- What is Virtual Office setup?
- Why does Virtual Office setup matter?
- How Alliance makes your Virtual Office set up fast and easy
- Virtual Office integration
Q: How do I set up my Virtual Office? Do I need Virtual Office assistance to help make the process straightforward?
A: Some individuals think that purchasing your Virtual Office is the only step you need to take, but this isn’t so. The best way to set up your Virtual Office depends largely on what you hope to accomplish with the service. With Alliance, we’ll help you ensure that your Virtual Office is set up to best assist your company’s long-term goals.
Thanks in part to the pandemic and in part to standard technological advancements, the labor market is more virtual than ever.
According to Pew Research, almost 60% of American workers can complete their jobs remotely. Of this 60%, a whopping 83% claim that they’re still working remotely.
At the height of the pandemic, several of these workers were working remotely out of sheer necessity. Businesses were closing their doors, shelter-in-place orders kept everyone inside, and remote work was often the only way to make a living.
As the country continues moving away from the pandemic, more workers are working from home because it allows them to cultivate a healthier work-life balance while still being productive.
That said, workers aren’t the only individuals affected by the changes in the market, and some of these changes take some getting used to.
Business owners are now in a position where they can easily capture new markets, effectively scale their businesses, and hire employees from all over the globe.
With a Virtual Office, established business owners and new entrepreneurs alike can quickly and efficiently react to shifts in the market, start businesses, or secure satellite offices.
That said, many individuals are still unaware of what the Virtual Office setup looks like.
Many are under the impression that you simply purchase the Virtual Office, sit back, and relax, but this isn’t the case.
In this article, we’ll cover what Virtual Office setup is, why your Virtual Office setup matters, and how Alliance makes setting up Virtual Offices easy. Finally, we’ll look at how Alliance’s Virtual Offices integrate with other digital tools that you might benefit you as a business owner.
So, if you’ve ever searched for “how to set up Virtual Office hours” – you’re in the right place. Keep reading for more about Virtual Office setup and how to find the best assistance possible.
- What is Virtual Office setup?
- Why does Virtual Office setup matter?
- How Alliance makes your Virtual Office set up fast and easy
- Virtual Office integration
What is Virtual Office setup?
Before we explore virtual office setup, let’s look at a quick explanation of what a Virtual Office is so you can better understand how they are set up.
Read more: What is a Virtual Office and How Does It Work?
A virtual office is a service that provides business owners with an address they can use to register their businesses without needing to secure physical office space.
Naturally, the quality of virtual offices varies, and some virtual offices are of higher quality than others, but the basic idea is an easier and more cost-efficient way for entrepreneurs to start a business. That said, virtual offices aren’t just for small business owners.
Below, we’ve put together a brief list of common misconceptions individuals have about virtual offices to dispel some of these notions.
- Virtual offices are only for small businesses
- Virtual offices don’t provide a physical address
- Virtual offices aren’t secure
Virtual offices are only for small businesses
Some business owners are under the impression that their companies are too big for a Virtual Office, but this couldn’t be further from the truth.
In reality, Virtual Offices are a great way for small businesses to get their start. Still, they also provide a unique solution for larger corporations and companies to maintain a physical presence in several locations.
Read more: Satellite Office: Your Complete Guide
With a Virtual Office, businesses of any size can maintain a presence in a city and state of their choosing while being able to hire employees from all over the world.
Virtual offices don’t provide a physical address
Now, in some cases, this is true. If you use a lower-quality virtual office provider, there’s a great chance that your business won’t be given a legitimate physical address.
Some providers use PO boxes or shared addresses to spend as little as possible. Unfortunately for you, some states won’t allow businesses to register with a PO box.
If you’re sharing an address with an unrelated business, that might bring your company’s professionality into question with potential clients, investors, and customers.
Alternatively, high-quality Virtual Offices use professional and well-known business addresses for anyone that secures a Virtual Office plan.
Through companies like Alliance Virtual Offices, business owners are given an address they can be proud of while getting access to easily reservable meeting rooms and coworking spaces.
When using this kind of provider, you get all the benefits of a traditional office, physical space, and impressive address included, all for a fraction of the cost.
Virtual offices aren’t secure
Unfortunately, as scammers continue to get more brazen, this is a fair concern to have. And with some lower-quality providers, this is likely something to worry about.
Alternatively, with a company like Alliance Virtual Offices, that isn’t the case.
Alliance’s Virtual Offices are just as secure as traditional offices. With add-ons like multi-tiered mail forwarding and a strict policy of only giving the mail to designated contacts at your company, your Virtual Office is perfectly safe.
Now that we’ve covered some common misconceptions and what a Virtual Office is, let’s look at setting up your office and Virtual Office jobs.
Unsurprisingly, the setup pertains to how you set things up, and Virtual Office setup is the process of activating your Virtual Office to the fullest extent possible.
It involves setting up your Virtual Office address and getting your mail delivery set up so you can make the most of your office.
