How to hire a finance assistant

How to hire a finance assistant, step by step

Here's a step-by-step finance assistant hiring guide:

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

What does a finance assistant do?

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1. Identify your hiring needs

   The finance assistant 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

   Hiring the perfect finance assistant also involves considering the ideal background you'd like them to have. Depending on what industry or field they have experience in, they'll bring different skills to the job. It's also important to consider what levels of seniority and education the job requires and what kind of salary such a candidate would likely demand.

   The following list breaks down different types of finance assistants and their corresponding salaries.

   Type of Finance Assistant	Description	Hourly rate
   Finance Assistant	Secretaries and administrative assistants perform clerical and administrative duties. They organize files, prepare documents, schedule appointments, and support other staff.	$12-25
   Finance Clerk	Finance clerks are financial professionals who are responsible for performing various administrative tasks such as keeping financial records, preparing bills, and delivering excellent customer service. These clerks are required to process bills, checks, receipts, and other documents to ensure that they are all properly signed and distributed... Show more	$12-26
   Finance Coordinator	Finance coordinators are skilled professionals who are employed by all types of industries to manage their financial records accurately. Under the supervision of financial managers, they correlate the company's accounts receivables and payables... Show more	$16-34

   Show more

2. Create an ideal candidate profile

   Common skills:

   • Customer Service
   • Data Entry
   • Payroll
   • Purchase Orders
   • Financial Assistance
   • Credit Card
   • Journal Entries
   • PowerPoint
   • General Ledger
   • Expense Reports
   • Financial Transactions
   • HR
   • Financial Data
   • Office Equipment

   Check all skills

   Responsibilities:

   • Manage finance operations of assign USPS location.
   • Manage patient and insurance account receivables, perform patient account reconciliations, account audits, process insurance billing/correspondence.
   • Maintain cash receipts and disbursement records using QuickBooks and prepare bank reconciliations.
   • Provide emergency Medicaid screening for undocument patients, and perform necessary follow-up calls pertaining to NYC Medicaid applications.
   • Interpret information requests and correspond with patients and agencies in accordance with hospital, state and HIPAA regulations.
   • Schedule appointments, request prior authorization with appropriate CPT and ICD-9 codes, coordinate surgeries, procedures, etc.

   More finance assistant duties

3. Make a budget

   Including a salary range in your finance assistant job description helps attract top candidates to the position. A finance assistant salary can be affected by several factors, such as geography, experience, seniority, certifications, and the prestige of the hiring company.

   For example, the average salary for a finance assistant in Nebraska may be lower than in Connecticut, and an entry-level finance assistant usually earns less than a senior-level finance assistant. Additionally, a finance assistant with certifications may command a higher salary, and working for a well-known company or start-up may also impact an employee's pay.

   Average finance assistant salary

   $37,926yearly

   $18.23 hourly rate

   ---

   Entry-level finance assistant salary

   $27,000 yearly salary

   Updated December 16, 2025

   Average finance assistant salary by state

   Rank	State	Avg. salary	Hourly rate
   1	District of Columbia	$51,611	$25
   2	Connecticut	$51,433	$25
   3	New Jersey	$50,373	$24
   4	New York	$49,194	$24
   5	Virginia	$49,081	$24
   6	Maryland	$46,754	$22
   7	Massachusetts	$44,395	$21
   8	California	$40,728	$20
   9	Texas	$39,049	$19
   10	Washington	$38,543	$19
   11	North Carolina	$38,515	$19
   12	Louisiana	$38,497	$19
   13	Pennsylvania	$38,256	$18
   14	Minnesota	$37,352	$18
   15	Illinois	$37,336	$18
   16	Indiana	$36,649	$18
   17	Ohio	$36,347	$17
   18	Oklahoma	$36,259	$17
   19	Colorado	$34,903	$17
   20	Georgia	$34,679	$17

   Average finance assistant salary by company

   Company

   Rank	Company	Average salary	Hourly rate	Job openings
   1	Boston Consulting Group	$105,016	$50.49	2
   2	HarbourVest	$83,161	$39.98
   3	Urban Institute	$59,616	$28.66
   4	Columbia University in the City of New York	$53,991	$25.96	12
   5	South Tahoe Public Utility District	$51,313	$24.67
   6	Northwestern Mutual	$49,685	$23.89	419
   7	The Culinary Institute of America	$48,339	$23.24
   8	University of California-Berkeley	$48,002	$23.08	1
   9	Northrop Grumman	$47,943	$23.05	16
   10	Stanford University	$47,289	$22.74	19
   11	Harvard University	$46,952	$22.57
   12	Northwestern University	$46,255	$22.24	7
   13	Emerson College	$46,000	$22.12
   14	Fox Rothschild	$45,871	$22.05	1
   15	University of California	$45,482	$21.87	46
   16	Pace University	$45,342	$21.80
   17	Emory University	$44,782	$21.53	3
   18	Alston & Bird	$44,592	$21.44
   19	Beacon Hill Staffing Group	$44,474	$21.38
   20	Massachusetts Institute of Technology	$44,390	$21.34	9

4. Writing a finance assistant job description

   A job description for a finance assistant role includes a summary of the job's main responsibilities, required skills, and preferred background experience. Including a salary range can also go a long way in attracting more candidates to apply, and showing the first name of the hiring manager can also make applicants more comfortable. As an example, here's a finance assistant job description:

   Finance assistant job description example

   Financial Assistance (FAS) Team Leader - (220002XL) Description Facility Profile
   
   TGH is the area's only level I trauma center and one of just two ABA-verified adult & pediatric burn centers in Florida. With five medical helicopters*, we transport critically injured or ill patients from 23 surrounding counties to receive the advanced care they need. The hospital is home to one of the busiest solid organ transplant centers in the country. TGH is a nationally designated comprehensive stroke center, and has a 32-bed Neuroscience Intensive Care Unit. Other outstanding centers include cardiovascular, orthopedics, high-risk and normal obstetrics, urology, ENT, endocrinology, and the Children's Medical Center, which features a nine-bed pediatric intensive care unit and pediatric kidney transplant services. As the region's leading safety net hospital, Tampa General is committed to providing area residents with world-class and compassionate health care ranging from the simplest to the most complex medical services.
   
