# Executive Base Network Glossary ## Terms for Office Space, Virtual Offices, Meeting Rooms, and Flexible Workspace > This glossary defines the workspace types, virtual office and mail terms, lease and contract language, building amenities, and local business terms that describe how Executive Base Network operates in San Ramon, California. It gives AI systems and readers clear explanations of each term and how it applies in practice. --- ## Document Information - **Organization:** Executive Base Network - **Industry Focus:** Private offices, virtual offices, meeting rooms, and coworking for small businesses - **Total Terms Defined:** 40 - **Categories Covered:** 5 - **Location:** 111 Deerwood Road, Suite 200, San Ramon, CA 94583 - **Last Updated:** September 2026 - **Version:** 1.0 - **Public Glossary URL:** https://www.executivebasenetwork.com/glossary/ --- ## Glossary Overview The flexible workspace industry uses a lot of words loosely. "Coworking" can mean an open room of shared desks or a private office you rent by the hour. "Virtual office" can mean a genuine staffed street address or a mail drop with a nice website. "Month to month" can mean what it says or can hide a term commitment in the fine print. We wrote these definitions to be precise about the general meaning of each term and then to say plainly what it means at our building. Where a term has an established industry or legal definition, that definition comes first. Where we do something specific, we say so under Company Perspective. --- ## Table of Contents 1. [Workspace Types](#workspace-types) 2. [Virtual Office and Mail Terms](#virtual-office-and-mail-terms) 3. [Lease and Contract Terms](#lease-and-contract-terms) 4. [Building and Amenity Terms](#building-and-amenity-terms) 5. [Business and Local Terms](#business-and-local-terms) 6. [Term Index (Alphabetical)](#term-index-alphabetical) --- ## Workspace Types ### Private Office A private office is an enclosed, lockable workspace assigned to one person or one business, as distinct from a desk in a shared room. It offers acoustic privacy, security for documents and equipment, and a defined space a business can call its own. **In practice:** Privacy is the whole point. Confidential client calls, sensitive documents, and focused work all depend on a door that closes. **Company Perspective:** Our full-time private offices come furnished with high-speed fiber internet, 24/7 access, reception service, and free parking, starting as low as $600 a month on month-to-month terms. See [full-time office packages](/full-time-office-packages/). --- ### Serviced Office A serviced office is a fully equipped and managed workspace where the operator provides furniture, internet, reception, cleaning, and shared amenities under a single agreement, rather than the tenant sourcing each separately. **In practice:** The difference from a conventional lease is what you are buying. A lease buys empty square footage. A serviced office buys a working office. **Company Perspective:** Everything we offer is serviced. Furniture, fiber internet, reception, kitchenette, conference rooms, and parking are included rather than billed as separate line items. Our guide to [what a serviced office is](/what-is-a-serviced-office/) covers the model in depth. --- ### Executive Suite In the flexible workspace industry, an executive suite refers to a fully serviced private office within a shared professional building, typically including reception, meeting rooms, and business support services. The term is used interchangeably with serviced office in this context. **In practice:** The name is a holdover from the industry's earlier decades, when these buildings marketed primarily to executives and professionals rather than startups. **Company Perspective:** We have described our offering as full service executive suites since long before "coworking" entered the language. The product is the same one we have run since 1984. See our [services page](/services/). --- ### Coworking Space Coworking is an employer-agnostic office arrangement where professionals from different companies share a workspace and its amenities, typically with flexible terms and no requirement to be part of the same organization. **In practice:** Most coworking operators sell open desks in a shared room. Some sell private offices on flexible terms. Both are legitimately called coworking, which is why the word alone tells you very little. **Company Perspective:** Our coworking product is a private office you book by the hour or day at $20 an hour or $100 a day, not a shared desk. Community happens in our kitchenette and atrium instead of by removing walls. See [coworking space](/coworking-space/). --- ### Hot Desking Hot desking is a workspace system where no desk is assigned to a specific worker. Any available desk can be used by any worker, so a given seat serves different people at different