Several individuals are under the impression that they can find a Virtual Office with no setup fee, no work required, and no planning, and that only requires purchasing before it’s instantly set up. This isn’t how it works.
It would be best if you connected everything so you can use each aspect of your Virtual Office.
The available amenities and add-ons allow you to completely customize your Virtual Office experience to meet your company’s specific needs.
Want your Live Receptionist to answer the phones so you can focus on the more nuanced aspects of your business? No problem.
Want a specific business phone number without having to buy a brand-new phone with a plan? No issue.
With Alliance’s Virtual Phone Number, you can better separate your work life and home life while simultaneously allowing your company to create branding materials that make use of your more professional appearance.
Now that you understand what Virtual Office activation is, let’s take a look at why your Virtual Office setup matters.
Why does Virtual Office setup matter?
Setting up your Virtual Office ensures that you’re receiving all of your mail, that you’re operating as flexibly as possible, and that you’re getting the most out of your Virtual Office.
If you’re starting a business, your Virtual Office setup is even more important than if you’re simply trying to create a new satellite office.
Read more: How to Start a Virtual Company
Sure, you can search for Virtual Office, no setup fee included, but you run the risk of using a provider that doesn’t have your company’s best interests in mind and, therefore, won’t feel obligated to ensure your office is fully integrated.
Important mail and sensitive documents
As a business owner, you need to stay on top of any mail your company receives. In several cases, not answering your mail can have lasting and expensive long-term consequences for your company.
For example, government correspondences, time-sensitive documents that need to be returned, and other mail that holds customer information need to be handled safely. Not responding to this mail might result in charges or lawsuits being levied against your operations.
This includes important government correspondence that can be the difference between hefty fines and smooth sailing. Some examples of important documents that fall into this category are listed below.
Tax forms/tax notices
As a business owner, you’re responsible for filing regular tax returns and responding to anything tax-related that the government might send you, like audits or notices of underpayment. Failing to comply with these requests typically results in fines or interest charges, but can occasionally lead to criminal charges for tax evasion.
Contractual obligations
Your business might receive notices related to specific contracts and agreements you’ve made in the past. These notices might include requests for payment or notices of breach of contract, and you must respond to these documents in accordance with the terms of the original contract.
Legal notices
The longer your business exists, the more legal disputes you’re at risk of experiencing. These might include lawsuits, employment disputes, or other legal matters, and failure to respond to legal notices like these can result in default judgments. Not only do default judgments risk damaging your business’s reputation, but they also might bring about several unwanted operational costs that you’ll be dealing with for a long time.
Because legal notices are such a broad category, we’ve listed a few common types of notices here.
Summons – a legal document requiring a representative of your company to appear in court for a trial, hearing, or deposition.
Subpoena – a legal order requiring a specific individual to provide spoken or written testimony or documents about a specific legal matter.
Notice of lien – if you’re using a physical storefront, a notice of lien alerts others that your property is subject to a lien or a claim by a creditor to secure payment of past debt.
Cease and desist letter – a cease and desist letter is a legal order that demands that your business stops a specific activity, be it defamation, copyright infringement, using intellectual property, false advertisements, or several other legal disputes.
Writ of garnishment – if you have an employee dealing with legal disputes of their own, there’s a chance you’ll receive a writ of garnishment that directs a third party to withhold a portion of that employee’s wages.
Regulatory compliance
This kind of notice is more industry-specific than the previous correspondences. Still, depending on what kind of business you own, you may need to file regular reports and environmental regulations, respond to health and safety information requests, and deal with other compliance requirements. Failure to comply with these notices can result in fines, penalties, and in some cases, legal action. Not to mention, if you upset regulators, your business will likely face increased scrutiny or audits, which can be expensive and long-lasting.
As you can see, there are a whole slew of reasons that your Virtual Office setup matters.
Without the proper systems in place, you risk missing important government correspondence that can have a lasting and disastrous effect on your company. Virtual Office setup matters because you can’t be an effective business if you’re struggling to deal with your important correspondences.
Outside of simply ensuring that you’re receiving all of your mail, the right Virtual Office activation also allows you to set up mail forwarding, which is a critical feature of the service.
Mail forwarding is a feature of your Virtual Office, and without it, you aren’t getting your office’s full value.
Without setting your Virtual Office up entirely, there’s no way to be sure you’re getting all of your mail, and you won’t be able to set up mail forwarding either.
How Alliance makes your Virtual Office set up fast and easy
The pandemic might not have caused the increase in remote work. After all, remote workers increased by 100% every 15 years before Covid-19 hit the United States, but it certainly accelerated the process.
Although the total number of work days worked remotely has dropped to about 30% from a high of 60%, this is mainly due to workers that have adopted a hybrid style of work rather than working exclusively from home or exclusively in the office.
Considering that workers are more willing to quit than ever and companies are still struggling with employee retention, this increased acceptance of remote work isn’t going anywhere.
Additionally, entrepreneurs are now in a position where even the simplest Virtual Office ideas can lead to a fruitful new business venture, and established business owners are in a position where they can easily explore new markets.
