Serviced office vs virtual office: What are the differences?

Office & Culture

Looking for a flexible workspace? Whether you are starting a new business, need a space for consultancy work or you’re considering moving to shared office space, you’ll be presented with some flexible workspace solutions including a serviced office space and a virtual office.

That’s right, these are two different options yet some may confuse them as one. Both options offer a cost-effective way to establish a physical commercial presence for your business but the question is, which one should you choose?

To help you understand which type of flexible workspace best suits your needs, we’ve profiled both options, going into detail about when and why you should consider one over the other.

Serviced Offices

What is a Serviced Office?

A serviced office space is typically managed by a facility management company who will rent out sections, rooms, floors or hubs within an office building to different businesses. They will be equipped with all the required fittings and fixtures and they’ll offer internet connectivity too.

You won’t have to worry about electricity, security, rates, cleaning or maintenance as the facilities management company looks after all of that.

With a serviced office space, you only pay for what you need, when you need it. In addition to the physical office space, services and facilities, you can pay to utilise add-ons like meeting rooms, board rooms and other amenities.

For those important client meetings that pop up occasionally, you don’t need to revert to a local hotel. Instead, make a greater impression by hiring the boardroom in your shared serviced office and do so at a fraction of what it would cost to hire a function room.

Who should consider hiring a serviced office?

Those that need an office space fast
Business owners that need access to an office space sporadically
Those that want access to office equipment but don’t want to purchase it
Business owners that want to avoid long-term office rental contracts
Those that want to grow or scale their teams

Virtual Offices

What is a Virtual Office?

A virtual office space offers business owners the opportunity to hire an office address for communications purposes without actually occupying the office space.

Advancements in technology ensure that professionals can easily operate their business or conduct their work from home, making this whole concept an increasingly accessible and popular option.

Virtual offices aren’t just for start-ups or small businesses. They can also give businesses a way to establish a presence in a new location and provide a commercial address where virtual employees can meet clients and collect mail.

Virtual offices may also offer add-on services such as receptionist services where an employee, fluent in the language of the local area, can answer any calls to a dedicated office number hired by you.

Why consider a virtual office?

You want to operate in a new market without a physical office space
You work from home but need a business address
You operate teams of virtual employees
You are testing the waters with a business idea and need an address
You need a prestigious office address for various reasons

A serviced or virtual office is an excellent option if you want to avoid getting bogged down in long-term office rental contracts when you don’t need to. The beauty of these types of flexible workspace solutions is that they are immediately available for hire and can instantly resolve your commercial office needs.

Choose your office space wisely and the bottom line of your business will thank you for it!

If you would like to find out more about Glandore and how we can help your business grow in one of our serviced office spaces get in touch here. You can even start with a virtual office and grow to a serviced office space with ease. One of our offices in Dublin and Belfast could be just what you need.