If your team feels like they're constantly busy but not making real progress, you're not imagining it. Most professionals spend a huge chunk of their day on repetitive admin work including entering data, managing spreadsheets, and pulling reports.
Salespeople, for example, only spend two hours a day selling. The rest of the time? At least an hour goes to manual tasks like database management that don’t close deals but still have to get done.
And it’s not just sales. Another study found that over 40% of workers spend at least a quarter of their workweek on repetitive tasks like data entry, email management, and data collection.
That’s a lot of time (and payroll) going toward work that could easily be outsourced. That’s where data entry virtual assistants come in.
A data entry virtual assistant (VA) is a remote professional who keeps your business information organized, accurate, and up to date. They are a subset of virtual assistants, hired by business to streamline data entry and management tasks.
Data Entry VAs can take care of time-consuming tasks like:
The overall aim of working with a data entry VA is to give your in-house team time back. When you outsource data entry, your team can focus on higher-value work.
Many businesses may choose to hire freelance virtual assistants, but managed VA services offer a more reliable alternative. With a managed service, your assistant is part of a fully supported team that’s ready to scale with your business needs.
Instead of recruiting, training, and managing someone on your own, a managed service gives you a fully supported assistant. Plus there’s always a backup plan if they’re ever out sick or on vacation.
You don’t have to spend time recruiting, training, or managing their day-to-day work. The provider handles that for you, ensuring consistent quality and coverage even if your VA is out sick or on vacation.
In short, a data entry VA is like a behind-the-scenes data wizard who keeps your operations running smoothly without increasing your headcount or workload.
A data entry VA does more than type numbers into a spreadsheet. They’re trained to keep your company’s data clean, organized, and easy to use, no matter how many tools, platforms, or systems your team juggles.
They can jump into platforms you already use like Salesforce, HubSpot, Google Sheets, or Airtable and keep your systems clean and synced. Or you can team up with your Prialto Engagement Manager to set up and design new processes and platforms to fit your changing business needs.
In simple terms, data management is the behind-the-scenes work of inputting, updating, organizing, and maintaining all the info that keeps your business running.
It’s a key function for any business that wants smarter decision-making, compliant data management, and smooth operations.
Here’s a closer look at specific tasks a data entry VA can help with:
Before your team can use data, someone has to clean it up. Virtual data entry assistants can catch duplicates, unify, format, and verify key details so your data is usable. They’ll keep your CRM, Google sheets, and systems neat and tidy, so you don’t have to.
If you need regular reports generated, compiled, and distributed to the appropriate individuals, a data entry virtual assistant (VA) can handle it for you. They can collect data from various sources, ensure its consistency, and prepare reports on a schedule that suits your team.
Your assistant can tackle your routine reporting or ad hoc projects, depending on your unique business.
Need to enrich your database or fill in missing info? VAs can dig into public sources, company websites, or third-party platforms to find the data you’re looking for. They can also identify and extract key insights from larger datasets, making it easier for your team to act on what matters.
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Data entry isn’t a set-it-and-forget-it task, it’s an ongoing process. VAs can stay on top of your databases, run backups, flag issues, and make updates as your info evolves.
The result is systems that stay in sync and a team that can actually trust the data they’re working with.
For teams juggling multiple systems, even small improvements in process can go a long way:
"Our VA has done immense work in updating records in our CRM, creating mailing lists and managing pipeline reporting. It has cut a few hours of administrative time out of my calendar, leaving me available for more customer contacts." -Dave Putt, ELEVATE SaaS
There are numerous benefits to hiring a virtual assistant for data entry. They take the busy workk off your plate and ensures that important, detail-heavy tasks actually get done. When you hand off those repetitive tasks to someone who knows what they’re doing, you get to focus on the big stuff that moves your business forward.
Instead of wrestling with spreadsheets or scrambling to update your CRM, you can trust that your Prialto virtual assistant has it handled.
Here’s what that look like:
Even with AI and automation, things still slip through the cracks. A virtual data entry assistant adds that extra layer of quality control. They can spot duplicates, catch typos, and make sure your data stays clean and current.
Whether it’s verifying customer info or making sure your latest report reflects the right numbers, having a human double-check your data helps keep everything on point.
Clean, up-to-date data means better insights. A VA helps ensure your dashboards, reports, and forecasts are built on reliable info—so every decision is grounded in reality.
Data entry is essential, but it isn’t most employees’ area of expertise. When in-house staff get bogged down with manual updates, it takes time away from their core work.
A VA who specializes in data entry can handle these tasks faster and more accurately, giving your team back valuable hours to focus on what they do best.
One team saw a huge boost in CRM accuracy and field productivity after bringing on a Prialto VA:
"The Prialto team streamlined our processes and increased efficiencies allowing us to easily integrate our Prialto assistants into our day to day lives. The data in our CRM is much more up-to-date and accurate which also has improved the efficiency of my team. By offloading our administrative tasks, our producers are now able to spend more time in the field with prospects and clients." —Carl Bloomfield, Graham Company
Hiring a VA is often more cost-effective than bringing on a full-time hire. You skip the overhead, the training, and the extra admin work. And as a bonus, they can help you prevent costly mistakes—like billing errors or outdated info that messes with your reporting.
Data issues slow businesses down. When systems don’t match, or information is missing, your team members waste time piecing things together. A data entry VA helps connect the dots so everything stays updated, synced, and easy to access. No more digging through five systems to find one piece of info.
A data entry VA is your last line of defense against messy data. They can review entries, validate records, and check your systems are reliable before important meetings, campaigns, or decisions.
Data entry is a part of the job in virtually every team in your company—HR, marketing, sales, operations, and customer service. You can assign a fractional or full-time virtual assistant to your core teams to take that work off their plates.
For example:
When it comes to data entry, accuracy and consistency aren’t optional, they’re essential. That’s why many business owners looking for a reliable solution turn to Prialto’s managed virtual assistant service. Our team can ensure accurate data entry and management so you can focus on the business decisions that matter.
"We were extremely impressed with the Operations Assistant, Luke. He helped us to develop and organize operational data, giving us insights into important stats we had not been tracking previously. This has allowed us to see where money is being wasted and where we need to improve our processes in order to become more efficient."
— Ashleigh Phifer, Executive Assistant at Extrity Services
Prialto’s managed service model stands out from the more traditional VA solutions on the market. Instead of matching you with a single part-time freelancer (with unknown technology and no oversight), Prialto provides a dedicated primary assistant supported by a team that includes trained backups and an engagement manager who oversees quality and continuity. We have years of experience outsourcing data entry tasks to skilled virtual assistants who receive the correct training and onboarding.
Here’s what makes our managed model different:
Whether you’re cleaning up a messy CRM, syncing data across systems, or just trying to stay on top of the little things, our team model ensures the job gets done right, without adding to your workload.
The real question isn't whether you need a skilled virtual assistant — it's how much longer you can afford to go without one. With more than half of your potential productive time currently lost to administrative support tasks, the return on investment on a VA starts from day one.
Ready to see how much time you could save in 2025? See what Prialto can do for you.