What does a Business Manager do?

Updated January 8, 2025
7 min read
What does a Business Manager do

A business manager is responsible for directing the overall operations of the company, ensuring that all employees do their tasks efficiently and accurately. Business managers' duties include developing strategic solutions, evaluating employees' performance, identifying business opportunities to grow, monitoring the company's expenses to meet its budget goals, implementing techniques to boost the company's revenue and profitability, and adhering to the company's legal policies and procedures. A business manager must have excellent leadership and interpersonal skills to supervise daily operations.

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Business manager responsibilities

Here are examples of responsibilities from real business manager resumes:

  • Coordinate and manage hvac projects from estimate to invoice.
  • Manage accounting, treasury, and process improvement initiatives to effect financial turnaround of CMRO business unit.
  • Manage and supervise firm operations on a daily basis including purchases, accounting, scheduling of vendors, attorney and CPA.
  • Create solutions in the areas of invoicing, AR reporting and payment methods that lead to system improvements and streamline processes.
  • Manage all human resource activities, operational processes and financial oversight.
  • Develop internal operating procedures design to achieve efficient clinic operations and maximum service to patients.
  • Retail sales, vendor account management, marketing, receiving, A/R, A/P, all office duties.
  • Reconstruct prior years accounting records to comply with GAAP rules.
  • Ensure unit reporting are in compliance with internal accounting policy and GAAP.
  • Execute SQL queries, evaluate metrics and present results to budget executive director.
  • Maintain and monitor CRM database; coordinating events; promotional marketing; target advertising.
  • Revamp G/L and A/R financial systems improve forecast and budget custom and standardize reporting procedures.
  • Architect and administer servers, SQL db/store proceduries/queries, email notifications, and system reports.
  • Train and develop management teams across the organization, identifying KPIs and measuring their performance to goals.
  • Oversee the billing operation in all private offices and ensure A/R management maximizes practice (s) revenue.

Business manager skills and personality traits

We calculated that 21% of Business Managers are proficient in Customer Service, PowerPoint, and Project Management. They’re also known for soft skills such as Management skills, Problem-solving skills, and Time-management skills.

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

  • Customer Service, 21%

    Direct management responsibility for; Engineering, Quality, Regulatory, Purchasing, Customer Service, Production, Warehousing and Distribution.

  • PowerPoint, 7%

    Consulted and trained management team about the meaning of cost information using PowerPoint presentations.

  • Project Management, 6%

    Played a key role in implementing new project management/admin software and pro-active with purchasing and vendor involvement in business development.

  • Human Resources, 6%

    Delivered innovative marketing and public relations strategies as well as Human Resources structure, talent acquisition, and effective management processes.

  • Payroll Taxes, 5%

    Performed monthly accounting for approximately 20 clients, including payroll processing, payroll taxes and financial statement preparation.

  • Business Plan, 4%

    Created comprehensive business plan outlining business growth strategy, budget, including internal and external marketing strategies to improve school administration.

"customer service," "powerpoint," and "project management" are among the most common skills that business managers use at work. You can find even more business manager responsibilities below, including:

Problem-solving skills. Many business manager duties rely on problem-solving skills. "top executives need to identify and resolve issues within an organization," so a business manager will need this skill often in their role. This resume example is just one of many ways business manager responsibilities rely on problem-solving skills: "assessed and closed the general ledger on a monthly basis, validated content and resolved various issues. "

Time-management skills. Another skill that relates to the job responsibilities of business managers is time-management skills. This skill is critical to many everyday business manager duties, as "top executives do many tasks concurrently to ensure that their work gets done and that the organization meets its goals." This example from a resume shows how this skill is used: "stream-lined reconciliation of general ledger accounts & depreciation schedules by utilizing spreadsheets which conserved on time and increased accuracy. "

Leadership skills. For certain business manager responsibilities to be completed, the job requires competence in "leadership skills." The day-to-day duties of a business manager rely on this skill, as "top executives must be able to shape and direct an organization by coordinating policies, people, and resources." For example, this snippet was taken directly from a resume about how this skill applies to what business managers do: "developed reports, presentations, and briefing materials on financial management for senior leadership and customers. "

Communication skills. Another crucial skill for a business manager to carry out their responsibilities is "communication skills." A big part of what business managers relies on this skill, since "top executives must be able to convey information clearly and persuasively." How this skill relates to business manager duties can be seen in an example from a business manager resume snippet: "full general ledger responsibility utilizing sage50, as well as vendor management, investor relations, and tenant communications. "

All business manager skills

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Compare different business managers

Business manager vs. Manager of business services

Business Service Managers are administrative professionals who oversee different service-related functions in the company. They manage the teams involved in serving various functions. They ensure proper coordination between these teams. \They carefully allocate resources to cover their bases and ensure that services are available at all times. Business Service Managers prepare and draft policies and guidelines related to company services. They also ensure that these guidelines are properly cascaded and are followed by their constituents.

