How To Become A Business Office Associate: What It Is and Career Path

What is a business office associate and how to become one

Updated January 8, 2025

5 min read

A business office associate performs administrative and clerical tasks in a business office environment. They are responsible for organizing and maintaining records, managing schedules, communicating with clients and customers, and performing general office duties. Business office associates may also be involved in financial management, such as processing invoices and managing payroll. They must have strong communication and organizational skills, as well as proficiency in office software and equipment.

ScoreBusiness Office AssociateUS Average

Salary

2.3

Avg. Salary $29,629

Avg. Salary $59,228

Stability level

6.6

Growth rate -5%

Growth rate 0.3%

Diversity

7.1

Race

American Indian and Alaska Native 1.07%

Asian 8.02%

Black or African American 12.89%

Hispanic or Latino 19.39%

Unknown 4.68%

White 53.95%

Gender

female 79.26%

male 20.74%

Age - 50

Race

American Indian and Alaska Native 3.00%

Asian 7.00%

Black or African American 14.00%

Hispanic or Latino 19.00%

White 57.00%

Gender

female 47.00%

male 53.00%

Age - 50

Stress level

6.6

Stress level is high

7.1 - high

Complexity level

4.3

Complexity level is basic

7 - challenging

Work life balance

7.1

Work life balance is good

6.4 - fair

What are the pros and cons of being a business office associate?

Pros

Exposure to various aspects of business operations
Opportunity to build professional networks
Opportunity to develop a diverse skillset
Potential for job stability and security
May have opportunities for travel or attending conferences

Cons

Working with difficult clients or customers can be challenging
Can involve repetitive tasks or data entry
May require extensive computer skills or software knowledge
Can involve working with confidential or sensitive information
May require dealing with office politics or conflicts among colleagues

Key steps to become a business office associate

Explore business office associate education requirements

Most common business office associate degrees

Bachelor's

46.6 %

Associate

22.9 %

High School Diploma

17.6 %

Start to develop specific business office associate skills

Skills	Percentages
Multi-Line Phone System	34.54%
Vehicle Sales	16.82%
Patients	9.01%
Bank Deposits	6.82%
Payable Functions	5.95%

Complete relevant business office associate training and internships

Accountants spend an average of 1-3 months on post-employment, on-the-job training. New business office associates learn the skills and techniques required for their job and employer during this time. The chart below shows how long it takes to gain competency as a business office associate based on U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics data and data from real business office associate resumes.

Research business office associate duties and responsibilities

Limit medical office training, that includes medical terminology, ICD-9, CPT coding & manage care insurance plans.
Manage operational FedEx relationship through order fulfillment, shipment tracking, and communication with parties involve in shipment transaction.
Provide excellent customer service skills and professional telephone conduct with patients, physician clients and insurance company representatives.
Work physician practices' A/R.

Prepare your business office associate resume

When your background is strong enough, you can start writing your business office associate resume.

You can use Zippia's AI resume builder to make the resume writing process easier while also making sure that you include key information that hiring managers expect to see on a business office associate resume. You'll find resume tips and examples of skills, responsibilities, and summaries, all provided by Zippi, your career sidekick.

Choose from 10+ customizable business office associate resume templates

Build a professional business office associate resume in minutes. Browse through our resume examples to identify the best way to word your resume. Then choose from 10+ resume templates to create your business office associate resume.