15 useful facts about our virtual office service
Before you subscribe to a virtual office service with Clavering House Newcastle, you may have lots of questions you'd like to ask.
Please feel free to call or contact us at any time to clear up anything you aren't sure about - and hopefully, the following 15 useful facts will be helpful too!
1. What is a virtual office service?
The virtual office service at Clavering House Business Centre is available to anyone that needs the benefit of having a business base in Newcastle city centre, but without needing to pay rent for an office! The core virtual office service is the Clavering House mailing address that can be used by your business, no matter where you actually do business. You can use our address on your website, business cards, letterheads and invoices, and you can also make Clavering House your registered office address if you need to.
Other virtual office services include a telephone answering service, as well as meeting rooms.
2. What do I need to do to get started?
If you'd like to subscribe to our mailing address service, all you need to do is call into the office with some formal ID. We'll need to see your current passport or a valid driving licence, and a confirmation of your home address via a utility bill or bank statement from last 3 months. You do need to call in yourself, so we stay in line with our legal responsibilities, and once we've taken a record of your ID we will issue you an invoice for your first 3 months. Once you've paid we can get your service started (you can pay by card in our office or over the phone, or by BACs, whatever works for you). If you're ready to subscribe now, just call into the Business Centre or click here
3. What's the minimum time I need to subscribe to the virtual office service for?
You can subscribe for the virtual office service for 3 months or more. If you decide to subscribe for a full year, and pay for the year in advance, you'll receive a 10% discount on the cost as a thank you.
4. How much does a virtual office service cost?
Each element of our virtual office service is costed separately, so you can pick and choose whatever you need, as follows:
- Mail address and registered office address £30 + vat/month
- Telephone answering service £35 + vat/month
- Meeting rooms from £10 + vat per hour
5. How do I pay for a virtual office service?
You will be asked to pay 3 months service in advance when you subscribe to the core virtual office service. Towards the end of this period you will receive a further invoice for the following 6 months - this can be paid in one payment, or you can set up a monthly standing order to pay instalments over 6 months. We can also issue an invoice for 12 months, and if this is paid in full you will receive a 10% discount.
Some answers from Rachel
Watch this short video of Rachel, from our Clavering House team, answering some of your questions about the virtual office service
Mailing address service
6. Are there any limits to how I can use the Clavering House mailing address?
Not really, you can use the service in any reasonable way, to respond to the needs of your business - on your website, business stationery, invoices and so on. All we do ask is that you take into account that we have limited storage, so we aren't able to accept large volumes of parcels in one go.
7. Can I use Clavering House as my registered office address?
Yes, for a one off fee of £50 + vat. Many of our virtual office customers use Clavering House as their registered office address - this is the address they use for their business with Companies House.
8. What will happen if people turn up in reception and ask for me when I'm not there?
Although it doesn't happen very often, sometimes your customers and suppliers may call into Clavering House with the objective of meeting with you face to face. If this hasn't been planned, other than if we're under a legal obligation to do so (very rare!), we would simply let them know you're out of the office, and take a message that we can pass on to you. Discretion is our middle name!
9. Can I use the photograph of Clavering House on my website, as my business location?
Yes that's absolutely fine with us. We're proud of our prestigious Grade II listed building, and our location on the edge of the newly developing Stephenson Quarter in Newcastle, and would be happy for you to share that with us.
We'd also encourage you to verify your business on Google maps using our address for that too - that will help people to find you online.
10. How will I know when my mail has arrived at Clavering House?
You will always receive an email within an hour of your post arriving here at Clavering House. You can then arrange to collect it whenever it's convenient. We aren't allowed to forward your mail to you, but if it's urgent, with your permission we can open the post and scan it for you, on an exception basis.
11. What would happen if you received mail after my subscription to the virtual office service has expired?
During the first month following termination of your subscription, we will continue to let you know that you have received mail in the usual way. After that, we'll need to return it to sender, or agree a payment for the continuation of the service for as long as you need it.
