A financial clerk works for many organizations doing administrative duties such as helping customers, keeping records, and carry out financial transactions. These duties may vary by setting and specialty. They work in a variety of office settings including medical offices, banks, government agencies, or insurance companies. Usually they work on a full-time basis.
Watch a video to learn what a financial clerk does.
How to Become a Financial Clerk
A financial clerk typically needs a high school diploma or the equivalent as most positions have on-the-job training. There are some specialty clerks though that require additional training. For example, a brokerage clerk would have taken college courses in economics or business (or have a 2-4 year college degree). Gaming workers may need specific training in gaming procedures and regulations. One can even advance in this career.
Job Description of Financial Clerk
A financial clerk must update and keep financial records and it’s important that those records are accurate. These clerks can also assist companies with their employee’s payroll as well as help with customer billing and any invoice or payment questions they have. Their responsibilities may also require them to carry out financial transactions.
Due to their role, it is vital that they are detail-oriented. Along with these tasks, they may have others depending on their specialty and setting. Specialty clerks include billing and posting clerks, payroll and timekeeping clerks, procurement clerks, and brokerage clerks. Each of these clerks may have additional tasks to perform.
Let’s look at an actual financial clerk job description posted by the Department of Defense:
- Receives financial and contractual documents and verifies that the correct document group was created during the scanning process.
- Identifies the type of document and the pay office on the documents scanned in order to tier to the correct pay office location for processing.
- Inputs various information (e.g. document numbers) based on the type of document that has been scanned (e.g. receiving reports, invoices, bill of collection, credit invoices, etc.).
- Identifies invalid, illegible and missing information on the document(s), and forwards the case for disposition.
- Responsible for appending documents if a duplicate document contains information not included on the original after verification of data in the payment system.
This position was posted to run 10/10/2017 until 10/23/2017 with a salary of $29,558 to $38,420 per year on USAjobs.gov, part of the U.S. Office of Personnel Management.
Financial Clerk Career Video Transcript
At banks, doctors’ offices, and government agencies, financial clerks ensure that financial transactions are on track and on time. They help customers, generate bills, and keep financial records up to date. Financial clerks also provide general clerical support in financial settings.
There are several types of financial clerks: Billing and posting clerks calculate charges and prepare bills to be mailed out to customers. They review purchase orders, sales tickets, charge slips, and hospital records to determine the charges due. They also contact customers to discuss account information. Procurement clerks process requests within many types of organizations for material or supply orders. They monitor purchases, make sure they arrive on schedule and meet the needs of the purchaser, and handle questions and changes in orders.
New accounts clerks work for banks and investment firms, interviewing people who want to open new accounts. They go over available services with prospective customers, and help them fill out applications. They also investigate and correct errors in accounts. In general, financial clerks work full time in an office setting. A high school diploma or equivalent is required for most positions, with on-the-job training provided to learn specific duties.
Article Citations
Bureau of Labor Statistics, U.S. Department of Labor, Occupational Outlook Handbook, Financial Clerk.
The career video is in the public domain from the U. S. Department of Labor, Employment and Training Administration.
