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Payroll Administrator CV example and template (South Africa)

Updated · Written for South African employers

Payroll administrators make sure every employee is paid the right amount on the right day, and that everything deducted reaches SARS, the Unemployment Insurance Fund (UIF), the Compensation Fund, pension and medical aid funds and other third parties on time. Payroll bureaus and accounting practices that run payroll for many small clients hire them, and so do the payroll departments of large employers such as retailers, mines, hospitals, universities and municipalities. The job is different from an HR assistant, who prepares the inputs, and a bookkeeper, who keeps the books: payroll owns the calculation, the payslips and the statutory submissions. A payroll manager reading your CV checks which payroll systems you know and for how many employees, which submissions you do yourself, such as the monthly EMP201 and the EMP501 reconciliations, and whether your payrolls are accurate and on time.

The example below is for a payroll administrator with more than eight years' experience who runs the monthly and weekly payrolls for about 1,750 employees at a Bellville distribution company on Sage 300 People, after starting at a payroll bureau on SimplePay and PaySpace. Give your numbers: employees, pay frequencies (weekly, fortnightly, monthly), companies or clients, and any union or bargaining council rules you apply. If you are newer, for example a payroll clerk, list the inputs you capture and check, your payroll qualification and its NQF level, and any membership or designation from the South African Payroll Association (SAPA).

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Payroll Administrator CV example

Leandra Petersen

Payroll Administrator with 8 years' experience, Sage 300 People, PaySpace and SARS submissions, SAPA CPAP

021 555 0129 · leandra.petersen@example.co.za · Bellville, Western Cape

Profile

Accurate payroll administrator with eight years' experience, now running the monthly salaried payroll for 1,100 staff and the weekly payroll for 650 warehouse workers at a Bellville distribution company on Sage 300 People. Submits EMP201s by the 7th, completes the interim and annual EMP501 reconciliations on e@syFile Employer, files UIF declarations on uFiling and the COIDA Return of Earnings on CF Online. Applies BCEA overtime, leave and deduction rules. SAPA Certified Payroll Administration Practitioner (CPAP).

Work experience

Payroll Administrator

Cape Fresh Distribution (Pty) Ltd, Bellville | Aug 2021 – Present

  • Run the monthly payroll for 1,100 salaried staff and the weekly payroll for 650 hourly workers on Sage 300 People
  • Capture and check about 900 inputs a month and review variance reports before approval
  • Submit the monthly EMP201 and claim ETI on SARS eFiling by the 7th
  • Complete the interim and annual EMP501 reconciliations and issue about 1,900 IRP5 and IT3(a) certificates a year
  • Submit UIF declarations on uFiling and the COIDA Return of Earnings on CF Online
  • Process emoluments attachment and garnishee orders and tax directives, including two-pot withdrawals
  • Reconcile payroll to the general ledger and pay retirement fund and medical aid schedules

Payroll Consultant

Tygerberg Payroll Bureau, Durbanville | Mar 2018 – Jul 2021

  • Ran monthly payrolls for 35 small business clients with between 5 and 120 employees each on SimplePay and PaySpace
  • Submitted EMP201s and UIF declarations for every client on time
  • Prepared EMP501 reconciliations and helped clients register for COIDA and file their Returns of Earnings
  • Set up eight new clients on PaySpace, including leave balances and year-to-date figures
  • Answered employees' payslip and leave questions by phone and email

Education

Further Education and Training Certificate: Payroll Administration Services

Services SETA-accredited training provider, Cape Town, 2019, NQF level 4

National Senior Certificate (Matric)

Fairmont High School, 2016, NQF level 4

Subjects: English Home Language, Afrikaans First Additional Language, Mathematics, Accounting (78%), Business Studies, Economics, Life Orientation

Skills

  • Sage 300 People
  • PaySpace and SimplePay
  • PAYE, UIF, SDL and ETI
  • EMP201 and EMP501 on eFiling and e@syFile Employer
  • IRP5 and IT3(a) certificates
  • uFiling UIF declarations
  • COIDA Return of Earnings on CF Online
  • BCEA overtime, leave and deductions
  • Payroll reconciliations in Excel

Certificates

  • Certified Payroll Administration Practitioner (CPAP), South African Payroll Association (SAPA), 2024
  • Sage 300 People payroll training, Sage training partner, 2021
  • PaySpace payroll training, PaySpace, 2019

Achievements

  • No late EMP201 payments or EMP501 submissions since August 2021
  • No payroll findings in the company's last three external audits

Personal details

Driver’s licence:
Code B (Code 8)
Own transport:
Yes
Nationality:
South African
Languages:
English (Home language), Afrikaans (Fluent), isiXhosa (Basic)
Notice period:
One month
Availability:
Full-time, with extra hours at month-end and EMP501 deadlines

References

Imraan Gamieldien

Financial Manager, Cape Fresh Distribution (Pty) Ltd

021 555 0151

Ronel Swanepoel

Bureau Owner, Tygerberg Payroll Bureau

021 555 0186

Payroll Administrator CV summary you can copy

Change the details so they are true for you.

