Top 9 Must Have Tools for a Virtual Office

Taking your business virtual requires the right implements to manage remote team members. When it comes to virtual office management software, here are the top 9 must-have virtual office tools.

The latest up-and-coming trend for a productive workplace is not to have an assigned workplace at all, but rather to be a part of a virtual office and work remotely. There are a lot of pros to this, in fact: remote work has been shown to decrease worker stress, boost productivity, and decrease work costs.

If you’re a business looking for a virtual office to start up in, you probably are looking for office tools that will help you build an effective working environment.

Here, you’ll find the top 9 most effective virtual office software in starting up your business remotely.

An Effective Server

Arguably the most important thing for establishing a good virtual office is getting a good server that your office can run in. This is the most important thing because the virtual office service itself needs to be able to run programmes and send and receive messages.

There are a lot of different types of virtual office services that you can use that have their own benefits when it comes to storing information and running your business the way you want to. It’s important to do your research and figure out which server meets your needs best.

Google Services

One thing you can do to make sure your virtual office runs more smoothly is to ensure that everyone has access to Google Services. One way to do this besides just mandating that everyone use Gmail is to set up a domain for your office and use Gmail as your corporate email address.

Another Google service that will keep your office running smoothly is Google Calendars. You can use this to schedule events and deadlines in a way that everyone can see.

This keeps everyone in the loop, but you- and everyone in the office- will need a Google account to use it!

Online Office Tools

Another necessary tool in a virtual office is a project management tool like Trello. Basically, these will give you greater precision than just Google messaging will by making your employees and coworkers more accessible throughout the day. 

This platform is meant to keep everyone in the loop by making it easy to check on the progress of all steps in a project.

Project management tools also make it really easy for collaborations. Most of them have message boards that can have multiple, easy-to-read threads about different topics.

User tagging functions are also really helpful since they let people get alerts about parts of the project they’re working on.

Cloud Storage Programmes

Ah, who could forget the Cloud? Every virtual office needs some sort of cloud storage programme within the server that they’re using. The Cloud allows for everything to be contained in a single, easy-to-manage space that also saves within itself.

Using the Cloud provides a space where all information will be saved and all changes to the information can be tracked. This is a necessity for a virtual office because everyone can see what resources everyone has and use them as they see fit.

Backup Through Cloud

Speaking of the Cloud, being able to back up information via the Cloud is a must-have for any virtual office. If all information is stored on the Cloud, it stands to reason that that’s where you’ll want to back it up, too.

Make sure that whatever virtual office software you’re choosing to use has strong Cloud backup functions. This will prevent your hard work and programmes from being lost.

Collaboration Tools

There are also a lot of different collaboration tools that you can use to make your virtual office more of a community. These collaboration tools make communication easier between employees and let people work together on the project even from remote locations.

This is, of course, a must-have for a virtual office that has people working all about the nation. If the collaboration tools are effective, people can do their part individually before putting them together, and even take a look at each other’s work in relation to their own.

Financial Information

In the madness of trying to set up the best virtual office you can, it’s easy to forget about one of the things that’s most important to your employees: paying them. This is why it’s important to get the financial information of everyone who works in your virtual office.

A good way to securely pay remote employees is through PayPal or Venmo. This allows for your workers’ banking information to be kept confidential and also provides a track record of when and how much they were paid. Useful, when tax time rolls around!

Strong Conference Set-Up

Just because your office is virtual doesn’t mean it isn’t a community. It is, and so sometimes, you’re going to need a way to hold conferences and meetings. This can be hard when everyone is working from a remote setting, so having conference set-up software is a must.

If someone can’t physically make it to a conference, try ringing them in via a video call. Make sure that any physical conference space you may have has a set-up that lets this happen. This will allow the remote worker to see the faces of everyone else on the team and provide input.

Virtual Receptionist

Another very human aspect of your virtual office is the reception, and so it’s important that you hire a virtual receptionist. Calls will be wired to this remote person who can wire the caller to the person responsible for whatever the caller needs help with.

The virtual receptionist can also connect employees working on the same team as one another efficiently and smoothly, so hiring one is definitely a worthwhile investment.

Get Moving!

These nine tools are going to bring your virtual office to success. You won’t regret looking into all options for finding the best servers or collaboration tools. In fact, you’ll just thank your past self for giving your office a greater chance at success.

Now that you know all the required office tools for setting up your business, you might want to check out this page to learn how to make your productivity go up.

Have fun collaborating and taking your project to new heights!