A virtual office is a service under which an entrepreneur receives an address for business registration and handling of incoming mail, but does not rent physical premises for work. The biznes.gov.pl portal expressly lists a virtual office among places where activity may be conducted. This is a good solution for people working remotely or at a client's site — provided it is understood which obligations the address takes over and which still rest with the entrepreneur.
What addresses the company reports in the register
When setting up a JDG in CEIDG, several different addresses are given and each performs a different function:
- mailing address — the place where paper correspondence on the business arrives,
- e-Doręczenia (e-Delivery) address — the electronic inbox for official correspondence,
- fixed place of business — given only when the company actually operates in a specific place; its absence can be marked,
- additional fixed places — e.g. warehouse, order reception point, branch.
A virtual office most often serves as the mailing address, and in companies — as the address of the seat entered in the KRS. For each address reported in CEIDG one must have legal title (e.g. lease or free use), so the basis is a written contract with the operator.
What a virtual office gives
- Separating the home address from the business address — the mailing address and the address of the seat are public, so many people do not want to use their flat for them. This is also important for tenants whose lease contract does not allow registering a business at the premises.
- Continuity of correspondence — in case of moves, frequent trips or working abroad, the company's address does not change.
- Scanning and notifications — information about a shipment arrives by e-mail on the same day, instead of waiting for a return home.
- Address on invoices, in the footer and on the map business card.
- Low fixed cost — compared to renting premises, this is usually a small expense that is a deductible cost.
What a virtual office does not replace
An address is not premises. In several situations an actual place of business is needed:
- serving clients on site — office, salon, service point,
- storing goods — a warehouse must be reported as an additional fixed place,
- activity requiring a permit tied to premises — e.g. selling alcohol or running a facility with specific sanitary conditions,
- a cash register at a point of sale — the place of its installation is the place of actual sale.
It is also worth remembering the competent tax office. Under the Tax Ordinance it is set by the place of residence (for JDG) or the seat address (for a company). A sole proprietor who registers a mailing address in Kraków but lives in Katowice is still settled at the tax office competent for Katowice. In a company, moving the seat to a virtual office in another city changes the competent office.
VAT registration and a virtual office
The tax office verifies the data from the VAT-R notification. The VAT Act allows refusing registration without notifying the entity, among other things, when despite documented attempts contact cannot be made or the entity does not respond to summons. With a virtual address, you must therefore ensure that:
- the contract with the operator is signed before filing the application and can be presented,
- the operator receives registered shipments (with a postal power of attorney, if required) and immediately informs about them,
- the phone number and e-mail address in the notification are up to date,
- the entrepreneur is ready to respond to a summons or appoint a representative.
Trap of unclaimed mail
When a letter from the tax office is not collected, the Tax Ordinance provides for keeping it at the post office for 14 days, with two notifications. After this period, delivery is deemed to have taken place, even if the addressee has not seen the letter. From that day deadlines run, e.g. for responding to a summons or an appeal. That is why in choosing an operator the most important thing is not the "prestigious" location, but whether:
- an employee collects notices and registered mail daily,
- the scan is sent to the client on the same or the next working day,
- the contract specifies what happens to shipments after it ends (handing them over during a transitional period).
In parallel, it is worth using an e-Doręczenia inbox — then official correspondence in an increasing part arrives electronically, regardless of the paper address.
Virtual office in a sp. z o.o.
In a company, the virtual-office address usually becomes the seat address entered in the KRS. It is worth distinguishing two concepts. The Civil Code defines the seat of a legal person as the locality in which its managing body operates, and the articles of association of a sp. z o.o. must indicate the company's name and seat. The full address (street, premises number) is, however, register data. As a result:
- moving the address to a virtual office in the same locality requires a change of entry in the KRS, but as a rule not a change of the articles of association,
- moving the seat to another city means a change of the articles of association, and so a shareholders' resolution, and a change of the competent tax office,
- the management should have a real way of handling correspondence — in a company, deadlines for responding to the office or register court run the same as in a JDG.
For companies with foreign shareholders, a virtual office often additionally serves as the place of storage of documentation that the company must make available at the request of authorities. In the contract with the operator, it is therefore worth specifying whether it also covers document archiving.
Example: a programmer working for a foreign client
Ms Olga runs a JDG, works remotely and every few months changes her place of stay in Poland. In CEIDG she gives the virtual-office address as the mailing address, marks the absence of a fixed place of business and sets up an e-Doręczenia inbox. The invoice for the office is a company cost. When a registered letter from ZUS arrives, the operator scans it the same day, and she replies on time — regardless of where she currently is.
How Good Balance will help
We provide an address in the centre of Kraków for registering JDGs and companies, receive and scan correspondence, and help enter the address in CEIDG or the KRS. The details and packages are available on the virtual office page. If the company is just being set up, as part of the service of company registration we immediately indicate the seat address at our office. A list of steps after registration is available in the article on the first 30 days of a company.