Telephone answering service
12. Who will be answering my phone calls?
Your phone calls will be answered by the Clavering House receptionist in a professional manner, using whatever greeting you would prefer.
13. Will my company name be used when calls are answered?
Yes, we will always answer the call in your company name, and act as though we are the reception service within your own business. If you'd like us to follow a script when we answer a call, we can do that too.
14. Can calls be diverted to me once they are answered?
We can provide this service, and can discuss the additional cost of call forwarding to you should you need it.
15. How will I know who's called?
As soon as we've taken a call for you we will email you to let you know full details of who's called and a message so you can either act on the call or call back when you're free.
If you need to know anything else about our virtual office services just get in touch - we'd love to hear from you.
5 reasons a virtual office in Newcastle is good for business
Millions of people are now working for themselves in the UK, and the enterprise culture is certainly booming in Newcastle, with new businesses springing up every day in just every type of business you can imagine. In the good old days pre-internet (we know, it's a matter of opinion!), business centres like Clavering House were the obvious starting point for just about anyone who was setting up for themselves - you couldn't really run a 'proper' business without an office, a workshop or a shop!
Well of course we have all of this available for those who need it, but these days lots of start-ups don't bother with a permanent workplace - as long as they have a laptop and a phone they're in business. That's why Clavering House's virtual office in Newcastle is becoming increasingly popular, with well over 100 small businesses already virtually residing with us, offering all types of services from publishers to legal services, photographers and graphic designers to energy consultants.
5 reasons small business owners say the virtual office is good for business ...
1. You can have a prestigious city centre address for your business
With a virtual office in Newcastle you have a city centre address for a fraction of the cost of renting an office. Newcastle Property Developer Jonathan Sykes, who has had a virtual office at Clavering House since October 2013, explains "The virtual office service works for me in particular because it provides an NE1 postcode and 0191 telephone, and I don't have to use the words 'Business Centre' in the address. My business address is Sykes Property Consultants, Clavering House, Clavering Place, Newcastle NE1 3NG - I don't even need to use the words 'Business Centre' in the address.
2. You can keep costs down
Today, working flexibly and keeping costs down can help a business to compete, and be profitable. Having a virtual office ticks both of those boxes. Without needing to add the cost of monthly rent to their prices, small businesses that work 'virtually' have a better chance of survival long term, particularly in the start-up phase;
3. You can avoid using your home address on your website
Let's face it, the amount of mail received by many small businesses has reduced to next to nothing, but you still need a mailing address for just about every aspect of your business transactions - from issuing contracts to registering with suppliers and for the footer and contact page on your website. Having a virtual office address in Newcastle city centre means you don't have to reveal your home address to all in sundry if you run your business from your back bedroom - you just use the virtual office address whenever your business address is needed;
4. You can de-risk business expansion into Newcastle
You can have a 'virtual presence' in Newcastle (in other words it looks as though you work here, even if you don't!) which is great for your business image and market reach. Nicola Crowther runs a family mediation service, Crowther Mediation Services, from 4 permanent office locations across the North East, but was looking to expand further into Newcastle. While she established herself she decided to set up a virtual office address, and became our 100th virtual office customer! As Nicola explains, "the virtual office provides a very easy way to expand and develop my business, giving me an opportunity to test the waters without taking any real risks.".
5. It's so much easier to do business in the city
A virtual office service doesn't just mean mailing address - other services you'd expect to have if you have a fixed office base are available too - you can get just about everything you need from an office, but without the rent bill! Telephone answering services, desk space for hire by the hour, smart affordable meeting rooms for the occasions when the local coffee shop doesn't quite cut the mustard, and even receiving parcel deliveries to avoid interruptions to your workflow at home - you can just collect them from the office when you're ready.
If you'd like to know more about how a virtual office might be able to help you in your small business get in touch, we'd love to hear from you.