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What does a Clerical Associate do?

Updated January 8, 2025
7 min read
What does a Clerical Associate do

A clerical associate is someone who carries out administrative tasks. Clerical associates photocopy, distribute mail, put together mailings, send faxes, respond to emails, and type letters. The associate's order office supplies, convey messages to staff members, handle payroll, and manage conference rooms. They check records for information accuracy and policy and procedure conformity. It is part of their responsibilities to perform projects for patient care facilitation. Also, they provide support to the mental health clinic in terms of patient care and satisfaction survey distribution and collection.

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Clerical associate responsibilities

Here are examples of responsibilities from real clerical associate resumes:

  • Manage operational FedEx relationship through order fulfillment, shipment tracking, and communication with parties involve in shipment transaction.
  • Apply ICD-9, CPT and HCPCS codes for outpatient treatments.
  • Obtain and properly distributes messages using EMR.
  • Fax radiology reports and make calls regarding abnormal reports.
  • Coordinate patient radiology exams as well as patient procedures.
  • Update clinical records associate with patient visits in MYSIS EMR system.
  • Assist physicians with coding charts with the correct ICD-9 and CPT codes.
  • Train new hires on HIPPA regulations, as well as company policies and procedures.
  • Enroll new doctors in Medicaid and Medicare by providing thorough instructions on completing the application.
  • Receive and verify invoices and requisitions for all NYC school districts and ensuring proper distribution to process payments.
  • Create and maintain the PowerPoint presentation running in the lobby to help direct students/customers to the proper rooms.
  • Retrieve incoming calls from medical and administrative staff pertaining to patient's information (abiding by HIPPA guidelines).
  • Input accurate information into payroll and scheduling databases.
  • File legal documents in city/state/federal courts around NYC.
  • Assist in ensuring accuracy and timely completion of department payroll.

Clerical associate skills and personality traits

We calculated that 23% of Clerical Associates are proficient in Patients, Data Entry, and Customer Service. They’re also known for soft skills such as Customer-service skills, Detail oriented, and Organizational skills.

We break down the percentage of Clerical Associates that have these skills listed on their resume here:

  • Patients, 23%

    Interview and register patients in the Emergency Department by obtaining biographic demographic and financial information.

  • Data Entry, 11%

    Checked records for accuracy of information and for conformity with established policy and procedures; perform daily data entry.

  • Customer Service, 11%

    Attained necessary skills in order to acquire promotion to Customer Service Representative for high-level accounts.

  • Phone Calls, 5%

    Handled heavy incoming phone calls, received and distributed messages appropriately.

  • Clerical Functions, 5%

    Performed required clerical functions not limited to filing and telephone correspondence.

  • Patient Care, 5%

    Performed administrative tasks and projects to facilitate patient care.

"patients," "data entry," and "customer service" are among the most common skills that clerical associates use at work. You can find even more clerical associate responsibilities below, including:

Customer-service skills. One of the key soft skills for a clerical associate to have is customer-service skills. You can see how this relates to what clerical associates do because "general office clerks often provide general information to company staff, customers, or the public." Additionally, a clerical associate resume shows how clerical associates use customer-service skills: "utilized various computer systems to abstract customer information. "

Detail oriented. Another soft skill that's essential for fulfilling clerical associate duties is detail oriented. The role rewards competence in this skill because "general office clerks perform many clerical tasks that require attention to detail, such as preparing bills." According to a clerical associate resume, here's how clerical associates can utilize detail oriented in their job responsibilities: "communicated with a high volume of clients daily, taking detailed messages and transferring calls. "

Organizational skills. This is an important skill for clerical associates to perform their duties. For an example of how clerical associate 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 clerical associate: "front desk support for high-traffic area multi-task organizational needs with large call volume developed and organized radiology films for proper diagnosis".

See the full list of clerical associate skills

The three companies that hire the most clerical associates are:

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Compare different clerical associates

Clerical associate vs. Receptionist secretary

A receptionist secretary is responsible for providing the best customer service, as well as attending to the needs of existing and potential clients. Duties of a receptionist secretary include managing customer's inquiries and forwarding important calls to the appropriate department, performing administrative and clerical tasks, escalating high-level of client's concerns to the management, keeping the reception area clean, monitoring office supplies and request stocks as needed, and maintaining an organized record of meetings and events. A receptionist secretary must have strong communication and multi-tasking skills to handle workloads of daily operations.

The annual salary of receptionist secretaries is $681 lower than the average salary of clerical associates.Even though clerical associates and receptionist secretaries are distinct careers, a few of the skills required for both jobs are similar. For example, both careers require patients, data entry, and customer service in the day-to-day roles and responsibilities.

