How to hire a business office specialist

How to hire a business office specialist, step by step

Here's a step-by-step business office specialist hiring guide:

• Step 1: Identify your hiring needs
• Step 2: Create an ideal candidate profile
• Step 3: Make a budget
• Step 4: Write a business office specialist job description
• Step 5: Post your job
• Step 6: Interview candidates
• Step 7: Send a job offer and onboard your new business office specialist
• Step 8: Go through the hiring process checklist

Post a business office specialist job for free, promote it for a fee

Post free

1. Identify your hiring needs

   The business office specialist hiring process starts by determining what type of worker you actually need. Certain roles might require a full-time employee, whereas part-time workers or contractors can do others.

   Determine employee vs contractor status

   Is the person you're thinking of hiring a US citizen or green card holder?

   Yes

   No

   A business office specialist's background is also an important factor in determining whether they'll be a good fit for the position. For example, business office specialists from different industries or fields will have radically different experiences and will bring different viewpoints to the role. You also need to consider the candidate's previous level of experience to make sure they'll be comfortable with the job's level of seniority.

   Here's a comparison of business office specialist salaries for various roles:

   Type of Business Office Specialist	Description	Hourly rate
   Business Office Specialist	General office clerks perform a variety of clerical tasks, including answering telephones, typing documents, and filing records.	$12-21
   Office Worker	An office worker is responsible for performing administrative and clerical duties to support the daily operations of the business. Office workers assist in receiving calls to respond to the clients' inquiries and concerns, as well as welcoming visitors, verifying their appointments, and leading them to the appropriate personnel and department for their business needs... Show more	$11-34
   Office Clerk	Office clerks are administrative employees who handle clerical activities for the organization. They are in charge of managing company records, organizing and storing documents, filing and sorting hard copies of documents, and liaising with other departments or external partners... Show more	$12-18

2. Create an ideal candidate profile

   Common skills:

   • Patients
   • Insurance Verification
   • Customer Service
   • Payroll
   • Patient Registration
   • Data Entry
   • Billing Issues
   • Insurance Claims
   • PET
   • Insurance Benefits
   • Lab Reports
   • Patient Care
   • Physician Orders
   • A/P

   Check all skills

   Responsibilities:

   • Manage the medical front office and coordinate business operations with physicians and legal staff for a busy MRI facility.
   • Utilize CPT and ICD-9 coding and billing.
   • Understand basics of HCFA professional billing and reimbursement from insurance companies, CPT and ICD-9 coding, patient billing and collections.
   • Verify insurance and eligibility, assessment of patient financial requirements, along with counseling patients on insurance benefits and co-payments.
   • Confer with management to ensure patient progression and HIPAA regulations are implement through proper course of care.
   • Transfer and submit medical records via mail, fax and encrypt emails staying in compliance with HIPAA.

3. Make a budget

   Including a salary range in your business office specialist job description is a great way to entice the best and brightest candidates. A business office specialist salary can vary based on several factors:

   • Location. For example, business office specialists' average salary in new mexico is 44% less than in massachusetts.
   • Seniority. Entry-level business office specialists earn 44% less than senior-level business office specialists.
   • Certifications. A business office specialist with a few certifications under their belt will likely demand a higher salary.
   • Company. Working for a prestigious company or an exciting start-up can make a huge difference in a business office specialist's salary.

   Average business office specialist salary

   $16.44hourly

   $34,197 yearly

   ---

   Entry-level business office specialist salary

   $25,000 yearly salary

   Updated January 23, 2026

4. Writing a business office specialist job description

   A business office specialist job description should include a summary of the role, required skills, and a list of responsibilities. It's also good to include a salary range and the first name of the hiring manager. To help get you started, here's an example of a business office specialist job description:

   Business office specialist job description example

   The Business Office Specialist is responsible for the clerical, administrative, and accounts receivable needs of the clinic. This position serves as the clinic receptionist, as delegated, and accordingly must possess and use exceptional customer service skills. This position is responsible for maintaining the scheduler, for accurately maintaining and updating all non-clinical patient information including financial information. The Business Office Specialist is responsible for assisting with the ongoing maintenance and order of the medical records and serves as the Designated Records Monitor, as delegated. In addition, the Business Office Specialist is responsible for the collection of all monies due directly from the patient. This position serves in a supporting role to the clinicians providing reminder phone calls to patients, data entry of services, and correspondence as requested. The Business Office Specialist reports directly to the Business Office Coordinator and readily accepts additional responsibilities/projects as assigned. Routine hours are 8:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. Monday through Friday with flexibility to meet program needs as requested by the Clinic Manager. Responsible for the adherence to and promotion of the compliance policy.

