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Virtual Office FAQ's

WHAT IS A VIRTUAL OFFICE AND HOW DOES IT WORK?

A Virtual Office is a business service that allows an individual or company the use and benefit of a Business Centre's facilities, without having to lease physical office. Typically, these Business Centres are located in well placed areas of business, with great access to travel links. As a Your City Office client, you'll be able to use the business address to receive your mail and have access to its Meeting Rooms. You will also have the ability to use and apply the business centre's address onto your corporate stationery such as business cards and letterheads, as well as your website and any form of marketing/sales material. At most locations, you will have the ability to use the address as your companies Registered Office Address. Any post you have arriving at the address, can be held for collection, or it can be forwarded onto a chosen address of your choice.

WHY USE A VIRTUAL OFFICE?

For start-up businesses and homeworkers, acquiring office space can either be unaffordable or simply not viable when cashflow or start-up capital is so important. A Virtual Office serves as a launching pad for your business, by providing you all the benefits of a professional business centre, but without the considerable cost of a physical office space lease. Other uses include an alternative option for businesses who require multiple regional presences across prominent cities in their country, or for other countries they feel they could generate business in. Virtual Offices are also used by individuals who are expatriating to another country but require maintaining a local presence in the country of residence.

WHAT SERVICES ARE AVAILABLE AS PART OF A VIRTUAL OFFICE SOLUTION?

Virtual Office packages typically include Business Address use, Telephone Answering, Call Patching via Virtual Numbers, Meeting Rooms, Hot Desking, Conference Facilities & access to communal break-out areas.

• Business Addresses - Use the address and have your post arrive for collection or to be forwarded on.
• Telephone Answering - Have your phone calls answered in your company name by professionally trained receptionists.
• Call Patching (Virtual Numbers) - Have a local phone number of your choice allocated to you, with phone calls to this number, forwarded onto a landline or mobile number of your choice.
• Meeting Rooms - The ability to book in and use Meeting Rooms which cater for 6-12 persons.
• Hot Desking - Use of the building communal spaces or private office, to provide a single desk space, which can be booked on a half day/full day basis, for an additional charge, at some locations.
• Conference Facilities - Have the ability to book a conference room for delegates of more than 10 people.
• Access to Communal Areas - Have access to the building's communal spaces, for an additional charge, which typically have seating areas, work spaces and open kitchens. WIFI access will also be granted.

HOW MUCH SHOULD A VIRTUAL OFFICE COST?

Prices for our Virtual Office services will vary depending on a number of different factors. Specifically, the use of the address for Business Use and Registered Office Use will vary from location to location and are largely influenced by the standard of the building as well as the building's location. By association the Meeting Room, Hot Desking and Membership costs will also vary. As an example, an entry level 3 star building in a great location would cost roughly the same as a 5-star building in a cheaper area. Expect to pay between £20 to £30 per month for Business Address use at a 3-star building in a good location. A 5-star building in a good location can cost anywhere between £50 to £100 per month. Telecom services, such as Telephone Answering, Call Patching and Fax Lines, will typically be the same price, at every location as these services all operate from one localised Call Centre in London.

WHAT FEES DO I PAY WHEN SIGNING UP FOR A VIRTUAL OFFICE?

When signing up for a Virtual Office service, there will be three things that you pay for initially. The first thing you'll pay for is your first month's payment, which is pro-rata to the next billing cycle. The second thing you'll pay for is a Set-Up fee, which is charged in order to get your account to a stage where it can go live. This process can take anywhere from 24 hours to several days, depending on how quickly you can provide us with the information that we need. The third and final thing you'll pay for is a one month holding deposit. This deposit is refundable upon closure of your account and is used to settle any outstanding payments which are due to us.

WHAT ID WILL I NEED TO PROVIDE WHEN SIGNING UP TO A VIRTUAL OFFICE SERVICE?

The Virtual Office industry is governed by the UK government's Anti-Money Laundering Regulations 2017. This means that by law we are required to undertake a verification process of you and your business before we can provide you with a Virtual Office Service. You will be required to provide us with your contact details as well as a number of different documents for us to undertake the verification. These documents include Photo ID, Proof of Residency, Proof of Trading Address, Proof of forwarding address and Certificate of Incorporation. The individuals who will need to provide this information to us would be the Directors of the business procuring our Virtual Office Services as well as any individual of that business who hold significant control in the business. If the person paying for the service is not one of them, then we will also need their respective documents. The same rules apply for those who are not businesses and require the service for personal (non-corporate) use.

CAN I TRADE MY BUSINESS FROM A VIRTUAL OFFICE?

If you purchase Business Address Use, you will be allowed to use our address as your companies trading address. This means that you can publish our address on your website, business cards, letterheads etc. You can also use the address for many other things such as on Marketing Materials or Sales brochures. All mail that arrives at our address as a consequence of using it in the aforementioned manner can then either be held for collection or forwarded onto an address of your choice. For an additional cost you can also have the post scanned and sent via email, at almost all our locations.

CAN I USE A VIRTUAL OFFICE AS MY COMPANY REGISTERED OFFICE ADDRESS?

Most of our locations offer the address to be used as a company's Registered Office Address. There is a charge for this service, and the price varies depending on the location of the address. Once successfully signed up, you will be allowed to register your company using your selected address, and all the relevant statutory documentation will be received at that address on your behalf. All the relevant information that is required by law to be held at our premises will be stored securely for such said purpose.

SHOULD I REGISTER MY BUSINESS BEFORE OR AFTER SIGNING UP TO A VIRTUAL OFFICE?

Depending on how you plan on using the service, you need to sign up to a Virtual Office service prior to registering your business. The benefit being that you'll be able to register your company at the chosen Virtual Office and avoid having to go back to Companies House and change the Registered Address to the Business Address of the Virtual Office. An added benefit is that you'll be able to keep your home information private and away from the public domain, by not having to register the company at your home address first.