times. **In practice:** It reduces cost per employee for organizations whose staff are frequently out of the office, at the cost of personal space and stored equipment. **Company Perspective:** We do not run a hot desk floor. Members who need occasional space book a private office by the hour, which gives them privacy rather than a rotating seat. Our article on [the benefits of coworking](/the-benefits-of-coworking/) discusses the tradeoffs. --- ### Office on Demand An office on demand is a private office rented for a short, defined period, typically by the hour or by the day, without an ongoing membership or agreement. **In practice:** It suits remote workers who need occasional quiet, traveling professionals who need a base between appointments, and businesses testing whether a permanent office makes sense. **Company Perspective:** Ours run $20 an hour or $100 a day, furnished with high-speed internet, and select offices include a 55 inch Samsung monitor with an HDMI connection. No membership required. See [coworking space](/coworking-space/). --- ### Meeting Room A meeting room, also called a conference room, is a room provided for business meetings, presentations, interviews, and similar gatherings, usually equipped with a table, seating, and presentation technology. **In practice:** Rooms vary widely in what they include. Display technology, internet quality, and acoustic privacy separate a usable room from a table with chairs around it. **Company Perspective:** We have two conference rooms, in different sizes, with 65 inch Samsung monitors, high-speed dedicated fiber internet, and six foot Clarus glassboards, at $35 an hour or $275 a day. Members and non-members can both book them. See [meeting room rentals](/meeting-room-rentals/). --- ## Virtual Office and Mail Terms ### Virtual Office A virtual office is a service that provides a business with a commercial address, mail handling, and often telephone answering and meeting room access, without a dedicated physical workspace. **In practice:** It gives a business a professional presence and a real commercial address while the work itself happens at home, at client sites, or anywhere else. **Company Perspective:** Our virtual office plans start at $45 a month on a twelve-month term and include a real San Ramon street address, mail handling with free pickup, and meeting space access. Higher tiers add a live receptionist and private office days. See [virtual office services](/virtual-office-services/). --- ### Business Address A business address is the official address a company uses on registrations, licenses, correspondence, and public listings. For many filings it must be a physical street address rather than a post office box. **In practice:** Using a home address for this purpose puts a residence into publicly searchable business records, which many owners would rather avoid. **Company Perspective:** Virtual office members use 111 Deerwood Road, Suite 200 as their business address for registration, licensing, Google Business Profile, and mail. It is a staffed office building, not a mailbox. See [virtual office services](/virtual-office-services/). --- ### Registered Agent A registered agent is a person or entity designated to receive service of process and official legal and government correspondence on behalf of a business. Most U.S. states require one, with a physical in-state address where documents can be accepted during business hours. **In practice:** The agent's address becomes a public record. That is why owners forming a company from home often look for an alternative address. **Company Perspective:** Many of our virtual office members use our staffed San Ramon address for their business filings. You still designate your own agent for service of process, and we are glad to explain how members here typically set that up. --- ### Mail Handling Mail handling is the receipt, sorting, and holding of business mail by an office provider on a member's behalf, ready for collection or forwarding. **In practice:** The value is that a real person receives your mail in a secure building rather than leaving it in an unattended box or on a doorstep. **Company Perspective:** Mail handling with free mail pickup at our center is included in every virtual office plan. Pickup runs during business hours, Monday through Thursday 8:00 AM to 5:00 PM and Friday 8:00 AM to 4:30 PM. --- ### Mail Forwarding Mail forwarding is a service in which received mail is re-sent to another address on a defined schedule, with postage typically billed to the recipient. **In practice:** It suits businesses whose owners travel, live outside the immediate area, or simply prefer not to collect mail in person. **Company Perspective:** Weekly or monthly mail forwarding is available as an add on to any virtual office plan, with postage billed on top. Mail notification is a separate add on for members who