A question that we often hear is “why use a serviced office?” So, let us look as some of the advantages to using an alternative office space like a serviced office over traditional office space – as well as some of the perceived disadvantages. It is important to note that business centres serviced offices offer more than office services. The advantages of serviced offices over traditional offices are:
- Many business centres’ office-space solutions provide a sense of community for a small business to network and exchange knowledge.
- Serviced offices have no building “fixed expenses” like taxes, repairs etc.
- Low or no capital expenditure to open and maintain your office or workspace.
- Flexible rental terms that facilitate full utilization of space needed for business growth.
- Serviced offices can often provide or facilitate retaining professional services like accounting, lawyers and marketing services.
Serviced offices provide a sense of community
A serviced office can also provide a sense of community, simply because you are running into the same people every day within the business centre. It may be that you see the same people at the photocopiers network printers, in the hallways, in the reception area or even the kitchen while you are grabbing a cup of coffee. As you become more familiar with other office tenants, you begin to talk to them more and even start talking to them about your business and the challenges you face.
No building or maintenance expenses
Another “feature” of traditional office space is that often you are not only paying for the office you lease, but also the lessor is responsible for a portion of the maintenance, taxes and upgrades of the building. These are not fixed costs as taxes often rise and maintenance is weather-dependent – so budgeting for your location/office expenses is more complex than a fixed monthly cost.
Low capital expenditure
When a small business is just starting up, another expense to consider is the high cost of business equipment such as photocopiers, fax machines and telephone systems. These expenses can be saved by utilizing a serviced office space that provide access to state-of-the-art equipment without the capital expenditure or leasing costs.
One of the first advantages of using a serviced office is that you do not need to purchase office furniture, which is provided along with the office space. Purchasing office furniture (even used office furniture) can be a large capital expense that most start-ups cannot afford. The money required could be better used for growing the business.
Besides saving on the cost of capital expenditures on office furniture and business equipment, service offices can also save a small business the expense of hiring support staff.
Flexible rental terms
The biggest advantage of a serviced office over a traditional office space for a fledgling business is that in many cases the length of the “lease” is very flexible. In some cases with a traditional lease, you are “locked in” to terms in advance and pay even if you go bankrupt – as was the recent case of Target in Canada.
When you rent traditional office space, you usually need to anticipate your future office needs and rent space that perhaps is not needed currently. This adds the expense of paying rent for additional space that is underutilized, and is also a constant reminder that expectations were not met which could affect employee morale.
Many small businesses and start-ups require boardrooms or meeting room space in addition to space for their workplace. This space is often the most underutilized space a business has. Most serviced offices (including Telsec Business Centres) provide meeting rooms and boardrooms at no extra charge. Telsec Business Centres’ office space solutions include free meeting rooms and boardrooms in over 500+ locations worldwide!
Business Centres can often facilitate rapid growth and full utilization of your office space via a variety of short-term, low-cost rental plans. Those same flexible rental terms can easily accommodate your needs without disturbing other businesses. To some extent then, a business centre is absorbing the costs of underutilized offices.
Provide or facilitate retaining professional services
The cost of hiring and training an employee to do support work (such as reception, administrative, secretarial, bookkeeping and accounting) can be very taxing on the bottom line of a small business. With a serviced office, you do not need to hire a receptionist to deal with postal mail, answering the phone and messaging. All these services are included with your rent. When you need support work done, a serviced office can offer these services a-la-carte, so you only pay for what you need done when you need it done.
A serviced office provider or Business Centre is a veritable hub of professional services. More and more business professionals today are realizing that serviced offices are a more efficient and economical way to conduct their trade. And, many of the services that your business may need are likely “just down the hall.”