Back office is a part of the structure of the company. It is called the back office as opposed to the front office. Understanding by the latter, those departments such as sales, commercial etc ... that generate income and are visible by being in direct contact with the client.
What are the functions of the back office?
Faced with the above, the back office brings together various areas of a more administrative nature, which deal more with the costes than from the company's income. However, they fulfill essential support and administration functions.
Traditionally part of the back office, both the finances of the company, as well as the human resources or the design and maintenance of computer systems. Although the latter, due to the advancement of new technologies and the greater importance they have for most companies, are becoming more relevant. It is not that the back office does not perform important functions. However, these are functions that can be outsourced to other companies, or even located in other countries where wages are lower.
Whether or not this is the case, it is common for the offices that host the back office services to not be located in the same facilities as the central or front office. Thus, the back office is made up of company personnel who are not seen. Which is hidden, or behind the scene.
However, although this structure is adopted by many companies, in others, there is not such a clear distinction between apartments facing the client and departments that are not. These are terms commonly used in banking or investment banking. But perhaps, not so much, in other sectors.
In some companies, there is even an intermediate structure that can be called an intermediate office or middle office. This structure, among others, has coordination functions between the front office y el back office.