Sure, there are still several industries that can’t be worked remotely, but that doesn’t mean industries like these shouldn’t be exploring the world of digital-first operations.
Several online business owners have already discovered how quickly they can turn a profit online, but countless physical business owners are still wary of selling goods or services online.
Even if your business is a standalone storefront that’s been in business for decades, the cost of exploring the vast world of ecommerce is low, the rewards can be astronomical, and you’ll be better positioned than your competitors as we continue moving toward a more technical future.
With help from companies like Alliance Virtual Offices, business owners can take advantage of remote work’s explosion in popularity. Although the modern working world looks different than it did a few decades ago, the right mindset, proper planning, and a willingness to work are all it takes to get your company started.
Read more: This Mindset In Business Can Double Your Success
Alliance makes your Virtual Office activation easy and fast.
First, we will walk you through the Virtual Office setup process on the phone, freeing you from the hassle of tackling the steps alone.
Alternatively, if you don’t want to talk on the phone, you can handle the setup yourself by providing us with information online.
Once you provide us with the information about yourself that we need, we then send a test letter to your Virtual Office center with a code.
The center then sends us this code back to ensure that your address is correct and that all mail sent to your Virtual Office address arrives in your mailbox.
We let you handle the setup on your terms so that you can get the total value of your Virtual Office in the fastest and easiest way for you and your business.
Considering the possible ramifications you might experience for failing to set up your Virtual Office properly, there’s no reason not to go with providers willing to ensure everything in your office is functioning correctly.
Virtual Office integration
Virtual Office setup is a critical part of getting the most out of your Virtual Office.
It ensures you receive all the important mail you’ll need to keep your LLC legal and in the law’s good graces and allows you to set up mail forwarding easily.
We make it easy to set up your Virtual Office in whatever way works best for you and your business.
Outside of the ease of setting up your office, one of the perks associated with Alliance’s Virtual Offices is how easily you can integrate additional solutions into your office.
We’ve spoken a bit about mail forwarding, but Alliance itself offers four different tiers of mail forwarding for your business to add to your Virtual Office depending on how much mail you receive in a given month.
The first tier is once-per-month mail forwarding for $10.00 per month.
This tier isn’t great for businesses that receive a high volume of mail, and for some of the more urgent correspondences, this might not be enough time to ensure that you’ve responded accordingly.
That said, for businesses that are just getting started or for companies that are using their Virtual Office as a secondary satellite location, this is a great way to establish yourself in a new area.
The second tier is twice-per-month mail forwarding for $20.00 per month.
The second tier offers biweekly mail forwarding. This option is also for newer businesses and companies that are using their Virtual Offices as satellite locations, but it can also be used by businesses that are simply experiencing a lull in mailing volume.
One of the best parts of Alliance’s mail forwarding add-on is the ability to change tiers according to your business’s needs.
With biweekly mail forwarding, you’ll have enough time for most correspondences and shouldn’t miss too much, but if you’re receiving a lot of mail, each day that it’s forwarded to you will require a considerable amount of sorting.
The third tier is four times per month mail forwarding for $30.00 per month.
This third tier is weekly mail forwarding and is for businesses that are receiving a high volume of mail but not enough to warrant daily mail forwarding.
Weekly mail forwarding gives you ample time to stay up-to-date on all of your important correspondence and ensures that you’ll never go more than a week without accessing your mail.
The only risk with the weekly mail forwarding option is that if you’re receiving a high enough volume of mail, that single day per week will require a lot of time and effort to sort through everything you’ve received.
The fourth and final tier is daily mail forwarding for $70.00 per month.
This final tier is daily mail forwarding and will typically result in mail forwarding 19-22 days per month.
This is the best value option as you’re only paying between $3.18-$3.69 for each mail forwarding, rather than $7.50 for the third tier and $10.00 per forward for the first and second.
Daily Mail forwarding is best reserved for businesses experiencing a particularly high volume of business mail. This might include businesses in the middle of legal disputes or businesses running several marketing campaigns concurrently.
With daily mail forwarding, you’re sorting through your mail almost every day. This allows you to spread out the amount of time you spend sorting rather than letting your mail pile up and trying to sort it once per week.
Outside of Alliance’s mail forwarding options, there are several other software, services, and tools that your Virtual Office can easily integrate with.
Alliance provides Live Receptionists that can help you deal with the stress of constant phone calls and Virtual Phone Numbers that allow you to keep a healthier work-life balance.
Not to mention, your Virtual Office will integrate with tools outside of Alliance’s suite of digital services as well.
Further reading
- What is a Virtual Office and How Does it Work?
- How to Start a Virtual Company
- Satellite Office: Your Complete Guide
- This Mindset in Business Can Double Your Success
Alliance Virtual Offices provides easy and fast Virtual Office setup for entrepreneurs hoping to start a new business, established business owners hoping to set up a satellite office, and everyone in between.
Contact us today to see how Alliance can make your Virtual Office setup a breeze, and be sure to check out our Virtual Office Blog for more information about the future of work!
