Back office processing involves administrative processing of various documents such as payroll, invoices, and databases. It can be done manually or automatically, and is usually performed by back office workers. Companies can choose to outsource this service or perform it in-house.
Back office processing is the act of processing documents in order for orders to be processed or documents to take effect. Except in rare cases, all processing is technically administrative. The term “back office processing” is a general term that involves the processing of virtually any document; there is payroll processing, invoice processing, and database processing, among others. While most companies perform this processing in their own offices, some outsource to other companies that perform office services. Processing a document can be done manually, automatically, or a mixture of the two; most processes in the early 21st century are a mixture.
When a form or file is completed, either by a consumer or an employee, it must be processed for the form to take effect. Back office workers – workers who support the company but are not seen by customers – perform this processing. Sometimes a front office employee performs the processing, such as a bank representative processing an application in front of a customer to determine if they are eligible for a credit card, but most of the processing is back office. This allows the central office to interact with the customer without the customer waiting for a form to be entered into the computer.
The documents handled in back office processing vary. Administrative staff can process payroll requests, vendor invoices, customer billing, verification documents, and many other files and forms. If a company has a form or file, it will usually go through that back office department at some point.
If back-office processing is required, it can be done in-house or by another company. Most companies use an internal back office because the company can directly supervise the back office employee. This helps ensure that confidential documents are less likely to be stolen or tampered with. Companies can also hire back-office services through independent companies to perform the same tasks.
Documents can be processed manually, automatically or using a combination of the two. Manual back office processing does not involve a computer; instead, the back office employee just records the information in a ledger. Automatic processing is done entirely by a computer, with no human interaction. Most processes involve both methods; the back-office worker will enter information into a computer and the computer will add the document to the database and perform any other necessary processing steps.
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