The top reason for using a serviced office must be that it limits your financial liabilities.  Traditional fixed term office rental agreements usually require businesses to commit to long-term leases of three years or more. This reduces a business’s agility, increases their liabilities, and can leave them vulnerable.

By contrast, Serviced office agreements offer flexible short-term arrangements, enabling you to pay on a month-by-month basis. As we emerge from the pandemic, this arrangement is attractive as it significantly reduces risks and drastically limits liabilities. Serviced offices give businesses the flexibility to respond quickly to changing situations. If the worst happens, businesses can terminate a serviced office agreement by giving just one month notice.

A valued mentor once told me that they only thing that you can control in business, is cost. Serviced offices provide an easy and effective way to predict and limit costs. Each month, you pay a single all-in monthly fee which includes office rental, utilities, broadband, telephony, business rates and office cleaning. This means that there are no surprise bills for maintenance, or updates.

Many businesses have moved their workforce to remote working, so they only require a small office space to act as their operational headquarters for post, deliveries and administration. Serviced offices within business centres offer an ideal solution as they often provide access to meeting rooms which can be booked whenever they are required. This combination of office space and meeting rooms enables businesses to meet as a team on a weekly or monthly basis.

As we emerge from the pandemic and as work forces move permanently to remote working, having the ability to meet face to face will become more important. Face to face team meetings will be essential for building effective working relationships, celebrating success’s promoting well-being, and ensuring that the business culture and ethos permeates throughout the remote workforce.

One of the potential downsides of working from home is the negative impact of isolation on well-being and also upon business culture.

Serviced offices are often located within business centres or managed buildings. These are typically populated by businesses from different sectors and at different stages of development. They provide a fantastic opportunity to be part of a thriving, dynamic business community (socially distance of course). They give companies and individuals access to a ready-made network which can offer support, advice, introductions and inspiration. 

Whether you are just starting out, downsizing, or expanding, setting up a new office requires thought and planning. This involves time comparing the best deals on desks, chairs, notice boards, telephone systems, broadband provision, lighting, carpets, copiers…the list goes on. Serviced offices are fully furnished, freeing you to spend time and money developing your business rather than being preoccupied with spending money on your office environment.

The pandemic has created uncertainty and businesses want to protect cash-flow. So being able to move into an office without having to invest in office furniture and infrastructure is a real advantage.

Another major benefit of a serviced office is that they are designed to enable you to move in and start working immediately. Broadband connections, telephony systems, and utilities are operational and ready for you to use.  This is a huge advantage as it eliminates the downtime associated with setting up a new office.  

Downtime costs businesses a significant amount of money and can sometimes mean the difference between success and closure. Businesses who are starting up or relocating, often encounter downtime issues while liaising with utility providers over broadband provision or telephony. This can be time consuming and frustrating particularly when deadlines are not met.  The cost to the business in terms of lost revenue can quickly spiral.  Serviced offices provide a solution.

Serviced offices are usually located in prestigious business centres or dedicated office blocks. This enables your business to project a professional image at a fraction of the cost of long-term lease arrangements. It also enables you to have a physical presence in your chosen geographic location. Larger companies use serviced offices to increase their reach by creating a series of regional offices.

Serviced offices tend to include cleaning as part of the rental terms. Assuming that it doesn’t conflict with your companies COVID risk-assessment, this means that your office space and communal areas are cleaned for you. This gives you peace of mind and enables you and your team to work in a COVID secure environment. This frees up your time; it is one less thing to manage and is one less distraction from what really matters; running your business.

Amongst the many benefits of a serviced office, is that they provide reception staff who will sign for your post, accept your deliveries, greet your visitors, (lock-down restrictions permitting), and generally provide an additional pair of hands. The huge advantage being that you don’t have to employ this person, or pay any of the associated on-costs.    

Serviced offices are often located in business centres giving you access to larger office equipment like scanners, copiers and printers that are often expensive to purchase or rent. This provides you with a great way to limit set up costs.