- What are your options for mail forwarding?
- Why premium mail forwarding is standard
- The benefits of mail forwarding
Q: How does premium mail forwarding work?
A: Premium mail forwarding is a virtual office service that automates the process of receiving business mail. Rather than going to pick up mail yourself, the mail is received on your behalf and forwarded to you, wherever you are. It’s a core component of the virtual office service that enables entrepreneurs to manage their business mail in a more efficient and simplified way.
Did you know that 128.9 billion items of mail were sent through the USPS last year?
It’s clear that even though we live in a world dominated by technology, postal mail is still an integral part of our daily lives.
It’s also an integral part of operating a business.
That’s because some things are too important to be emailed.
Think business permits, checks, training certifications, IRS files, trademark documents, and so on. Original and important documents such as these are sent and received through the postal service.
That’s why a reliable business mail system is essential. And that’s why services like premium mail forwarding exist.
Mail forwarding ensures your business mail reaches you safely, wherever you are.
In this guide, we’ll explain how mail forwarding works, why you might need it, and how to obtain a regular premium mail forwarding service for your business.
- What are your options for mail forwarding?
- Why premium mail forwarding is standard
- The benefits of mail forwarding
What is Mail Forwarding?
Mail forwarding is a virtual office service. Your virtual office staff receives mail on your behalf and dispatches it to your preferred location.
This might be your home or another place of work.
Through Alliance Virtual Offices you can choose to have your mail forwarded daily, weekly, biweekly, or monthly.
It’s a convenient, safe, and cost-effective way to ensure you always receive mail according to your schedule.
Who Uses Mail Forwarding?
Entrepreneurs use a business mail forwarding service to automate the process of receiving mail.
It’s a core component of the virtual office service that’s designed for entrepreneurs who would like a more efficient and simplified way to manage their mail.
Mail forwarding is frequently used by:
- Busy entrepreneurs. Business owners prefer to have mail forwarded to them as it saves time and hassle driving to their virtual office center to collect their mail.
- Businesses with multiple office locations. For simplicity, entrepreneurs may only want to receive mail at one address. With a forwarding service, the mail is conveniently received at the same place.
- Home-based business owners. A mail forwarding service means entrepreneurs who operate their business from home don’t need to make their home addresses publicly available.
- Digital nomads and mobile entrepreneurs. People who are frequently on the move need to ensure they consistently receive mail wherever they are.
- Businesses that are relocating. Moving is difficult enough without the worry of mail going missing. A mail forwarding service safeguards mail during this time of transition. And if the move doesn’t go to plan, or takes longer than expected, extending premium mail forwarding is quick and easy.
Next, we’ll take a closer look at Alliance’s mail forwarding process and how it works.
How Does Premium Mail Forwarding Work?
Mail forwarding is a core part of the Virtual Office service. It’s a simple 3-step process:
- Sender dispatches mail to your virtual office address
- Onsite staff receives your mail, stores it securely, and sends it according to your schedule
- You receive mail at your designated address
Here’s an example.
Let’s say you’re a business consultant operating from home.
You have a virtual office for two reasons: to shield your home address and to receive mail.
You don’t want your home getting bombarded by junk mail, but you do need to publicize your location for marketing purposes.
You publish your virtual office address on your website and marketing collateral to attract local clients. All business mail is directed there.
You rarely visit your virtual office in person, since most consultations are carried out through video or phone calls. Plus, your virtual office is in town, so traffic and parking are a problem.
To avoid the hassle of driving to pick up your mail, which takes around an hour, your virtual office receives and forwards all business mail on your behalf.
You have a biweekly mail forwarding agreement set up at a basic rate of $20 per month.
Mail is stored safely at the center until it’s time to send. Every other week, your mail is sorted and dispatched directly to your home address.
Rather than driving to the office center to collect it, this saves a massive amount of time, cost, and hassle.
Your hourly rate is $75, and it takes at least an hour to drive into town, find a place to park, collect your mail and return home again.
In comparison, $20 per month is a small price to pay.
You’re protecting your home address in the process and safeguarding your mail, too. It’s a win-win.
What are Your Options for Mail Forwarding?
Every Virtual Office plan from Alliance plan comes with a variety of options for mail forwarding.
This allows entrepreneurs to customize the service depending on their individual needs.
Here are the frequency options and the mail forwarding prices offered by Alliance:
- $10.00 per month for mail forwarding once a month
- $20.00 per month for biweekly forwarding
- $30.00 per month for weekly forwarding
- $70.00 per month for daily forwarding
Postage costs apply. Some centers have slightly different pricing than those shown above. Any differences in pricing are shown clearly in the online booking process.
We always recommend taking out a monthly mail forwarding plan as a minimum.
That way, for just $10 per month, it ensures all your mail reaches you safely.
Or, you can pay a little extra and get your mail more frequently.
Not sure how frequent or how long you’ll need the service?