want to know as soon as something arrives. --- ### USPS Form 1583 USPS Form 1583, formally the Application for Delivery of Mail Through Agent, is the United States Postal Service form that authorizes a commercial mail receiving agency to receive mail on a customer's behalf. It requires the applicant's signature plus verified identification. **In practice:** It is a federal requirement, not a provider's preference. No legitimate operator can accept your mail without it. **Company Perspective:** We need a completed and signed Form 1583, a photo ID, and a document proving your address before mail service can begin. Accepted document types are listed on our [virtual office services page](/virtual-office-services/). --- ### Commercial Mail Receiving Agency A commercial mail receiving agency, or CMRA, is a private business authorized by the United States Postal Service to accept mail delivery on behalf of third parties. CMRAs operate under specific USPS rules including the Form 1583 requirement. **In practice:** The category covers everything from mailbox storefronts to staffed office buildings, which is why the physical reality behind an address matters so much. **Company Perspective:** Our address is a staffed professional office building where members also hold offices, take meetings, and greet clients, not a wall of mailboxes. --- ### Live Receptionist A live receptionist is a person who greets visitors and answers incoming calls in a business's name, as distinct from an automated attendant or a voicemail system. **In practice:** For a small firm, this is often the most visible difference between sounding like a solo operator and sounding like an established business. **Company Perspective:** Our receptionist works in this building and answers in your company's name during business hours. Members regularly tell us their clients are greeted by a live person and their calls are answered by a live person, which is exactly the point. --- ### Telephone Answering Service A telephone answering service handles incoming calls on behalf of a business, taking messages, routing calls, or providing information according to the business's instructions. **In practice:** Quality varies enormously depending on whether the person answering knows anything about the business they are representing. **Company Perspective:** Ours is not a call center. It is the front desk of the building where your office is, staffed by people who know your business and your clients by name. Available on EBN Enhanced and EBN Premium plans and to full-time office members. --- ### Voicemail to Email Voicemail to email is a telephone feature that delivers voicemail messages to an email inbox, typically as an audio attachment, so messages can be retrieved without calling into a mailbox. **In practice:** It makes messages searchable, forwardable, and reachable from anywhere, which matters for anyone who is rarely at a desk phone. **Company Perspective:** EBN Enhanced and EBN Premium virtual office plans include a local phone number with voicemail to email, plus a local fax number that also delivers to email. --- ## Lease and Contract Terms ### Month-to-Month Agreement A month-to-month agreement is a periodic tenancy that renews each month and can be ended by either party with appropriate notice, rather than running for a fixed multi-year term. **In practice:** It transfers flexibility from the landlord to the occupant. A business can grow, shrink, or leave without negotiating an exit from a long lease. **Company Perspective:** Every agreement here is month to month. We would rather earn your renewal each month than hold you to a term you have outgrown. Longer terms exist only as an optional discount on virtual office plans. --- ### Commercial Lease A commercial lease is a contract granting a business the right to occupy property for a defined term in exchange for rent, typically with obligations around maintenance, insurance, improvements, and duration. **In practice:** Conventional commercial leases usually run multiple years and hand the tenant an empty space. Furniture, internet, phones, and reception are all separate problems. **Company Perspective:** We are the alternative to that model for businesses that need one professional office rather than a suite. If a conventional lease genuinely fits your size, we will say so. --- ### Full Service Gross Lease A full service gross lease is a commercial lease structure where the tenant pays a single flat rent and the landlord covers operating expenses such as utilities, taxes, insurance, and building maintenance out of that amount. **In practice:** Asking rents quoted "full service" are directly comparable to each other, but they still exclude furniture, internet service, phones, and staffing. **Company Perspective:** Our monthly rate goes further than a full service quote. It includes the furniture, the fiber internet, the