6 ready-to-use templates: general office, data entry, file, accounting/AP, shipping/receiving, and small business, with the FLSA non-exempt status and pay guidance generic templates skip. Download as DOCX.
A clerk handles the everyday administrative work that keeps an office running: answering phones, filing records, entering data, and processing paperwork. Writing the job description well starts with two decisions generic templates skip: which kind of clerk you are hiring, since the term spans general office, data entry, file, accounting, and shipping roles, and how to classify it, since a clerk is a non-exempt, hourly, overtime-eligible position rather than a salaried one.
At FirstHR, we build for small businesses without HR departments, and clerks are overwhelmingly a small-business hire: 99.7 percent of US employer firms are small, and clerks work across nearly every industry. The six templates below cover the role across its common types, a general version plus data entry, file, accounting/AP, shipping/receiving, and a small-business version, each with the FLSA and pay guidance built in.
A clerk performs routine clerical work, filing, data entry, phones, and paperwork, and the role is non-exempt and hourly, with a median around $20.97 an hour (about $43,630 a year) for general office clerks. The term covers several types, and court, county, and postal clerks are separate government roles. Six templates by clerk type, downloadable as DOCX.
What a Clerk Does
A clerk performs a variety of clerical tasks that keep an office organized: answering phones, filing and maintaining records, entering and updating data, processing paperwork and mail, operating office equipment, and supporting staff. The defining trait of the general office clerk is breadth, the responsibilities shift with the needs of the employer and can change day to day, rather than being a single specialized task.
The federal occupation for the most common meaning of the term is office clerks, general (43-9061), and O*NET lists clerk, general clerk, office clerk, and administrative clerk as the same occupation. Specialized clerks, data entry, file, accounting, and shipping, narrow that broad role to a particular function, which is why this page offers a template for each.
Clerk Duties and Responsibilities
Clerk duties cluster into four areas: front-office and communication, records and filing, data and paperwork, and general office support. A strong job description picks the specific responsibilities from each area that match your office and the type of clerk you are hiring.
Front-office and communication
Answer phones and take messages
Greet visitors and direct inquiries
Handle incoming and outgoing mail
Records and filing
File and organize physical and digital records
Retrieve documents on request
Maintain accurate, current records
Data and paperwork
Enter and update data accurately
Process forms and paperwork
Verify and correct errors
General office support
Operate copiers, scanners, and printers
Order and track office supplies
Support staff with clerical tasks
The weighting shifts by type: a data entry clerk leans into data and paperwork, a file clerk into records, a shipping clerk toward goods and inventory. For a structured way to scope the role, the guide to defining job responsibilities walks through the process.
Which Template Should You Use?
Pick the template by the type of clerk you need. The clerical core, routine administrative work done accurately and reliably, runs through all six, but the focus differs enough that the matched version reads more credibly to the right candidate. Use this guide to choose.
General / Office Clerk
All-around support
The universal base: phones, filing, data entry, mail, and general office support. The right starting point for most clerk roles and the broadest search term.
Data Entry Clerk
Data-focused
For a role centered on entering, verifying, and maintaining accurate data, with an emphasis on speed, accuracy, and confidentiality.
File Clerk
Records-focused
For a role centered on organizing, filing, retrieving, and maintaining physical and digital records, including retention and confidentiality.
Accounting / AP Clerk
Finance-focused
For a role processing invoices and payments and supporting the books, with the financial-controls and confidentiality note generic templates skip.
Shipping / Receiving Clerk
Goods-focused
For a role handling incoming and outgoing goods, inventory, and shipping records in a warehouse, shop, or facility.
Small Business / No HR
Owner-run
For a broad, hands-on clerk at a small office, shop, or practice hiring and onboarding the role directly without an HR department.
Match the Template to the Role
All-around office support: General / Office Clerk. Mostly entering and verifying data: Data Entry. Mostly records and filing: File Clerk. Invoices and payments: Accounting / AP Clerk. Goods in and out: Shipping / Receiving. A broad, hands-on role at a small company hiring without HR: Small Business.
6 Clerk Job Description Templates
Download all six as a single Word document or copy individual templates. Each follows the same structure: company and job summary, key responsibilities, required and preferred qualifications, an FLSA note, compensation, and how to apply, with an EEO statement, and the type and pay carried as fill-in fields. Fill in the brackets and post.
