From the employees’ point of view, there is no more important function of a business than making sure that each employee is paid every payroll period. Not only do they want to receive their pay on time, they want the amount of pay to be calculated correctly! Every business must rely on payroll employees who know how to do their job and how to do it accurately and on time. There are many career opportunities working in the payroll function. After all, every business must have a payroll office!

This text is written to help you understand the entire payroll function from all related areas—human resources, payroll clerk, payroll reporting officer, and the accountant responsible for general journal entries regarding payroll. Our goal in this text is to provide you with a complete framework of the payroll function so that you can successfully understand the purpose of payroll and carry out the related duties.

In addition to payroll, we have tried to introduce you to many business-related ideas and concepts through the margin notes and boxes like Point of Interest, Internet Connection, and A Case for Discussion. We hope you will find this course accurate, interesting, and enlightening for you as you begin your business studies.