Virtual Mailbox in the UK: Benefits and Reasons to Use

One of the main things our partner companies enjoy about virtual office solutions at The Hoxton Mix is the flexibility of our service options.

Whether you just want a premium London-based virtual business address for remote working, or a full suite of professional mailroom, telephone answering and meeting room add-ons, we make it easy to put together the exact virtual office package that’ll work best for you.

Among the complete line-up of additional Hoxton Mix services, a virtual mailbox system is typically one of the first things our client businesses tend to go for. It’s easy to see why: establishing a smooth and reliable mail handling system can be a real stress point for small to medium companies, even ones operating within a more traditional office setup.

When you’re running a business as a virtual office, whether based from home or travelling regularly for work, the issue of how to deal with incoming post properly can be even trickier.

It may not feel appropriate to have important business mail sent directly to you at a domestic address, but standard PO Boxes can be very expensive - and it won’t always be convenient to have to collect your post from elsewhere yourself.

Happily for Hoxton Mix clients, this is exactly where our virtual mailbox and UK mail forwarding services step in.

What is a virtual mailing address, and how does it work?

A virtual mailbox works just like a normal one, except the post you receive is sent to a virtual business address. In this case, it’s the same prime Shoreditch address that you’ll be using for all your company and client dealings as part of our core virtual office service.

Letters sent to your London business address are received by us at our head offices, and handled on your behalf. What happens to them from there is up to you, but there are three main options depending on which type of virtual mailbox solution you’d prefer:

1. Virtual Office Collect is the most basic package, starting from just £12.50 per month. We receive, log, and safely store your incoming post for you, then email you on the same day to let you know there’s new mail to pick up. You can swing by and collect it whenever is most convenient for you.

As with all our virtual mailbox services, there are no hidden handling charges or sneaky additional fees - your flat monthly rate is all you pay, regardless of how many letters you receive.

2. Virtual Office Forward is our next tier up in virtual mailbox terms: rather than having to come and collect your letters from us yourself, we forward them on to you at your private address elsewhere. Again, it’s a same day service - your post is sent out to you as soon as it lands with us - and we’ll always contact you by email to let you know it’s on the way.

This is an upgrade that a majority of our clients tend to opt for; it’s incredibly convenient and cost-effective, starting from under £21 per month (with no additional charges for any of the onward postage, of course). If collecting all your mail under your own steam would require more than a couple of monthly trips, our forwarding service will start saving you considerable time, effort and money from day one.

3. Virtual Office Scan is our more cutting-edge and eco-friendly virtual mailbox system, adding a full digitisation service to the core options outlined above. After receiving and logging incoming post for you, we’ll create high resolution scans of your important documents, and convert them to PDF format with full text search functionality. These digital versions of your mail are then emailed securely to you within hours of arriving at Hoxton Mix HQ.

This scanning system gives you direct access to your incoming mail with almost no delay at all, and instantly puts a fully searchable archive of everything you receive right at your fingertips. Secure on-site shredding (we’re fully certified with the ICO under the Data Protection Act 1998) and remote recycling of hard copies is offered as part of a lean, clean, highly sustainable service that starts from under £30 a month.

Key benefits of a virtual mailbox for business

In no particular order, our top perks of using a Hoxton Mix virtual mail address are:

Convenience and Flexibility

You can decide which mail handling solution best suits you and your business setup, and pick your package accordingly. You can pay for the service on a rolling monthly basis, and you’re free to switch options or quit at any time - no cancellation charges whatsoever.

Increased Privacy

Don’t feel it’s appropriate to use your home address for client contacts when running a business remotely? Concerned about any security implications of having your actual physical address logged on the public record as your company HQ? A virtual office service from The Hoxton Mix solves both issues in one go: your business will be formed and registered under a premium London business address for clients and official Companies House purposes alike.

Professional Image

If you’re a small business, receiving your post from customers to a home address can appear unprofessional. Of course, there’s nothing more important than appearing professional when you’re just starting a business. You need to be taken seriously and this is unlikely to happen if clients think you’re working out of your family basement.

Having a virtual mailbox will give the right impression – you’re a real business which is set up, ready to go and no-nonsense. Even on a subconscious level, this is important! 

Save Time, Money and Effort

Whichever of our virtual mailbox services you opt for, it’s an incredibly efficient way of outsourcing your post handling. Higher tier options like forwarding, scanning and digitisation mean you won’t even have to think about your incoming mail at all - it just shows up quickly, securely and reliably, and you always know when it’s on the way.

Enhanced Security and Reliability

Because your virtual mailing address resolves to our own physical office spaces in Shoreditch, you can rest assured that our professional team is on-site throughout the working day. This means your important letters and deliveries will always be received and secured promptly, with no risk of them being left unattended or returned to the sender because you weren’t available to take delivery yourself.

Trust from Customers

Many people are wary of websites that promise the world yet only appear to be online. Ask yourself, would you buy from a website that offered no fixed address or simply a PO box number? Neither will your clients.

If you’re selling something, by having a real address, your customer is likely to feel safer in the knowledge that they know how to contact you. With a virtual mailbox, your customers can write to you or send payments to you, which don’t have to only be over the internet. This is still important to many people.

Constancy and Consistency

If you’re regularly on the move, it doesn’t matter as your business can continue to receive post to one place. When your home or business address is regularly changing, it’s irritating to update clients or customers who need to know. With a virtual mailbox, you can keep your address in one place forever, making the process as simple as can be. 

If you might want to relocate your company to a new HQ in future, using a virtual mailing address makes it much easier. You won’t have to worry about updating all your contact details for clients, print and web advertising, letterheads and business cards - your virtual office address always stays the same, regardless of where you’re based.

Quick and Easy to Set Up

If you’re trying to quickly find a solution while setting up your business, you may find that the paperwork for setting up a PO box is a huge pain. However, when setting up a virtual mailbox, you’ll be able to go through a ten-minute sign up process easily online and choose the package which is right for you. 

You’ll then be guaranteed a premium postcode in London, no handling costs, and email alerts every single time you receive something in the post. 

Become a Digital Nomad and Adopt Other Virtual Office Services

If you find that your virtual mailbox is saving you time, money and effort, why not look into other ways in which you can streamline your business? 

Your virtual mailbox can be looked after by your virtual assistant, that will be able to take care of many of your needs, from emailing to scheduling. The virtual mailbox is a useful addition to a virtual office space. By outsourcing, you’ll be able to increase efficiency drastically.

Aspiring to be a Virtual Assistant? Our step-by-step guide on How to Become a Virtual Assistant in the UK has all the info you need.

Let Us Help Set Up Your Virtual Mailbox and Get Started Today

If you’ve decided that a virtual mailbox is the best way for you to streamline your working process and make your business appear professional, we can help. When signing up, you can be sure to receive the best treatment but, if you’re not satisfied, you’re also entitled to safe cancellation at any time. 

Virtual mailboxes are remarkably cheap and easy to set up with Hoxton Mix, particularly as part of our comprehensive virtual office service plan - you can have all your incoming post handled and sorted by us for as little as £15 per month (+VAT).

It’s also straightforward to add other services and features to your plan, making the process of receiving mail remotely even more convenient. Many of our clients also opt to make use of a virtual assistant to handle basic admin tasks like email replies, scanning and forwarding, and various scheduling tasks.

Visit our virtual office webpage to find out more about the benefits of the Hoxton Mix.