How much does a virtual office cost? The guide

This guide has been put together after thorough research into the alternatives for physical office space – virtual offices. You have all you need to know at your fingertips now. Read on.

What do you pay for in a Virtual Office?

How much you pay for a virtual office depends on the following

1. Location of the virtual office – just because it is a virtual office does not mean it exists in the cloud. No. it is an actual real estate space with physical people running it. So, depending on the location of the virtual office address, the prices will differ. However, it will be a far cry from if you were renting out the physical office space by yourself. We will get to that soon.
2. The services you want – the type of services you want to be rendered by your virtual office will determine how much you pay too. For example, if all you need is your mail handled and forwarded to your home address by professionals, you may not need to pay as much as if you need the services of a professional virtual secretary. This is why virtual office service providers often organize different packages which come in a combination of the services they render. Depending on the service provider, some of the services you may get access to include
   
   • Mail scanning and forwarding. When new mail arrives for you, you can choose what to do with them. This is done by scanning each item and sending them to you via email. Some providers provide you with a dedicated dashboard on their website where you can monitor and decide the actions to be taken for each mail 24/7. If they are spam, you can choose for them to be shredded. Important mail can also be forwarded to you through the royal mail service, FedEx, DHL, etc., depending on your choice and that of the provider you are using.
   • Meeting rooms for your occasional meetings. You can order this service often about 3 days ahead of time. Most virtual offices will give you 4 hours at a time except you need the room for longer. Alongside this room comes internet services, a teleconferencing facility, a whiteboard and markers, refreshments, etc.
   • Local telephone number. Using a local telephone number gives you a local presence and that is important for keeping some clients happy. Calls made to these numbers can sometimes be forwardable to your mobile number within the UK or even sometimes to numbers outside the UK.
   • Phone answering and forwarding services. There are dedicated receptionists that can help answer your official calls professionally so that you can do what you do best – focus on your business. If there are tasks the receptionists cannot handle, the calls can be forwarded to you for further action. This helps you to be more productive at what you do.
   • Email and website domain names. Having a dedicated email and website domain name for your business is taking your professionalism a notch higher. Some providers give you these options at discounted prices and you do not have to worry about hosting or monitoring the functioning of the website too often. They take that off your plate.
3. Professionalism – many times, small businesses lose out on clients because they have too many things to attend to. However, when you make use of a virtual office address and the services they have to offer, mail handling and telephone call answering and forwarding for example, it gives you a more professional outlook. You can focus on the important things in your business and be more productive.
4. Prestigiousness – the location of your business matters. So, when you use the services of a virtual office, you get to use a prestigious office address that is befitting, giving your business a prestigious outlook to existing and potential clients.

Price ranges of Virtual Offices by City in the UK

Now that you know what you pay for in virtual offices, listing the price range here could sound ridiculous to you because they are way cheaper than renting out a physical office. And easier too.

Within London and across the UK, you can get virtual offices for as low as £15 per month for basic use of mail handling and as high as £180 per month for premium services. 

Prices differ by city, street, particular location, services you need, and service provider. This is why you need to weigh your options well before you make the choice.

Examples of companies providing virtual office services

Here are some examples of great virtual office service providers that you can make use of. This list is not exhaustive.

• Hoxton Mix
• Virtually There
• Virtual HQ
• Corporate Suites
• Cheap Virtual Office
• The London Office
• Your London Office
• W1 Virtual Office
• Orega
• City Virtual Hub
• Citibase

Conclusion

Virtual offices give small and upcoming businesses the benefit of becoming easy offices when they use addresses in prime locations around London. You should avail yourself of this opportunity today and take it to the next level.