Outside the box: tips on building a virtual office.

• Author: Eisen, Ilene
• Position: Practice management

At times we all prefer to work outside of the office. When my children were young I occasionally chose to work offsite to stay home with sick children or attend meetings or games during the workweek. After becoming an empty nester, I started traveling more and wanted the ability to run my business while traveling for work or entertainment. As a one-woman business, there is no one to answer the phones when I'm not in the office, and I found that by putting a vacation response on my phone and email, clients did not remember when I was returning--and it affected my business.

My business is supporting accounting software clients, which includes seminars, sales, software installation, support and special projects. In this business, unlike tax preparers, only half of my income relies on scheduled engagements--the rest is based upon last-minute needs of clients and prospective clients.

After creating my virtual office I can now go on business trips and vacations and never need to let anyone know unless I'm not willing, or able, to check my email. To accomplish this, I had to manage email, phones, faxes and consulting and sales opportunities, while still being available for last-minute technical support. I also needed solutions that were cost effective and easily scalable (increased or decreased) based on changing business needs.

Step 1: Email

My requirements included having 24-7 access to my email. I don't have a server, so I needed this to be a cloud application I could access from a computer, tablet and smartphone. I also needed to have access to my email to compose and read when I'm offline. This is very helpful for getting work done on planes, or when you have a slow or expensive internet connection.

I also wanted storage that was scalable as needed, and needed to use my domain name in my email address. I preferred a solution that was compatible with Microsoft Outlook.

My email solution was Office 365 for Business (products.office.com/en-us/business/ get-latest-office-365-for-your-business-with-2016), and I later upgraded to Office 365 Business Premium, since it included the software for multiple devices. I chose this solution because it had the best integration with Outlook and was scalable, not only for file size, but also allowed me to increase or decrease functionally based on my business needs. Office 365 has Outlook Online, which I can access with multiple devices and synchronize with my laptop, tablet or smartphone.

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