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What does a business office clerk do?

Updated January 8, 2025
7 min read

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.

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Business office clerk responsibilities

Here are examples of responsibilities from real business office clerk resumes:

  • 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.
  • Reconcile monthly payroll bank statement.
  • Educate patients and outside insurance companies regarding paid or deny claims while maintaining strict confidentiality.
  • Retrieve or initiate patient medical history and examination file while maintaining confidentiality and compliance with all HIPPA regulations.
  • Maintain time and attendance records using KRONOS; perform leave audits when schedule.
  • Utilize PeopleSoft to follow up on loan funding and lien release data.
  • Work with company systems such PeopleSoft and diligently complete all assign tasks, work overtime as needed.

Business office clerk skills and personality traits

We calculated that 26% of Business Office Clerks are proficient in Patients, Data Entry, and Insurance Verification. They’re also known for soft skills such as Customer-service skills, Detail oriented, and Organizational skills.

We break down the percentage of Business Office Clerks that have these skills listed on their resume here:

  • Patients, 26%

    Educated patients and outside insurance companies regarding paid or denied claims while maintaining strict confidentiality.

  • Data Entry, 13%

    Posted customer/patient account by data entry.

  • Insurance Verification, 7%

    Cross trained in, insurance verification, medical records check-listing, and scanning and filing.

  • Hippa, 4%

    Ensured all documents were completed, charts updated, and records met HIPPA regulations.

  • Office Equipment, 3%

    Utilized general office equipment such as photocopiers, scanners, facsimile machine, and personal computers.

  • Customer Service, 3%

    Maintained pleasant dining atmosphere driven by excellent customer service and well stocked inventory.

"patients," "data entry," and "insurance verification" are among the most common skills that business office clerks use at work. You can find even more business office clerk responsibilities below, including:

Customer-service skills. One of the key soft skills for a business office clerk to have is customer-service skills. You can see how this relates to what business office clerks do because "general office clerks often provide general information to company staff, customers, or the public." Additionally, a business office clerk resume shows how business office clerks use customer-service skills: "reconciled various insurance carrier explanation of benefits (eob) and posted payments to customer accounts. "

Detail oriented. Many business office clerk duties rely on detail oriented. "general office clerks perform many clerical tasks that require attention to detail, such as preparing bills.," so a business office clerk will need this skill often in their role. This resume example is just one of many ways business office clerk responsibilities rely on detail oriented: "explained in detail patient insurance plans, coverage and benefits. "

Organizational skills. This is an important skill for business office clerks to perform their duties. For an example of how business office clerk responsibilities depend on this skill, consider that "general office clerks file and retrieve records." This excerpt from a resume also shows how vital it is to everyday roles and responsibilities of a business office clerk: "operated office machines including pc fax and photocopier performed basic, routine typing assignments, organizational, and planning. ".

All business office clerk skills

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Compare different business office clerks

Business office clerk vs. Receptionist/billing clerk

A receptionist/billing clerk is responsible for performing administrative and clerical duties as needed to maintain a smooth flow of operations for the business. Receptionist/billing clerks process the customers' payment transactions, manage account payables, releasing invoices, and immediately resolve account discrepancies. A receptionist/billing clerk must have excellent communication and analytical skills, responding to customers' inquiries and concerns, escalating high-level complaints to the billing management. They should also maintain records of financial documentation for reference and reconciliation as needed.

The annual salary of receptionist/billing clerks is $3,835 higher than the average salary of business office clerks.While the two careers have a salary gap, they share some of the same responsibilities. Employees in both business office clerk and receptionist/billing clerk positions are skilled in patients, data entry, and insurance verification.

While similarities exist, there are also some differences between business office clerks and receptionist/billing clerk. For instance, business office clerk responsibilities require skills such as "medical terminology," "payroll," "cash handling," and "purchase orders." Whereas a receptionist/billing clerk is skilled in "appointment scheduling," "insurance forms," "emr," and "clerical support." This is part of what separates the two careers.

Receptionist/billing clerks tend to make the most money working in the technology industry, where they earn an average salary of $35,383. In contrast, business office clerks make the biggest average salary, $35,422, in the insurance industry.On average, receptionist/billing clerks reach similar levels of education than business office clerks. Receptionist/billing clerks are 0.8% less likely to earn a Master's Degree and 0.1% more likely to graduate with a Doctoral Degree.

