According to a report published in Your Story, there are more than 850 coworking spaces in India as of September 2019, making it the 2nd largest market for flexible office spaces.
These coworking spaces are mostly concentrated in Tier 1 cities such as Delhi, Mumbai, Bengaluru, Kolkata, etc. Out of these, around 180 coworking spaces are present across Tier 2 & 3 cities like Ahmedabad, Jaipur, Kochi, Indore, Chandigarh, etc.
Coworking spaces are expected to grow exponentially in the Indian market considering the flexibility and cost-effective factor along with adaptability of Tier 1, 2, & 3 cities. The following is all about what coworking space is and how it benefits small companies and consultancy firms.
What are coworking spaces?
The concept of coworking space was first introduced in 2005 with an intention to reduce the cost of operation and renting of office space for entrepreneurs.
It introduces a shared working space arrangement used by several organisations or self-employed individuals to utilise common infrastructure and amenities such as equipment, reception, utility, and custodial services, etc.
Sharing of such amenities and infrastructure can help in the reduction of costs while providing working individuals and companies with flexibility in operation.
For example, chartered accountants who are working independently as tax consultants, audit consultants etc. can set up their workstation better by knowing what is coworking space.
This will ensure that they equip best office space amenities without having to arrange for hefty rent amount.
Chartered accountants who extend tax consultancy services to customers for various tax compliance issues find the concept of coworking space intriguing as it benefits them in multiple ways.
With coworking space, there can be numerous growth opportunities for chartered accountant aiding their business venture.
How coworking space benefits CA?
- Charges as per the number of work stations or employees
What is coworking space is defined as sharing of workspace or office space and hence it doesn’t have any fixed cost; these have variable costs that are directly affected by the number of employees or seats one has booked.
Now, a chartered accountant who practices and extends tax consultancy services may need only one work station and isn’t willing to make a substantial investment for large office setup. With coworking spaces, they can utilise all essential office amenities while paying the low cost as it is shared.
- The initial investment in infrastructure is low
Unlike independent offices, CAs don’t have to worry and invest hefty money on infrastructure and furniture as multiple self-employed individuals or companies can share them.
- Shared cost for utilities
Self-employed chartered accountants don’t have to bear any extra cost for facilities such as the internet, water supply, electricity, printer, house-keeping, cleaning services, and security etc.
Therefore, opting for a coworking space can be considered one of the steps for chartered accountants to grow their accounting firm.
- Shared meeting rooms
Coworking space has introduced the concept of reutilising and sharing office spaces to minimise the cost of rent for businesses and self-employed individuals and incorporate flexibility.
Sharing meeting rooms for client or internal meets and discussion makes sure that the resource is utilised well and is made available to all in affordable costs.
- Affordable cost of rent
Since there is no fixed cost of rent, it varies according to the number of employees or work stations a company/entrepreneur has chosen.
They can start extending tax consultancy services from this shared workspace efficiently as the cost of operation will be comparatively less as compared to independent office space.