While similarities exist, there are also some differences between clerical associates and receptionist secretary. For instance, clerical associate responsibilities require skills such as "clerical functions," "patient care," "medical terminology," and "physician orders." Whereas a receptionist secretary is skilled in "appointment scheduling," "greeting visitors," "administrative functions," and "routine correspondence." This is part of what separates the two careers.

Receptionist secretaries earn the highest salaries when working in the government industry, with an average yearly salary of $30,128. On the other hand, clerical associates are paid more in the government industry with an average salary of $34,472.The education levels that receptionist secretaries earn slightly differ from clerical associates. In particular, receptionist secretaries are 1.6% less likely to graduate with a Master's Degree than a clerical associate. Additionally, they're 0.2% more likely to earn a Doctoral Degree.

Clerical associate vs. Administrative receptionist

An administrative receptionist is responsible for performing administrative tasks, handling visitors' inquiries and concerns, verifying appointments, and leading them to the appropriate personnel and department, as well as handling and routing calls. Administrative receptionists also keep records of the staff meeting and executive conference, including company and promotional events. They receive packages and mail, sort documents, manage office supply inventories, create incident reports, and report suspicious guests within the premises. An administrative receptionist must have excellent communication and customer service skills, especially on resolving and escalating complaints.

A career as a administrative receptionist brings a higher average salary when compared to the average annual salary of a clerical associate. In fact, administrative receptionists salary is $1,478 higher than the salary of clerical associates per year.Only some things about these jobs are the same. Take their skills, for example. Clerical associates and administrative receptionists both require similar skills like "patients," "data entry," and "customer service" to carry out their responsibilities.

Each career also uses different skills, according to real clerical associate resumes. While clerical associate responsibilities can utilize skills like "clerical functions," "patient care," "medical terminology," and "physician orders," administrative receptionists use skills like "appointment scheduling," "hr," "bank deposits," and "travel arrangements."

On average, administrative receptionists earn a higher salary than clerical associates. Some industries support higher salaries in each profession. Interestingly enough, administrative receptionists earn the most pay in the technology industry with an average salary of $32,669. Whereas clerical associates have higher pay in the government industry, with an average salary of $34,472.administrative receptionists earn similar levels of education than clerical associates in general. They're 0.2% less likely to graduate with a Master's Degree and 0.2% more likely to earn a Doctoral Degree.

Clerical associate vs. Receptionist/billing clerk

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.

On average, receptionist/billing clerks earn higher salaries than clerical associates, with a $1,908 difference per year.By looking over several clerical associates and receptionist/billing clerks resumes, we found that both roles require similar skills in their day-to-day duties, such as "patients," "data entry," and "customer service." But beyond that, the careers look very different.

The required skills of the two careers differ considerably. For example, clerical associates are more likely to have skills like "phone calls," "clerical functions," "patient care," and "medical terminology." But a receptionist/billing clerk is more likely to have skills like "appointment scheduling," "insurance forms," "insurance claims," and "cpt."

Receptionist/billing clerks make a very good living in the technology industry with an average annual salary of $35,383. On the other hand, clerical associates are paid the highest salary in the government industry, with average annual pay of $34,472.When it comes to education, receptionist/billing clerks tend to earn similar degree levels compared to clerical associates. In fact, they're 1.3% less likely to earn a Master's Degree, and 0.0% less likely to graduate with a Doctoral Degree.

Clerical associate vs. Office services clerk

An office services clerk is an individual employee who performs a multitude of administrative tasks as well as office maintenance duties of an organization. Office services clerks are required to maintain an inventory of office supplies as well as purchase and distribute office supplies to all employees when needed. They must manage office services staff to ensure that their duties are met efficiently and effectively. Office services clerks must also provide customer service to a wide range of customers by answering phones and responding to emails.

Office services clerks average a lower salary than the annual salary of clerical associates. The difference is about $864 per year.While their salaries may vary, clerical associates and office services clerks both use similar skills to perform their duties. Resumes from both professions include skills like "data entry," "customer service," and "office equipment. "Each job also requires different skills to carry out their responsibilities. A clerical associate uses "patients," "phone calls," "clerical functions," and "patient care." Office services clerks are more likely to have duties that require skills in "office services," "proofreading," "postage meter," and "service calls. "In general, office services clerks earn the most working in the utilities industry, with an average salary of $37,812. The highest-paying industry for a clerical associate is the government industry.office services clerks reach similar levels of education compared to clerical associates, in general. The difference is that they're 0.4% more likely to earn a Master's Degree, and 0.0% more likely to graduate with a Doctoral Degree.

Types of clerical associate

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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