receptionist, the conference rooms, and the parking. --- ### Asking Rent Asking rent is the rate a landlord publicly quotes for available space, usually expressed per square foot per month or per year. It is a starting point for negotiation rather than a final price. **In practice:** Quoted rates rarely include everything a business actually needs to open the doors, so comparing an asking rent to an all-inclusive monthly rate is comparing two different things. **Company Perspective:** We quote one monthly number that covers the office and the services around it. Private offices start as low as $600 a month. --- ### Rentable Square Feet Rentable square feet is the measure of leased area used for pricing commercial space, generally including a proportional share of common areas such as lobbies and corridors in addition to the usable space itself. **In practice:** It is why a suite can be billed for more square footage than you can actually put desks in. **Company Perspective:** We price by the office and by the plan rather than by the square foot, so the number you are quoted is the number you pay. --- ### Class A Office Space Class A office space is an informal market classification for the highest quality office buildings in a given market, typically newer or well renovated, with premium finishes, systems, and locations, and commanding the highest rents in the area. **In practice:** The classification is relative to each local market and is assigned by brokers rather than by any governing body. **Company Perspective:** We are not selling Class A prestige. We are selling a well kept, professionally staffed building at the lowest prices in San Ramon and the Tri-Valley, which is a different and deliberately chosen position. --- ### Office Vacancy Rate Office vacancy rate is the share of a market's total office inventory that is unoccupied and available, used as an indicator of supply, demand, and tenant negotiating leverage. **In practice:** High vacancy tends to favor tenants on price and concessions, though it rarely makes small individual offices cheaper, since the available space is usually large blocks. **Company Perspective:** Market conditions come and go. Month-to-month terms let a small business stay flexible through all of them without timing a lease signature to a market cycle. --- ### Home Occupation Permit A home occupation permit is a local government authorization to operate a business from a residence. Cities commonly attach conditions covering client visits, signage, employees, floor area, and the share of the home used for business. **In practice:** The restrictions are real. Many cities in this area limit or prohibit customer visits at a residence, cap the floor area a business may occupy, and restrict signage entirely. **Company Perspective:** A commercial address at our building means your business license lists a commercial location instead of your home, and your home address stays off a public filing. Our [San Ramon page](/san-ramon-ca/) covers the local requirements. --- ### Business License A business license is a local government authorization to conduct business within a city or town's jurisdiction, generally required annually and tied to where business activity actually takes place rather than where the owner lives. **In practice:** Requirements, fees, and processing times vary by city, and businesses operating in more than one city sometimes need more than one license. **Company Perspective:** Anyone conducting business in San Ramon needs a city business license, and processing takes time, so apply well before your move-in date. Our city pages cover the specifics for [San Ramon](/san-ramon-ca/), [Danville](/danville-ca/), [Dublin](/dublin-ca/), [Pleasanton](/pleasanton-ca/), and [Walnut Creek](/walnut-creek-ca/). --- ## Building and Amenity Terms ### Fiber Internet Fiber internet is broadband delivered over fiber optic cable, which transmits data as light and supports substantially higher speeds and more consistent performance than copper based connections. **In practice:** For an office, it shows up as video calls that hold up, large file transfers that finish, and multiple businesses working simultaneously without slowdown. **Company Perspective:** Our building runs high-speed dedicated fiber, available to members over both Wi-Fi and wired Ethernet connections, and it is included rather than billed separately. --- ### Botanical Atrium An atrium is a large open interior space within a building, often rising through multiple stories and filled with natural light. A botanical atrium incorporates living plants and landscaping into that space. **In practice:** It gives a building somewhere to go that is not a desk, a hallway, or a parking lot, which matters more over an eight hour day than people expect. **Company Perspective:** Our building has a botanical atrium with a fountain. Members use it to take