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Key Responsibilities and Required Skills for Data Entry Specialist

💰 $30,000 - $50,000

Data EntryAdministrationOperations

🎯 Role Definition

The Data Entry Specialist is responsible for accurately capturing, validating, processing, and maintaining large volumes of information across CRM systems, ERPs, spreadsheets, and proprietary databases. This role requires exceptional typing speed and accuracy, strong familiarity with Microsoft Excel and Google Sheets, attention to data integrity and privacy regulations (e.g., GDPR/HIPAA where applicable), and the ability to follow process documentation or SOPs. The ideal candidate supports business operations by ensuring data completeness, performing data cleansing and enrichment activities, and partnering with business analysts, operations, and IT to improve data workflows and reduce errors.

Keywords: data entry specialist, data accuracy, data integrity, CRM data entry, Excel data processing, data cleansing, data validation, OCR, data migration.

📈 Career Progression

Typical Career Path

Entry Point From:

  • Administrative Assistant / Office Clerk
  • Customer Service Representative with CRM experience
  • Junior Data Processor or Receptionist

Advancement To:

  • Senior Data Entry Specialist / Data Coordinator
  • Data Quality Analyst
  • Business Operations Analyst
  • Database Administrator (with additional technical training)

Lateral Moves:

  • Records Management Specialist
  • Document Control Specialist
  • CRM Administrator

Core Responsibilities

Primary Functions

  • Accurately transcribe handwritten, scanned, or digital documents into designated databases, CRMs, or spreadsheets while maintaining a minimum error threshold and tracking accuracy metrics for weekly reporting.
  • Perform high-volume data entry tasks (e.g., customer records, transaction logs, inventory counts) with consistent typing speed and accuracy, ensuring fields are normalized and follow predefined naming conventions.
  • Validate and reconcile incoming records against source documents and cross-reference entries with existing data to identify duplicates, inconsistencies, or missing information and take corrective action.
  • Execute data cleansing and enrichment routines, including standardizing addresses, formatting phone numbers and emails, appending missing fields, and flagging ambiguous records for specialist review.
  • Manage batch uploads, imports, and exports of data between third-party systems and internal databases, using CSV/Excel templates and following import validation checklists to prevent data corruption.
  • Use OCR (optical character recognition) tools and document imaging software to capture text from scanned forms and verify OCR outputs for accuracy, making manual corrections as needed.
  • Maintain and update internal documentation, standard operating procedures (SOPs), and data entry guides to reflect process improvements, system changes, and quality control best practices.
  • Monitor incoming data queues and prioritize tasks based on business impact, service level agreements (SLAs), and escalation rules to ensure timely processing of critical records.
  • Perform regular audits and spot checks on data sets to measure data quality KPIs (accuracy rate, completeness rate, duplicate rate) and partner with the Data Quality team to close identified gaps.
  • Assist with data migration and system implementation projects by preparing legacy data, mapping fields, cleansing records, and executing test imports to ensure a successful cutover.
  • Enter sensitive personal or financial information while strictly adhering to privacy, security, and compliance policies (e.g., GDPR, HIPAA, PCI), including secure handling and redaction when required.
  • Flag and escalate data anomalies, potential fraud indicators, or systemic issues to supervisors and collaborate with cross-functional teams to investigate root causes and remediate.
  • Coordinate with customer service, sales, and operations teams to gather missing information, clarify ambiguous entries, and ensure customer records are complete and up to date.
  • Generate and deliver ad-hoc and recurring reports on data status, backlog, throughput, and error trends to stakeholders and recommend actionable improvements.
  • Support customer onboarding by accurately inputting client profiles, contract terms, billing data, and custom attributes into CRM/ERP systems and validating that integrations populate correctly.
  • Apply data validation rules and business logic within spreadsheets or data entry interfaces to reduce manual errors and enforce consistency across datasets.
  • Manage physical and electronic filing systems for scanned documents and source records, ensuring retrievability and retention compliance according to company policies.
  • Train and mentor junior data entry staff on entry standards, system usage, and data quality expectations; provide constructive feedback and second-level review support.
  • Utilize basic query tools or SQL (as applicable) to extract small datasets for validation, reconciliation, or reporting tasks and coordinate larger queries with the data/IT team.
  • Maintain productivity and quality targets in high-volume environments while documenting blockers, system issues, and suggested automation opportunities for management consideration.
  • Implement and participate in continuous improvement initiatives, including automation of repetitive tasks (macros, scripts, or simple RPA) to increase accuracy and throughput.
  • Prepare and support monthly or quarterly compliance and audit activities by compiling required data extracts and demonstrating traceability of data changes.

