Flex commercial terms, defined

Office space offered on flexible terms by an operator, rather than on a conventional long lease from a landlord. It covers coworking, managed offices and serviced offices.

In India the term usually includes both day-pass coworking and multi-year managed offices for large companies.

A floor or building fitted out and run by an operator for one client, under an agreement of usually two to five years with a lock-in. The client gets a private, often branded office without managing the lease, fit-out or facilities.

Software for managed office operators

Flex workspace sold to large companies on contract terms: requirements of 50 to several thousand seats, procurement, purchase orders, lock-ins and escalations.

Global capability centres (GCCs) in Bengaluru, Hyderabad and Pune are among the largest buyers.

One building or floor plate run by an operator, with its own seat inventory, prices and occupancy.

An operator might run 14 centres in Pune, each priced and reported on separately.

The unit of sale in flex: one workstation, priced per month. Enterprise deals are usually quoted as a number of seats at a price per seat.

A private enclosed office inside a centre, sold as a block of seats.

A 10-seater cabin is priced as 10 seats, often at a premium to open desks.

The share of a centre's seats that are under contract, as a percentage. It says nothing about price, so it is read together with realised price per seat.

Control tower

The published or list price per seat for a centre, before any discount.

Pricing and approvals

The price per seat the business plans to achieve in a centre. Discounts are usually measured against it, not against the rack rate.

Pricing and approvals

The lowest price per seat a centre can be sold at without the most senior approval. Often visible only to managers.

Pricing and approvals

Who may approve how much discount. A typical matrix lets a sales manager approve up to 5% below target, a regional head up to 10%, and the CFO anything more.

Pricing and approvals

Any deal term that departs from the standard, such as a rent-free month, free parking, a lower deposit or a smaller escalation. Each one has a cost and should have an approver.

Concessions nobody counts

What a centre actually earns per occupied seat per month after discounts and concessions. Comparing it with the target price shows price erosion.

A centre with a target of ₹12,400 that realises ₹11,530 is 7% below target.

Control tower

A short document in which the client confirms its intention to take the space on stated terms, before the full agreement is signed. Some LOIs carry a token deposit.

The part of the agreement during which the client cannot exit without paying the fees for the remaining lock-in. Enterprise agreements in India commonly have lock-ins of 24 to 48 months.

Early exits settled on goodwill

How much written notice the client must give before leaving after the lock-in ends, often three months. A shorter notice usually means a charge for the shortfall.

A contractual increase in the price per seat at set intervals, for example 8% every 12 months or 15% every three years.

₹10,900 a seat with 8% a year becomes ₹11,772 in year 2 and ₹12,714 in year 3.

Agreements and renewals

A refundable amount the client pays at signing, usually a number of months of fees, held against unpaid dues and charges at exit. Under GST it is not payment for the service until it is applied as such.

GST on deposits and early exit

The monthly or annual revenue from agreements that expire within a given window, such as the next 90 or 180 days. It shows how much revenue depends on renewals coming up.

Agreements and renewals

A document from the client's procurement team that authorises spending with you, with a value and validity dates. Many enterprise clients pay only invoices that quote a valid PO.

Billing and collections

How much of a PO's value has already been invoiced, and how much is left. When the balance runs out or the PO expires, new invoices are rejected.

A ₹3.57 crore PO with ₹2.66 crore invoiced has ₹90.6 lakh left.

Invoices held for PO problems

The 15-character Goods and Services Tax Identification Number. The first two digits are the state code, so a business registered in several states has a GSTIN for each.

A GSTIN starting 27 is a Maharashtra registration; 29 is Karnataka.

The services accounting code for rental or leasing services involving own or leased non-residential property, usually used for coworking and managed office fees, taxed at 18% GST.

GST guide for operators

The state whose GST applies to a supply. For a workspace licence it is the state where the centre is (IGST Act, section 12(3)), which decides whether you charge CGST and SGST or IGST.

Place of supply for operators

The GST invoice a registered supplier must issue, with the particulars listed in CGST Rule 46, such as GSTINs, a unique serial number, the SAC, the tax and the place of supply.

Annotated GST invoice format

A GST document that reduces the value or tax of an invoice already issued, for example when a client gives back seats. It must reference the original invoice (CGST Rule 53).

Credit notes for seat changes

Income tax the client keeps back from your payment and pays to the government against your PAN. For flex fees treated as rent, company clients usually deduct 10% of the fee, excluding GST.

TDS guide for operators

The unique transaction reference a bank gives every NEFT or RTGS transfer. Recording it with the receipt lets you trace and match each payment.

The average number of days it takes to collect payment after invoicing. Commonly worked out as receivables divided by revenue for the period, times the days in the period.

Receivables grouped by how long they are past due, usually not yet due, 1 to 30, 31 to 60, 61 to 90 and over 90 days.

Billing and collections

Contracted or expected revenue that could be lost or delayed, such as overdue invoices, renewals with no proposal, deals priced below target and POs that block billing.

Control tower

The value of open deals, each multiplied by the probability of its stage. A ₹1 crore deal at a 40% stage counts as ₹40 lakh.

Control tower