You may have heard the term ‘serviced office’ being bandied about, but you might not be sure of what it means. Sound familiar? If so, this article is for you!
If you’d like to know more about how a serviced office works so you can assess whether this kind of set-up would work for you, here’s a rundown of what you get when you move into a fully equipped serviced office.
Serviced offices with easy-in, easy-out contracts
Depending on whether you choose to rent a ‘hot-desk’, you prefer ‘co-working’ or you want a private office suite within a serviced office building, you’ll be able to lease your space on an ‘easy-in, easy-out’ style of contract.
This could mean anything from only paying for the hours that you use a desk to paying an all-inclusive monthly or weekly bill for office usage. Some serviced offices only require a month’s notice while others may require longer.
Fully equipped with all the office back up you need
You’ll find that most serviced offices not only give you access to a high-speed broadband connection, a telephone line and basic equipment such as photocopiers and a shared kitchen area, but you can also take advantage of a basic admin service from call answering and reception services to mail sorting and a postal dispatch system.
Some buildings will also give you access to meeting and conference rooms complete with all the presentation equipment you need, while some offer shower and canteen facilities too. Furthermore, you can often buy packages of more specialised admin support or take advantage of on-site business advisors.
A choice of accommodation options
As mentioned above, many serviced offices offer a choice of office accommodation.
You can choose from hot desking, where you rent a desk purely for the hours you need it; to co-working, where you’re assigned a dedicated desk in a shared office. You also have the option of private office space, where you and/or your employees are given a private office or suite of offices within a building, but you will still have access to all the other facilities provided by the serviced office company.
You’ll normally have access to your office space 24 hours a day, although some serviced offices may only offer access during normal office hours.
You don’t need to worry about any of the associated costs, cleaning or maintenance
When you choose to use a serviced office, everything is taken care of. This ranges from cleaning the office to ensuring that the offices meet health & safety requirements and that they’re well maintained.
Rather than having to budget for lease costs, property rates, service charges, building insurance and utilities, all these are included in the price. Additionally, you’ll get one all-inclusive bill, making budgeting for office costs extremely straightforward.
Totally flexible office space
While serviced offices can prove to be a very cost-effective option for many small, medium and start-up businesses, perhaps one of the best reasons for using this kind of set-up is all down to flexibility.
You can start with just a hot-desk or take a desk in a co-working suite and upsize to one office or a suite of private offices. Being in serviced offices gives your business the flexibility it needs, in terms of office space, to adapt to the changes in size of your business.
