What Does a Data Entry Clerk Do? Tasks & Cost
June 26, 2026
A data entry clerk takes information from one place and records it accurately in another, such as a spreadsheet, a CRM, an accounting system, or a database. The job is part typing and part quality control: enter the data, check it against the source, fix errors, and keep records clean and current. If your team is buried in invoices, orders, leads, or paperwork, a data entry clerk clears that backlog so the rest of the company can act on numbers it can trust.
This guide covers what a data entry clerk does day to day, the tasks and skills to look for, what one costs in the US, and how a bilingual hire from Latin America compares on price and working hours.
At its core, the role keeps your business records correct and usable. A clerk receives information from documents, forms, emails, receipts, or recordings, then enters it into your systems and confirms it is right. Some clerks focus on a single system, like an order platform or a medical records tool. Others handle a mix of admin work and double as a general virtual assistant.
The output is easy to describe and easy to undervalue: clean data you can rely on. Bad data costs money. A wrong address ships a package to the wrong city. A mistyped invoice number delays a payment. A duplicate lead wastes a sales rep's morning. A good clerk prevents those small, expensive mistakes before they reach a customer or a bank statement.
Most data entry clerk job descriptions include some mix of the tasks below. Use this as a checklist when you write your own listing.
On a small team, the same person often supports billing and light bookkeeping, so data entry and basic finance work tend to overlap.
Not all data entry is the same. The common types include:
Speed matters, but accuracy matters more. The best clerks pair a fast, correct keyboard with the patience to check their own work. Look for these data entry clerk skills:
For US small businesses, one more skill is worth its weight: language. A bilingual clerk who reads and writes English and Spanish can process documents from Spanish-speaking customers, vendors, and staff with no translation step in the middle.
According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, the median wage for data entry keyers in the United States was about $18.17 an hour, which works out to roughly $37,790 a year (May 2023 figures). That is the pay alone. Add payroll taxes, benefits, software, equipment, and a desk, and the real cost of an in-house clerk runs well above the headline number.
Hiring a remote clerk from Latin America changes the math. You get someone in a US-friendly time zone, often bilingual, at a fraction of the in-house cost. Here is a side by side view.
| Factor | In-house US clerk | Remote clerk from Latin America |
|---|---|---|
| Typical pay | About $18 an hour before taxes and benefits (BLS, May 2023) | A fraction of US cost. Virtustant places talent at up to 70% less than US hiring costs |
| Time zone | Your local hours | Overlaps US business hours across Eastern, Central, and Pacific |
| Languages | Usually English only | Commonly bilingual English and Spanish |
| Overhead | Desk, equipment, payroll taxes, benefits | Handled through the staffing partner |
| Ramp-up | Weeks to post, screen, and hire | Vetted candidates ready to start in days |
For a deeper breakdown of remote pricing, see our guide on how much a nearshore virtual assistant costs.
The titles get used interchangeably, and the line between them is fuzzy. In practice, "clerk" tends to describe high-volume entry and verification, while a data entry specialist often handles a wider scope: data cleaning, light analysis, system administration, and process documentation. If your work is mostly repetitive entry, a clerk is fine. If you need someone to own the data and improve how it flows, hire at the specialist level.
A few signs it is time:
If two or more of those sound familiar, the cost of a clerk is usually smaller than the cost of the errors and lost time you carry now.
This is where a staffing partner earns its keep. Instead of posting a listing and sorting through hundreds of resumes, you describe the work and review a short list of vetted, bilingual candidates who already fit your hours. Latin America sits in time zones close to the US, so your clerk is online when your team is, not wrapping up the day as you start yours. For the full process, read our walkthrough on how to hire a virtual assistant from Latin America.
At Virtustant, we place vetted, bilingual professionals from Latin America with US small businesses at up to 70% less than US hiring costs. For data entry, that means accurate records, working hours that match yours, and no translation gap on Spanish-language paperwork.
A data entry clerk spends the day entering information into spreadsheets, a CRM, or an accounting system, checking it against source documents, fixing errors, and cleaning up existing records. The goal is accurate data the rest of the team can rely on.
Fast and accurate typing, comfort with spreadsheets, familiarity with your CRM or accounting tool, strong attention to detail, and discretion with private data. For US businesses, a bilingual English and Spanish clerk adds clear value.
In the US, the median wage for data entry keyers was about $18.17 an hour, or roughly $37,790 a year, per the Bureau of Labor Statistics (May 2023), before taxes and benefits. A remote clerk from Latin America typically costs much less.
A clerk usually focuses on high-volume entry and verification. A specialist takes on a wider scope, including data cleaning, light analysis, and improving how data moves between systems.
Need accurate data without adding a US salary to payroll? Talk to Virtustant and we will match you with a vetted, bilingual data entry clerk from Latin America who works your hours.
Virtustant Team
