Veterinary receptionist vs front office assistant

The differences between veterinary receptionists and front 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 veterinary receptionist and a front office assistant. Additionally, a front office assistant has an average salary of $32,913, which is higher than the $30,620 average annual salary of a veterinary receptionist.

The top three skills for a veterinary receptionist include PET, customer service and client service. The most important skills for a front office assistant are patients, customer service, and excellent interpersonal.

Veterinary receptionist vs front office assistant overview

	Veterinary Receptionist	Front Office Assistant
Yearly salary	$30,620	$32,913
Hourly rate	$14.72	$15.82
Growth rate	-	-5%
Number of jobs	43,033	149,847
Job satisfaction	-	-
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 40%	Bachelor's Degree, 24%
Average age	42	47
Years of experience	2	2

What does a veterinary receptionist do?

The veterinary receptionist caters to clients and their pets in a veterinary clinic. The veterinary receptionist's job is to communicate with clients, answer inquiries, and schedule appointments with a veterinarian. The veterinary receptionist also handles all the records of the clinic, information about all pets and clients. This person also needs to have good communication skills, be highly organized, and has a pleasing disposition and personality. Additional tasks of a veterinary receptionist are maintenance of the reception area, and if needed, process payments and other financial transactions such as insurance.

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.

Veterinary receptionist vs front office assistant salary

Veterinary receptionists and front office assistants have different pay scales, as shown below.

	Veterinary Receptionist	Front Office Assistant
Average salary	$30,620	$32,913
Salary range	Between $25,000 And $37,000	Between $26,000 And $40,000
Highest paying City	-	Washington, DC
Highest paying state	-	Connecticut
Best paying company	-	University of California, Berkeley
Best paying industry	-	Health Care

Differences between veterinary receptionist and front office assistant education

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

	Veterinary Receptionist	Front Office Assistant
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 40%	Bachelor's Degree, 24%
Most common major	Business	Medical Assisting Services
Most common college	-	University of Pennsylvania

Veterinary receptionist vs front office assistant demographics

Here are the differences between veterinary receptionists' and front office assistants' demographics:

	Veterinary Receptionist	Front Office Assistant
Average age	42	47
Gender ratio	Male, 5.8% Female, 94.2%	Male, 9.7% Female, 90.3%
Race ratio	Black or African American, 11.1% Unknown, 4.4% Hispanic or Latino, 18.7% Asian, 6.6% White, 58.3% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.9%	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%
LGBT Percentage	6%	6%

Differences between veterinary receptionist and front office assistant duties and responsibilities

Veterinary receptionist example responsibilities.

Assist office management and staff with administrative projects/responsibilities such as managing time-sensitive projects, filing, copying, and collating materials.
Interact with other veterinary offices regarding mutual clients in regard pet medical history.
Coordinate room rentals and reservations.
Certify CPR instructor-provide in-house training for all staff and physicians.
Schedule tee times, take reservations, answer calls and assist customers
Organize files and keep them up to date while closely following HIPAA regulations.

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.

Veterinary receptionist vs front office assistant skills

Common veterinary receptionist skills

PET, 29%
Customer Service, 14%
Client Service, 8%
Patients, 7%
Processing Payments, 5%
Exam Rooms, 4%

Common front office assistant skills

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

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Veterinary Receptionist
Veterinary Receptionist vs Front Office Assistant

Updated January 8, 2025

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