Download All 6 Job Description Templates
General office, data entry, file, accounting/AP, shipping/receiving, and small-business clerk. All in one DOCX.
Template 1: Clerk (General / Office Clerk)
The universal base for any office: phones, filing, data entry, mail, equipment, and general clerical support.
[Company Name] is hiring a Shipping and Receiving Clerk to handle the flow of goods
in and out of our [warehouse / shop / facility]. You will receive and inspect
shipments, prepare and ship orders, track inventory, and keep accurate shipping
records. A reliable, organized person who is comfortable on their feet and careful
with details is ideal.
KEY RESPONSIBILITIES
•Receive, inspect, and log incoming shipments
•Pick, pack, and prepare outgoing orders
•Generate shipping labels and documentation
•Track and update inventory records
•Coordinate with carriers and resolve delivery issues
•Maintain an organized, safe shipping and receiving area
•Report damaged goods and discrepancies
•Support general warehouse tasks as needed
REQUIRED QUALIFICATIONS
•High school diploma or equivalent
•Attention to detail and basic recordkeeping skills
•Comfortable with physical tasks and lifting [up to ____ lbs]
•Familiarity with shipping tools and inventory systems
•Reliable and safety-conscious
PREFERRED
•Experience with [WMS / shipping software: ____________]
•[0-2] years of warehouse or shipping experience
COMPENSATION AND HOW TO APPLY
Pay range: $_ to $_ per hour
To apply, send your resume to __.
[Company Name] is an equal opportunity employer.
Template 6: Clerk (Small Business, No HR)
The broad, hands-on version: a varied clerk role at a small office, shop, or practice hiring and onboarding the role directly without an HR department.
Clerk Job Description (Small Business, No HR)
CLERK JOB DESCRIPTION (SMALL BUSINESS, NO HR DEPARTMENT)
We are a small, busy [type of business] hiring our [first / next] Clerk to keep the
office organized and running. In a small company, this role is broad and hands-on:
you will handle filing, data entry, phones, paperwork, and whatever else keeps the
day moving. Right for someone who likes variety, takes ownership, and wants to be a
key part of a small team.
WHAT YOU WILL DO
•Answer phones, handle mail, and greet visitors
•File and organize physical and digital records
•Enter data and process paperwork
•Help with basic bookkeeping or invoicing [if applicable]
•Order supplies and keep the office stocked
•Support the owner and team with day-to-day tasks
•Wear several hats as a small business requires
WHO WE ARE LOOKING FOR
•High school diploma or equivalent
•Organized, reliable, and detail-oriented
•Comfortable with computers and common office software
•Friendly and able to juggle varied tasks
•Happy to pitch in wherever needed
COMPENSATION AND HOW TO APPLY
Pay range: $_ to $_ per hour
Schedule: __
To apply, send your resume to __ or call ____.
[Company Name] is an equal opportunity employer.
Which Clerk Are You Hiring? (Office vs Court vs Postal)
The word clerk is genuinely ambiguous, and getting the type right before you write the posting saves wasted applications. The templates on this page cover the private-sector office clerk and its specialized variants. Two other meanings, government clerks and postal clerks, are different roles hired through different processes.
Office / general clerk: what this page covers
When a small business searches for a clerk job description, it almost always means a general office clerk: the all-around administrative support role that answers phones, files records, enters data, and processes paperwork. Federal data places this under office clerks, general, and lists clerk, general clerk, office clerk, and administrative clerk as the same occupation. The six templates here, including the specialized data entry, file, accounting, and shipping versions, all sit within this private-sector clerical family. This is the role this page is built for.
Court, county, and city clerk: a different, government role
A court clerk, county clerk, or city clerk is a distinct government role, often elected or filled through civil service, that manages court records, public filings, licenses, or municipal documents under specific statutory duties. It sits in a separate federal occupation and is hired through public-sector processes, not a typical private job posting. If you are a court, county, or city office, the templates here are not the right fit; the role needs a government-specific description tied to your jurisdiction's rules. This is general information, not legal advice.
Postal and mail clerk: USPS and large-mailroom roles
A postal clerk works for the United States Postal Service under federal hiring rules, and a dedicated mail clerk role usually exists at larger organizations with a high-volume mailroom. Neither matches the general small-business clerk this page covers. A small business that needs someone to handle the mail folds that into the general office clerk role rather than hiring a dedicated mail clerk, so the general or small-business template here already covers it.
