The most important thing you need for starting your business in India is an official business address. You need to address MCA/ROC registration, open a bank account, file GST, and build trust among customers.
For startups and seasoned businesses, the biggest question is whether they use a home address or a virtual office address for business registration.
Let’s look into the details of both options to find out the pros and cons. We will also see which option is smarter for Indian entrepreneurs.
Home Address for Business Registration
Using your house address is a simple and cost-free option. Most freelancers, proprietors and consultants use this alternative.
Pros
Free: No cost for the office space.
Fast availability: The paperwork is relatively easy to complete.
Easy and comfortable: All correspondences and mail come directly at home.
Cons
Less privacy: All your personal information will be available on MCA and GST portals.
Low brand image: Your brand is not appealing for corporate customers and investors, as they don’t take a home address as an office as seriously as a professional office space.
GST Problems: The GST department in many metro cities in India rejects home addresses for business registration.
Limitations: Your landlords, housing societies or laws in your zone may not allow you to use your house for commercial purposes.
Hard to relocate: Before you move your house, you must update all registrations with GST, banks, ROC and customers.
Virtual office address for business registration
A virtual office address is a professional business address you can use for business registrations. It provides a legal address in premium locations across all major cities in India. Some premium service providers, such as Aaddress, help you with the following services:
- Company Registration
- ROC Registration
- GST Registration
- Open a bank account.
- Business correspondence and mail handling
Pros
Legal: Welcome by GST ROC and all banks in India.
Professional Brand Image: Take your brand image to the next level with premium locations and increase your brand credibility.
Privacy: Home information is not included in any public databases or portals.
Cost Effective: 80 to 90 per cent less rent compared to physical office space.
Flexible: All services of physical office space, like meeting rooms, mail forwarding and scanning.
Scalable: Establish your brand presence in multiple cities without moving.
Cons
You need to pay a small monthly or annual fee.
Physical utilities like meeting rooms depend on your package.
Comparison Table
|
Requirement |
Home Address |
Virtual Office Address |
|
Fee |
No fee |
Cost effective monthly/annual fee |
|
Privacy |
Private information in public database |
No private information in public database |
|
GST Registration |
Rejected in many major cities |
Accepted in all cities |
|
Brand Image |
Non professional |
Professional and credible |
|
Flexibility |
Fixed to home |
Expandable to multiple cities |
|
Convenience |
Mail delivery at home |
Mail handling, forwarding, meeting rooms etc |
What is the smarter choice in India?
After comparing the home address and virtual office address for GST and business, it is clear that a virtual office is the smarter choice in India for businesses and start-ups. Virtual office ensures:
- Hassle-free GST and ROC registration
- Protecting your private information
- A strong brand image in front of customers and investors is essential.
- Scalability across India at lower costs
Further, if you pick some reputed virtual office service provider like Aaddress.in, it can be an add-on to services like:
These services include obtaining office addresses in all major cities in India, such as Mumbai, Pune, Bangalore, and Delhi. and many more.
- Support for GST and ROC registration
- Help with opening a bank account.
- Low price plans for startups, freelancers and SMEs
- Mail handling
- Call support.
- Meeting/conference room access
- Easy documentation
- Quick setup
Aaddress will offer you all the amenities of a physical office space without the actual rent of it.
Final Words
Using a home address can help you save a significant amount of money initially; however, it may compromise your personal information, create obstacles in GST registration, and project an unprofessional brand image.
Using a virtual office can help you get all the amenities of the physical office space at minimum monthly or annual fees. That is why it is a smarter choice for businesses in India.