Business planning analyst vs process analyst

The differences between business planning analysts and process analysts can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. It typically takes 2-4 years to become both a business planning analyst and a process analyst. Additionally, a business planning analyst has an average salary of $75,822, which is higher than the $73,233 average annual salary of a process analyst.

The top three skills for a business planning analyst include project management, HR and financial analysis. The most important skills for a process analyst are process improvement, project management, and customer service.

Business planning analyst vs process analyst overview

	Business Planning Analyst	Process Analyst
Yearly salary	$75,822	$73,233
Hourly rate	$36.45	$35.21
Growth rate	11%	11%
Number of jobs	146,438	123,238
Job satisfaction	-	-
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 74%	Bachelor's Degree, 66%
Average age	44	44
Years of experience	4	4

What does a business planning analyst do?

A business planning analyst specializes in performing research and analysis to develop business plans and models, ensuring efficiency and profitability. Their responsibilities revolve around devising strategies to improve existing systems and procedures, coordinating with different departments to gather data, determining areas needing improvement, and identifying new market and sales opportunities. Furthermore, a business planning analyst may perform clerical tasks such as creating presentations, producing progress reports, maintaining records of all research and data, and managing budgets and expenditures.

What does a process analyst do?

A process analyst is also known as an operations research analyst, who evaluates in detail the steps in producing products and making important decisions as well as providing recommendations on how to enhance them. They are IT specialists that analyze the business process and workflows to determine how they can be computerized and improved. Responsibilities include identifying problems and risks as well as engaging in problem resolution. Important skills to consider for applicants include being innovative thinkers and goal-oriented.

Business planning analyst vs process analyst salary

Business planning analysts and process analysts have different pay scales, as shown below.

	Business Planning Analyst	Process Analyst
Average salary	$75,822	$73,233
Salary range	Between $57,000 And $100,000	Between $49,000 And $108,000
Highest paying City	New York, NY	Santa Clara, CA
Highest paying state	New York	Connecticut
Best paying company	Meta	Apple
Best paying industry	Finance	Finance

Differences between business planning analyst and process analyst education

There are a few differences between a business planning analyst and a process analyst in terms of educational background:

	Business Planning Analyst	Process Analyst
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 74%	Bachelor's Degree, 66%
Most common major	Business	Business
Most common college	Northwestern University	Northwestern University

Business planning analyst vs process analyst demographics

Here are the differences between business planning analysts' and process analysts' demographics:

	Business Planning Analyst	Process Analyst
Average age	44	44
Gender ratio	Male, 52.4% Female, 47.6%	Male, 50.8% Female, 49.2%
Race ratio	Black or African American, 7.6% Unknown, 4.5% Hispanic or Latino, 8.6% Asian, 14.7% White, 64.5% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.2%	Black or African American, 8.2% Unknown, 4.5% Hispanic or Latino, 9.0% Asian, 12.2% White, 66.0% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.2%
LGBT Percentage	12%	12%

Differences between business planning analyst and process analyst duties and responsibilities

Business planning analyst example responsibilities.

Lead monthly and quarterly EAC forecasting and consolidate forecasts in support of corporate financial reporting.
Test ERP layout to ensure the system is meeting corporate needs.
Assist in training curriculum to enable users to explore and interact with ERP data.
Write SQL query to retrieve processing volume for each revenue/cost items associate with newly approve merchant accounts.
Track the budget periodically by generating reports using Hyperion reporting tool.
Monitor and maintain various account reconciliations for internal and external audit requirements, compliance controls, and other special analysis requests.

Process analyst example responsibilities.

Lead the development and implementation of application and infrastructure solutions that are stable, operationally healthy, and supportable in production.
Develop and manage department SharePoint site to use as a collaborative document management tool.
Collaborate with project manager in tracking and managing project development process following RUP base SDLC methodologies.
Used Visio for process mapping to review operational procedures when determining areas of improvement.
Look at Java code to help debug it.
Test CRM platform through complex use of matrices to be able to segment a database for a more applicable personal contact.

Business planning analyst vs process analyst skills

Common business planning analyst skills

Project Management, 9%
HR, 6%
Financial Analysis, 6%
Process Improvement, 5%
Financial Performance, 5%
Help Support, 5%

Common process analyst skills

Process Improvement, 9%
Project Management, 7%
Customer Service, 6%
Continuous Improvement, 5%
Sigma, 4%
Business Processes, 4%

Business Planning Analyst vs. similar jobs

Business Planning Analyst related careers

Business Planning Analyst related jobs

What similar roles do

Zippia Careers
Business and Financial Industry
Business Planning Analyst
Business Planning Analyst vs Process Analyst

Updated January 8, 2025

Browse business and financial jobs