Receptionist/billing clerk vs office assistant

The differences between receptionist/billing clerks and office 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 receptionist/billing clerk and an office assistant. Additionally, a receptionist/billing clerk has an average salary of $31,932, which is higher than the $31,517 average annual salary of an office assistant.

The top three skills for a receptionist/billing clerk include patients, data entry and customer service. The most important skills for an office assistant are data entry, patients, and customer service.

Receptionist/billing clerk vs office assistant overview

	Receptionist/Billing Clerk	Office Assistant
Yearly salary	$31,932	$31,517
Hourly rate	$15.35	$15.15
Growth rate	-	-5%
Number of jobs	129,530	103,293
Job satisfaction	-	5
Most common degree	High School Diploma, 31%	Bachelor's Degree, 42%
Average age	42	47
Years of experience	2	2

What does a receptionist/billing clerk do?

A receptionist/billing clerk is responsible for performing administrative and clerical duties as needed to maintain a smooth flow of operations for the business. Receptionist/billing clerks process the customers' payment transactions, manage account payables, releasing invoices, and immediately resolve account discrepancies. A receptionist/billing clerk must have excellent communication and analytical skills, responding to customers' inquiries and concerns, escalating high-level complaints to the billing management. They should also maintain records of financial documentation for reference and reconciliation as needed.

What does an office assistant do?

Office assistants perform various tasks to ensure that the business runs organized and efficient. An office assistant must possess excellent communication and multi-tasking skills to handle essential duties such as scheduling meetings, monitoring office supplies, storing documents and necessary paperwork, handling customer inquiries and appointments, coordinating in company events, and accomplishing other clerical tasks and administrative support. Office assistants are also required to communicate any observation that would possibly make an impact on the company's performance.

Receptionist/billing clerk vs office assistant salary

Receptionist/billing clerks and office assistants have different pay scales, as shown below.

	Receptionist/Billing Clerk	Office Assistant
Average salary	$31,932	$31,517
Salary range	Between $26,000 And $39,000	Between $24,000 And $41,000
Highest paying City	Santa Maria, CA	Washington, DC
Highest paying state	Alaska	Vermont
Best paying company	Leggett & Platt	Analysis Group
Best paying industry	Technology	Government

Differences between receptionist/billing clerk and office assistant education

There are a few differences between a receptionist/billing clerk and an office assistant in terms of educational background:

	Receptionist/Billing Clerk	Office Assistant
Most common degree	High School Diploma, 31%	Bachelor's Degree, 42%
Most common major	Business	Business
Most common college	-	Western Carolina University

Receptionist/billing clerk vs office assistant demographics

Here are the differences between receptionist/billing clerks' and office assistants' demographics:

	Receptionist/Billing Clerk	Office Assistant
Average age	42	47
Gender ratio	Male, 7.2% Female, 92.8%	Male, 17.3% Female, 82.7%
Race ratio	Black or African American, 10.5% Unknown, 4.4% Hispanic or Latino, 25.0% Asian, 5.7% White, 53.4% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.9%	Black or African American, 10.1% Unknown, 4.8% Hispanic or Latino, 21.0% Asian, 8.3% White, 54.6% American Indian and Alaska Native, 1.1%
LGBT Percentage	6%	6%

Differences between receptionist/billing clerk and office assistant duties and responsibilities

Receptionist/billing clerk example responsibilities.

Assist office management and staff with administrative projects/responsibilities such as managing time-sensitive projects, filing, copying, and collating materials.
Obtain and track all insurance referrals for patients with HMO products.
Coordinate in-processing of all patients, to include accurate insurance information and payments are entered correctly into office computer system.
Move from SNF billing to HMO outpatient billing and keep a large alpha current.
Maintain confidentiality and adherence to HIPAA guidelines.
Develop effective billing strategies for Medicaid recipients according to HIPPA rules and regulations.

Office assistant example responsibilities.

Manage filing, photocopying, collating, and faxing public and seal case documents.
Manage CI s SharePoint pages and serve as CI s subject matter expert on SharePoint working groups.
Manage operational FedEx relationship through order fulfillment, shipment tracking, and communication with parties involve in shipment transaction.
Compile payroll records, detect and reconcile discrepancies, accurately report outcomes using QuickBooks.
Maintain office services by organizing office operations and procedures, preparing payroll, controlling correspondences, and designing filing systems.
File client paperwork upholding HIPAA standards.

Receptionist/billing clerk vs office assistant skills

Common receptionist/billing clerk skills

Patients, 25%
Data Entry, 11%
Customer Service, 9%
Telephone Calls, 7%
Appointment Scheduling, 6%
Front Desk, 5%

Common office assistant skills

Data Entry, 16%
Patients, 14%
Customer Service, 9%
Telephone Calls, 7%
Scheduling Appointments, 6%
Front Desk, 6%

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Office and Administrative Industry
Receptionist/Billing Clerk
Receptionist/Billing Clerk vs Office Assistant

Updated January 8, 2025

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