What does payroll mean?
Payroll commonly means the total wages and salaries paid by an employer to its workforce, but it can also denote the list of people employed by an organization. The related sense of a company or institution's employees as a collective group is especially common in British English, while American usage tends to emphasize the payment process or total cost. Phrases such as "run payroll," "be on the payroll," and "payroll costs" occur regularly in business, employment, and financial contexts. Historically, a payroll was a roll, or written list, recording the people receiving payment and the sums due to them. The word can therefore refer to the list, the people on it, the money they receive, or the administrative process by which that money is calculated and distributed. Although payroll may suggest routine salaries, it can also include bonuses, commissions, and other employment compensation.
A list of an organization's employees, the total wages and salaries it pays, or the employees considered collectively.
"The audit revealed that the charity had more employees on its payroll than expected."
The collective sense for an organization or its workforce is particularly common in British English.
To include an employee in an organization's payroll or to calculate and process the wages due to employees.
"The department payrolled six new employees last week."
The verb is mainly used in business and administrative contexts and is less common than the noun.
The plural is used for separate employee lists, payroll amounts, or payroll systems, depending on context.
"The company manages payrolls for several regional offices."
A payroll began as a literal roll of names: employers used it to keep track of who worked for them and what each person was owed.
Reviewed by Deb Chak, Editor. AI-assisted content curated by RJS Tech Solutions LLP.
Where does payroll come from?
Payroll is a compound formed from "pay" and "roll," with "roll" meaning a written list or register of names. The compound dates from the late eighteenth century, when employers recorded workers and the amounts owed to them on such a roll. The older element "pay" comes through Old French paier from Latin pacare, while "roll" developed from Middle English rolle, from Old French rolle, and ultimately from Latin rotulus, a small wheel or scroll used in writing.
Related word forms
How payroll is actually used
In British usage, payroll can also mean a business organization or its staff as a whole, as in "a major payroll in the region." In modern American business usage, the word most often refers either to the employee list or to total compensation paid to employees.
Easily confused with payroll
Wages usually refer to payments made to individual workers, whereas payroll may refer to the complete employee list or the total amount paid to a workforce.