Payroll Courses For Certification – Start A Lucrative Career Today!
Academy of Learning offers three levels of payroll courses in partnership with the Canadian Payroll Association. Each course includes everything you need for success.
- Online access to all materials including text, audio files, videos, and interactive payroll training
- One-on-one support from our Learning Coaches who are there to help you over whatever hurdles you may encounter
- A pre-test to assess your current knowledge in order to develop a study plan, application exercises to apply concepts to real-life situations, chapter quizzes to review the information learned from the printed material and a post-test to evaluate your learning gain.
- Course manual provided for on-going reference
There is a final exam upon completion of the payroll course. These payroll courses apply towards the CPA’s Payroll Compliance Practitioner (PCP) certification. Successful completion of each payroll course is dependent on passing the CPA final exam (65%) for this course, and obtaining an overall course mark of 65%.

Payroll Courses – Level 1 – Payroll Compliance Legislation
The first of the Canadian payroll courses, Payroll Compliance Legislation, introduces you to payroll compliance responsibilities that affect organizations. This course is designed to provide you with the theory and knowledge required to:
- Describe payroll’s objectives and stakeholders
- Identify an employer/employee relationship
- Communicate the payroll compliance requirements to various stakeholders
- Apply federal and provincial legislation to payroll including:
the Canada Pension Plan
the Employment Insurance Act
the Income Tax Act
employment standards legislation
Workers’ Compensation Acts
Québec-specific legislation
Lesson 1: Payroll and Its Compliance Environment
Lesson 2: Federal Legislation
Lesson 3: Canada Pension Plan and Employment Insurance
Lesson 4: Income Tax
Lesson 5: Labour Standards – Employment Standards
Lesson 6: Labour Standards – Collective Agreements
Lesson 7: Provincial and Territorial Legislation Outside Québec
Lesson 8: Québec Legislation Lesson
Lesson 9: Workers’ Compensation

Payroll Courses – Level 2 – Payroll Fundamentals 1
For our second payroll course, Payroll Fundamentals 1, you’ll learn how to apply payroll legislation and calculate individual pay. This includes all components of individual pay from remuneration, through deductions, to net pay for both regular and nonregular situations. You will have the content and skills to effectively communicate all aspects of the individual pay calculation process to external and internal stakeholders.
This payroll course is designed to provide you with the theory and knowledge required to:
- Calculate regular individual net pay
- Calculate non-regular individual pay
- Calculate termination payments
- Complete a Record of Employment
- Communicate all aspects of individual pay requirements to stakeholders.
Lesson 1: New Employee Information
Lesson 2: Employment Income – Regular Earnings
Lesson 3: Employment Income – Allowances, Expenses and Benefits
Lesson 4: Non-Regular Payments
Lesson 5: Non-Statutory Deductions
Lesson 6: Termination of Employment
Lesson 7: Record of Employment
Lesson 8: Commission Payments

Payroll Courses – Level 3 – Payroll Fundamentals 2
In the Payroll Fundamentals 2 course, you will learn how to calculate and report government and third-party remittances, year-end requirements and accounting for payroll at the compliance level for the organization. You will be able to effectively communicate these organizational processes and requirements to internal and external stakeholders. This course is designed to provide the payroll student with the theory and knowledge required to:
- Calculate organizational remittances to federal, provincial and third-party stakeholders
- Prepare accounting documentation for payroll
- Complete year-end documentation
- Communicate all aspects of organizational remittances, accounting and year-end requirements to various stakeholders.
Lesson 1: Federal Remittances
Lesson 2: Provincial Remittances
Lesson 3: Non-Statutory Deduction Remittances
Lesson 4: Workers’ Compensation
Lesson 5: Payroll Accounting
Lesson 6: Year-End – Federal
Lesson 7: Year-End – Québec
Lesson 8: Year-End – Workers’ Compensation and Provincial Agencies
How To Become A Certified Payroll Compliance Practitioner (PCP)
In order to become certified as a payroll expert through the Canadian Payroll Association, there are several requirements:
- Payroll Compliance Legislation: Get introduced to all legislation influencing payroll compliance requirements. View course sheet.
- Payroll Fundamentals 1: Apply legislation to calculate and document all types of individual payments. Open Level 2 information sheet.
- Payroll Fundamentals 2: Learn about third-party remittances, including accounting, technical and year-end requirements. View PDF of Level 3.
- Bookkeeping Training: Transfer your credit from a course covering basic accounting practices and principles. Bookkeeping Level 1 and/or 2 is eligible.
- Work Experience: Full certification requires one year of weighted payroll job experience.
For more information on how to become a certified Payroll Compliance Practitioner (PCP), visit the Canadian Payroll Association.

AOLCC’s Integrated Learning System™
All courses in our programs are delivered through our unique Integrated Learning System™ (ILS). Through ILS, you will develop a true proficiency in each topic, no matter your age or skill level upon enrolment. Our learning coaches are with you every step of the way to provide individualized assistance and encouragement in a supportive and non-competitive learning environment. Here’s how it works:
- You only advance to the next course when you are confident that you have mastered one topic and are ready to move on to the next
- You participate in hands-on exercises, tasks and practice exams that test your knowledge and give you confidence
Our payroll courses are offered in partnership with the Canadian Payroll Association and include online/digital resources, interactive practice, remote access for safety, one-on-one Learning Coach assistance, and comprehensive textbooks. These courses are recognized across the province and country.
Students accomplish the learning objectives for each module through a series of hands-on tasks, for which they are given step-by-step instructions and desired result checkpoints. The tasks provide ample opportunity for students to practice, apply, and develop the skills covered in the course.
A practice exercise and review questions are included at the end of each module to measure progress and reinforce the skills learned. There is also a lab exercise at the end of the course to provide further practice and review to reinforce the topics learned throughout the course, and to help prepare students for the exam.