   Salary

   • 90% $16.78 hour to start
   • 95% $17.71 hour at 6 mos. with satisfactory performance
   • 100% $18.64 hour at 1 year with satisfactory performance

   Required Education and/or Certifications, Experience, Skills

   • High School Diploma or GED
   • Texas driver’s license in good standing as defined by Texana Center’s procedure
   • 1 year of business office experience

   Preferred Education and/or Certifications, Experience, Skills

   • 1 year of work experience in a medical office setting, experience in medical records and third party insurance verifications and authorizations.
   • Spanish speaking

   Job Related Physical Requirements

   • Must be able to perform SAMA and CPR.
   • Must be able to perform moderate lifting and carrying (15-44#), pushing, stooping, repeated bending, reaching above shoulder, simple grasping, hearing, walking, sitting and twisting.
   • Must have ability to see, write, operate office equipment, operate a motor vehicle and have depth perception.
   • Qualified individual must be able to perform these functions with or without reasonable accommodations.

   Texana Center is an Equal Opportunity Employer

   Copy this example

   

5. Post your job

   There are a few common ways to find business office specialists for your business:

   • Promoting internally or recruiting from your existing workforce.
   • Ask for referrals from friends, family members, and current employees.
   • Attend job fairs at local colleges to meet candidates with the right educational background.
   • Use social media platforms like LinkedIn, Facebook, and Twitter to recruit passive job-seekers.

   Post your job online:

   • Post your business office specialist job on Zippia to find and recruit business office specialist candidates who meet your exact specifications.
   • Use field-specific websites.
   • Post a job on free websites.

6. Interview candidates

   Your first interview with business office specialist candidates should focus on their interest in the role and background experience. As the hiring process goes on, you can learn more about how they'd fit into the company culture in later rounds of interviews.

   It's also good to ask about candidates' unique skills and talents to see if they match your ideal candidate profile. If you think a candidate is good enough for the next step, you can move on to the technical interview.

   The right interview questions can help you assess a candidate's hard skills, behavioral intelligence, and soft skills.

7. Send a job offer and onboard your new business office specialist

   Once you've selected the best business office specialist candidate for the job, it's time to write an offer letter. In addition to salary, this letter should include details about the benefits and perks you offer the candidate. Ensuring that your offer is competitive is essential, as qualified candidates may be considering other job opportunities. The candidate may wish to negotiate the terms of the offer, and you should be open to discussion. After you reach an agreement, the final step is formalizing the agreement with a contract.

   It's also important to follow up with applicants who do not get the job with an email letting them know that the position is filled.

   Once that's done, you can draft an onboarding schedule for the new business office specialist. Human Resources should complete Employee Action Forms and ensure that onboarding paperwork is completed, including I-9s, benefits enrollment, federal and state tax forms, etc. They should also ensure that new employee files are created for internal recordkeeping.

8. Go through the hiring process checklist

   • Determine employee type (full-time, part-time, contractor, etc.)
   • Submit a job requisition form to the HR department
   • Define job responsibilities and requirements
   • Establish budget and timeline
   • Determine hiring decision makers for the role
   • Write job description
   • Post job on job boards, company website, etc.
   • Promote the job internally
   • Process applications through applicant tracking system
   • Review resumes and cover letters
   • Shortlist candidates for screening
   • Hold phone/virtual interview screening with first round of candidates
   • Conduct in-person interviews with top candidates from first round
   • Score candidates based on weighted criteria (e.g., experience, education, background, cultural fit, skill set, etc.)
   • Conduct background checks on top candidates
   • Check references of top candidates
   • Consult with HR and hiring decision makers on job offer specifics
   • Extend offer to top candidate(s)
   • Receive formal job offer acceptance and signed employment contract
   • Inform other candidates that the position has been filled
   • Set and communicate onboarding schedule to new hire(s)
   • Complete new hire paperwork (i9, benefits enrollment, tax forms, etc.)

   Sign up to download full list

   Sign up

How much does it cost to hire a business office specialist?