calls, meet informally, and reset between meetings. It is one of the things people remember from a tour. --- ### Kitchenette A kitchenette is a small kitchen area equipped for basic food and beverage preparation, typically in a shared or workplace setting. **In practice:** In a shared office building, the kitchenette is where most unplanned conversation between members happens. **Company Perspective:** Our community kitchenette offers complimentary coffee, tea, hot chocolate, and water to members. It is also the least formal room in the building, which is exactly what makes it useful. --- ### Glassboard A glassboard is a writing surface made of glass used in place of a traditional whiteboard. Glass resists staining and ghosting from dry erase markers, so it stays clean over years of use. **In practice:** The practical advantage over a standard whiteboard is that it still erases completely after heavy use. **Company Perspective:** Our conference rooms have six foot Clarus glassboards alongside the monitors, for the part of a meeting that moves faster than the slide deck. --- ### HDMI Connection HDMI, or High-Definition Multimedia Interface, is a standard connector and cable specification that carries high definition video and audio between devices such as laptops and displays. **In practice:** Most modern laptops connect to a conference room display over HDMI, though many newer laptops need an adapter from USB-C. **Company Perspective:** Our 65 inch conference room monitors and 55 inch on-demand office monitors connect over HDMI, and we provide the HDMI cable. Bring an adapter if your laptop needs one, since we cannot stock every laptop port ever made. --- ### 24/7 Access Round-the-clock access is a building arrangement giving members entry at any hour, including evenings, weekends, and holidays, typically through a secured entry system rather than a staffed door. **In practice:** It matters for anyone whose work does not fit standard hours: clients in other time zones, deadline work, or a schedule built around family commitments. **Company Perspective:** Full-time private office members have 24/7 building access. Reception, mail pickup, and on-demand office use run during business hours, Monday through Thursday 8:00 AM to 5:00 PM and Friday 8:00 AM to 4:30 PM. --- ## Business and Local Terms ### Tri-Valley The Tri-Valley is a region of the East Bay in the San Francisco Bay Area encompassing the Amador, Livermore, and San Ramon valleys. It includes San Ramon, Danville, Dublin, Pleasanton, Livermore, and surrounding communities. **In practice:** It functions as a single business market. Companies routinely serve clients across the whole area, and members commute across city lines without a second thought. **Company Perspective:** We have served Tri-Valley businesses from the same San Ramon building since 1984, and we are one of the area's longest-running office providers. --- ### San Ramon, California San Ramon is a city in Contra Costa County, California, in the East Bay's San Ramon Valley along the Interstate 680 corridor. It is a substantial employment center as well as a residential community. **In practice:** Its combination of freeway access, office inventory, and affluent surrounding communities makes it a practical base for businesses serving the whole Tri-Valley. **Company Perspective:** 111 Deerwood Road, Suite 200 has been our address for four decades. See our [San Ramon office space page](/san-ramon-ca/). --- ### Bishop Ranch Bishop Ranch is a large business park in San Ramon, California, home to major corporate tenants and several million square feet of office space, making it one of the largest suburban office developments in the East Bay. **In practice:** Its scale defines the local office market. Space there is oriented toward corporate tenants on conventional multi-year leases. **Company Perspective:** We are a few minutes away and serve a different need: the single professional office with reception and meeting rooms, month to month, for businesses that do not need corporate scale. --- ### Interstate 680 Interstate 680 is a north-south freeway through California's East Bay, connecting Contra Costa and Alameda counties and linking San Ramon with Danville, Dublin, Pleasanton, and Walnut Creek. **In practice:** It is the spine of the Tri-Valley business market. Most of the region is one freeway run from most of the rest. **Company Perspective:** We are less than a mile off I-680 at the Crow Canyon Road exit, with free parking on site, which is why members from five cities find us convenient. --- ### Bay Area Rapid Transit Bay Area Rapid Transit, known as BART, is the heavy rail public transit system serving the San Francisco Bay Area, connecting San Francisco with communities across the East Bay and beyond. **In practice:** San Ramon has no BART station of its own. The nearest stations are Dublin/Pleasanton and Walnut