How registered business address services help your company

So … what are the benefits?

1. Creates a Professional Image: A small business starting out wants to project a professional image. Having an office address can increase the confidence of potential customers as well as suppliers, and help you build your business.
2. Avoids public disclosure of your residential address: If you’re operating your business from home, it allows you to avoid public disclosure of your residential address. Most people would prefer to keep their personal address private.
3. Presents an office presence – even if you don’t have one: You might not be able to afford or want an office of your own, but you may still want to appear to your customers that you have a physical office dedicated to your business. A virtual office address, particularly coupled with other services, can help to support this impression.
4. Reduces junk mail: Because the company’s registered address and each director’s service address is on the public register, these addresses typically receive a lot of unsolicited marketing mail. A business address service, especially one where only official mail is forwarded on, can help save time.
5. Ensures official mail is quickly responded to: If you are way a lot it is important that official mail is not left unanswered. A virtual office service via your registered office will ensure it is noticed and forwarded to your promptly via scan and email, where ever you are.

So … what is involved?

• You purchase an address service, often via the web, on a yearly contract basis
• You will need to satisfy the business address service provider’s anti-money laundering checks as part of the application process,
• This address is then placed on the public record as the official address for your company and/or an individual director.
• Official mail will be sent to the address you have purchased. If you use this as your main business address then all your post will go there
• Your service provider will forward your mail to you, depending what you have agreed with them, or it may be scanned and emailed to you.

What types of business address service are available?

There are three main types of services offered:

1. Registered office address: By law, every UK company must provide an address where official mail from government bodies can be sent. It will appear on the company’s official documents and business stationery, including letters, order forms, invoices and the company’s website.
2. Director service address: Each UK company director must provide a service address, which also appears on the public record and it is where official post from Companies House, HMRC and other government bodies for the attention of the individual director will be sent. 
3. Virtual office address: With a virtual office, it appears to the outside world that your business operates from that address. So, even if you don’t have an office of your own, you can give the impression of being an established business with physical premises.

These services are often purchased together as a package. 

How do I choose who to buy from?

Here are a few things to consider when choosing an address service:

• Where are they based? If this matters to you.
• Do you just need a registered office address, or do you want it to be your trading or a director’s service address? If so, does the provider supply all of these options and is there any cost saving of buying them all together?
• Will mail be scanned and emailed to you or is the option to send it physically in the post available? Are the costs different for these two options?
• Which mail will be forwarded? Often only official government mail will be forwarded for the given price, with general mail costing more to forward. How is this costed?
• Is renewal automatic and what will it cost, or will you need to take action to renew the service?

At Innovas Business we provide a registered mailing address and mail forwarding for your business at low fixed rates. This service also includes scanning and emailing, with your permission, your mail to you. We also provide a range of Virtual Office services to support you in running your business.