Virtual Office Market Update and Frequently Asked Questions29 April 2010

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Executive Offices Group’s virtual office products are proving more popular than ever, with our Q1 2010 new business up an impressive 68% on the same time period last year. As more and more businesses realise the potential of a London virtual office, we’ve put together the following question and answer guide, explaining everything there is to know about choosing and setting up an Executive Offices Group London virtual office.

Who uses virtual offices?

Virtual offices are used by people and companies who need to present themselves from a high quality business location but don’t actually need to physically work from that location. This primarily applies to home workers, freelancers, business start-ups, small businesses and companies expanding into new markets.

What exactly will I get for the £50 virtual office address and mail handling service?

Our £50 virtual office address and mail handling service includes the use of one of our business centre addresses for your company stationery. For this price you can choose from 28 prestigious London office addresses and a further three outside London. Any mail sent to your chosen virtual office address can be collected by you in person or posted to you weekly for the cost of franking + 20% handling fee on the postage. Should you wish to have your post forwarded more often than once per week that’s no problem but an additional charge of £25 will apply.

What is the difference between a Landmark and Prestigious virtual office address?

Our Landmark virtual office addresses – 23 Berkeley Square, No.1 Cornhill, 33 St James’s Square and 78 Pall Mall are four of the most sought after London office addresses. Due to high customer demand they are available at the slightly higher price of £100 per month. Only the choice of virtual office address is different, everything else is as per the standard mail handling service.

Can I use my virtual office address as my registered office address?

All of our business centres are completely unbranded and it is therefore our company policy that we don’t allow customers to use our business centre addresses as their registered office address as this would require the displaying of their company name. You can normally use your home address or your solicitor’s / accountant’s as an alternative.

What exactly does £50 telephone answering include?

When you sign up for telephone answering you will be allocated a local company phone and fax number. In London, this will be an 020 3 number as standard but 020 7 telephone and fax numbers are also available for an additional £40 per month. Our telephone operators will answer all calls made to your allocated number during the working hours of 9-5.30 Monday to Friday and calls made outside these times will be diverted to your personal voicemail. Calls can be transferred to a maximum of four numbers. We allocate one voicemail box per company so other forwarding numbers are normally personal mobile numbers. You can collect your voicemails remotely from the company voicemail box from anywhere in the world or, on 020 3 numbers we can email the voicemail file to you to listen to. Our telephone answering service means that your business is always presented in a consistent, professional manner over the phone. It also leaves you free to concentrate on your core business knowing that you’ll never miss that important business call.

What is the difference between Standard and Premier telephone answering?

Our Standard telephone answering is available for just £50 per month. Calls will be answered in your company name by our centralised London team. If you choose Premier telephone answering, calls will be answered in your home virtual office centre meaning that the team know you personally and have an understanding of your business. Telephone operators in your home centre will also take messages and email them to you if the caller does not want to be transferred to voicemail. This extra personalised service is available for £100 per month.

Can I use the business centre facilities when I need to?

Yes, we offer a wide range of additional services on a pay-as-you-go and contract basis. For example our Multiple Centre Touchdown service gives you access to a desk and telephone for use as and when you need it. Our Executive Business Lounges are used by many virtual office customers for regular informal client meetings and our full portfolio of meeting and conference rooms can be booked at preferential rates from as little as half an hour for more formal client pitches and presentations. Furthermore our experienced business centre teams are always on hand should you need any business support, with admin and concierge services available from just £25 per hour.

What are the set up costs of a virtual office?

In order to confirm your virtual office we will require the first month’s rent + VAT and a service retainer which is equivalent to three times your virtual office monthly fee. For example a standard virtual office package including mail handling at £50 per month and telephone answering at £50 per month will require an initial payment of £417.50.

The service retainer is held as a security against the use of any additional services such as meeting rooms, admin services etc. and will be fully refundable at the end of your term assuming there are no outstanding balances on your account. We do not request any set up/admin fees.

What is the set up process?

Once you’ve decided on your virtual office address and exact virtual office package, we will require some personal and company information including principal place of business and company registration details if applicable. If taking our mail handling service, we also require proof of identity and proof of address for all partners / directors of the company. This information is required by law and is further outlined below.

Proof of identity is requested in the form of a passport or driving licence (if it is a pictorial one); Proof of name and private address in the form of a recent utility bill /insurance certificate for your home / financial statement; Proof of Principal Place of Business in the form of a copy of HM Revenue and Customs Notice of Coding Copy or equivalent; and finally Registered Office Address for Limited Companies. If your company is registered at a different address to the Principal Place of Business we also require proof of that address.

How long will it take for my virtual office to be up and running?

When you have provided all of the information required and your initial payment, it will take just 48 hours for your new virtual office to be up and running.

How long is the virtual office term and how will I be billed?

Our standard virtual office package is a rolling contract for 12 months however virtual office packages are available from as little as 3 months. Following your initial payment we will require payment by direct debit at the beginning of each month.

What if I want to upgrade from a virtual office to a serviced office?

Should your business needs change, and like many of our virtual office customers you wish to expand in to a physical serviced office, we can cater for all your needs. You can up-grade at any time without penalty and, as an existing virtual customer, you may be offered preferential rates on your new serviced office contract, subject to the terms agreed.

Why should I choose Executive Offices Group for my virtual office?

Executive Offices Group is a recognised market leader in providing high quality virtual offices in London. An Executive Offices Group virtual office allows you to present your company from an impressive business address, access our outstanding facilities and keep your operational costs low.

As well as a choice of outstanding buildings in prestigious locations, we have a reputation for delivering excellent customer service. With Executive Offices Group, you’ll enjoy business support provided by the most professional and committed people in the industry. All of our business centre employees are in uniform and are trained to the highest standards.

Each of our 35 high quality business centres is completely unbranded. There are no flags or signs anywhere and telephones are answered in your company name, allowing you to create any impression you choose for your organisation without ever compromising your brand.

Executive Offices Group will provide a discreet, high quality and cost effective virtual office service with everything you need to run your business seamlessly.

For further about any of our virtual office services please contact us on — 020 3008 8889 email virtualoffices@eogroup.com 

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