Business office clerk vs. Clerk

Clerks are responsible for many of the general administrative tasks in the office. They are in charge of manning office telephone lines, managing incoming and outgoing mails, filing paperwork and other needed records, scheduling and documenting meetings, typing out documents when needed, disseminating memos and other official announcements, and keeping an inventory of office equipment and supplies. Clerks should have good office skills, communication skills, business writing skills, and time management skills. They should also be able to treat any document or paperwork they handle with confidentiality.

A career as a clerk brings a higher average salary when compared to the average annual salary of a business office clerk. In fact, clerks salary is $3,066 higher than the salary of business office clerks per year.Only some things about these jobs are the same. Take their skills, for example. Business office clerks and clerks both require similar skills like "data entry," "office equipment," and "customer service" to carry out their responsibilities.

While some skills are similar in these professions, other skills aren't so similar. For example, resumes show us that business office clerk responsibilities requires skills like "patients," "medical terminology," "insurance verification," and "hippa." But a clerk might use other skills in their typical duties, such as, "basic math," "math," "cleanliness," and "pos."

Clerks earn a higher average salary than business office clerks. But clerks earn the highest pay in the health care industry, with an average salary of $31,380. Additionally, business office clerks earn the highest salaries in the insurance with average pay of $35,422 annually.In general, clerks achieve similar levels of education than business office clerks. They're 0.1% more likely to obtain a Master's Degree while being 0.1% more likely to earn a Doctoral Degree.

Business office clerk vs. Room clerk

A room clerk is responsible for receiving guests and assigning them to their respective rooms, typically in a hotel setting. Room clerks manage guests' reservations, explain the policies of the premises, and process their payments for staying at the hotel. They also ensure the rooms' cleanliness, reaching out to the maintenance for any repairs and requests for additional room items. A room clerk must have excellent communication and customer service skills, respond to the customer's inquiries and concerns, and resolve service complaints immediately.

On average scale, room clerks bring in higher salaries than business office clerks. In fact, they earn a $2,690 higher salary per year.By looking over several business office clerks and room clerks resumes, we found that both roles require similar skills in their day-to-day duties, such as "data entry," "office equipment," and "customer service." But beyond that, the careers look very different.

Some important key differences between the two careers include a few of the skills necessary to fulfill the responsibilities of each. Some examples from business office clerk resumes include skills like "patients," "medical terminology," "insurance verification," and "hippa," whereas a room clerk is more likely to list skills in "stock room," "inventory control," "postage meter," and "delivery carts. "

Room clerks earn the best pay in the government industry, where they command an average salary of $33,014. Business office clerks earn the highest pay from the insurance industry, with an average salary of $35,422.Most room clerks achieve a similar degree level compared to business office clerks. For example, they're 0.4% less likely to graduate with a Master's Degree, and 0.1% less likely to earn a Doctoral Degree.

Business office clerk vs. Data clerk

A data clerk is responsible for performing administrative support tasks, mainly focusing on data-entry. Their responsibilities typically include updating databases, maintaining records on spreadsheets and other documents, preparing and processing files, creating and organizing reports, coordinating with different departments to gather or disseminate data, and performing research and analysis. They may also handle calls and correspondence, monitor schedules and office supply inventory, and complete support tasks for staff as necessary. Furthermore, as a data clerk, it is essential to maintain an active communication line with teams and adhere to the company's data security policies and regulations.

Data clerks tend to earn a higher pay than business office clerks by an average of $3,453 per year.While their salaries may vary, business office clerks and data clerks both use similar skills to perform their duties. Resumes from both professions include skills like "data entry," "hippa," and "office equipment. "While some skills are required in each professionacirc;euro;trade;s responsibilities, there are some differences to note. "patients," "medical terminology," "insurance verification," and "customer service" are skills that commonly show up on business office clerk resumes. On the other hand, data clerks use skills like computer entry, hr, student data, and data integrity on their resumes.data clerks enjoy the best pay in the manufacturing industry, with an average salary of $35,533. For comparison, business office clerks earn the highest salary in the insurance industry.data clerks reach similar levels of education compared to business office clerks, in general. The difference is that they're 0.6% more likely to earn a Master's Degree, and 0.3% more likely to graduate with a Doctoral Degree.

Types of business office clerk

Updated January 8, 2025

Zippia Research Team
Zippia Team

Editorial Staff

The Zippia Research Team has spent countless hours reviewing resumes, job postings, and government data to determine what goes into getting a job in each phase of life. Professional writers and data scientists comprise the Zippia Research Team.

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