Explore jobs
Find specific jobs
Explore careers
Explore professions
Best companies
Explore companies
The differences between bookkeepers and data entry clerks can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. While it typically takes 4-6 years to become a bookkeeper, becoming a data entry clerk takes usually requires 1-2 years. Additionally, a bookkeeper has an average salary of $40,337, which is higher than the $31,582 average annual salary of a data entry clerk.
The top three skills for a bookkeeper include payroll tax returns, customer service and reconciliations. The most important skills for a data entry clerk are data entry, customer service, and computer database.
| Bookkeeper | Data Entry Clerk | |
| Yearly salary | $40,337 | $31,582 |
| Hourly rate | $19.39 | $15.18 |
| Growth rate | -5% | -5% |
| Number of jobs | 38,481 | 132,345 |
| Job satisfaction | 5 | 4 |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 46% | Bachelor's Degree, 28% |
| Average age | 51 | 44 |
| Years of experience | 6 | 2 |
Bookkeepers are employees who are in charge of the company's general ledger. They are well-versed in basic accounting principles, and they apply these in their work. Bookkeepers manage the entry of items in the general ledger, assign items into their proper categories, and ensure that the entries are balanced. They also act as auditors by checking the accuracy and veracity of the receipts or vouchers in their possession before entering them into the system. Bookkeepers ensure that their files are up to date and free of errors.
Data entry clerks are employees who work on the proper documentation of the data sets within the organization. They are responsible for copying in or typing in items from a source to the company database. In doing so, they provide and validate essential information to the organization. Data entry clerks are expected to assess the data and ensure that they are correct before logging them into the company database. They are required to have good attention to detail, to be able to type swiftly and accurately, and to be able to work with minimal supervision.
Bookkeepers and data entry clerks have different pay scales, as shown below.
| Bookkeeper | Data Entry Clerk | |
| Average salary | $40,337 | $31,582 |
| Salary range | Between $30,000 And $52,000 | Between $25,000 And $38,000 |
| Highest paying City | Washington, DC | Washington, DC |
| Highest paying state | New York | Washington |
| Best paying company | NTT Data International L.L.C. | General Dynamics Mission Systems |
| Best paying industry | Manufacturing | Finance |
There are a few differences between a bookkeeper and a data entry clerk in terms of educational background:
| Bookkeeper | Data Entry Clerk | |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 46% | Bachelor's Degree, 28% |
| Most common major | Accounting | Business |
| Most common college | University of Pennsylvania | - |
Here are the differences between bookkeepers' and data entry clerks' demographics:
| Bookkeeper | Data Entry Clerk | |
| Average age | 51 | 44 |
| Gender ratio | Male, 15.4% Female, 84.6% | Male, 19.9% Female, 80.1% |
| Race ratio | Black or African American, 6.8% Unknown, 4.0% Hispanic or Latino, 14.4% Asian, 6.6% White, 67.6% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.6% | Black or African American, 10.5% Unknown, 4.2% Hispanic or Latino, 22.8% Asian, 7.5% White, 54.4% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.6% |
| LGBT Percentage | 7% | 5% |