Data entry specialists vary. Some have specific industry experience, work with niche systems, or are skilled at organizing information from various sources. You can get more qualified proposals and speed up your search by being more specific with your needs.

Before posting a job, ask yourself:

Is this person working with sensitive data? Depending on the level of sensitivity, consider what proof points you need to see before you can trust working with them. Online talent solutions like Upwork provide job success scores, reviews of past projects, and more to help you vet accurately. Do I need someone with specialized skills? Some data can be tricky to enter accurately if the person doesn’t know industry acronyms and vocabulary well. Such as when transcribing medical data from audio files. How will we communicate? There are experienced data entry specialists located worldwide, figuring out how you’ll communicate and share documents is important to plan upfront. Will you be handling most communication through cloud-based programs? Will they require VPN access? Will they be using any special systems? You can ramp up a project faster by choosing people who are familiar with the programs they’ll be working in, such as Zendesk or Salesforce. What will they be doing? The more specific you are, the easier it is to identify the right person for a project. If they’ll be analyzing financial data for errors, will someone with a bookkeeping background be beneficial? Will they be quickly inputting numbers from several sources, requiring a 10-key speed of 10,000 keystrokes-per-hour (KPH) with 98% accuracy?

Sample data entry project description

Keep in mind that many people use the term “job description,” but a full job description is only needed for employees. When engaging a freelancer as an independent contractor, you typically just need a statement of work, job post, or any other document that describes the work to be done.

Your job post needs to clearly answer three questions:

What do you need done?

When do you need it?

What are the start and end dates for your project?

Answering these questions can not only help you attract more qualified talent, but you’ll also receive more accurate proposals.

Here’s how it may look:

Title: Data entry specialist to organize and update a content management system

Description:

Our content team produces 25 original industry articles each week and generates 1.5M+ viewers a month. We have 3 years of content that needs to be organized into appropriate categories and subcategories to optimize SEO. To keep it organized, you’ll also be creating a process for our writers to easily follow. You’ll be communicating with writers and the content manager to establish workflow needs. You may also assist in researching content management systems (CMS) and inputting data into the new system.

Deliverables:

Accurately organize 2,500+ articles into the appropriate categories and remove duplicate tags

Establish a process for writers to track article requests and submissions

Provide weekly content performance reports based on Google Analytics metrics

Setting up new CMS and inputting data

Requirements:

Available 25 hours a week for up to 8 weeks

Familiar with Google Analytics and Excel

Include the words “glass table” in the first line of your cover letter

Please submit your proposal by [month], [date], [year].

Did you notice the request to include “glass table” in the cover letter? Adding something like this is optional, but when you need someone detailed, it’s a good way to see if they’re observant and follow instructions well. It’s also a quick way to filter through a pile of proposals.

Ready to accurately capture your data in a digital format that can be leveraged by your business? Log in and post your data entry job on Upwork today.