Whether you are an individual entrepreneur or a large enterprise, you need a “decent” business address to meet the needs of company registration, tax filing, and establishing a professional image. However, for individual entrepreneurs, renting a physical office is undoubtedly a considerable expense. Therefore, they often turn to affordable and convenient virtual office services.
Although the charging models of virtual offices are generally similar, there are different charging details and service differences hidden among them. In this regard, Capital Business Center will sort out the five common charging traps of virtual offices to help entrepreneurs protect their entrepreneurial funds!
1. Contract term and prepayment discount trap
Virtual offices are well-known for their flexible leases, but some business centers use “prepayment discounts” as bait, requiring customers to sign contracts of at least six months to a year in order to reduce the apparent monthly fee. This model actually ties up the customer’s capital flow. If the customer needs to terminate the service midway, he or she may face high penalties or refund restrictions. Therefore, entrepreneurs need to weigh carefully when making choices.
2. Limitations of the Basic Package
Generally speaking, the most basic package of a virtual office fee plan only includes the “business address registration” service. Additional services such as secretarial services, fax services, etc. are subject to additional charges.
For freelancers, if most of the time you conduct business over private phone calls or use online communication platforms to contact clients, then choosing a basic package may be enough. However, if customers need other business services, they must consult the business center in advance about the specific charges to avoid finding many unknown charges during subsequent payment.
3. Fees for Mail Services
Normally, after receiving the customer’s email, a bshengsheusiness center that provides virtual office services will notify the customer to pick up the office via email or phone. However, if customers require the business center to scan the letter or deliver it to other locations, additional fees may be required.
In addition, business centers usually charge higher fees for collecting/forwarding packages than for letters, and there are restrictions on the size and weight of packages. Therefore, customers need to fully understand the relevant charging standards to avoid unnecessary disputes in the future.
4. Complex charges for telephone secretary services
Telephone service and fax service are one of the core value-added services of virtual offices, but their charging models are complex and diverse. Specifically include:
• Virtual office staff answering calls
• After-hours call answering
• After-hours voicemail
• Send recorded messages instantly via email
• Instantly transfer the conversation to the customer’s designated phone number
• Dedicated telephone number
• Notify callers by email after leaving a message
• Scan and fax to the customer’s designated email address
• Dedicated fax line number
• ……
Charges for these answering and fax services may vary. Therefore, it is recommended that entrepreneurs make sure to inquire about the charging standards for various services before signing a contract.
5. Money-back guarantee is just a facade
Some virtual office services offer a money-back guarantee, which means that after signing up for a plan, if a customer is not satisfied with the service or believes that the virtual office service is no longer needed for their business, they can cancel the plan within a specified period and get back the remaining payment for the service period. This seems to be more secure than plans that require prepayment for 1 to 3 years.
However, in practice, refund guarantees often have many restrictions and conditions, which greatly reduce their actual effectiveness. Therefore, entrepreneurs need to read the contract terms carefully when making a choice to ensure that their rights and interests are fully protected.
