With COVID-19 affecting every corner of the globe, many people haven’t stepped into their office in months. There’s a lot of uncertainty around when it will be safe for employees to return to the office. For many startups, this lends itself the question –– is it even worth paying for an office space employees can’t use? And in many cases, with rent being such an expensive line item, the answer is no.
If you’re considering emptying your office and canceled your lease, here are a few steps you’ll need to take to end your lease and establish your new business address:
With COVID-19 hitting so suddenly, it is possible that your employees have a few personal items still at their desk, whether it be decorations, snacks, or old company documents. They’ll need to empty their desks before you can fully move everything out. If your employees are in the area, you can have them schedule a time to come in and collect their belongings.
Alternatively, for employees that may be out-of-town, you can set up a video call to sort items by what needs to be shipped or tossed.
Without an office, you may have a lot of furniture that you now need to get rid of. The good news is that with so many people working from home, there has been a lot of demand for office furniture. Facebook Marketplace and Craigslist are great places to post used furniture. Also, if you have any connections to accelerators, many early stage startups are always on the hunt for good deals on furniture for their home setups.
As you empty out your office, you’ll also need to cancel any contracts or recurring expenses. A lease usually comes with utilities, wifi, cleaning services, and more. While you may have already canceled many of these services when COVID-19 hit, don’t forget to cancel any other recurring expenses you may have like rental furniture, delivery services, and subscription boxes.
Without a physical office, your business will still need an address for tax documents, state filings, bills, and more. Some popular options are using a permanent home residence or renting a physical mailbox. Alternatively, many startups decide to go with virtual mailbox services when they change locations, which gives them a permanent address and the ability to manage mail online –– without ever having to step into a mailroom.
If you’re interested in a virtual address or mailroom service, Stable can help you set up a virtual address and mailbox for you to use as your new company address.
There are many places your old business address may be documented, like with the IRS, payroll providers, and state entities. It’s important to update your address so that you don’t have documents delivered to your old office. However, figuring out all the places you may need to change your address is a long and lengthy process.
Our team at Stable has spent a lot of time helping teams compliantly change their business address. By filling out a short form, Stable can help you develop a curated checklist and paperwork for you to seamlessly change your address.
If you’ve recently ended your office lease, we’d love to hear from you about what that process looked like! Feel free to get in touch with us at hello@usestable.com.
--
At Stable, we provide permanent virtual addresses and mailboxes so you never have to worry about mail or changing addresses again. We’ll digitize all mail that you receive here, and you’ll be able to scan, forward, shred, (and even deposit checks!) from anywhere in the world.
Get started with Stable here if you’d like a virtual business address + mailbox in less than 3 minutes.
Disclaimer: Stable is not a legal or accounting firm, therefore we cannot provide legal or tax advice. You should consult legal and tax professionals for advice on how to meet ongoing obligations that apply to you and your company.
