Last Updated on 6 months by EasyCowork Team
Are you wondering to take a virtual office? Here are Advantages, Disadvantages, How to Choose a Virtual office.
Before you look at a virtual office, it will be helpful to go through our guide on Ultimate Guide on Coworking: Benefits, Advantages & Disadvantages. This guide will give you unbiased information about advantages & disadvantages of coworking and help you decide whether a coworking space or virtual office is essential for your business.
You can also check out our post Difference Between Hot Desk & Fixed Desk: Everything You Need to Know so that you can choose the right type of coworking package for your business.
We have also written a very detailed post on Coworking Benefits, Advantages & Perks You Should Know Before Moving into A Regular Office Space–you can quickly go through this post too.
Virtual Office: Advantages, Disadvantages, How to Choose a Virtual office
Table of Contents
What is Virtual Office?
A virtual office is a service that enables employees as well as business owners to work on a remote basis by providing them with a range of business functions that can be accessed through the internet. It also enables a number of organisations in creating as well as maintaining a unique presence within a desirable location without the need of paying rent for an actual space.
Apart from this virtual office eventually enables your businesses to have many other benefits of a physical office but without actually having space or desks. This epic idea came from the Executive Suite industry, and was efficiently started in 1994 by Ralph Gregory when he established the aptly named ‘The Virtual Office, Inc”.
What does a Virtual Office provide?
These virtual offices enable your businesses to have the following:
A business postal address
This provides your business with a little more prestigious title apart besides the one that they would get if they used their real address “from home”.
A receptionist
It usually helps you in arranging meetings in your virtual office, because it will result in making the virtual office seem a little less virtual for your clients as well as business colleagues.
Envelope opening and scanning service
In case you’re receiving a mail to an address on which you are not actually available, then this will be a great service where you will be getting all the post scanned as well as emailed over to you, such that you can stay on top of your admin.
Meeting rooms
As a business, you might require some access to a ‘full-time’ desk, in order to organise business meetings with your clients.
Phone answering and voicemail services
Virtual places will simply help you in managing your incoming calls, and it means that you will not be needed to provide your personal mobile, instead of making use of a real landline will be effective.
Benefits of Virtual Office
No commute time
Usually, you have to spend two or three hours on a daily basis which rushes out in getting ready for your work as well as in traveling towards the office space and now using virtual office it would be spent on working. Because of this, productivity is highly increased and the employees become more focused.
Employees are easily more active
Researchers at the University of Sydney’s School of Public Health in Australia have released a study a few years ago as per which sitting at your desk continuously for more than 11 hours a day results in an increased risk of death by more than 40% in the coming years regardless of some other activity. Now making use of virtual office keeps you away from that hassle of 11 hours of sitting and working. This results in making you much active.
Flexibility means using less vacation days.
Access to the virtual office means you won’t have to take permits from your boss or anyone before going on a vacation. Because you can work even when you are on vacation.
Access to worldwide talent.
It provides you with access to worldwide talent. Making use of virtual office allows you have reliable customers in other countries along with space within their country.
Less overhead.
As there is no office on a lease, no utility payments, no requirement of hardware and none of the related costs which come while having a brick-and-mortar space. All the savings that you make while accessing a virtual office can not only be passed along to customers, but it also affects your overall profit margin, which will further allow you in investing more in your people.
Save money on technology.
By working remotely, employees can use the technology that they prefer, and they will be responsible for its up-gradation when it becomes convenient for them.
Productivity increases.
It will result in increased productivity almost immediately. If Letting employees work on a remote basis also decreases the turnover because people are usually happier while doing their jobs in such a manner and not having to deal with the other drama which generally comes along with putting a bunch of people within an office together.
Different Types of Virtual Offices
Remote Receptionist
A remote or virtual receptionist can usually be based upon any place where there is an Internet connection. Other side the person could have a geographical phone number for the business. This will help to give a specific appearance of specific physical location and will make it easier for other people to get in contact with you by phone. Having a person for handling all your business calls provide you with the advantage of keeping the connection towards the relevant external phones if necessary.
Virtual Assistant
Virtual assistants typically go a lot further than the remote receptionists by offering you with pretty much any service which you can even imagine. They can even do necessary travel arrangements for you, can book meetings, and can even simply provide administrative support for your business. You will then be free for continuing with the things that actually matter most to you, worklist knowing that the everyday essentials are being looked after effectively.
Mail Forwarding/Virtual Address
A number of small businesses are being run from coworking space or home, but many businessmen usually prefer dealing with more established as well as reputable companies that can operate not from home but a traditional office. One way for getting around this is to get in touch with a virtual office address. It means that your business will be having the appearance of occupying a premise within a respected area, without making you incur any of the associated costs.
Registering A Business with Virtual Office
The actual process to get an address for business registration does not involve a lot of hassle and isn’t a big issue at all. Your home and even any rented place will fit the bill, till you will be having the accurate documents that are required. You will need the below mentioned property-related documents:
- Utility bills like electricity, water, telephone bill, etc.
- In the case of owned property, you will require the latest receipt of property tax paid.
- In case of rented property, you will require a NOC from your landlord that will allow you to use the address in order to register your business.
- Rental or even the lease agreement can work and it must be proposed in the company’s name.
Documents You Should Ask from A Virtual Office Provider
- As a virtual worker, you should get the lease agreement that exists between the owner of the building and your Office Space Provider
- Avail a NOC from building owner which must be allowing Office Space Provider for the authentic issue NOC for registering virtual office members
- NOC from the provider of Office Space to the customer which should allow the use of an address for registration
- Utility bill
How to Choose a Virtual Office
In order to choose a virtual office that perfectly suits your basic needs, you must take the following things into consideration. You must evaluate certain services provided by the virtual offices in order to choose the perfect one.
Following virtual office features must be taken into consideration:
- Price: should provide affordable pricing options for small businesses for establishing an accurate virtual office location.
- Recognized business address: It must provide you with a physical address in order to use it overall business documents like cheques, contracts, proposals as well as invoices.
- Mail receipt & mail forwarding: facilitated you with mailbox service for receiving documents as well as forward mail and packages.
- Live receptionist: Virtual office is generally staffed with a human receptionist in order to give your business organization the accurate feel of a whole staffed office. It also features call forwarding as well as call routing.
- Local or toll-free phone number: Provides an intermediator means for customers, clients, vendors, as well as employees to contact you making use of a local number that is relevant to your business territory.
- Physical space: Provides the options to rent a desk, private office, or meeting room if you need to conduct some in-office client, supplier, employee, or finance meeting. Usually, it includes Wi-Fi, printing, fax, and AV/video conference options.
- Security: Provides you with services such as secure email, secure building entrances as well as document shredding.
- Add-on services: A few of the best virtual office companies can effectively assist you with business-related legal matters, cater meetings, save you tax dollars and manage product shipping on behalf of the eCommerce company. Some of them even offer you networking, online communities, and social events.
Disadvantages of Virtual Office
- Physical Interaction is reduced
- Social Interaction is reduced
- Lack of Motivation along with other distractions
- Message Distortion
- Lack of Belongingness
Best Virtual Office Providers in India
- InstaSpaces
- iKeva
- Brickwork India
- Vatika Business Center
- Servcorp Virtual Office
- Space Lance
- Avanta
- Quest Offices
- The Executive Center
- DBS India
If you need a virtual office space in India, do let us know and we’ll be more than happy to get you the best virtual office available at your location–our service is free of cost!
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