Renting an office can be costly and time consuming. Rent, furnishings, utilities and maintenance soon add up. Given these expenses and the cost of time to put it all together, more and more companies are turning to cost effective and convenient solutions, like Serviced Offices.
Serviced Offices, also known as Business Centres, come furnished, have meeting rooms, break out areas and kitchens, pay-as-you-use services and are normally paid monthly. With no long-term leases and a system where you only pay for the space you need; it provides a flexible option for growing companies.
Less Space Needed As opposed to renting a leased office, you only pay for the space you really need in a Serviced Office/Business Centre. Facilities like toilets, kitchens and break out spaces are communal, managed facilities. Serviced Offices like High Street Centre take care of these, so that you only have to pay for the desk space that you use. This can provide a large saving for businesses, who would otherwise have to pay rent on all the space they use.
Fully Furnished When renting a Serviced Office, you won’t have to worry about chairs, desks, drawers or filing cabinets. In addition, the space will be decorated and can be configured on request. When you rent a leased office, you will need to purchase furniture as the space is typically an empty shell. Fitting an office out can also prove very expensive as build work isn’t cheap, so there is a lot of time and effort, in addition to cost, saved in the process.
Fixed Business Rates and Utility Bills When renting a leased office, you will normally have to pay Business Rates and a number of utility bills for the running of the office. Utility bills can increase as well. So, if you rent a leased office, your business rates and utility bills may rise, not forgetting installation fees for telephone and broadband lines and there running costs.
Outsourced Staffing Costs Serviced Offices often already have employed staff, such as Receptionists and Admin Staff. This means that you can benefit from in house staff who can perform any ad-hoc task you need (on site) without the need to employ and pay wages for a dedicated person/s for the role. Sometimes, you may need to pay an extra pay-as-you-go fee for support service staff, but this is minimal compared to an actual wage.
No need to go large Any company that wants to expand takes a risk renting leased office space. They cannot be certain that their company will grow into the space, nor can they be definite they won’t outgrow it. Either way, by taking a larger space to grow into, they will be paying for it (and for a long time, as you are usually bound to a 3 to 10-year contract). Renting a Serviced Office normally rids you of this worry. Rent the exact size you need initially, and the provider will typically allow you to jump to larger spaces in the building as and when your companies grows.
Cheaper or Free Call Costs Once expensive additional costs in Serviced Offices, telephone calls are no longer a financial worry, and have in fact gone the opposite way. Lots of Serviced Offices now provide very low-cost calls or like us at High Street Centre we offer the latest VOiP phone system and a lease line broadband totally free of charge.
Flexibility Most leased offices demand you sign an agreement for at least 3 to 5 years. Who can really say where their business will be in five years’ time? With serviced offices, that headache doesn’t exist. Simply rent for as long or as little time as you want, allowing you the freedom to expand or downgrade to a more compact space.
No Agent Fees Often, in order to acquire a quality leased office opportunity as well as ensure you get a fair deal when negotiating the lease, you will need to pay an agent to represent you. It can be an hourly cost or a percentage of the rent. Either way, it’s an added cost.
No Maintenance Costs Maintenance costs will no longer be a cause of pain once you have moved into your Serviced Office. When electricity goes or the toilet gets blocked, it won’t be your problem. In a Serviced Office these inevitable troubles are covered by the workspace provider, meaning you are saving on maintenance.
Networking Although, not strictly speaking a money saving point, the opportunities to network in Serviced Office and especially High Street Centre can provide an extra source of income and help your company’s growth. Many Serviced Offices are packed with a number of small to medium sized growing businesses and the networking possibilities are endless
Call us today on 0208 249 6000 to view our latest offices with Leased broadband connections. All-inclusive costs for your peace of mind !
Written by Jackie Turkel