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What does a front office assistant do?

Updated January 8, 2025
7 min read
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.

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Front office assistant responsibilities

Here are examples of responsibilities from real front office assistant resumes:

  • 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.
  • Respond appropriately to the physical emotional and developmental need of addiction recovery patients.
  • Protect patient confidentiality by making sure protect health information is secured according to HIPAA guidelines.
  • Perform patient eligibility screening, distribution of prescriptions, patient check-in, data filing and patient scheduling
  • Coordinate with convention planners to ensure a quality experience for their attendees including check-in and ticket distribution.
  • Order and maintain inventory of office supplies, postage, certify mail, and FedEx.
  • Create PowerPoint presentations used for business development.

Front office assistant skills and personality traits

We calculated that 21% of Front Office Assistants are proficient in Patients, Customer Service, and Excellent Interpersonal. They’re also known for soft skills such as Customer-service skills, Detail oriented, and Organizational skills.

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

  • Patients, 21%

    Responded appropriately to the physical emotional and developmental need of addiction recovery patients.

  • Customer Service, 9%

    Provided customer service and dispensed patient medication as ordered by on-duty doctor; verifying requests against orders and insurance.

  • Excellent Interpersonal, 7%

    Demonstrated excellent interpersonal skills when interacting with patients.

  • Patient Demographics, 5%

    Assured completion and accuracy of all patient demographics relating to procedural preparation and educational information relating to outpatients' procedures.

  • Patient Care, 5%

    Use decontamination and sterilization techniques on non-critical medical supplies and equipment used in any setting where patient care is provided.

  • Front Desk, 4%

    Front Desk Administrative- Verification and Eligibility of Benefits and Co pays.

Most front office assistants use their skills in "patients," "customer service," and "excellent interpersonal" to do their jobs. You can find more detail on essential front office assistant responsibilities here:

Customer-service skills. One of the key soft skills for a front office assistant to have is customer-service skills. You can see how this relates to what front office assistants do because "general office clerks often provide general information to company staff, customers, or the public." Additionally, a front office assistant resume shows how front office assistants use customer-service skills: "maintained confidentiality while providing excellent customer service including appointment scheduling and confirmations. "

Detail oriented. Another essential skill to perform front office assistant duties is detail oriented. Front office assistants responsibilities require that "general office clerks perform many clerical tasks that require attention to detail, such as preparing bills." Front office assistants also use detail oriented in their role according to a real resume snippet: "prepared legal documents for collections detailed data entry created a pharmacy directory for use of clients in the medical field"

Organizational skills. This is an important skill for front office assistants to perform their duties. For an example of how front office assistant 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 front office assistant: "maintain excellent organizational skills and accurate data entry. ".

All front office assistant skills

The three companies that hire the most front office assistants are:

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Compare different front office assistants

Front office assistant vs. 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. They also do data processing, sorting mail, and filing documents for easy retrieval and reference, especially during meetings and company activities.

We looked at the average front office assistant salary and compared it with the wages of an office worker. Generally speaking, office workers are paid $8,090 higher than front office assistants per year.While their salaries may differ, the common ground between front office assistants and office workers are a few of the skills required in each roleacirc;euro;trade;s responsibilities. In both careers, employee duties involve skills like customer service, front desk, and data entry.

While similarities exist, there are also some differences between front office assistants and office worker. For instance, front office assistant responsibilities require skills such as "patients," "excellent interpersonal," "patient demographics," and "patient care." Whereas a office worker is skilled in "administrative tasks," "powerpoint," "payroll," and "scheduling appointments." This is part of what separates the two careers.

Office workers tend to make the most money working in the education industry, where they earn an average salary of $40,267. In contrast, front office assistants make the biggest average salary, $32,618, in the health care industry.On average, office workers reach similar levels of education than front office assistants. Office workers are 1.4% more likely to earn a Master's Degree and 0.1% less likely to graduate with a Doctoral Degree.

