Home Payroll Manager Resume template
Payroll Manager resume template
A clean starting structure with example content grounded in what payroll managers actually do day to day, not generic filler. Download and replace the bracketed placeholders with your own details.
Which resume format should you use?
Reverse chronological
You have a steady work history. This is the format almost every recruiter and ATS expects by default.
Functional
You're changing fields or have gaps in your employment. Leads with skills rather than a job-by-job timeline.
Combination
You're early career or have worked consistently but for only a few employers. Blends a skills summary with a shorter chronological history.
This template uses the reverse chronological format: the one most payroll managers should default to, since most Australian recruiters and ATS software expect it.
Professional summary
Payroll Manager with a strong background in end-to-end payroll processing, compliance, and team leadership. Skilled in interpreting modern awards and enterprise agreements, and ensuring tax and superannuation obligations are met under Single Touch Payroll. Proficient in a range of payroll and accounting systems, including Xero, MYOB, and SAP SuccessFactors.
Key skills
- Payroll processing
- Regulatory compliance
- Risk and internal controls
- Xero
- MYOB
- SAP SuccessFactors Payroll
- ADP Payforce
- Employment Hero
- Attention to detail
- Time and deadline management
- People leadership
- Written communication
Experience: example bullet points
- Managed end-to-end pay runs for over 500 employees across multiple entities, ensuring accurate and on-time payments.
- Interpreted modern awards and enterprise agreements to resolve pay discrepancies, reducing employee queries and corrections.
- Led and developed a payroll team of six, handling rostering and workflow to meet strict deadlines.
- Ensured compliance with Single Touch Payroll and superannuation guarantee obligations, passing ATO reviews without penalty.
- Reconciled payroll accounts and prepared monthly cost reports, improving reporting accuracy for finance.
Education
A bachelor degree in accounting, business, or commerce is common, though many enter with a diploma or certificate in payroll, bookkeeping, or accounting. Relevant experience in payroll or accounts roles is highly valued.
Keywords an ATS is likely to scan for
Applicant tracking systems match your resume against terms in the job ad before a person ever sees it. Only include the ones that actually apply to your experience, but if a term below matches something you've done, use the same wording the job ad uses.
- Single Touch Payroll
- STP
- Superannuation Guarantee
- ATO
- Fair Work Ombudsman
- Modern Awards
- Enterprise Agreements
- Payroll Tax
- Workers Compensation
- Xero
- MYOB
- SAP SuccessFactors
- ADP Payforce
- Employment Hero
- Payroll Management
- Payroll Compliance
- Payroll Reporting
- Team Leadership
- Award Interpretation
- Salary Packaging
- FBT
Getting past ATS screening
- Match the specific skills, certifications and terms used in the job ad, not just your own wording for the same thing.
- Keep formatting simple: no tables, text boxes, columns, headers/footers or graphics. Parsers frequently drop content placed in these.
- Submit as .docx or PDF unless the job ad specifies otherwise.
- Use standard section headings (Experience, Education, Skills) rather than creative alternatives.
- List your core skills and technical competencies in their own section so a keyword scan can find them instantly.
This is a starting point, not a guarantee of interviews. Tailor every bullet point to your own real experience and the specific job ad.