What does an Attendance Clerk do?

An Attendance Clerk allows a school or organization to keep accurate records. School Attendance Clerks ensure that students comply with laws regarding school attendance. By performing the duties established in a School Attendance Clerk job description, they can identify students who aren’t attending school regularly, allowing schools to investigate and provide necessary support to improve attendance.

A Time and Attendance Clerk working for a company provides the data needed for accurate payroll processing. Accurate time and attendance records allow organizations to issue paychecks promptly and correctly, contributing to workplace morale and employee job satisfaction.

Attendance Clerk skills and qualifications

To carry out their job duties successfully, an Attendance Clerk must possess certain skills. To attract quality candidates for your open position, you may wish to establish the following qualifications in your job description for Attendance Clerk positions:

• Computer skills to utilize database, records management, word processing, spreadsheet and email software
• Attentiveness to detail to enter information correctly
• Basic arithmetic skills to calculate attendance or working hours
• Interpersonal skills to interact positively with employees or students
• Verbal and written communication skills to respond to queries
• Familiarity with office equipment, such as copy machines and printers
• Multitasking ability to prioritize tasks and carry out many daily duties

Attendance Clerk experience requirements

A candidate with a strong skill set may not need any experience to succeed in their open positions, as an Attendance Clerk can often learn how to perform their duties through on-the-job training. However, you may wish to specify that candidates should have one or more years of clerical or administrative work experience in your Time and Attendance Clerk job description.

Attendance Clerk education and training requirements

There are typically no education requirements for Attendance Clerk positions. However, you may wish to prioritize candidates who have earned relevant voluntary certifications. Examples of such certifications include the Certified Administrative Professional (CAP) credential granted by the International Association of Administrative Professionals and the Microsoft Office Specialist.

Job description samples for similar positions

If this Attendance Clerk job description doesn’t fully describe the nature of your open position, check out the description samples for these related job titles:

• Payroll Clerk
• Payroll Specialist
• Secretary

Attendance Clerk job description FAQs

What’s the difference between a Payroll Specialist and an Attendance Clerk?

The duties included in a Time and Attendance Clerk job description center on clerical tasks, such as inputting hours worked from time cards and compiling PTO usage reports. A Payroll Specialist is an HR professional who processes employee payroll, overseeing the printing of checks and the distribution of direct deposits. They typically use the information collected by a Time and Attendance Clerk when performing their job duties.

What’s the difference between a School Attendance Clerk and a School Secretary?

A School Secretary performs a variety of clerical tasks, such as answering phones, distributing mail and scheduling appointments for administrators. Responsibilities established in a School Attendance Clerk job description focus solely on clerical duties related to monitoring student attendance.

What’s the difference between a School Attendance Clerk and a Truant Officer?

A Truant Officer serves as a liaison between schools and law enforcement agencies that enforce state and local school attendance laws. On the other hand, a School Attendance Clerk job description includes clerical tasks that allow schools to monitor student attendance. If records maintained by the School Attendance Clerk identify a student with poor attendance history, the Truant Officer will conduct an investigation and may report the situation to law enforcement based on the outcome.