A Back Office is that part of a firm or organization where tasks dedicated to running the company take place. Typically, the back office would be those manufacturing or developing the products or involved in administration with no interaction with the customers. Other tasks include IT departments that keep the phones and computers running, financial accounting, and HR activities. A back-office system will also keep a record of the company’s sales and purchase transactions, and update the inventory as needed apart from producing and maintaining invoices, receipts, and reports. Thus, Back Office Processes are a major contributor to business.

Back Office Processes vary across industries:

1. Banks – amongst other processes deal with the following back office processes :

a. Position Keeping
b. Clearance
c. Settlements

2. Investment Firms

a. Trading Securities
b. Record Keeping
c. Trade Confirmation
d. Trade Settlement &
e. Regulatory Compliance and other related functions

3. Back Office Processes for a general sales oriented company would involve customer-support.

Back offices are not necessarily at the headquarters of a company. They are usually located in places where rent and labor costs are lower. Back office processes can also be outsourced to consultants.