Business office clerk vs office assistant

The differences between business office clerks and office assistants can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. It typically takes 1-2 years to become both a business office clerk and an office assistant. Additionally, an office assistant has an average salary of $31,517, which is higher than the $28,097 average annual salary of a business office clerk.

The top three skills for a business office clerk include patients, data entry and insurance verification. The most important skills for an office assistant are data entry, patients, and customer service.

Business office clerk vs office assistant overview

	Business Office Clerk	Office Assistant
Yearly salary	$28,097	$31,517
Hourly rate	$13.51	$15.15
Growth rate	-5%	-5%
Number of jobs	183,094	103,293
Job satisfaction	-	5
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 37%	Bachelor's Degree, 42%
Average age	47	47
Years of experience	2	2

What does a business office clerk do?

A business office clerk is responsible for performing administrative and clerical duties to support business operations that would help the company achieve its daily goals and objectives. Business office clerks monitor business and financial transactions, manage inventories, respond to inquiries and concerns, direct visitors to the appropriate personnel, schedule appointments, and file reports. A business office clerk must have excellent communication and organizational skills, especially in finishing duties within the deadline, even under minimal supervision.

What does an office assistant do?

Office assistants perform various tasks to ensure that the business runs organized and efficient. An office assistant must possess excellent communication and multi-tasking skills to handle essential duties such as scheduling meetings, monitoring office supplies, storing documents and necessary paperwork, handling customer inquiries and appointments, coordinating in company events, and accomplishing other clerical tasks and administrative support. Office assistants are also required to communicate any observation that would possibly make an impact on the company's performance.

Business office clerk vs office assistant salary

Business office clerks and office assistants have different pay scales, as shown below.

	Business Office Clerk	Office Assistant
Average salary	$28,097	$31,517
Salary range	Between $21,000 And $37,000	Between $24,000 And $41,000
Highest paying City	Tacoma, WA	Washington, DC
Highest paying state	Alaska	Vermont
Best paying company	JPMorgan Chase & Co.	Analysis Group
Best paying industry	Insurance	Government

Differences between business office clerk and office assistant education

There are a few differences between a business office clerk and an office assistant in terms of educational background:

	Business Office Clerk	Office Assistant
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 37%	Bachelor's Degree, 42%
Most common major	Business	Business
Most common college	University of Pennsylvania	Western Carolina University

Business office clerk vs office assistant demographics

Here are the differences between business office clerks' and office assistants' demographics:

	Business Office Clerk	Office Assistant
Average age	47	47
Gender ratio	Male, 17.9% Female, 82.1%	Male, 17.3% Female, 82.7%
Race ratio	Black or African American, 10.6% Unknown, 4.5% Hispanic or Latino, 20.9% Asian, 8.1% White, 54.9% American Indian and Alaska Native, 1.0%	Black or African American, 10.1% Unknown, 4.8% Hispanic or Latino, 21.0% Asian, 8.3% White, 54.6% American Indian and Alaska Native, 1.1%
LGBT Percentage	6%	6%

Differences between business office clerk and office assistant duties and responsibilities

Business office clerk example responsibilities.

Manage front office check-in, insurance verification and certifications from doctors.
Verify insurance using knowledge of medical terminology, provide customer service, and schedule patients for surgery.
Demonstrate ICD-9, CPT, and data entry.
Expand knowledge of ICD-9, CPT and HCPCS codes to include cardiovascular procedures
Complete duties in payroll, accounts receivable, accounts payable, purchase orders and internal control implementations.
Ensure all documents are completed, charts update, and records meet HIPPA regulations.

Office assistant example responsibilities.

Manage filing, photocopying, collating, and faxing public and seal case documents.
Manage CI s SharePoint pages and serve as CI s subject matter expert on SharePoint working groups.
Manage operational FedEx relationship through order fulfillment, shipment tracking, and communication with parties involve in shipment transaction.
Compile payroll records, detect and reconcile discrepancies, accurately report outcomes using QuickBooks.
Maintain office services by organizing office operations and procedures, preparing payroll, controlling correspondences, and designing filing systems.
File client paperwork upholding HIPAA standards.

Business office clerk vs office assistant skills

Common business office clerk skills

Patients, 26%
Data Entry, 13%
Insurance Verification, 7%
Hippa, 4%
Office Equipment, 3%
Customer Service, 3%

Common office assistant skills

Data Entry, 16%
Patients, 14%
Customer Service, 9%
Telephone Calls, 7%
Scheduling Appointments, 6%
Front Desk, 6%

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Business Office Clerk
Business Office Clerk vs Office Assistant

Updated January 8, 2025

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