Registered business address
One of the main things that a virtual office provides is a registered business address. In Australia, to register your business, you need to provide an address. Furthermore, the address used to register your business cannot be a PO box. A virtual office gives users a virtual business address that can be used to register their business. This works because the registered business address does not need to be the primary place of business. The entire purpose of the address is to give the ASIC an address to send correspondence, and a virtual business address is perfectly adequate for this.
As for why this is useful, there are a couple of main reasons. Firstly, for many people, their primary place of business is their home. Using your home address as your registered business address can make you look unprofessional and potentially reduce business opportunities. Secondly, the address that you register your business with is listed publicly by the ASIC. If this address is your home address, you are not just giving up your privacy, you are also putting your safety at risk. By using the address provided by your virtual office, you can present your business as more professional and also protect your privacy.
Mailing Address
As explained above, the registered business address provided by the virtual office is used by the ASIC as a place to send correspondence. In addition to this, the address can be used to receive other mail as well. Office101, in particular, is capable of receiving regular mail, parcels, pallets, crates and even 40ft shipping containers. This allows the user to use the address as they would a traditional office address. This is extremely useful for businesses that need to send and receive shipments, especially since Office101 is equipped to handle 3PL (3rd party logistics).
Office services with less overhead
As if a business address and mailing address weren't enough, a virtual office also provides users with other services that a traditional office would have. For example, Office101 offers both long-term and short-term rentals of physical office space and board rooms, allowing users to have in-person staff meetings if needed. They also offer scanning and emailing services which are especially helpful when receiving documents or correspondence from the ASIC. All of these services and more that usually require the leasing of an office can be achieved with a virtual office. Because you aren't leasing the space, the price of a virtual office is incomparably lower than that of a physical office. That's not even mentioning the costs of maintaining and staffing a full-time office.
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