Sometimes renting a brick-and-mortar office space becomes a challenging affair for micro, small, medium, and freelance business owners. You need to pay a fixed monthly rent which will increase every year. All of this is only for a business address and mailbox. Suppose you conduct your business online but need a business address for billing, taxation, and regulatory purposes. You might ask, ‘do I have any other option than paying rent on a physical office?’ Yes, you do! You can go for virtual office subscriptions. Continue reading to learn more about virtual office spaces, their essential features, and some top solutions you can check out now.
WFH and Hybrid Working Solutions in a Post-Pandemic World
During the Covid-19 pandemic, businesses had to send their staff home and work from there due to global lockdowns. IT technology developers revamped the online working tools during the last two years of the Covid-19 pandemic (2020 to 2021). Businesses saw the rise of apps like Zoom, Slack, Asana, Teams, Google Workspace, Google Meet, Whiteboard apps, and so on. Companies also witnessed that WFH reduced capital costs like office spaces, workplace facilities, dining services, gyms, etc. That is not all! Employees became more active and productive while working remotely. Any security concerns were also tackled using robust endpoint security solutions, identity & access management apps, desktop virtualization, etc. After the pandemic, businesses did not just call all the employees to the workplace. They adopted a hybrid working model. In this model, some employees work from home while others come to the office. All the employees will stay connected via online workspaces from Google, Microsoft, Facebook, etc. Various IT technology companies have come up with a new array of business products to serve the next-generation digital businesses. These are virtual offices, virtual office assistants, mail forwarding addresses, voice mail for official landlines, and so on. Startups and modern digital businesses can get them all in a simple and affordable package to meet all regulatory and client compliance needs.
What Is a Virtual Office?
These managed services give your business a physical address apart from your home. You can get office-related things like a phone answering service, mailing address, mail forwarding, video conferencing, and meeting rooms. Some virtual office providers offer occasional conference hosting services in a brick-and-mortar workplace. With such services, you do not need to go through the hassles of the lease, rental agreements, janitorial services for the office, monthly rents, etc. Small businesses and startups use such services to reduce operating and overhead costs. It also enables you to focus on business revenue earning rather than dealing with non-productive tasks.
Essential Features of Virtual Office Providers
#1. Business Addresses
The service provider should offer you business addresses that are not blacklisted for business and tax registration.
#2. Mailbox and Mail Forwarding
The vendor should take care of all incoming physical mail and forward those to your home address.
#3. Business Landlines and Virtual Answering Machines
There should be an official phone number to which your clients and prospects can call. These calls should not go unanswered. There could be a live or virtual receptionist to attend these calls.
#4. No Vendor Lock-In
There should not be complicated vendor lock-in or hidden charges. The vendor should be able to offer you more resources should you plan to scale up your business.
#5. High-Speed Internet
If the vendor offers co-working space for occasional meetups, there should be high-speed internet to cater to many devices that could go online.
#6. Audio Video Equipment for Conferences
You will also need audio-visual systems for hybrid virtual workspaces for in-person and remote meetings.
#7. Website and Web Chat Tools
It is good if the vendor also offers website registration, hosting, and chat services for your growing business.
#8. Spaces for Events and Meetings
If you need to host shareholder’s meet, client meetups, conferences, and so on, the vendor should be able to accommodate those.
#9. Printing and Scanning Services
The hybrid office space should also come with print on demand services with print management tools. Businesses can not conclude their deals without printing contracts. Now, find below some popular online office solutions that you can consider for your next business:
InCitySpace Virtual Office
Seattle is the busiest business city in the state of Washington, USA. Most foreign businesses want a Seattle address to enjoy a brand identity boost, tax benefits, and gain status. InCitySpace Virtual Office can fulfill your virtual business address needs in Seattle. ICS offers real street addresses. These are not some virtual addresses that authorities can not verify. Using a Seattle address, a USA business address, also lets you use business checking accounts. ICS has the required licenses to operate such businesses in the USA, so you automatically comply with all state and federal laws.
Alliance Virtual Offices
Alliance Virtual Offices is one of the leaders in this industry. It offers online offices with real addresses in top countries where people want to do business. You need to type where you want to open your office virtually. Alliance will quickly open various listings at affordable monthly or annual rates. Notable features of Alliance are:
Real-time receptionist servicesA virtual business address in the USVirtual landline numbersCo-working spaces for events and occasionsMeeting room bookingMore than 1200 international locations with 4000+ global meeting rooms
WeWork
WeWork revolutionizes the concept of the virtual office. It offers workplaces on rent for hours, days, weeks, months; you name it. And not just the workplace. Its co-working spaces include the internet, phones, meeting accessories, printing services, etc. WeWork’s notable features are:
Dedicated desk in a shared officePrivate officesSuite-sized offices with private amenitiesFull floor officesMonthly co-working space memberships
WeWork is also popular among digital employees because they offer dedicated bandwidth, VPN access, LAN access, Wi-Fi coverage, etc. Moreover, all of its IT services come with enterprise-grade security measures.
