Front office assistant vs front desk administrative assistant

The differences between front office assistants and front desk administrative 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 front office assistant and a front desk administrative assistant. Additionally, a front desk administrative assistant has an average salary of $33,037, which is higher than the $32,913 average annual salary of a front office assistant.

The top three skills for a front office assistant include patients, customer service and excellent interpersonal. The most important skills for a front desk administrative assistant are customer service, patients, and data entry.

Front office assistant vs front desk administrative assistant overview

	Front Office Assistant	Front Desk Administrative Assistant
Yearly salary	$32,913	$33,037
Hourly rate	$15.82	$15.88
Growth rate	-5%	-8%
Number of jobs	149,847	95,732
Job satisfaction	-	-
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 24%	Bachelor's Degree, 40%
Average age	47	50
Years of experience	2	2

What does a front office assistant do?

Front office assistants typically work and perform their duty within the office. They do office support duties like welcome and greet customers, answer phone calls, and schedule and plan appointments. It is their responsibility to sort mails, route calls, and listen to voicemails. They need to organize and give out communications promptly. Also, they do clerical tasks, manage inventory, and maintain their work area. They must be keen to details, can multitask and have excellent communication and customer service skills.

What does a front desk administrative assistant do?

A front desk administrative assistant is responsible for performing administrative duties to support daily business functions and operations. Front desk administrative assistants assist guests, respond to their inquiries and concerns, and direct them to the appropriate personnel for their needs. They also monitor office inventories, write purchase requests, and distribute mails across the departments. A front desk administrative assistants review business and financial transactions to generate reports, update information on the company's database, and sort documents for reference.

Front office assistant vs front desk administrative assistant salary

Front office assistants and front desk administrative assistants have different pay scales, as shown below.

	Front Office Assistant	Front Desk Administrative Assistant
Average salary	$32,913	$33,037
Salary range	Between $26,000 And $40,000	Between $27,000 And $39,000
Highest paying City	Washington, DC	Springfield, MA
Highest paying state	Connecticut	Connecticut
Best paying company	University of California, Berkeley	University of California, Berkeley
Best paying industry	Health Care	Professional

Differences between front office assistant and front desk administrative assistant education

There are a few differences between a front office assistant and a front desk administrative assistant in terms of educational background:

	Front Office Assistant	Front Desk Administrative Assistant
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 24%	Bachelor's Degree, 40%
Most common major	Medical Assisting Services	Business
Most common college	University of Pennsylvania	Western Carolina University

Front office assistant vs front desk administrative assistant demographics

Here are the differences between front office assistants' and front desk administrative assistants' demographics:

	Front Office Assistant	Front Desk Administrative Assistant
Average age	47	50
Gender ratio	Male, 9.7% Female, 90.3%	Male, 10.0% Female, 90.0%
Race ratio	Black or African American, 10.1% Unknown, 4.5% Hispanic or Latino, 23.7% Asian, 7.5% White, 53.3% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.9%	Black or African American, 9.3% Unknown, 3.9% Hispanic or Latino, 16.2% Asian, 3.8% White, 66.1% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.7%
LGBT Percentage	6%	6%

Differences between front office assistant and front desk administrative assistant duties and responsibilities

Front office assistant example responsibilities.

Manage correspondence and documentation for OSHA compliance and hold some accounts payable responsibilities by coding invoices for processing and payment.
Ensure compliance with HIPAA and OSHA regulations to improve customer relations and promote favorable patient/physician interactions.
Download all transcription for the physicians and mail out letters and patient consults.
Utilize knowledge of ICD-9 and CPT coding by verifying explanation of benefits render to patient, for insurance purposes.
Collect co-pays, enter update demographics into EHR/EMR, enter ICD-9 and CPT codes as needed into patient records electronically
Verify insurance to include commercial and Medicaid.

Front desk administrative assistant example responsibilities.

Manage day-to-day operations including scheduling and coordinating appointments, verify patient insurance, prepare correspondences between medical providers and their patients.
Process member and team member paperwork; including member cancellations, updates, new hires/terminations/status changes, and payroll paperwork.
Monitor and complete payroll information.
Demonstrate great initiative in assisting tech team with minor technical issues and create PowerPoint presentations for business strategic purposes.
Register patients, verify eligibility of insurance, interview them in order to obtain other demographic information that are needed.
Manage day-to-day operations including scheduling and coordinating appointments, verify patient insurance, prepare correspondences between medical providers and their patients.

Front office assistant vs front desk administrative assistant skills

Common front office assistant skills

Patients, 21%
Customer Service, 9%
Excellent Interpersonal, 7%
Patient Demographics, 5%
Patient Care, 5%
Front Desk, 4%

Common front desk administrative assistant skills

Customer Service, 15%
Patients, 12%
Data Entry, 8%
Phone Calls, 8%
Front Desk Operations, 7%
Check-In, 4%

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Office and Administrative Industry
Front Office Assistant
Front Office Assistant vs Front Desk Administrative Assistant

Updated January 8, 2025

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