Payroll is the process of calculating and disbursing wages, salaries, bonuses, expenses and deductions relating to employees' compensation for their work.  It is necessary to maintain financial records, understand current laws and regulations, detailed knowledge of tax issues, and a system to ensure employees are compensated accurately.

A payroll manager supervises the payroll department and others staff including payroll officers, assistants, or administrators. It is the responsibility of payroll professionals to ensure payroll amounts and taxes are paid rightly and timely.

Certified Payroll Professional (CPP) program by the American Payroll Association (APA) is a certification credential for payroll professionals in order to have higher-level skills together with management and payroll systems. Payroll professionals are required by the Certification Board of APA to fulfill one of several eligibility criteria before taking an exam for CPP certification.

The validity of the CPP certification is five (5) full calendar years, from the date of certification to Dec 31st of the following year in which certification was recently obtained. Certified Payroll Professionals may be recertified in order to maintain certification, either by retaking the CPP exam during the 5th year of the certification or by meeting the requirements for Continuing Education.

CPPs need to collect at least 120 qualifying Recertification Credit Hours (RCH credits) within 5 years and remit the appropriate recertification fees in order to maintain certification. RCHs are the number of educational clock hours spent in direct participation as a participant or instructor in an organized educational format. RCH credits can be accumulated by attending qualifying APA National courses, seminars, conferences, and other programs that provide learning opportunities offered by approved provides. Qualifying education programs must be recorded in the Recertification Program Log and any evidence verifying participation must be retained for mandatory audit by APA done via random selection.

Recertification Credit Hours are the official recertification unit for all those certified by the American Payroll Association (APA). Recertification through continuing education requires a minimum of 120 qualifying RCHs. RCHs more than 120 cannot be carried over into the next recertification period.

There are a number of benefits for CPPs who choose recertification through continuing education instead of retaking the exam. Laws related to payroll change frequently and the accounting best practices are constantly updating with the integration of new software and platforms. Ongoing training is the best way for CPP professionals to stay current with the new developments in the field and make better use of technology in their work.

Becoming a Certified Payroll Professional and maintaining it through recertification is a course towards professional development that opens up the CPPs' career to new opportunities and make them stand out as a candidate for potential jobs.

By constantly learning and recertifying through accumulating RCHs, the job performance of CPP improves by increasing accuracy and compliance.

To continue to hold the designation via RCH and continuing education, the CPP promises to stay current with best practices and emerging trends in the field. Staying up-to-date with the compliance issues related to tax and regulatory information also reduces the company's exposure to penalties.

Another benefit of RCH for CPPs is that they can also convert qualifying continuing education units (CEU),  CPE credits, and university or college semester/quarter credits to RCH credits. Only qualifying CEUs and credits, with the content included in the content outlines of the exams or within the payroll industry definition, approved by APA and provided by an authorized RCHs provider, can be converted to RCHs.