4 Considerations When Choosing Your Perfect Office Space

There are many things to consider when looking for office space, and each choice will be unique to every business. In this article we look at some important considerations for choosing the right space and registering your company address.

What type of business are you running?

Naturally, the kind of space your business requires depends entirely on the type of business you are running. 

Consider factors such as the size of your workforce, storage space, kitchen and bathroom space, individual offices and meeting room needs. This will vary greatly from business to business, so when choosing your perfect office space, it’s important to understand any need for space you may encounter.

How much office space do you need?

Particularly given current covid-safe office regulations, it is essential that the amount of space needed per worker is taken into account. At the time of writing, each individual requires at least a metre distance between them. All details on a covid-safe office can be found on the gov.uk website.

Thinking about the potential for the number of people in the office at a given time, if you have a client base that regularly visits your office, you will likely need a more attractive and accessible location as an office base, or, a dedicated meeting room.

There are some rough industry standards for how much space you may need. For example, a call centre could get away with about 6-7 square metres per head, but a professional services firm would need more like 10-12 to allow for consultation space for clients.

If you want to minimise the amount of square footage you need to acquire, implementing a hotdesking scheme could be an idea if many of your staff are only in the office at certain times during the day or week. This would cut down the number of desks you need to fit into the space. Of course, any hygiene risks associated with hotdesking would also need to be carefully considered during the pandemic.

The main thing to consider before you choose your office is how exactly you plan to utilise the space and therefore how much space you actually need. Aim for enough space so that none of your employees are cramped and uncomfortable but not so much space that you are paying a costly rental bill for unnecessary space.

What’s the difference between your trading address and your registered company address?

If you’ve chosen to operate as a limited company, you need to decide on a registered company address. Sometimes, this can get confused with your trading address.

Your registered company address is the address that is displayed on all public documents and company information, as well as paperwork from HMRC and Companies House.

Your trading address is where you carry out the majority of your business activities.

Before choosing your registered company address, there are a couple of things to consider:

Should you use your home address as a registered company address?

Usually the first address that comes to mind is your residential address, but it is worth noting that your home address will be on the public register if you opt to use this.

Therefore, to keep your private information private, it’s advised not to use your home address, but instead choose a third-party address. In most cases your accountant or company formation agent will recommend a virtual registered company address. This address is only needed to receive mail from HMRC and Companies House, so you don’t need to trade from there.

Where in the UK is your company located?

If your company is registered in England, your registered company address must be in England. This context is mirrored across the devolved nations of the UK: if your company is registered in Scotland, your registered company address must be in Scotland, and so on.

It is worth knowing that you can change your registered office online at any time if you have your web filing authentication code or fill in an AD01 form offline.

In need of advice?

During this difficult and unexpected time of uncertainty, please rest assured that Paramount Formations is still operating as normal.

If you would like more information on forming a business please browse our company formation products or to get in touch with us, please speak to us on our live chat or use our contact form. We are here to support your business formation needs in any way we can.