Business First Family Business, Accounting, Finance, Investing, Marketing And Management
A virtual business address can be a great way for home business owners to boost their branding and streamline their business processes. While using a home address for a business is free, a virtual address looks more professional and helps to protect the privacy of the business owner. Additionally, a business cannot use a residential address if they are applying for a business loan from most banks. Business owners who want to take advantage of these financing options must contract with a provider to set up an address. The following are the steps involved in setting up a virtual business address service for a home office.
Find A Virtual Address Provider
The business owner should pick out a provider to start the process of setting up a virtual address. When picking a provider, a business owner should compare costs, locations, and available services. For example, some providers offer a business phone number, which helps to make home office seem more professional. Most providers use a subscription based cost structure, with some charging an initial startup fee. Finding the right address provider ensures that you’ll have the necessary services at the right cost.
Choose A Physical Location
Picking the right location is an important step in setting up a virtual address service. Virtual business addresses correspond to real locations which business owners should be able to reach easily. That way packages can be easily collected and shipped out from that address. Additionally, should any clients wish to meet at the business’ location, keeping it close will make it easier. For this reason, it can also be advantageous to choose a location in close proximity to your clientele. Picking the right location allows home business owners to meet clients and stay up to date with their business mail.
Pick Additional Services As Needed
Many virtual address providers offer extra services for business owners to use as needed. For example, many providers offer a mail forwarding service to forward packages to your home from the virtual address. This can include services like a business rental space that can be occupied for so many hours per month. Other providers also offer phone numbers as well as live help desk support along with that phone number. These additional services can be helpful to home business owners who need some aspects of an office without paying the premium of owning an office space.
Fill Out The US Postal Paperwork
Filling out the proper forms with the US postal service ensures that a home business can smoothly send and receive packages using the virtual address. Business owners will, at minimum, fill out a form that allows other parties to receive and send mail on their behalf. This is done to prevent identity theft and as such requires a notary service. Some address providers offer notaries free of charge with sign up. Filling out the form will require two types of identification as well as the official name and type of business. Once the paperwork is signed and notarized, you can begin to use the benefits offered by a virtual business address service.
Redirect Your Mail To The New Address
While not strictly necessary, redirecting incoming mail to the new virtual address can streamline the home business process. Similar to the previous step, this requires filling out the appropriate paperwork with the US postal service. However, this process is much more informal and can be filled out online. The only information needed is the current address, the new address, and a credit or debit card to verify your identity. If business owners choose to ship to a US forwarding address, their mail will be automatically sent to the virtual business address.
Virtual business addresses can offer increased professionalism and privacy to business owners who are willing to pay for the service. Setting up an address starts with finding a provider within your price range. Once a provider is chosen, the business owner has to pick a location from the addresses that are offered. From there, they have to decide which extra services offered by the service are needed. Once a service is purchased, the business owner has to fill out the appropriate paperwork with the USPS. As an optional last step, home businesses can have all of their mail redirected to this new virtual address by filling out a form online. Following these steps, a home business owner can enjoy the benefits of a virtual business address service.