Simply get in touch and we’ll adjust your service according to your needs. That goes for increasing or decreasing the frequency of your mail forwarding plan.
If you’re wondering how to extend premium mail forwarding with Alliance, that’s easy too. After the initial 6-month term of your Virtual Office plan, you’ll move to a month-to-month agreement.
The mail forwarding service remains with your Virtual Office plan as long as you like. Or you can simply cancel it and pick up the mail yourself.
Whether you want your mail daily, weekly, every two weeks, or monthly, there’s a plan to suit your business needs.
Why Premium Mail Forwarding is Standard
You may be wondering: if mail forwarding is such an integral part of the virtual office service, why is it charged separately?
Why isn’t it included with the basic virtual office plan?
The whole point of a virtual office is to provide entrepreneurs with flexibility.
By offering four different mail forwarding options, entrepreneurs can customize their virtual office according to their needs and their budget.
Some entrepreneurs might not need mail forwarding at all.
This may apply to those who live or work just a few minutes away from their virtual office or who pass it regularly while meeting clients or running chores.
That’s why we refer to it as premium mail forwarding.
Now let’s ask another question: why pay for a mail forwarding service?
Why not just drive to your virtual office and collect it yourself?
Think of it this way.
The prime feature of your Virtual Office is your address.
You can – and should – publicize your business address. That’s what it’s there for.
Your address gives you a place to do business, a location for business permits and licenses, and a contact address for LLC and tax documentation.
Putting it on your website, business cards, and social media tells current and future clients that you’re a professional entity with a reputable business location.
But what good is an address without a mailing service?
Without a forwarding service, your business mail is left to stack up at your Virtual Office until you go to collect it.
You can collect it yourself during business hours. But your time as a business owner is extremely valuable.
Each hour of your day has a monetary value. Time is money – and your time is essential to your bottom line.
Why spend billable hours driving to pick up your mail?
When you’re busy building your business, every hour you work on your business is an hour spent generating more revenue and growing.
You shouldn’t have to interrupt your workflow to pick up your mail.
The fewer tasks that rely on you, the more valuable and sustainable your business becomes.
What’s more, the cost of mail forwarding is less than your hourly rate as a business owner, and you probably spend more than an hour each month picking up mail.
The Benefits of Mail Forwarding
Now that we’ve covered the essential elements of a premium mail-forwarding business service, let’s take a closer look at the benefits:
- Save time. Driving to pick up mail doesn’t add value to your company. Instead, it takes up time that could otherwise be spent earning revenue or drumming up new business. Mail forwarding frees you up and eliminates one more item off your to-do so you can invest your time into growing your business.
- Save money on parking and gas. Based on the IRS standard mileage rate of 60 cents, driving 5-10 miles costs approximately $6 – $12 for a round trip. Add parking costs, plus your time and hassle, and the costs quickly stack up. A monthly mail forwarding plan costs just $10 (plus postage), which effectively pays for itself once you factor in your gas and driving costs, and your time.
- Receive mail consistently. Mail forwarding delivers your mail on a regular, routine basis. Depending on how frequently you need to receive your mail, a mail forwarding service ensures you get your mail on time, according to the schedule you want. This can be daily, weekly, biweekly, or once per month. You gain reliability and dependability and can rest assured knowing that your mail will always get to you.
- Reduce hassle. Picking up mail is an annoyance. Going out of your way to drive to the center, find parking, pick up mail, and drive home is a hassle. Mail forwarding cuts that inconvenience out of the equation. There are plenty more ways you can use that time to add value to your business.
- Reduce mail-check calls. When you want to check for mail, you need to call Alliance who then checks with your virtual office center. We call you back as promptly as possible, but making constant calls like this can quickly become a distraction.
Mail forwarding is a core feature of every Virtual Office plan. It improves your experience, saves valuable time, and simplifies your day by automating the process of receiving mail.
Conclusion
Mail forwarding unlocks your virtual office’s full value.
Without mail forwarding, you have your virtual office, but it’s missing a key component.
Think of it this way:
A Virtual office without mail forwarding is like a cell phone with no service plan. You get some useful features, but you’re not making the most of your purchase.
Virtual offices are designed to help remote entrepreneurs operate their businesses flexibly and cost-efficiently. Our mail forwarding service is a valuable feature that aligns with this mission by helping entrepreneurs save time, reduce distractions, and streamline the process of receiving mail.
Further Reading
- How We’re Improving Mail Forwarding Standards, One Letter at a Time
- Get a Virtual Address for LLC Registration
- How to Hire Employees for a Small Business
Why not try it out for yourself?
It’s quick and easy to set up a mail forwarding plan with Alliance.
If you’re buying a new virtual office, simply choose your mail forwarding frequency during checkout.
If you already have a virtual office and you want to add mail forwarding, simply chat with our team online or contact us by phone or email.
We’ll set up your mail forwarding and have it ready to go, usually the very next day.