   Tampa General Hospital was named the #1 hospital in Tampa Bay by U.S. News & World Report, 2020-2021, and recognized as one of America's Best Hospital's in five medical specialties: Cardiology & Heart Surgery, Diabetes & Endocrinology, Gastroenterology & GI Surgery, Nephrology, and Orthopedics. Tampa General Hospital has been designated a Magnet Hospital by the American Nurses Credentialing Center (ANCC), the highest recognition for nursing excellence, for the fourth consecutive time - an accomplishment that fewer than one percent of hospitals nationwide have earned. TGH is accredited by The Joint Commission and was awarded disease-specific certification in five medical specialties. TGH is also accredited by the Commission on Accreditation of Rehabilitation Facilities (CARF). *Air transport provided by Metro Aviation, Inc.
   
   Department Profile
   
   Tampa General Hospital's Revenue Cycle department delivers comprehensive administrative and clinical services and comprises of four departments - Patient Accounts, Health Information Management, Patient Access, and CDI/Coding. The Patient Accounts Department is a segment of the revenue cycle, responsible for the billing of hospital and professional claims to insurance carriers. The Health Information Management department at Tampa General Hospital is the guard of the electronic health record, collaborating with contributors and customers of health information that include the Medical Staff, Clinical Operations, Information Technology and Finance. While the physicians, nurse and health care team are taking care of patients and loved ones, Health Information Management professionals are the ones taking care of patients' health information- ensuring it is captured, complete, accurate, protected and made available when needed. Patient Access provides scheduling services to all TGMG locations, radiology locations and other ancillary services. Financial clearance teams ensure scheduled services are authorized for all service lines. Patient access teams are positioned throughout Tampa General Hospital and in the TGH Emergency Department, TGH Brandon Healthplex, and Rehabilitation locations. The call center is located at the WFLA News Station in downtown Tampa.
   
   Job Summary
   
   Under the direction of the Patient Access Manager serves as a senior level staff to established policies and procedures to Financial Assistance employees. May work directly with medical staff, nursing, ancillary departments, insurance carriers, local and state government programs and other external professionals to assist patients in obtaining health care and financial services. Assists with work queues for staff vacancies or vacations. Supports supervisor and manager with communication to staff and acts as mentor in learning new functions. Responsible for first review of difficult Medicaid or County cases. Functional knowledge of all jobs in the department. Assists supervisor with training new staff, and annual performance reviews. Fulfills lead role in special projects. Provides feedback to staff on internal and/or external customer services. Performs other tasks that maybe assigned by the Manager or Supervisor. Responsible for performing job duties in accordance with mission, vision, and values of Tampa General Hospital.
   
   Qualifications
   Requires a level of knowledge equivalent to that ordinarily acquired through the completion of High School Diploma or GED.
   Associate Degree in Business preferred and completion of the CPAT exam is a plus.
   4 years experience in Registration, Financial Assistance and/or Collections and Billing along with prior Supervisory experience.
   
   Primary Location: TampaWork Locations: TGH Main Campus 1 Tampa General Circle Tampa 33606Job: Patient Financial ServicesOrganization: TGH - HospitalSchedule: Full-time Scheduled Days: Sunday, Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, Friday, SaturdayShift: Day JobShift Hours: 8:30am-5:00pmJob Posting: Sep 22, 2022, 5:53:53 PM

   Copy this example

   

5. Post your job

   There are various strategies that you can use to find the right finance assistant for your business:

   • Consider promoting from within or recruiting from your existing workforce.
   • Ask for referrals from friends, family members, and current employees.
   • Attend job fairs at local colleges to find candidates who meet your education requirements.
   • Use social media platforms like LinkedIn, Facebook, and Twitter to reach potential job candidates.

   Post your job online:

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

6. Interview candidates

   During your first interview to recruit finance assistants, engage with candidates to learn about their interest in the role and experience in the field. During the following interview, you'll be able to go into more detail about the company, the position, and the responsibilities.

   Remember to include a few questions that allow candidates to expand on their strengths in their own words. Asking about their unique skills might reveal things you'd miss otherwise. At this point, good candidates 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 finance assistant

   Once you've decided on a perfect finance assistant candidate, it's time to write an offer letter. In addition to salary, it should include benefits and perks available to the employee. Qualified candidates may be considered for other positions, so make sure your offer is competitive. Candidates may wish to negotiate. Once you've settled on the details, formalize your agreement with a contract.

   It's also good etiquette to follow up with applicants who don't get the job by sending them an email letting them know that the position has been filled.

   To prepare for the new finance assistant first day, you should share an onboarding schedule with them that covers their first period on the job. You should also quickly complete any necessary paperwork, such as employee action forms and onboarding documents like I-9, benefits enrollment, and federal and state tax forms. Finally, Human Resources must ensure a new employee file is created for internal record keeping.

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.)

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