Comfortable corner: A workplace at a virtual office of The Executive Centre, located at a prestigious address.

Thanks to virtual office solutions, small enterprises and start-up firms, as well as expanding companies, can develop a good corporate image with a premium business address and cost-effective operations.

Representative websites containing details of various services and products may be enough for some small businesses or startup companies to operate and run well. Various applications on the internet and social media have also developed to the extent that commercial interactions do not have to be done physically.

But sometimes, even in this sophisticated cyber world, a place with a specific mailing address and designated phone and fax numbers remains essential for certain important affairs, at least for corporate image.

Virtual offices are the answer for many companies looking for workspaces with real addresses but minimum rental fees. They want to look good when their business partners, or anybody else, read the office address on their business cards.

Prestigious locations are indeed the most important factor in the business of virtual offices. It is common knowledge that nobody wants to have an office located in the middle of nowhere, but in the central business district (CBD) or commercial areas. Lured by the great location, more startup companies as well as small and medium enterprises (SMEs) are now opting for virtual offices to support their business activities.

To meet such demands, companies offering virtual office services must introduce reasonable rental rates, as most of their potential clients want to reduce operational costs and cut overheads for traditional expenses such as telephones, electricity, water and security.

In addition to offering mailing or postal addresses in prime locations, providers of office business solutions try to extend other virtual products and services. Many providers have to compete in the virtual office market, as there is always potential demand.

This is in line with the improving business and investment climate, one of the key drivers for office space demand in Indonesia. The country expects to see a rise by the end of this year despite the possibility of political tension during an election year. Last year, total realized investments in Indonesia reached a historic high of Rp 398.6 trillion, growing 22.4 percent compared to 2012. The Investment Coordinating Board (BKPM) targeted 15 percent growth in investment in 2014.

In the meantime, the lease and sale of office space began to gain momentum in the first three months of this year, according to property consultant Collier. It said the average occupancy rate in the CBD stabilized at 96.5 percent.

With such conditions, not only small, medium and start-up companies but also large firms can find virtual offices the right solution for cutting costs.

For a simple virtual office service in Jakarta, a company can pay just Rp 550,000 per month. One such service, provided by Cyber Virtual Office, affiliated with PT Qwords Company International, includes an address in an office building located on Jl. Kuningan Barat, one of the leading business areas in the capital.

An executive at Qwords, Ela Ernawati, said the simple service included a postal address, wireless internet access up to 50Mbps, receptionist, meeting and function room access, as well as a mailbox and locker. She added there were also other packages ranging from Rp 895,000 to Rp 2.49 million per month, depending on the combined services such as mailing storage, digital mail forwarding, physical mail forwarding to an address in Indonesia, or incoming fax.

The rates for virtual offices are considerably low compared to the average monthly office rental fees in the range of Rp 250,000-Rp 350,000 per square meter in the central business area of Jakarta.

Virtual offices are also provided by Regus, which run its services in several office buildings in Jakarta. The company serves a variety of virtual office solutions to suit all budgets and businesses. As a global player, Regus boasts operations in 1,800 locations across 600 cities in 100 countries. It offers prestigious addresses worldwide that can be utilized by clients on their business cards, as well as mail and package receipt and storage, personalized call answering using the client'€™s company name and a dedicated business phone number.

Essentially consisting of a postal address, correspondence handling and occasional meeting space, a virtual office provider can also offer another advantage in terms of business expansion. Choosing a global provider, for example, can be beneficial for companies aiming to act quickly in a new market located in another country, as the local virtual office solution service company can take inquiries in the local language or dialect.

One thing to keep in mind is that an Indonesian company with a taxable business that issues tax invoices and has an annual turnover above Rp 4.8 billion is not suited to using a virtual office as the Indonesian tax office can visit it for surveys. Apart from that, virtual offices indeed provide services supporting a great corporate image and business infrastructure, without the high cost.

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