Office Moving Checklist: How to Plan the Perfect Office Move

Moving to a new office can be a serious task for a business – an office relocation job that often proves to be more challenging than anyone ever expected.

In the majority of cases, the worst thing about moving a business to a new location is not the actual office moving costs but rather the lost time during the corporate move.

Ultimately, every day that an office is in transit will mean lost money for the company. And if all those days should turn into too many days or even weeks due to ineffective planning and bad time management, then the business could lose quite a lot of money in the meantime – and that’s an office moving scenario that nobody wants to happen.

Without a doubt, the only way to guarantee a successful office relocation is to follow an Office Moving Checklist – a super-detailed office move plan that will make sure the tough job of moving a business to a new location gets completed as quickly and effectively as possible.

In the best-case scenario, normal business operations will be resumed within a few days with a minimum amount of stress for both corporate managers and office employees.

Use this ultimate office moving checklist to learn how to plan an office move by the book.

3+ months before the office move

The more time you have for planning an office move, the better your chances of managing a successful office relocation will be. Ideally, you’ll have around 6 months to get ready for Moving day but you should be able to make it work in half that time (3 months) as long as you rely on your business moving checklist.

So, start planning your business relocation ASAP.

• MAKE SURE you have found a new location for the business – one with many advantages over the current place in terms of rent, location, type of building, square footage, and so on.
• REVIEW again the conditions of the commercial property lease. Is there any danger of losing the deposit fee if you break the lease too early?  
• GIVE the landlord or the property manager an official notice that you plan to move the business office to another location.
• SCHEDULE a move-out date after you reach a mutually beneficial agreement with the landlord or property manager about how much more time you’ll have in the current business office. Do all in your power to secure at least 3 months to prepare for an office move in the best possible way.
• PUT TOGETHER a team of trustworthy employees who will help you manage the office move project. 
• DISCUSS at length the upcoming commercial move with the members of the office move planning team and ASSIGN individual tasks to each person so that they know exactly what is expected of them.
• SCHEDULE periodic meetings with the office move project team to coordinate your actions and monitor the overall progress. Planning a business move requires an impeccable organization and a distinctive effort from each company employee.
• GET office moving cost estimates from at least 3 top-rated office movers in your area. GET those written estimates in order to compare their rates effectively and pick the winning offer that will fit your company budget and satisfy your relocation needs.
• BOOK the services of the best office moving companies in your area – the best ones in terms of price and quality of service.
• SET a budget for your office move as soon as you know how much your office movers will charge you for the job. A working moving budget can keep you from overspending on a business office move that’s likely to be expensive.
• CONSIDER purchasing extra insurance for the valuable office equipment and machinery. Insurance coverage is especially important when you’re moving a single piece or a few pieces of super-expensive machinery that your entire business depends on.

2 months before the office move

With roughly 8 weeks until the moving date, you should be working hard on your checklist for moving an office. Here’s what else you have to do to manage an office move like a true professional:

• KEEP the regular weekly meetings with your office move planning team to check on the progress and discuss how to solve all current and upcoming issues and difficulties.
• CREATE a floor plan of the new office space and examine it carefully. That detailed floor plan will help you decide which items from the current office are must-move ones and which ones won’t really be of any use in the new location.
• INVENTORY all the furniture items and office equipment pieces in the current office. Use that super-detailed inventory to assess whether it’s worth it to move all of them to the new business location.
• SELL or DONATE any office furniture and electronic equipment that are still usable but you won’t need them anymore for one reason or another.
• THROW AWAY for recycling any pieces of office furniture and equipment that are not worth the money and time to be relocated. Such items include but are not limited to broken or worn-out chairs and desks, as well as obsolete or non-functioning computers, monitors, printers, scanners, desk phones, or any other IT office equipment that’s stopped being useless with time.
• FIND OUT if any of the office equipment has to be moved by specialized or approved vendors in order not to void their warranty. Such specialized equipment may include lab equipment, specific electronic equipment, or manufacturing machines.
• USE the newly-created floor plan of the new business location to place orders for new office furniture and possibly new office equipment, whenever needed.
• EXAMINE carefully all communication and network systems in the current office and SET UP a preliminary plan about how to move them seamlessly to the new business location. 

1 month before the office move

It’s never easy to arrange an office move!

With only 4 weeks until Moving day, the office moving checklist will get busier and busier with important tasks that need to be taken care of one by one.

• CHANGE your business address with the United States Postal Service (USPS). Note that it’ll take some time for the change of address request to be processed properly, so don’t put off that office moving task for too long.
• NOTIFY all office employees of the new office address when it becomes official.
• CREATE a master list of all the businesses and individuals that you need to notify of the new business address. That list is strictly unique to your business but it should often include: the IRS, government institutions, banks and financial institutions you work with, insurance providers, business partners, affiliates, professional organizations, clients, suppliers, vendors, service companies, and any individuals and businesses that you think will be affected by your change of address and contact information.
• SCAN and BACKUP online all paper documents, whenever applicable. Business documents are generally very valuable so minimize the risk of something bad happening to any of them by digitizing them and using a cloud service to keep them secure.
• GET employees to backup the most important files from their computers, so that the crucial data remain safe and sound even in case of accidents during the office move.
• SHRED all paper documents that are no longer needed but contain sensitive company information that cannot get into any wrong hands.
• START gathering the necessary packing materials – mostly cardboard boxes of various sizes – unless you’re hiring professional officer packers to do it all for you.
• CONTACT the office moving company you’ve picked to confirm the move-out date.