Accurate payroll administrator with eight years' experience, now running the monthly salaried payroll for 1,100 staff and the weekly payroll for 650 warehouse workers at a Bellville distribution company on Sage 300 People. Submits EMP201s by the 7th, completes the interim and annual EMP501 reconciliations on e@syFile Employer, files UIF declarations on uFiling and the COIDA Return of Earnings on CF Online. Applies BCEA overtime, leave and deduction rules. SAPA Certified Payroll Administration Practitioner (CPAP).

Skills to list on your Payroll Administrator CV

Duties written as strong bullet points

Tips for a stronger Payroll Administrator CV

Give the size and shape of your payroll

Write how many employees you pay, how often (weekly, fortnightly or monthly), across how many companies or clients, and on which system. "1,100 monthly and 650 weekly employees on Sage 300 People" tells a payroll manager in one line whether you can step into their payroll.

List the submissions you own, with deadlines

Say exactly which statutory returns you prepare and submit yourself, such as the EMP201 by the 7th of each month, the EMP501 interim and annual reconciliations, monthly UIF declarations and the COIDA Return of Earnings. Add your on-time record if it is good, because late SARS submissions cost employers penalties.

Prove you are accurate

Payroll mistakes reach every employee and SARS. Mention your controls, such as a variance report before every approval, payroll-to-ledger reconciliations, or a clean audit of the payroll. A line like "no payroll audit findings in three years" carries a lot of weight.

Show the labour law you apply

Link the Basic Conditions of Employment Act (BCEA) to your work, for example overtime at one and a half times the normal rate, double pay for public holidays worked, leave accrual and payouts, and the section 34 rules on deductions. If you apply a bargaining council agreement or union deductions, name it.

Add your SAPA designation and qualification

Write your payroll qualification with its NQF level and any SAPA designation, such as Certified Payroll Technician (CPT), Certified Payroll Administration Practitioner (CPAP) or Certified Payroll Practitioner (CPP). If you are working towards one, give the expected date.

Questions people ask

Which qualifications do I need for payroll work?

Matric with Accounting or Mathematics is the usual starting point. Payroll-specific qualifications include the Further Education and Training Certificate in Payroll Administration Services (NQF 4) and the newer Higher Occupational Certificate in Payroll Administrator (NQF 5), offered through accredited training providers. Training courses from software suppliers such as Sage, PaySpace and SimplePay are also worth listing. Some payroll administrators come from a bookkeeping or accounting qualification and add payroll training.

What is SAPA and what do its designations mean?

The South African Payroll Association (SAPA) is the SAQA-recognised professional body for payroll. It awards three designations. A Certified Payroll Technician (CPT) needs an NQF 4 payroll qualification, or to be studying towards one, and at least a year working in payroll. A Certified Payroll Administration Practitioner (CPAP) needs an NQF 4 payroll qualification, or an NQF 5 qualification with a finance or tax component, plus five years' relevant experience. A Certified Payroll Practitioner (CPP) needs an NQF 5 payroll qualification, or an NQF 6 qualification with a finance or tax component, plus five years' experience. All three require 50 CPD points every two years. Check the SAPA website for current rules.

What are the EMP201, EMP501, IRP5 and IT3(a)?

The EMP201 is the monthly employer declaration to SARS for PAYE, UIF and the Skills Development Levy (SDL), less any ETI, and it must be submitted and paid by the 7th of the next month, or the last business day before if the 7th falls on a weekend or public holiday. The EMP501 is the reconciliation of those declarations, the payments and employees' tax certificates, done twice a year. In 2026 the annual submission period ran from 1 April to 31 May, and the interim one, for March to August, from 21 September to 31 October. An IRP5 is the tax certificate for an employee who had PAYE deducted, and an IT3(a) is for one who did not.

How do UIF contributions and uFiling work?

The employer deducts 1% of the employee's pay and adds 1% of its own, on earnings up to R17,712 a month, so the most deducted from an employee is R177.12. Employers registered with SARS pay UIF with PAYE and SDL on the EMP201. Separately, they must declare their employees' details to the Department of Employment and Labour every month, on uFiling or by declaration file, so the UIF has the records it needs when someone claims.

What is the COIDA Return of Earnings?

Under the Compensation for Occupational Injuries and Diseases Act (COIDA), employers must send the Compensation Fund a yearly Return of Earnings (ROE) showing what they paid employees, and the Fund uses it to calculate the assessment the employer pays. It is submitted on CF Online. In 2026 the season ran from 1 April to 30 June, but the Fund announces the dates each year, so check its notice.

What BCEA rules does a payroll administrator need to know?

The Basic Conditions of Employment Act sets overtime at one and a half times the normal wage, limited to 10 hours a week, and double pay for work on a public holiday or, for employees who do not normally work Sundays, on a Sunday. It sets annual leave at 21 consecutive days a year (15 working days for a five-day week) and sick leave per three-year cycle. Under section 34, deductions need the employee's written agreement or must be required by law, a court order or a collective agreement. Employees earning above the BCEA earnings threshold are not covered by the overtime rules.

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