For the office-clerk family this page covers, the related data entry clerk and receptionist templates fit adjacent front-office roles.
Compliance Notes for Specialized Clerks
Most clerk roles need no special compliance language, but two common variants do, and naming the requirement in the job description sets the right expectation and protects the business. Generic templates skip this entirely.
Medical-office or records clerk: flag HIPAA and confidentiality
A clerk in a medical practice, clinic, or any office that handles patient records can come into contact with protected health information, which brings HIPAA obligations into the role. If that describes your clerk, say so in the job description: state that the role handles confidential patient or health information, requires HIPAA awareness and training, and demands strict confidentiality. It sets the right expectation with candidates and signals that you take privacy seriously. Pair the posting with proper training and confidentiality acknowledgments at onboarding. This is general information, not legal advice.
Accounting or AP clerk: address financial controls and segregation of duties
A clerk who touches money, processing invoices, entering payments, or handling accounts payable, sits inside your financial controls. A small business is especially exposed here, because one person often handles several steps that a larger company would separate. The job description should note that the role follows internal financial controls and that duties are structured with appropriate separation, for example splitting who approves a payment from who enters it. Naming this protects the business and sets a professional tone for a trust-sensitive role. This is general information, not legal advice.
Skills and Requirements
Clerk requirements are modest by design, since the role is entry-level and learned largely on the job. The difference between a weak and a strong requirement is specificity, and keeping experience preferred rather than required widens your candidate pool.
Weak requirement
Strong requirement
Office experience required
High school diploma; office or clerical experience preferred, not required
Good with computers
Comfortable with email, word processing, and spreadsheets
Fast typist
Accurate data entry [target: 50+ wpm] with strong attention to detail
Organized
Maintains accurate physical and digital records and meets deadlines
Competitive pay
$17 to $22 per hour, depending on experience and the role's focus
Keep every requirement job-related and neutral, since the EEOC prohibits job advertisements that show a preference based on a protected characteristic, and the SHRM guide covers the standard sections of a job description. Because a clerk role is learned on the job, framing experience as preferred keeps strong entry-level candidates in the pool.
Clerk Pay and FLSA Status
A clerk is an hourly, non-exempt, entry-level role, which sets the pay framework and the overtime rules. Use federal data as a baseline and adjust for region, industry, and the clerk's specialization.
Median Around $20.97 an Hour (BLS, May 2024)
General office clerks had a median wage of $20.97 an hour as of May 2024, roughly $43,630 a year full-time, with the lowest tenth under $14.00 and the highest tenth over $30.69 an hour. The occupation held about 2.6 million jobs, and despite a projected decline, about 282,400 openings are expected each year from replacement need.
A clerk is non-exempt and hourly: federal regulations are explicit that clerical work, recording or tabulating data, and other routine tasks do not involve the discretion and independent judgment the administrative exemption requires, as described in the administrative exemption (DOL Fact Sheet 17C). That means a clerk is owed overtime at time and a half beyond 40 hours in a week under the Fair Labor Standards Act, and the manager title on a role does not change it. Classify the role as non-exempt and post an hourly range.
Hiring a Clerk for a Small Business
A large organization hires a clerk into a defined seat with HR support and set pay bands. A small office, shop, or practice makes the same hire with none of that, and the clerk it needs is usually broader: the person who keeps the whole office moving. The adjacent first hires, a receptionist or an administrative assistant, follow related logic. Here is what that means for the posting.
The generic clerk template is written for a big office, not a 10-person company
The published clerk templates model a large office with defined roles, an HR department, and a narrow, single-purpose clerk seat. The reality of clerk employment is overwhelmingly small business: 99.7 percent of US employer firms are small, the average small firm has about 11 employees, and clerks are spread across construction, healthcare, retail, and professional services where almost every employer is small. At a 5 to 50 person company, the clerk is rarely a narrow specialist; they are the person who keeps the whole office moving. The general and small-business templates here are written for that reality: a broad, hands-on role, with the option to narrow toward data entry, files, accounting, or shipping if your need is specific.
