Business moves at a lightning-fast pace, and as your brand grows, it can be harder to keep up with all the information that you’re collecting at every turn — this is where data entry can be of benefit. It can help create new or update customer accounts, transcribe data from important audio files (including recordings of live phone conversations), or upload expenses. Data entry can be your business lifesaver.
Working with data entry clerks can help your team focus on mission-critical tasks while still keeping all of your databases accurate and up-to-date. This helps your business use data to its advantage and improve your overall operational workflow.
In this guide, we are going to give you a simple explanation of what is data entry, and what are a data entry clerk’s responsibilities.
Data entry explained
1. What is data entry?
Data entry is a type of clerical work involving processes like voice recording and typing to enter raw data into computer systems and databases, including the addition of new data or updating existing data.
This can include transcribing notes from meetings or important calls, uploading customer information from paper records to computer records, inputting expenses into financial software, or even adding sales figures into electronic formats. It’s all about collecting, managing, and keeping track of the data your business needs.
Data entry specialists can input information into spreadsheets, word documents, or the company’s software. They may also be responsible for scanning documents. There are plenty of different types of data entry jobs, which can include “coders,” “typists,” “transcribers,” and “word processors,” in addition to straightforward “data entry” positions. They can be hourly or salaried employees, but they can also be contractors who are paid by the project or by keystrokes per word, keywords per minute, or keywords per hour.
2. Types of data entry jobs
There are several different types of data entry jobs that organizations commonly hire for. The titles and job roles may vary based on the employer, the company’s industry, and the brand’s specific needs. Some of the most popular types of data entry job titles include the following:
- Data entry clerks, where the job involves inputting key information from one format to another, often through typing
- Data entry keyer, in which the employee enters or scans data into computer software systems, often from hard copies or physical documents
- Transcriptionists, where the job typically involves listening to audio or video recordings and transcribing the information into text format; this is word-focused instead of centered around numerical data
- Word processors & typists, where the primary focus is typing to enter information from text documents, including correspondence, general data, and reports
3. What is a data entry clerk?
A data entry clerk is someone who is employed either as an employee or a third-party contractor to handle administrative work and routine clerical tasks to update or add data into a computer system or database. Their primary responsibility, aside from data entry, is to ensure data accuracy.
This may involve entering data from hard copies and paper documents into the database, typically using a keyboard. Data entry clerks often use keyboards specifically designed for data entry, which have special keys and colors to help increase speed. Many of these keyboards are also created with ergonomics in mind since data entry specialists often spend so much time working at a keyboard.
Speed and accuracy are important traits that data entry specialists should have, as they can increase the output of the specialist while ensuring that the data is all correct.
4. What does a data entry clerk do?
Data entry clerks handle routine data entry and clerical tasks that involve updating or entering new data into the company’s databases.
Core responsibility is to ensure data accuracy. They need to ensure that a company’s existing database has accurate and up-to-date information so that the company can act on the right data. It’s also common for data entry clerks to help with the finance department on tasks like accounts receivable, processing payments, and reviewing and processing order returns.
There are other common responsibilities that data entry clerks may have, depending on their specific job role and the company that hired them. These include the following:
- Collecting and inputting data into the company’s databases
- Maintaining a database by updating information on an ongoing basis, including entering customer data in alphanumeric calculators with a keyboard or optical scanner
- Reviewing customer and business records for accuracy, comparing them to new data that’s been acquired, and editing, adding, or deleting data as needed
- Performing backups and downloads of information for data preservation purposes
- Retrieving records and files from the database to present to other team members as needed
- Organizing paper records or notes after data entry for storage, archives, or shredding
- Organizing digital records according to a client’s standards
- Entering account or customer information when new information is provided to the business
- Maintaining all company policies, data entry techniques, and procedures in regard to data uploading
- Adhering to deadlines as set by the organization
- Scanning documents and files and uploading them into the business’s databases or archives
- Transcribing audio or video into text-based documents
- Assisting with building data management systems or reviewing current data management systems
- Generating reports based on the data compiled
- Using word processing, spreadsheet, database, or other computer software systems in addition to office equipment like special keyboards, printers, and scanners
- May be asked to tackle other administrative work depending on the company and the clerk’s specific experience
- Preparing source data for database entry by compiling and organizing the information
- Establishing data entry priorities and tasks
- Secures data by processing database backups and ensuring that the backups are functional
- Purging files to eliminate duplication of data, such as duplicate customer accounts, and combining data from multiple sources in a single database
- Tests account and customer system changes and upgrades by inputting new data
- Contributing to teamwork by taking on other related tasks as needed by an organization
- Keeps all data confidential, including business information and customer data
Conclusion
While data entry can fall by the wayside when your staff is overwhelmed, it’s one thing that should never be neglected. You need strong, accurate, and updated information for every part of your organization. This will help you make stronger decisions that will lead your business to more success, instead of basing important business decisions on inaccurate data.
Before you start looking for a data entry specialist, think about what tasks you’ll need them to tackle and what roles you’d like them to take. Determine if you’d like them to be in-office or remote, and what your desired budget is. This will help you determine the best approach.