Kumospace
Kumospace takes online offices to the next level by offering a visual environment to create an office in a virtual space. You can see who is working within a floor-like architecture. There are desks, chairs, partitions, and all the other things your old workplace had. However, all these are on the cloud. Colleagues know each other by their avatars within the visual interface. You can see if someone is not on their desk via the Movement feature. Other notable functionalities of Kumospace are:
Spatial audio of multiple conversations, just like brick-and-mortar workplacesShare documents through Quick LinksRemote games, just like the office timesSharing screens with the colleaguesWhiteboards for brainstormingWatercooler moments
Clevver.io
Clevver.io lets you build a whole company out of the internet and set up a business address in 50 countries worldwide. So far, it is the most robust online office and office services provider that we have reviewed. It offers incorporation services, bank accounts, taxation, accounting, digital postboxes, and many more.
Intelligent Office
Whether you own a big company or small, Intelligent Office offers you virtual business solutions so you can run the business more efficiently and profitably. Get the virtual office locations of your choice and see your business thrive with a professional outlook. It lets you have a prestigious virtual address for receiving mail from anywhere. You can also use the phone answering service for better client engagement. Moreover, companies can add a trained virtual assistant to their team to take care of their business.
Regus
With Regus, companies can make their corporate presence visible worldwide. Select any of their virtual offices located in all major cities and present your business professionally. Besides a virtual address, you can get mail forwarding and call answering services included with this service. Notable features of Regus include:
Instant corporate business addressProfessional receptionist Mail forwarding on a daily, weekly, monthly, or ad hoc basisLocal or national business phone numberProfessional receptionist serviceOn-demand office or co-working spaceAdministrative support
Opus VO
Opus VO is the platform where you get all the business services you need at an effective cost. Here, you can choose from over 650 locations in the USA, including Atlanta, Beverly Hills, Chicago, Brooklyn, Los Angeles, New York, and Miami. Highlighted features of Opus VO are:
Business mailing addressCompany phone numberPremium call forwardingCompany fax numberLive receptionistVoicemail converted to emailFax to email serviceBusiness credit building
Moreover, you can avail of features like texting, toll-free number, and audio conferencing bridge with additional charges.
virtualoffice.team
Virtualoffice.team is the digital workspace dedicated to distributed teams. Even if all your teammates work from various locations, this platform helps you improve communication and team spirit. Both fully-remote and hybrid teams can leverage this program. You can design your virtual office space and place your desk where you want to. Here, communicating and collaborating with others is easy, just like in the real office. Additionally, you can meet your colleagues in the virtual meeting room and invite guests in seconds.
Davinci Virtual
Do you want to access thousands of virtual office locations from different parts of the world? Davinci Virtual is the solution that offers everything you expect from a business address. It lets you have a virtual office with a real mailing address — which helps you have a great impression on your clients. Choose from 5,500 business locations to use for business licensing, registration, and internet directory enlisting. You can use the same address to receive business correspondence that staff will store securely for personal pick-up or forwarding. Companies can also enlist their names in the lobby directory for better credibility. Moreover, the location can be used for business meetings as these come with high-speed internet, smart boards, LCD projectors, plasma screens, and many more presentation tools.
Stark Office Suites Virtual Offices
With the help of Stark Office Suites Virtual Offices, you can build a smart and successful image for your company or professional practice. Whether you want to have an established business presence or reduce the cost of having a permanent office space, this Virtual Office solution is here to take your business to the next level. Opting for this service, you can choose from premier corporate addresses in Westchester, Long Island, Midtown Manhattan, and Connecticut. The solution offered by this company includes mailing addresses, office space, and a personal receptionist. If necessary, your company can also utilize Stark Office Suites to hold meetings or conferences. For people always on the go, it offers a receptionist service that performs tasks like greeting, screening, and call transferring.
Servcorp Virtual Office
Servcorp Virtual Office lets you run your business from any of the 150+ global locations. Some popular locations include New York, Washington, D.C., Chicago, Houston, London, Paris, Berlin, Tokyo, and Osaka. As you go for this option, you get an address and phone number instantly issued in your name. You can use this prestigious address for your company registration and mailing address. Emails received at this address will be forwarded to any location. Dedicated receptionists, 24/7 interactive voicemail, and secure fax-to-email services are some additional features this solution offers. If you want to run regular office errands like printing, secretaries are available on-demand to meet your needs. Moreover, it provides access to meeting spaces, video conferencing, boardrooms, Wi-Fi-equipped co-working lounges, and private offices.
Final Words
After reading the article, you should have discovered the best list of virtual office solutions you can trust. Check out these websites for demos, free trials, and sales discussions. These choices come with all the standard features a virtual workplace provider must possess. Next, check out some standing desks for WFH.