A clerk is non-exempt and hourly, so the wage and overtime rules are not optional
A clerk is a classic non-exempt, hourly, overtime-eligible role. Federal regulations are explicit that clerical and routine recordkeeping work does not involve the discretion and independent judgment required for the administrative exemption, so a clerk does not become salaried-exempt just because of the title. For a small employer that means a few things to get right: pay at least the applicable minimum wage, pay overtime at time and a half beyond 40 hours in a week, track hours accurately, and post an hourly range where your state or city requires it. Misclassifying a clerk as exempt to avoid overtime is one of the more common and costly wage-and-hour mistakes small businesses make.
After you hire the clerk, the onboarding still has to get done, with or without HR
Once a clerk accepts, the work is ordinary people operations that a small business often handles without an HR department: a signed offer letter, Form I-9 and tax forms, state new-hire reporting, confidentiality acknowledgments where the role touches sensitive records, and a simple first-week plan. FirstHR is built for exactly this: e-signature for the offer and acknowledgments, an AI onboarding wizard and task workflows to guide a new clerk, document management for I-9s and records, and an HRIS and self-service portal that keep employee data organized. To be clear about scope, FirstHR is an onboarding and HR platform; it does not run payroll or administer benefits, so pair it with a payroll provider for wages and taxes. Applicant tracking is coming soon.
From Hiring to Onboarding
The job description is step one. Because a clerk is an hourly, non-exempt hire that a small business often onboards without an HR department, a simple, repeatable process matters. Start with the paperwork spine: a signed offer with the hourly pay and non-exempt status, Form I-9 and tax forms, state new-hire reporting, and any confidentiality acknowledgments. Then run a simple first week so a new clerk learns your systems and starts contributing fast.
Send the offer
Confirm the role, hourly pay, schedule, and non-exempt status in writing. An offer letter template makes this fast.
Collect the paperwork
Form I-9, tax forms, state new-hire reporting, and policy acknowledgments, signed electronically in one place.
Run a simple first week
Systems access, the filing and data systems, key contacts, and clear early tasks, so a new clerk is useful fast.
Store the records
Keep signed forms, confidentiality acknowledgments, and employee records organized for compliance.
Once your offer is ready, the offer letter template handles the next step, and an onboarding template gives the new clerk a structured start. FirstHR connects the offer, paperwork, e-signatures, document storage, and the onboarding workflow in one place so a small business can run the people side from one system, with the clerk's non-exempt classification recorded from day one. FirstHR is an onboarding and HR platform; it does not run payroll or administer benefits, so pair it with a payroll provider for wages and taxes. Applicant tracking is coming soon to FirstHR.
Key Takeaways
A clerk performs routine clerical work: filing, data entry, phones, paperwork, and recordkeeping, with the mix changing to suit the office.
Use the template that matches the type: general office, data entry, file, accounting/AP, shipping/receiving, or small business.
A clerk is non-exempt and hourly under the FLSA, because clerical work does not meet the administrative exemption, so the role is overtime-eligible.
The role is entry-level and hourly, with a median around $20.97 an hour, about $43,630 a year, for general office clerks.
Court, county, city, and postal clerks are separate government roles hired through different processes, not the office clerk this page covers.
Most clerks are hired by small businesses, so the owner makes the hire and onboards directly, which a simple process makes far easier.
Frequently Asked Questions
What does a clerk do?
A clerk performs the everyday administrative and clerical work that keeps an office running. For a general office clerk, the most common meaning of the term, that includes answering phones, filing and organizing physical and digital records, entering and updating data, processing mail and paperwork, operating office equipment, scheduling, and ordering supplies. Federal data describes the role as performing a variety of clerical tasks whose mix changes with the needs of the employer, sometimes day to day. Specialized clerks narrow the focus: a data entry clerk concentrates on entering and verifying data, a file clerk on records, an accounting clerk on invoices and payments, and a shipping and receiving clerk on the flow of goods. In a small business the role is usually broad, covering whatever clerical work the office needs. This is general information, not legal advice.
Is a clerk exempt or non-exempt under the FLSA?
A clerk is non-exempt and hourly, which means overtime-eligible. The administrative white-collar exemption requires that an employee's primary duty include the exercise of discretion and independent judgment on matters of significance, and federal regulations are explicit that this does not include clerical or secretarial work, recording or tabulating data, or other routine, repetitive work. Clerical work is the textbook example of what the exemption does not cover, so a clerk is owed at least minimum wage and overtime at time and a half beyond 40 hours in a workweek. The job title does not change this; an employer cannot make a clerk exempt simply by calling the role administrative. Misclassifying a clerk as salaried-exempt to avoid overtime is a common and costly wage-and-hour mistake. This is general information, not legal advice.