We looked at the average business manager salary and compared it with the wages of a manager of business services. Generally speaking, managers of business services are paid $15,046 higher than business managers per year.Even though business managers and managers of business services are distinct careers, a few of the skills required for both jobs are similar. For example, both careers require customer service, project management, and human resources in the day-to-day roles and responsibilities.

While similarities exist, there are also some differences between business managers and manager of business services. For instance, business manager responsibilities require skills such as "powerpoint," "payroll taxes," "business plan," and "business management." Whereas a manager of business services is skilled in "risk management," "taxation," "digital marketing," and "client facing." This is part of what separates the two careers.

Managers of business services earn the highest salaries when working in the technology industry, with an average yearly salary of $110,546. On the other hand, business managers are paid more in the technology industry with an average salary of $98,577.managers of business services tend to reach similar levels of education than business managers. In fact, managers of business services are 4.0% more likely to graduate with a Master's Degree and 0.2% more likely to have a Doctoral Degree.

Business manager vs. Office and operations manager

Office and Operations managers are tenured or experienced employees with a strong office administration and business operations background. They oversee office operations and ensure that the administrative team is working well. They are in charge of enforcing office policies and drafting new ones should the need arise. They ensure that office supplies never run out and that the office remains clean at all times. Office and operations managers are also assigned to oversee business operations. They manage the needs of the operations team. They also ensure that the department is running well to avoid any problems related to production.

On average, office and operations managers earn a $26,428 lower salary than business managers a year.A few skills overlap for business managers and office and operations managers. Resumes from both professions show that the duties of each career rely on skills like "customer service," "powerpoint," and "human resources. "

Each career also uses different skills, according to real business manager resumes. While business manager responsibilities can utilize skills like "project management," "payroll taxes," "business plan," and "business management," office and operations managers use skills like "office procedures," "front desk," "financial statements," and "purchase orders."

Office and operations managers may earn a lower salary than business managers, but office and operations managers earn the most pay in the government industry with an average salary of $62,431. On the other hand, business managers receive higher pay in the technology industry, where they earn an average salary of $98,577.office and operations managers earn similar levels of education than business managers in general. They're 4.9% less likely to graduate with a Master's Degree and 0.2% more likely to earn a Doctoral Degree.

Business manager vs. Performance manager

As the name entails, performance managers are responsible for maintaining and improving employee performance based on organizational objectives. Their job may vary depending on the industry they work in, but common duties include collecting and analyzing performance data, developing effective systems for information collection, and performing statistical performance analysis. Additional duties of a performance manager may include organizing and conducting training and development on best practices and resolving workplace barriers to performance.

On average scale, performance managers bring in higher salaries than business managers. In fact, they earn a $20,323 higher salary per year.By looking over several business managers and performance managers resumes, we found that both roles require similar skills in their day-to-day duties, such as "customer service," "project management," and "business development." But beyond that, the careers look very different.

The required skills of the two careers differ considerably. For example, business managers are more likely to have skills like "powerpoint," "human resources," "payroll taxes," and "business plan." But a performance manager is more likely to have skills like "performance management," "process improvement," "performance improvement," and "continuous improvement."

Performance managers earn the best pay in the professional industry, where they command an average salary of $110,053. Business managers earn the highest pay from the technology industry, with an average salary of $98,577.When it comes to education, performance managers tend to earn similar degree levels compared to business managers. In fact, they're 4.1% more likely to earn a Master's Degree, and 0.4% more likely to graduate with a Doctoral Degree.

Business manager vs. Senior manager

A senior manager is responsible for directing the overall efficiency of business operations. Senior managers monitor the performance of the staff, improve operational strategies, identify business opportunities, allocate budgets and resources, present reports to senior management, set goals to drive results on increasing the company's revenues and profitability. Senior managers must coordinate with various operations departments to maintain good feedback for the company, meeting client's expectations, and delivering the best results. They should have excellent communication and leadership skills to handle team members, as well as managing their needs and concerns.

Senior managers typically earn higher pay than business managers. On average, senior managers earn a $35,708 higher salary per year.While both business managers and senior managers complete day-to-day tasks using similar skills like customer service, project management, and business development, the two careers vary in some skills.While some skills are required in each professionacirc;euro;trade;s responsibilities, there are some differences to note. "powerpoint," "human resources," "payroll taxes," and "business plan" are skills that commonly show up on business manager resumes. On the other hand, senior managers use skills like analytics, portfolio, professional development, and healthcare on their resumes.In general, senior managers earn the most working in the professional industry, with an average salary of $136,663. The highest-paying industry for a business manager is the technology industry.The average resume of senior managers showed that they earn higher levels of education compared to business managers. So much so that theyacirc;euro;trade;re 7.6% more likely to earn a Master's Degree and more likely to earn a Doctoral Degree by 1.1%.

Types of business manager

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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