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Setting up a Virtual Office in Singapore: An Overview

Singapore is a great business destination for foreign and domestic entrepreneurs. It is currently ranked 2nd in Asia on the Ease of Doing Business report released by the World Bank; this great country is recognised as an Asian Tiger. This island nation offers comprehensive options with access to the vast Asian markets. In a small country, finding an affordable office space is a herculean task, and it is paramount for these new businesses to save their rental costs and invest their capital in more business-influencing decisions. Virtual Offices have streamlined this process for businesses as these small businesses do not have to spend money renting physical spaces. However, countries worldwide have put forth various legislations for regulating these virtual addresses to negate any criminal or financial threat to their business culture. This piece of writing aims at giving an outlook on setting up a virtual office in Singapore.

What is a Virtual Office?

A Virtual office is a business address available as a virtual space to the business. The employees of such a business work remotely as no physical office is available for the employees’ work. The regular business of the company resumes virtually with the help of video conferencing whilst their operations are managed with the use of software and online processes. The virtual office enables the occupier to receive mail and other essential functions without renting or leasing a space. Virtual offices are very hit among start-ups and new businesses with limited capital; they have to register a physical address for important communication from authorities, and the virtual address acts as their official business address. 

What are the Eligibility criteria for registering a Virtual office in Singapore?

The ACRA, the regulatory authority for registering businesses and companies in Singapore, has set up a criterion for registering a virtual business address in the country.

• The first and foremost criterion is that the business has to be open for at least 5 hours a day and available for taking up mail and virtual communications at the office address.
• The business should have a registered physical office address in its name in Singapore. This requirement ensures that all important notifications and orders from the authorities must be delivered to a physical address.

Who can register a virtual office in Singapore?

Virtual Office^[1] can be set up by any business irrespective of its size, business activity or the type of business structure chosen by the entity. Foreign Companies are also allowed to register for a virtual office after ensuring that all the criteria mentioned above are adhered to. Virtual offices are becoming a trend nowadays due to their easy processing and convenient utilisation by businesses from around the globe.

Virtual Office in Singapore: Advantages

Reduces the Expenses: 

• Singapore is an expensive place for renting a physical office space, hence it is better to channelise the capital on better business-oriented solutions rather than investing in office spaces. Foreign and domestic new companies found themselves in a pickle when they decide to raise capital for their business ideas. It is henceforth necessary that the capital is utilised in a manner that is effective for the sustainability of the business idea; here is where the virtual office in Singapore comes up to cut out space-related expenses for the businesses.

Makes your Operations FAST: 

• Efficient operation is the key to better management, and with the shift in the working of employees from physical to virtual offices, operations have become faster. Today businesses around the world have a client base around the globe, and their employees are working 24*7 to run operations and perform important client servicing via virtual operations.

Enhanced Effectiveness: 

• Having a virtual office in Singapore also increases the efficiency of your business, as WFH has improved the working abilities of many businesses around the globe, especially for start-ups. This reduces the wastage of time and energy of the employees from avoiding daily travel. People around the world sitting in different time zones can serve the customers handily. It increases the effectiveness of services and the presence of the business globally.  

Gives flexible options: 

• Flexibility is an added advantage of a virtual office. Not only it helps in creating a very great atmosphere around the office as people from different ethnicity and cultures can connect from the comfort of their homes. These connections will bring in the much-needed diversity and thoughts for the profitable sustenance of the business.

How to set up a virtual office in Singapore?

You can set up a virtual office in Singapore by following the steps mentioned below:

Determining a business strategy: 

• The business strategy is of the first things that a business needs to determine before opting for a virtual office. If your business does not allow virtual working and online operations, then opting for a virtual office in Singapore might not be in the best interest of your business.   

Acquiring the necessary resources: 

• The other important thing is to determine whether the businesses possess the essential element to run an online business, including an online conferencing set-up and talent acquisition set-up. It is essential that the business must set up on-ground resources for providing proactive services at least. 

A physical Singapore office address: 

• The ACRA sets up a foremost requirement that businesses have a physical office address to operate a virtual address. This place should be open to receiving mail and essential business operations updates. All communications by the regulatory authority will be sent to this address.

Registering your business: 

• Business owners should know their operations inside out, and the selection of the proper business structure is the essential factor in determining the operational and capital factors of the business. The entity must prepare a comprehensive 5-year Business Plan, including all the details with regard to their available Human Resource and Financial Planning. After making the above-mentioned decision, the entity needs to register ACRA for operating business operations.

Conclusion

A virtual office has appeared as a lifesaver for many businesses across the globe. It has cut short the expenses of a business entity and made the operations more productive for the business. A virtual office in Singapore can also open an opportunity for small businesses to make their mark in the trade and increase the flow of FDI into the country by offering lucrative business opportunities to foreign investors looking to start their businesses in this great Asian country. These arrangements are an excellent indication towards the AI-driven future of the business arena and increase the rate of company incorporation in Singapore.

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