Front office assistant vs. 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. They are also in charge of handling and scheduling meetings and appointments, managing the reservation of office meeting rooms, and manning telephone lines. Office clerks may also be in charge of ordering office supplies, preparing purchase requisitions for office needs, sending out and receiving official company documents, and other correspondences.

A career as a office clerk brings a lower average salary when compared to the average annual salary of a front office assistant. In fact, office clerks salary is $1,986 lower than the salary of front office assistants per year.While the salary may differ for these jobs, they share a few skills needed to perform their duties. Based on resume data, both front office assistants and office clerks have skills such as "customer service," "front desk," and "office procedures. "

In addition to the difference in salary, there are some other key differences worth noting. For example, front office assistant responsibilities are more likely to require skills like "patients," "excellent interpersonal," "patient demographics," and "patient care." Meanwhile, an office clerk has duties that require skills in areas such as "payroll," "office machines," "scheduling appointments," and "clerical support." These differences highlight just how different the day-to-day in each role looks.

Office clerks may earn a lower salary than front office assistants, but office clerks earn the most pay in the transportation industry with an average salary of $31,504. On the other hand, front office assistants receive higher pay in the health care industry, where they earn an average salary of $32,618.office clerks earn similar levels of education than front office assistants in general. They're 0.0% more likely to graduate with a Master's Degree and 0.1% less likely to earn a Doctoral Degree.

Front office assistant vs. Office aide

Also called an office assistant, an office aide is someone whose responsibility focuses on secretarial and administrative tasks in health practices, schools, businesses, or any other institution. Office aides help with logistical and clerical needs like copying files, curating schedules, and answering phones. They manage and organize files, receive and direct visitors, create presentations, and answer emails. The skills they need include computer and email use, filing documents, answering multiline phone systems, and typing.

An average office aide eans a lower salary compared to the average salary of front office assistants. The difference in salaries amounts to office aides earning a $3,658 lower average salary than front office assistants.Using the responsibilities included on front office assistants and office aides resumes, we found that both professions have similar skill requirements, such as "customer service," "front desk," and "phone calls.rdquo;

Some important key differences between the two careers include a few of the skills necessary to fulfill the responsibilities of each. Some examples from front office assistant resumes include skills like "patients," "excellent interpersonal," "patient demographics," and "patient care," whereas an office aide is more likely to list skills in "database systems," "scheduling appointments," "financial aid," and "clerical tasks. "

Office aides earn the best pay in the health care industry, where they command an average salary of $30,366. Front office assistants earn the highest pay from the health care industry, with an average salary of $32,618.Most office aides achieve a similar degree level compared to front office assistants. For example, they're 1.1% more likely to graduate with a Master's Degree, and 0.2% more likely to earn a Doctoral Degree.

Front office assistant vs. Business office associate

Business office associates are responsible for providing clerical and administrative support to the office staff for efficient and smooth operations of the office operations. They typically perform a number of tasks that include managing and entering data to spreadsheets and databases, organizing and maintaining files and documents, and assisting with bookkeeping activities. Additionally, they are responsible for managing work projects and overall office management, collaborating with other departments, and maintaining financial documents and customer information. Business office associates are also expected to oversee human resource activities such as handling of employment forms and administering health insurance.

Business office associates typically earn lower pay than front office assistants. On average, business office associates earn a $3,284 lower salary per year.According to resumes from front office assistants and business office associates, some of the skills necessary to complete the responsibilities of each role are similar. These skills include "patients," "customer service," and "front desk. "While some skills are required in each professionacirc;euro;trade;s responsibilities, there are some differences to note. "excellent interpersonal," "patient demographics," "patient care," and "process payments" are skills that commonly show up on front office assistant resumes. On the other hand, business office associates use skills like vehicle sales, payable functions, cash management, and proper paperwork on their resumes.business office associates reach similar levels of education compared to front office assistants, in general. The difference is that they're 2.2% more likely to earn a Master's Degree, and 0.2% more likely to graduate with a Doctoral Degree.

Types of front office assistant

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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