company debit card for 200+ employees

Payroll Administrator, Light & Wonder

London | 20XX–20XX

  • Streamlined payroll processes and documentation while delivering biweekly/quarterly reports to senior management
  • Delivered highly efficient payroll management by implementing policies and procedures for paid/unpaid leave across the organisation
  • Managed provision of advanced payments to employees while ensuring compliance with company loan and debt policies
  • Ensured transactions adhered to legal regulations, union agreements, and company guidelines

Associate Payroll Administrator, Bam Nuttall Ltd.

London | 20XX–20XX

  • Collected reports from accounting and payroll systems to assist payroll administrator in timely payroll processing
  • Updated and maintained payroll files and databases of employees
  • Identified payroll discrepancies and made necessary corrections
  • Tracked leave time, such as vacations and employee personal and sick leave

EDUCATION

Coventry University | 20XX–20XX

Master’s in Business Administration (upper second-class honours)

University of Birmingham | 20XX–20XX

Bachelor’s in Accounting and Finance (first-class honours)

ADDITIONAL SKILLS

  • Proven organisational and time management skills
  • Adept at liaising with cross-functional teams
  • Proficient in using Intuit Quickbooks, SAP Crystal Reports, Oracle E-Business Suite
  • Excellent communication, relationship building, and interpersonal skills

HOBBIES & INTERESTS

  • Avid cyclist, regularly participating in regional races
  • Amateur viola player
  • Outgoing individual, often making new friends

Best skills to put on a payroll CV

Payroll administrators work with human resources and finance departments to ensure employees are paid accurately and on time. Payroll work includes managing starters and leavers, calculating wages, and issuing payments. A payroll administrator may also be responsible for payroll tax reporting, pension management, and other administrative tasks.

As a payroll administrator, you need hard skills related to database management and payroll processing. Here are a few examples that will make your payroll CV stand out:

  • Payroll software (e.g., Sage Business Cloud Payroll, Quickbooks, Xero)
  • Computer skills
  • Maths skills
  • Microsoft Office (especially Excel)
  • Data analysis
  • Recordkeeping
  • Filing
  • Data entry
  • Payroll reconciliation
  • End-to-end payroll processing
  • Starters and leavers reporting
  • Knowledge of tax regulations

Check out example CVs for similar roles if you need more ideas on how to demonstrate these skills effectively.

You’ll also need excellent soft skills, personal traits like communication and people skills. These traits enable you to work well with other departments, maintain productive relationships with employees, and coordinate with third-party payroll providers.

These soft skills are particularly important for payroll administrators:

Payroll job outlook in 2025 — things to know

According to the Office for National Statistics (ONS), payroll professionals in the UK earn an average annual salary of £24,974.

You can find information about the gender pay gap for payroll on the ONS’ website.

The ONS also notes that this role faces a skills shortage, with 40.82% of employers reporting difficulties filling similar vacancies.

To strengthen your CV for a payroll role, highlight these key qualifications and licences:

  • CIPP qualification
  • Knowledge of UK payroll legislation
  • Knowledge of income tax, National Insurance, SSP, and SMP

If you’re missing any of these qualifications, consider enrolling in a course, training programme, or work-based learning scheme to boost your profile.

Data source: The Office for National Statistics, an agency of His Majesty’s Government. The information contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0 and reflects the ONS’s most recent salary (1/11/2023), gender pay gap (4/2023), and skills shortage data (6/2022).

Samuel Johns
Written by

Samuel Johns

Samuel Johns is a Certified Professional Resume Writer (CPRW) and Senior Editor on the CV Genius team, with 6+ years of experience in the careers space. He has helped countless job hunters craft high-quality CVs and cover letters, exceed expectations at interviews, and obtain their dream jobs. Born and raised in County Durham in the beautiful North East of England, he graduated with a BA (Hons) in French Language and Literature from the University of Bristol in 2013 and has worked in Newcastle-upon-Tyne, London, Paris, and Taipei as a French–English translator. He’s determined to use his native English and fluent French skills to help UK and French candidates get the jobs they deserve. In addition to the British and French versions of CV Genius, Samuel’s job-hunt advice has been published on numerous websites, including Careers.org, the University of Warwick, the Enterprisers Project, and HR.com. If you’d like to collaborate, please reach out to Samuel through LinkedIn. Please note, we don’t accept guest posts and won’t reply to such requests.