How much does a clerk make?
A clerk is an hourly, entry-level role. The general office clerk occupation had a median wage of $20.97 an hour as of the May 2024 federal data, which works out to roughly $43,630 a year for full-time work, with the lowest ten percent under $14.00 an hour and the highest ten percent over $30.69 an hour. The entire range sits well below the median for all occupations. Related clerk roles are in a similar band: bookkeeping and accounting clerks had a median near $49,210 a year and information clerks near $43,730. Private salary trackers corroborate a sub-$45,000 reality, often around $18 an hour for general and data entry clerks. Pay varies by region, industry, and the specialization of the role, so benchmark to your local market and post an hourly range where your state or city requires one. This is general information, not legal advice.
What is the difference between a clerk and an administrative assistant?
The roles overlap, but the usual distinction is scope and judgment. A clerk focuses on routine, task-based clerical work: filing, data entry, processing paperwork, answering phones, and maintaining records, with the mix changing to suit the office. An administrative assistant or secretary typically takes on more, supporting specific people or functions with scheduling, correspondence, meeting coordination, and some independent organization of work, which is why federal data places administrative assistants in a separate, somewhat higher-paid occupation. In a small business the line blurs and one person often does both, so the title you choose should reflect where the work actually sits. If the role is mostly routine clerical tasks, clerk is the accurate title; if it carries more coordination and judgment, administrative assistant fits better. This is general information, not legal advice.
What qualifications does a clerk need?
Most clerk roles ask for a high school diploma or equivalent, basic computer skills covering email, word processing, and spreadsheets, strong attention to detail and organization, and clear communication. Federal data confirms that general office clerks typically need only a high school diploma and learn their skills on the job, usually within about a month, so prior experience is helpful but often not required. Specialized clerks add specific skills: a data entry clerk needs fast, accurate typing, an accounting clerk needs comfort with numbers and accounting software, a file clerk needs organization and records discipline, and a shipping and receiving clerk needs basic recordkeeping and comfort with physical tasks. Keep requirements job-related and neutral, and frame experience as preferred rather than required so you do not screen out capable entry-level candidates. This is general information, not legal advice.
Is a court clerk the same as an office clerk?
No. A court clerk, and similarly a county clerk or city clerk, is a government role that manages court records, public filings, licenses, and municipal documents under specific statutory duties, and the position is often elected or filled through civil service. It sits in a separate federal occupation from the general office clerk and is hired through public-sector processes rather than a typical private job posting. The templates on this page are written for the private-sector general office clerk and its specialized variants, such as data entry, file, accounting, and shipping clerks. If you are a court, county, or city office hiring a clerk, you need a government-specific description tied to your jurisdiction's rules rather than these private-business templates. This is general information, not legal advice.
Does a small business need a clerk?
It often makes sense once administrative work, filing, data entry, phones, paperwork, and recordkeeping, grows beyond what the owner or existing staff can absorb. Clerks are employed across nearly every industry, and the overwhelming majority of the businesses that employ them are small, since 99.7 percent of US employer firms are small and the average small firm has about 11 employees. For a 5 to 50 person company, a clerk frees up the owner and skilled staff from routine work and keeps the office organized as it grows. Because the role is hourly and entry-level, it is also one of the more affordable first administrative hires. The honest guidance is to hire when the clerical workload justifies a dedicated person, classify the role correctly as non-exempt, and onboard it with a simple, repeatable process. This is general information, not legal advice.
What should a clerk job description include?
A strong clerk job description names the type of clerk up front, whether general office, data entry, file, accounting or accounts payable, shipping and receiving, or a broad small-business role, since that shapes the duties and the skills. Include a short job summary, a grouped list of responsibilities covering front-office and communication, records and filing, data and paperwork, and general support, and the required qualifications, usually a high school diploma, basic computer skills, and attention to detail. The most valuable additions that generic templates skip are the FLSA non-exempt status with the hourly pay note, an honest hourly range, and where relevant a compliance line, such as HIPAA awareness for a medical-records clerk or financial controls for an accounting clerk. Post an hourly range where your state requires one, and close with an equal opportunity statement and clear apply instructions. This is general information, not legal advice.
