Virtual Office 101: The ultimate guide to choosing a virtual address for your business

When it comes to choosing a virtual office it can be a bit of a minefield.

There are a lot of terms that get bandied about, and it can be difficult to know which one is right for you.

Virtual Office, Virtual Address, Virtual Office Services?

It almost seems like it isn’t worth the hassle.

But don’t worry, we’re here to give you a crash course in everything virtual office so you can get the service that is right for your business.

And away we go.

What is a virtual office?

“What is a virtual office?” is a bit of a trick question because as we’ve already covered there are lots of different services that get lumped under the name of virtual office.

Generally though, if someone’s advertising a virtual office it will be an outsourced service that helps with the administrative side of running a business.

After all, you set up a business so you could do what you love not so you could do paper work all day.

Let’s break it down a bit and look at the different types of Virtual Office products available.

Virtual office address

First off, Virtual Office addresses.

Sometimes these will be called virtual addresses, and they’re the most basic of the virtual office options out there.

A virtual address is just that – and address for you business to use that isn’t your actual address.

Normally you’d use a virtual office address to make your company look bigger (for example giving yourself a fancy Knightsbridge address) or to hide your own address if you work from home.

Some virtual addresses will come with additional features such as post handling services, and even meeting rooms at the actual address, but generally virtual addresses are used solely so you can list a different location as your head office.

Virtual office services

Virtual Office Services are basically a pay as you go version of anything a receptionist or admin assistant might do in a normal office.

It will vary from provider to provider but it can include things such as white mail management, email management, phone answering services, spreadsheets, research, and any little admin tasks you don’t want to do yourself.

If you want all these jobs to be done by a single person you can get to know, try finding a virtual assistant through a site like upwork.

If you simply want the work done and don’t care who does it, there are plenty of virtual office service providers to choose from.

UK virtual offices

Whether you’re looking for a virtual address or a virtual assistant in your virtual office search, you’ll be glad to know that there are plenty of UK virtual office providers.

Popular choices are a London virtual address or a Manchester virtual address, while you can simply specify someone UK based when searching for a virtual assistant on sites like upwork.

It’s beneficial to keep your virtual office services UK based however though as it prevents any confusion as to the location of your business for the consumer.

Cheap virtual offices

Lots of people when they’re looking for a virtual office will think “I want the cheapest virtual office”.
While there is an obvious benefit to having the cheapest virtual office (the fact it’s cheap) if you make your decision based on price alone you might not get the results you want.

For example, if you’re choosing a virtual address in London and you go for the cheapest one you can find, you’ll end up with an unremarkable street on the outskirts of the city as opposed to a recognisable address.

If you skimp when it comes to choosing a virtual assistant you’ll end up sending work overseas. While that person might do the job OK, it won’t come close to a UK assistant with 20 years in the field.

By all means choose the cheapest virtual office you can find that meets your needs, but don’t simply choose a cheap virtual office just because it’s cheap.

Find out more

While we don’t provide every virtual office service listed in this article, we can provide you with call answering services and virtual receptionist services, and can advise you on virtual office addresses.

Get in touch if you’d like to know more.