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Q: Do we need a virtual office if we run a mobile business? What are the benefits of having virtual office addresses? What we would have to do to run the business from home only? Are there some legal issues?

Jul 19 2006

Answered by: Chris Lindsay     Ask a question

The critical thing for any business is that customers can contact you and your team whenever they need to, whether that is at an actual office or a virtual one.

With the rapid development of technology, we have increasingly seen companies move away from the traditional office-based culture, to remote and home working, but there are now also companies that have no office premises at all. Until recently, these businesses generally had to use virtual office services, which provide things like telephone answering and mail forwarding.

With the advent of converged services that bring together fixed-line, mobile and even internet telephone services, such as those offered from BT Business, along with laptops and devices that allow mobile email access, you are always contactable, no matter where you are. As a result, virtual office services may be overkill.

In terms of your business address, unless you’re looking for a specific location, you can very easily run your business from home. It’s worth talking to your lawyer and accountant about the financial and legal implications of doing this.

 
Comments [5]
Comment by Peter Chen
Tuesday 20th February 2007

The key is the ability to remotely connect to existing accounting, ERP, and CRM applications.


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Comment by Adam Wayland
Wednesday 21st February 2007

For those who aren't aware, Enterprise Resource Planning systems (ERPs) integrate (or attempt to integrate) all data and processes of an organisation into a unified system. Customer relationship management (CRM) is a broad term that covers concepts used by companies to manage their relationships with customers.


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Comment by Chris Miles
Wednesday 2nd May 2007

Remember that a virtual office is not worth very much if your (and your customers) connectivity to it is disrupted. Consider internet connectivity redundancy and only host with suppliers who can give good SLAs. Chris


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Comment by Adam Wayland
Wednesday 2nd May 2007

For those who don't know, the acronym "SLA" refers to Service Level Agreements - the part of a service contract where the level of service is formally defined.

Adam Wayland
Editor
SmallBusiness.co.uk


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Comment by Peter Chen
Tuesday 31st July 2007

One kind of virtual office is to install your ERP in the office so it can be accessible via internet or mobile devices remotely. Most people do not want their accounting information hosted on third party server.


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