Virtual offices allow employees to work from home and also enjoy the benefits of traditional offices to some extent. With several companies embracing remote working, virtual offices come in handy as they provide some of the elements of physical offices. Here is a guide on what a virtual office is and how it operates.
What Is a Virtual Office?
A virtual office is a service that allows a business to benefit from all the perks of a prestigious office, such as office address, telephone number, access to a meeting area, administration, and communication services, without committing to a physical office space.
Elements Of a Virtual Office
Elements of a virtual office may vary from one office to the other. Below are some of the most common elements.
Remote Elements of Virtual Offices
- Remote receptionist services where a live receptionist answers calls, messages and performs other basic customer services
- Business phone system with several features such as custom greetings, auto attendant, caller menus, and extensions
Physical Elements of Virtual Offices
- Onsite receptionists to do various duties such as setting up meeting rooms and processing mail
- Office space and meeting rooms where you arrange for access and pay for the time used. Some office plans may include a number of meeting hours in their monthly fee.
- Copying and printing facilities for mail processing
- A virtual office address, which is a real address that can be used for official purposes such as business registration and receiving posts.
Most virtual office services are flexible, and you can add or subtract services depending on the nature of your business and what you require. That ensures that you only pay for what you need, saving costs.
Who Can Use a Virtual Office?
Virtual offices are suitable for a wide variety of people. These include companies and individuals. Companies that want to expand to other locations but don’t want to lease office space for some reason can greatly benefit from them. Additionally, companies with remote workers can also use these offices so that they can hold physical meetings from time to time.
If you are an individual, you can use these offices when you don’t want to hire a physical premise to work from. Also, it can be ideal for you if you don’t want your business registered with your home address, as it may make you look unprofessional.
Virtual offices are also good for businesses that want to test new markets. Expanding operations can be risky and can even lead to financial losses. By having a virtual space, a business can test a new market without incurring large expenses such as leasing office premises, then go ahead and lease a physical space after they confirm the market is good. These offices are also suitable for businesses that can’t get a good office space in their area of choice due to unavailability or very high costs.
Virtual offices give businesses and individual entrepreneurs that don’t have offices the legitimacy and professionalism of a physical office. They can enjoy an address in one of the most prime locations while carrying out their operations elsewhere. Customers are more likely to seek the services or buy products from businesses that portray legitimacy and professionalism. These offices also help businesses save costs associated with leasing office spaces.