Business Address Service: Everything you need to know

You buy the Business Address Service to get a professional-looking office address without compromising your privacy or requiring a real-world premises. Most prefer a central London based address in a well known street where even if they set up a meeting with clients, they can easily access the office.

What are the different types of business address?

Business address service providers offer three types of services on their website: registered office, director service, and virtual office addresses. These services can come as individual packages or one package plus free included services.

1. Registered office address

It is the registered company's official address and is available for free access to the public. The company can receive official government mail at this address plus other mail or packages if your service provider included them in the package or packages. It is a legal requirement to have this address.

2. Director service address

Every UK company director must supply a service address to Companies House, which is made available for access to the public. It is also where you will receive official posts from Companies House, HMRC, and other government entities. It is also a legal requirement to have this address.

3. Virtual office address

With a virtual office, your business looks to be operating from that address to the outside world. This service is frequently provided in conjunction with a telephone answering service. This service also includes telephone calls answering and forwarding, also email can be scanned and forwarded under this service and packages can be received and forwarded to your house address or any other address you decide.

Why do companies buy a business address service?

There are many reasons why a director prefers to buy a business address service online rather than use their personal home address. Let’s take a look!

1. Prevent unwanted visitors

A number of small companies prefer to use a business address to mask their home address. This service, as you will learn, can assist shield your family from unwanted intrusion. No one would like to receive unwelcome visitors to their house, whether they are dissatisfied clients or business creditors.

2. Reducing junk mail

Because the company's registered address and each director's service address are both on the public record, these addresses will frequently receive unwanted marketing mail. A business address service, particularly one that supports forwarding official mail and not "spam," might thus assist business owners avoid the stress of dealing with junk mail.

3. Prestige

A London address may promote client and supplier confidence in your brand and so help you grow your business. A number of businesses prefer a central London address in a well-known street to accommodate clients’ meetings.

4. Privacy/security

Putting a director's home address on the website increases the likelihood that any troubles the business encounters will end up at his house. This puts your family at risk. Even if you have a business address, you may choose to have your official mail forwarded to a different address or for an additional charge, scanned and emailed to you. It’s up to you!

5. Avoiding changing address if you plan to move

A business address service can provide some continuity if you know you'll be changing your address soon. It is advisable to purchase a year to year package. This means your account will be charged every year for the services.

Who can buy a business address?

• Anyone who runs a house-based business.
• Anyone who resides outside of the UK and needs a UK address.
• Anyone whose company is considering relocating and wants to keep the mailing address the same.
• Anybody who works for a small digital company where employees mostly work from home and clients are met outdoors for convenience.
• Anyone who wants to keep their family safe from disturbing clients.

How to choose the correct business address service?

Consider first your target clients and how close your business is to them.

If you want local clients, be sure your location reflects the image you want to convey.

Once you've determined which virtual office services your business needs, research providers to ensure their packages match your needs. So, what do you have to take into consideration when choosing your business address?

The following aspects:

• Location 

While most providers have a London address, they are spread out. If you wish to work with clients in another city, you'll need to set up a virtual office there. In the same way, targeting a specific street may necessitate an office there. Therefore, choose a provider with addresses in locations you need.

Director’s service address or trading address in addition to the registered office address.

You'll need a director's service address because it is a legal need for every director of a UK company to have a service address registered with the Companies House.

"Trading address" and "business address" are phrases that are used interchangeably. Although a trading address is where the majority of business is conducted, the registered office address and the trading address can be the same.

• Options and Costs for the above

Various vendors charge differently for services. You need to go over all of your options freely and choose the best one available for you.

• Several Director service address

The charge for one director service address cannot be the same for several directors because each director requires their own service address. A package can therefore include several addresses or one address.

• Mail options

Official and other mail can be scanned and sent by email to you for free by most providers. Costs of mailing and scanning or forwarding to an alternative address differ. For the given charge, only official government mail is frequently forwarded, with other mail costing more to forward. The number of mail that can be forwarded has no restriction. Plus, sending mail internationally is normally more expensive with all service providers.

• Renewal of service

The services are typically renewed once a year, though quarterly options are available. Sometimes the first charge is lowered, but if you want to renew in a year, you'll want to prevent a bad surprise.

• Service efficiency

Examine a company's reviews to check whether other clients have been satisfied. A good service should have positive account feedback from clients. You can learn more about a service by looking at clients' reviews.