Anyone who runs a company or trade is usually busy maintaining operations and ensuring that business continues to run. Supposed minor matters often fall by the wayside, and before you know it, the space at the workplace has become too small because inventory, machines, tools and, not to forget, the annual accounting documents accumulate over time.
External storage spaces then become a lifesaver in times of need in order to restore an orderly working day. Surplus or bulk-purchased material can be moved off-site. Machines that are only occasionally needed find a secure home with storage providers, and even the annoying accounting records, which as is well known must be kept for ten years, can bend shelves elsewhere.
Those who are at the beginning of their business life will also benefit from storage. You can start in the home office and store all required materials or goods elsewhere without having to pay high rents for commercial real estate.
Below we provide you with a guide on what you should consider when renting a storage unit or warehouse for your business.
How does storage for commercial purposes actually work?
Once you have realized that you are running out of space at work, the thought of finding an external storage facility is likely to arise. To find out how much space you need and what type of storage facility is suitable for you, you should get an overview of what you can move off-site with a clear conscience.
Write an inventory list and calculate based on it the space you are likely to need. Afterwards, you can start looking for suitable storage for your business inventory.
When you contact different storage providers to inquire about the costs for commercial storage, you should not only focus on the price per square meter. Also pay attention to:
How convenient is the location in relation to your business? Do you have to drive for hours to access your items? Perhaps you are better served by renting a Full-Service-Storage that takes care of collection, transport and storage for you. More on this below.
What is included in the weekly or monthly rent? Pay particular attention to the fine print such as deposit (Kaution), opening hours, notice periods, insurance, video surveillance, etc.
Once you have decided on a suitable storage space, it is time to organize transport. In doing so, you must ask yourself whether you and/or your employees
- have time for the move and storage
- have the necessary transport such as delivery vans or even trucks available
- want to deal with additional circumstances such as packaging material, rental vehicle costs/freight forwarding costs, road traffic conditions or weather.
In many cases, packing and transport in particular represent another annoying effort that distracts from the actual work tasks of daily operations. Full-Service-Storage could offer a solution here.
With Full-Service-Storage, the storage facility provider collects the items from you, transports them to the storage facility and stores them there professionally. If you want your items returned either in full or in part, they will be returned to you within 24 hours.
A Full-Service provider can also assist you with packaging material. You can rent practical crates and storage boxes that are delivered to your business address before storage. However, you must pack them yourself.
The advantages of storage for commercial businesses
Scalability
As a rule, storage and Full-Service landlords are flexible with regard to storage unit size. This gives you the opportunity to rent more or less storage space as required. This suddenly gives your business the opportunity to expand or downsize depending on the business situation without having to consider costly and time-consuming relocations to new locations.
Cost savings
With storage and Full-Service-Storage, you can realize plans that you have made for years within months. By only having to pay monthly or weekly rental payments for the storage space, the need for massive investments in renting or acquiring large warehouses or properties is eliminated. If your turnover exceeds that of Amazon, you can still consider it.
24-hour monitoring
The security of business inventory can rob more than one managing director (Geschäftsführer) of sleep. Unfortunately, crime statistics confirm this fear, as burglaries and attempted burglaries have reached enormous proportions in Germany. By placing important machines, tools or goods in the care of renowned storage providers, you automatically receive excellent monitoring and security of the items, which is likely to even exceed what small and medium-sized companies can achieve themselves.
Secure and professional storage
Not all workplaces have the opportunity to store their valuable and highly necessary tools and goods professionally. Climate change also contributes to workshops, sheds or even offices suddenly no longer being able to provide sufficient protection for sensitive equipment and machines. Storage and Full-Service-Storage are generally equipped with climate-controlled premises that ensure professional storage appropriate to the individual items. Ventilation systems, regular temperature checks and protection against flooding ensure that even the smallest receipt in your stored accounting records survives until the next inspection by the Finanzamt.
Clear contracts and proper billing
If you rent your storage space from a reputable storage or Full-Service-Storage provider, you can assume that you will receive a contract with transparent conditions and not too much fine print. This will particularly satisfy your various insurance policies. In addition, you will receive a proper invoice with all mandatory details that should not include unpleasant surprises such as hidden additional costs.
When is storage the right solution for a business?
As already mentioned, storage and Full-Service-Storage are the perfect options when you need more space but want to avoid the effort of moving to larger premises or want to slowly build up a business. However, these are not the only occasions for which storage can be used.
With flexible contract terms and scalable storage units, many trades and businesses use storage and Full-Service-Storage at certain peak times. These include:
- Seasonal events, including Christmas, Easter or summer holidays, when more stock is kept in storage.
- Trade fair equipment such as stands, counters and furniture that is only needed at certain times.
- Renovation projects in which all or part of the business equipment must be brought to safety from dust, paint splashes and careless handling.
- Various projects that can vary in scope and whose individual size often cannot be determined in advance.
In most cases, storage and Full-Service-Storage landlords are flexible with regard to rental period and changing requirements for storage unit size. In major cities, including Berlin, Munich, Hamburg, Frankfurt or Stuttgart, where living space is particularly scarce, there may be restrictions which you can counteract by booking your storage space early.
