Post office boxes have become a popular choice for small businesses to use instead of a physical address. However, a USPS P.O. Box isn’t the only option available for those who don’t want to use their physical street address or office location as their business address.
To help you choose the best option for your business needs, we’ve compiled a list of the top five P.O. Box address alternatives and their key benefits.
P.O. Boxes are a convenient way to set up a mailing address for your business, but they have a few noteworthy drawbacks. At first, some of these drawbacks may not seem too significant, but as your business grows, they can become quite limiting.
Like any other physical mailbox, traditional P.O. Boxes exist in a single, physical location. For startups and businesses operating remotely or employing a mobile workforce, picking up physical mail from a single local post office isn’t the most convenient solution.
P.O. Boxes come available in five different size options, but even the largest option available is only 12 in X 22.5 in. This means that larger parcels and large volumes of postal mail can present an issue. Given that the cost of P.O. Boxes goes up as you get into bigger sizes, you’ll have to pay a premium to get even medium-sized packages.
Post offices are only open during standard business hours, so you have a limited time frame to pick up your mail if you use a P.O. Box. Instead of working on projects or communicating with clients during business hours, you’re stuck driving back and forth to the post office.
Using a P.O. Box as your business address can sometimes give off an unprofessional appearance. Most larger, established businesses don’t use P.O. Boxes anymore. So when clients and customers see that your business has a P.O. Box address, they might make negative assumptions.
A P.O. Box. limits the type of mail you can receive at your business address. Parcels larger than the dropbox are one obvious example, but there are other types of mail that P.O. Boxes won’t accept. This includes any parcel shipped via UPS, DHL, and FedEx, as well as anything that requires a signature upon delivery.
If you don’t think a P.O. Box is the right choice for your business, the good news is that you’ve got several other great options to choose from. Here are the top five best alternatives to P.O. Boxes.
Virtual mailbox providers have become the top alternative to P.O. Boxes in today's increasingly digital business landscape.
With a virtual business address, your business mail goes straight to the service provider’s physical processing center. There, they sort and scan it so you can access it online, forward it to another location, or have them securely store or destroy and recycle it.
Using a trusted virtual mailbox service like Stable offers several key advantages over P.O. Boxes. It allows you to set up a professional business mailing address, view your scanned mail online in real time, and receive all sizes and types of mail.
With Stable, you can look forward to all of these benefits and more. Stable offers industry-leading features like automated notifications, tags for organizing your mail storage, and collaboration tools for team access to business mail.
Learn more about why a virtual mailbox from Stable is a leading alternative to using a P.O. Box.
Remote, distributed, or multi-location operations.
Private mailbox services, offered by companies like The UPS Store or FedEx, provide a physical mailing address distinct from a P.O. Box.
These services allow businesses to receive packages and mail, just like a P.O. Box would. However, they typically offer a few additional features, like mail forwarding services and fewer size and mail type restrictions.
Private mailbox services still have a few of the drawbacks that come with P.O. Boxes, including limited access hours and physical location requirements. But they’re still a good choice for businesses looking for a more versatile and less restrictive version of P.O. Boxes.
Private mailbox services are ideal for businesses that like the idea of using a P.O. Box but want to avoid the restrictions and unprofessional image that come with them.
Business centers provide a wide range of services to small businesses, and in some cases, this includes mailbox services. These services let you use the business center’s address as your business address, and they offer professional handling of mail and packages.
As an added benefit, paying for access to a business center will also provide you with additional resources, such as office space, administrative services, and print/copy services.
If the additional services offered by a business center are worthwhile to your business, then this can be a great option to consider. Otherwise, it’s likely to be more expensive and less convenient than options like virtual and private mailbox services.
Co-working spaces are similar to business centers, offering businesses access to several different services and resources. Co-working spaces that provide mailbox services offer a professional address for your business and secure handling of all your business mail.
Freelancers and entrepreneurs typically use these spaces more than businesses. But they’re a beneficial option for anyone needing office space and business amenities like mailbox services.
Like business centers, co-working spaces work best for businesses that actually need the office space and other administrative services these locations provide. If all you’re looking for is an alternative to a P.O. Box, there are better, more affordable options.
Most small business owners start out using their home address as the address for their business, and there are definitely some benefits to going this route. The biggest benefit is that it’s the simplest and most affordable alternative to a P.O. Box.
However, using your home address isn’t the most secure solution. Even if you use a lockable mailbox, it’s still less secure than the other options on our list. Using your home address also means that your location is a matter of public record, which raises privacy concerns.
For these reasons, most business owners tend to seek alternative options once their business starts to grow.
Small businesses just starting out can often get by just fine using a home address to receive incoming mail, but for larger businesses, it isn’t the most effective solution.
If you’re trying to decide which P.O. Box alternative is the best choice for your business, there are a few key factors to keep in mind.
Your business size and operational needs have the biggest impact on which P.O. Box alternative is the best choice for you. A remote business with team members spread all over the world, for example, will be much better off with a digital mailbox accessible from any location.
On the other hand, a small business owner who doesn’t receive that much mail might be just fine using their home address. However, this wouldn’t be an ideal solution for a company receiving large mail volumes.
Make sure you carefully consider your business’s current and future needs and choose your mailbox service accordingly.
Each mailbox provider offers different services. Some include services like mail storage, mail scanning for online access, mail forwarding, and secure disposal of unwanted mail — while others do not.
Determine which mail-handling services are most important to your business and research what each provider you’re considering offers.
To determine the cost-effectiveness of P.O. Box alternatives, you’ll need to consider both immediate costs and long-term value.
A virtual mailbox, for instance, might be more expensive upfront than using your home address. However, its long-term value — in terms of convenience, reliability, and security — tends to more than make up for the cost.
Stable offers multiple pricing plans so businesses can choose the features that best match both their needs and budgets.
P.O. Boxes have some drawbacks, and they aren’t always an ideal choice for businesses. For business owners wanting a secure, convenient, and modern alternative to P.O. Boxes, a virtual mailbox is the best solution.
With Stable, you can look forward to an efficient, hassle-free system that lets you view your mail from any location. Plus, you get complete control over your mail management with a range of customizable features and services — including helpful add-ons like register agent services, mail assignments and tags, and custom permissions.
Sign up for Stable today to enjoy the many advantages of an industry-leading virtual mailbox service!