1 week before the office move

The pressure of moving to a new office is on!

There are only about 7 days until the day of the move and things may start to get a bit chaotic. That’s why it’s more important than ever to follow your office move checklist to keep things as organized and stress-free as possible.

• GATHER a general meeting with your move planning team and discuss at length what’s been accomplished so far and what things are yet to be taken care of.
• CHECK the detailed company relocation checklist to determine whether you’re roughly on schedule or whether you’ve fallen behind on the overall office relocation action plan.
• CONTACT service and utility providers to transfer or change the office utilities.
• ENSURE that the new office location has all the utilities running properly before you move in: electricity, running water, air-conditioning, Internet connection, phone lines, security systems, etc.
• INSPECT the new office location and confirm that it will be ready to be moved in within a few days’ time.
• INITIATE the tough task of packing your office for moving a few days before Moving day. You don’t wish to do it too early for fear of losing precious working days in the process of moving between the two office locations.
• DO a demonstration of the best way to pack a desk, a cabinet, or a cubicle so that all employees understand what is expected of them approximately one day before the scheduled office move.
• GET each office employee to pack up their own desk the day prior to the move.
• ENCOURAGE everyone in the office to label properly the boxes they pack with their stuff. Also, get them to label their chairs too so that every employee can find easily their chair after the move is over.
• REMIND everyone in the office to take home their personal belongings and electronic devices, and then to take them back to the new office.
• MAKE an order for new business cards and company stationery so that they are all ready the moment work is resumed in the new office.
• CREATE a detailed moving day checklist for your office staff to follow. Focus on the do’s and don’ts of office moving safety. 
• BOOK parking space for the moving truck and (freight) elevators for the date of the office move.
• CONTACT the building manager of the new office location prior to the move and confirm important details like the approximate time of arrival and the exact spot for unloading the moving truck.
• ARRANGE for professional cleaning services both at your current office and the new office premises.
• CONTACT the office movers again to confirm the date and time of their arrival.

Moving Day

This checklist for moving to a new office building continues with Moving day – possibly the most stressful period of the entire commercial move.

Luckily, you have already handled most of the work, now it’s time for the office movers you’ve hired to show their worth.

• GIVE all office employees their keys or access cards (access codes) for the new office building.
• DECIDE who will stay at the current place to manage things until the moving truck drives away and who will be in the new office location to supervise the unloading operations.
• MEET the office movers and show them around, give instructions whenever needed, and then let the professionals do their work. All office employees’ stuff should be packed up in boxes, so professional movers are expected to move the said boxes, and pack and move the office furniture and office equipment.
• ASSIST the office movers any way you can to see the office moving job faster and more safely.
• HAVE a trusted person take a final walkthrough of the office space after the movers have gone to check for forgotten items and look for possible yet unlikely property damage.
• GREET the commercial movers at the new office location and assist with the unpacking task, if necessary.
• GET the office moving professionals to bring in and set up the office furniture according to the pre-approved floor plan. Also, MAKE SURE all the moving equipment has been delivered safely to the new location.
• GET employees to unpack and set up their personal office spaces or workstations.
• ASK your staff to do a thorough inspection of the freshly delivered office furniture and IT equipment and look for any signs of damage. If they do find something, make sure you inform the commercial moving company right away.
• COMPLETE an inspection of the old location with the building manager to ensure that everything is fine and you won’t be subsequently charged for any property damage that you’re not responsible for.

After the office relocation

Congratulations!

The office move may be over but there are still some important tasks to take care of before normal business operations can resume. The checklist for moving to a new office will end with what you should do immediately or shortly after the business movers have left the building.

• UPDATE your corporate website and all social media accounts with the new office address and possibly new phone numbers.
• GET your IT team to set up and check all computer systems, networks, Internet connections, telephone lines, and servers. SUPERVISE that critical task: all office equipment should be up and running smoothly as soon as possible.
• MAKE the new office space cozier by hanging framed art on the walls and placing plants in strategic spots throughout the working environment.
• PAY for the services of the corporate movers according to the terms in the moving contract. 
• LEAVE a review about the office moving company you just used in order to help other businesses find the best office movers in the country.
• PREPARE new office welcome packets for your employees – they will definitely appreciate the nice gesture.

How to Develop a Business Relocation Plan: 10 Steps for Success

Also Read

20 Ways to Handle the Stress of Moving

Highlights Moving house is one of the most stressful events in life.High levels of stress can be... Read More

How to Move a Pool Table by Yourself

Highlights When you’re planning a move to another place, you wouldn’t want to leave your pool... Read More

How to Deal With Moving Anxiety

How do you feel about moving house? Excited or scared? Happy or sad? Highlights Moving house... Read More