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All UK based companies are required by law to have a registered office address. This address is a physical address where any official correspondence regarding your company can be sent to and is listed publicly, meaning that anyone can search for it. The registered address can be any address provided that it is in the same region that the business itself is registered in.
Most business owners choose to register their business somewhere other than their place of residence, this is because owing to the public availability of the registered offices database their home address would become publicly searchable and visible.
How to Register
Registering an office address for your business is as easy as filling out the necessary forms and returning them. This process can now be completed online without the need to print anything off.
For some businesses, it is simply not worth the cost of renting office space merely for the purposes of registering an address.
For those who do not own or rent any suitable property to register as their office address there are now a number of services that will take care of the registration for you. These companies own suitable locations and will register your business as having offices there on your behalf.
You can therefore get in touch with a company, like the registered office address provider CFS Formations, and have them provide you with an office location wherever you choose. Many businesses take advantage of such services as CFS in order to have a registered address in London, which carries with it a certain prestige. There are a number of advantages to using such a service, some of these are outlined below.
Make the Best First Impression
These services that will register an office address for you are commonly known as ‘virtual offices’, this is slightly misleading however as there is in fact a physical location involved that mail will be sent to. By being able to present your company as having a registered office in a particular area of the UK you can appeal to local markets, by choosing an address that is near to your customer base, or you can present your offices as being in London. Having offices in the capital is considered by many to carry with it certain connotations that you want associated with your business.
With the advent of services such as Google Maps it is now easier than ever before for potential customers to take a look at the offices registered to your business; they can do so from their smartphone or laptop. It is therefore a good idea to review the addresses yourself before committing to register your business there. You don’t need anything fancy, but having an exterior which looks professional could potentially make a big difference to how you are perceived.
Keep Your Home Address Private
One of the main reasons that business owners choose to make use of virtual offices and other registration services is that otherwise they would likely be forced to use their home address which would then become publicly viewable and searchable.
Registering your businesses offices elsewhere will allow you to maintain your privacy and also comes across much more professionally. Customers and potential clients will take you and your business more seriously if you register a dedicated office location.
Have Post Forwarded to Your Home
Making use of a virtual office service allows you to have the best of both worlds. While your business is registered elsewhere, and consequently all post for your business will be delivered there, you can choose to have any correspondence forwarded to another address. Even if your mail is ultimately forwarded to your home address you can maintain your privacy and the public will not be able to search for where your offices post is forwarded to.
Usually when you register for such a service you will strike an agreement with the service provider as to how your mail is sorted. The options available range from having every last piece of post forwarded to another address, to having the virtual office provider screen your mail for you and only forward you certain things which you have specifically identified beforehand.
Play to Local Markets
Most businesses will choose to register an address that is in the nearest major city to their base of operations. Clearly cities are far better for attracting business and by being registered in a recognisable city you will easily attract those who live in nearby suburbs. By putting your registered address on your website frequently you can improve your standing in relevant search results.
Every business needs to register an office address, not only to meet the legal requirements but to open the door to all the opportunities that arise from having your offices registered in a prime location.