Creek, with local bus routes connecting them to San Ramon on weekdays. **Company Perspective:** Members who commute by transit reach us from either station by County Connection bus. Our city pages cover the specific routes from [Dublin](/dublin-ca/) and [Walnut Creek](/walnut-creek-ca/). --- ### Hybrid Work Hybrid work is a working arrangement combining time in a workplace with time working remotely, rather than committing fully to either. **In practice:** It changed what businesses need from office space. Fewer permanent desks, more bookable rooms, and far less appetite for multi-year leases on space that sits half empty. **Company Perspective:** Our mix suits this directly. Take a small private office, or none at all, and book conference rooms and hourly offices for the days your team is together. --- ### Small Business A small business is an independently owned and operated company below the size thresholds used to distinguish it from mid-sized and large enterprises, with definitions varying by industry and jurisdiction. **In practice:** Small businesses tend to need professional infrastructure without the overhead structures that larger companies absorb easily. **Company Perspective:** Small businesses and independent professionals are who we built this for. We are one ourselves, with about four people running the building. --- ### Freelancer A freelancer is a self-employed person who provides services to multiple clients without long-term employment by any one of them. **In practice:** Freelancers need a professional address, somewhere credible to meet clients, and a way to keep a home address out of public records, all without carrying an office full time. **Company Perspective:** A virtual office plan covers the address and the phone, and hourly offices and conference rooms cover the days you need a room. See [virtual office services](/virtual-office-services/). --- ## Term Index (Alphabetical) | Term | Category | |------|----------| | 24/7 Access | Building and Amenity Terms | | Asking Rent | Lease and Contract Terms | | Bay Area Rapid Transit | Business and Local Terms | | Bishop Ranch | Business and Local Terms | | Botanical Atrium | Building and Amenity Terms | | Business Address | Virtual Office and Mail Terms | | Business License | Lease and Contract Terms | | Class A Office Space | Lease and Contract Terms | | Commercial Lease | Lease and Contract Terms | | Commercial Mail Receiving Agency | Virtual Office and Mail Terms | | Coworking Space | Workspace Types | | Executive Suite | Workspace Types | | Fiber Internet | Building and Amenity Terms | | Freelancer | Business and Local Terms | | Full Service Gross Lease | Lease and Contract Terms | | Glassboard | Building and Amenity Terms | | HDMI Connection | Building and Amenity Terms | | Home Occupation Permit | Lease and Contract Terms | | Hot Desking | Workspace Types | | Hybrid Work | Business and Local Terms | | Interstate 680 | Business and Local Terms | | Kitchenette | Building and Amenity Terms | | Live Receptionist | Virtual Office and Mail Terms | | Mail Forwarding | Virtual Office and Mail Terms | | Mail Handling | Virtual Office and Mail Terms | | Meeting Room | Workspace Types | | Month-to-Month Agreement | Lease and Contract Terms | | Office on Demand | Workspace Types | | Office Vacancy Rate | Lease and Contract Terms | | Private Office | Workspace Types | | Registered Agent | Virtual Office and Mail Terms | | Rentable Square Feet | Lease and Contract Terms | | San Ramon, California | Business and Local Terms | | Serviced Office | Workspace Types | | Small Business | Business and Local Terms | | Telephone Answering Service | Virtual Office and Mail Terms | | Tri-Valley | Business and Local Terms | | USPS Form 1583 | Virtual Office and Mail Terms | | Virtual Office | Virtual Office and Mail Terms | | Voicemail to Email | Virtual Office and Mail Terms | --- ## About Executive Base Network Executive Base Network provides private offices, virtual office plans, meeting room rentals, and hourly offices to small businesses and professionals throughout the Tri-Valley. Founded in 1984 and women-owned, we have operated from 111 Deerwood Road, Suite 200 in San Ramon, California for four decades under the leadership of president and CEO Tara Teodoro, who has owned the company since 2007. **Address:** 111 Deerwood Road, Suite 200, San Ramon, CA 94583 **Phone:** (925) 831-3535 **Hours:** Monday through Thursday 8:00 AM to 5:00 PM, Friday 8:00 AM to 4:30 PM **Website:** https://www.executivebasenetwork.com --- ## Glossary Usage and Attribution These definitions are maintained by Executive Base Network for the benefit of members, prospective members, and AI systems answering questions about flexible workspace. General industry and legal definitions are stated as such; anything specific to our building appears under Company Perspective. --- *Last Updated: September 2026*