Secondary Functions

  • Support ad-hoc data requests and exploratory data analysis.
  • Contribute to the organization's data strategy and roadmap.
  • Collaborate with business units to translate data needs into engineering requirements.
  • Participate in sprint planning and agile ceremonies within the data engineering team.
  • Liaise with IT to report software defects, request system enhancements, and assist with user acceptance testing (UAT) of data-related features.
  • Assist in preparing training materials, quick reference guides, and e-learning content to improve team-wide adherence to data standards.

Required Skills & Competencies

Hard Skills (Technical)

  • High-speed typing and keyboarding proficiency (e.g., 60+ WPM) with strong accuracy and familiarity with numeric keypad entry.
  • Advanced Microsoft Excel (VLOOKUP/XLOOKUP, INDEX/MATCH, pivot tables, conditional formatting, data validation, text functions) for data cleaning and reporting.
  • Proficiency in Google Sheets and cloud-based collaboration tools (Google Workspace) for shared workstreams.
  • Experience with CRM systems (Salesforce, HubSpot, Microsoft Dynamics) including data import/export, deduplication, and record merging.
  • Familiarity with ERP and database systems (e.g., SAP, Oracle, NetSuite) or proprietary industry platforms for transactional data entry.
  • Knowledge of data quality principles, data validation rules, and basic data governance practices to ensure integrity and traceability.
  • Hands-on experience with OCR/document capture solutions (ABBYY, Kofax, or similar) and document management systems.
  • Basic SQL querying skills for extracting, validating, and reconciling datasets (SELECT, WHERE, JOIN) or ability to coordinate with database administrators.
  • Experience with CSV/XLSX import/export procedures, mapping templates, and data migration best practices.
  • Understanding of privacy and compliance frameworks (GDPR, HIPAA, PCI) and secure handling of personally identifiable information (PII).
  • Familiarity with basic scripting or macro creation (VBA, Google Apps Script) to automate repetitive tasks is a plus.
  • Comfortable using ticketing and workflow systems (JIRA, ServiceNow, Zendesk) to track issues and requests.

Soft Skills

  • Exceptional attention to detail and a demonstrated track record of high data accuracy.
  • Strong time management and organizational skills with the ability to prioritize competing tasks and meet SLAs.
  • Clear written and verbal communication to collaborate with cross-functional teams and clarify data requirements.
  • Problem-solving mindset with a focus on identifying root causes and recommending process improvements.
  • Patience and persistence when working with ambiguous, incomplete, or low-quality source documents.
  • Ability to work independently as well as part of a team in a fast-paced operational environment.
  • High level of discretion and integrity when handling confidential and sensitive information.
  • Adaptability to changing processes, systems, and priorities during implementations and process improvements.
  • Customer-focused orientation when interacting with internal stakeholders and external clients to ensure data needs are met.
  • Continuous improvement mindset and willingness to learn automation, analytics, or data governance concepts.

Education & Experience

Educational Background

Minimum Education:

  • High school diploma or equivalent.

Preferred Education:

  • Associate degree or Bachelor's degree in Business Administration, Information Management, Computer Science, Library Science, or a related field.

Relevant Fields of Study:

  • Business Administration
  • Information Systems / Data Management
  • Computer Science
  • Library and Information Science
  • Accounting or Finance (for transactional data roles)

Experience Requirements

Typical Experience Range: 1–4 years of direct data entry or data processing experience in a high-volume environment.

Preferred:

  • 2+ years working with CRM or ERP platforms, demonstrated Excel expertise, and prior involvement in data cleanup or migration projects.
  • Experience in regulated industries (healthcare, finance, insurance) where handling of PII and compliance is required is highly desirable.
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