Purchasing administrative assistant vs customer service administrative assistant

The differences between purchasing administrative assistants and customer service 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 purchasing administrative assistant and a customer service administrative assistant. Additionally, a purchasing administrative assistant has an average salary of $37,889, which is higher than the $33,741 average annual salary of a customer service administrative assistant.

The top three skills for a purchasing administrative assistant include purchase orders, data entry and customer service. The most important skills for a customer service administrative assistant are data entry, purchase orders, and payroll.

Purchasing administrative assistant vs customer service administrative assistant overview

	Purchasing Administrative Assistant	Customer Service Administrative Assistant
Yearly salary	$37,889	$33,741
Hourly rate	$18.22	$16.22
Growth rate	-8%	-8%
Number of jobs	48,872	93,535
Job satisfaction	-	-
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 40%	Bachelor's Degree, 38%
Average age	50	50
Years of experience	2	2

What does a purchasing administrative assistant do?

Purchasing Administrative Assistants will require a high school diploma or GED, but an associate degree or higher is preferred, as well as three or more years in a purchasing role. This career will require skills in communication and negotiation, as well as a proven history of good supply management and the ability to create and administer task priority lists based on the needs of the respective company. Paying an average salary of $42K per year, but ranging between $37K and $49K, this career choice will demand the provision of support to the purchasing process and department staff, processing documents and materials and responding to inquiries, as well as maintaining information and inventories about vendors and sources.

What does a customer service administrative assistant do?

A customer service administrative assistant is responsible for responding to customers' inquiries and concerns, alongside performing administrative tasks as required. Customer service administrative assistants must escalate high-level complaints to the appropriate department, organize client meetings, process business letters, assist with developing promotional offers and marketing materials, and research potential clients. They also manage inventories and request stock supplies, create expense reports, and update customer records in the database. A customer service administrative assistant must have excellent customer service skills, as well as the ability to multitask and work under pressure and strict deadlines.

Purchasing administrative assistant vs customer service administrative assistant salary

Purchasing administrative assistants and customer service administrative assistants have different pay scales, as shown below.

	Purchasing Administrative Assistant	Customer Service Administrative Assistant
Average salary	$37,889	$33,741
Salary range	Between $29,000 And $48,000	Between $28,000 And $40,000
Highest paying City	Milpitas, CA	Everett, WA
Highest paying state	New Jersey	Washington
Best paying company	Aspen Snowmass	Uline
Best paying industry	Construction	Finance

Differences between purchasing administrative assistant and customer service administrative assistant education

There are a few differences between a purchasing administrative assistant and a customer service administrative assistant in terms of educational background:

	Purchasing Administrative Assistant	Customer Service Administrative Assistant
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 40%	Bachelor's Degree, 38%
Most common major	Business	Business
Most common college	Western Carolina University	Western Carolina University

Purchasing administrative assistant vs customer service administrative assistant demographics

Here are the differences between purchasing administrative assistants' and customer service administrative assistants' demographics:

	Purchasing Administrative Assistant	Customer Service Administrative Assistant
Average age	50	50
Gender ratio	Male, 8.3% Female, 91.7%	Male, 10.7% Female, 89.3%
Race ratio	Black or African American, 9.4% Unknown, 3.9% Hispanic or Latino, 16.4% Asian, 3.8% White, 65.8% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.7%	Black or African American, 9.2% Unknown, 3.9% Hispanic or Latino, 16.0% Asian, 3.8% White, 66.4% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.7%
LGBT Percentage	6%	6%

Differences between purchasing administrative assistant and customer service administrative assistant duties and responsibilities

Purchasing administrative assistant example responsibilities.

Support medical doctors, manage sensitive and confidential records pertaining to high risk patients with emphasis on accuracy.
Prepare purchase orders, review requisitions, supply requests and MRP purchase reports.
Assess and close A/P, A/R monthly.
Support A/P by resolving invoice problems.
Verify shipments and check into ERP system.
Certify to internally audit group for ISO compliance.

Customer service administrative assistant example responsibilities.

Manage customers' database accounts and records, perform customer verification and process applications, orders and requests utilizing QuickBooks.
Provide support to accounting personnel with data entry into QuickBooks and document processing
Coordinate with clients, vendors, lawyers, CPA, and other employees.
Edited/Maintain the official Herzing program and course outlines on the Herzing SharePoint intranet site.
Provide outstanding administrative support to the third partner, while establishing and coordinating overall departmental functionality of 16 staff CPA team.
Assist manager with development of PowerPoint presentations for prospective customers.

Purchasing administrative assistant vs customer service administrative assistant skills

Common purchasing administrative assistant skills

Purchase Orders, 33%
Data Entry, 9%
Customer Service, 9%
Provides Administrative Support, 4%
Office Equipment, 4%
Travel Arrangements, 3%

Common customer service administrative assistant skills

Data Entry, 24%
Purchase Orders, 6%
Payroll, 6%
Scheduling Appointments, 5%
Front Desk, 3%
Travel Arrangements, 3%

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Purchasing Administrative Assistant
Purchasing Administrative Assistant vs Customer Service Administrative Assistant

Updated January 8, 2025

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