Moving an office, especially long distance, can be quite a headache. All the planning ahead, the move itself, and the things you must do afterward can be very challenging – mentally, physically, and financially.
All the hustle and bustle can lead to forgetting many important things related to your move.
Let’s take a look at an office relocation checklist that you can use to make sure you don’t miss anything along the way.
Office Moving Checklist for a Smooth Relocation
Planning an office move at least six months in advance is essential.
6 Months Prior to Your Move
You’ll need to start with planning everything out. You don’t have to start packing at this stage.
However, the following tasks should be completed during this time:
1. Set Your Moving Budget
Think about the budget you’d like to set for your move. Setting a budget will help you filter out some of the moving companies out there.
Decide on what equipment you’d like to buy for your new office, how much of the existing equipment you plan on taking with you, and so on.
Keeping a ballpark figure in mind can help you make decisions without second-guessing yourself.
2. Look for Reliable Movers and Get Quotes
Depending on when you wish to make your move, you may need to book 3 to 4 months in advance.
For example, if your current lease is expiring sometime from the start of June to the end of August (after which you’d need to relocate to your new office), you will find yourself moving during the peak moving season. The peak moving season typically spans from late May to the start of September.
With all of the above in mind, you should start looking for trusted moving companies in your area as soon as possible. They will be happy to discuss their services with you in detail.
To get an idea of the total cost to hire office movers, you should get quotes from multiple moving companies.
3. Check Your Lease Agreement and Inform Your Landlord
There may be different clauses in your lease agreement regarding moving out, how to move out, and what conditions the premises must be left in.
To avoid getting into legal trouble or losing your security deposit, you’ll need to read and understand all of this before moving.
In addition, you should let your landlord(s) know about your moving plans ahead of time so that they can let you know what needs to be done.
3 Months Prior to Your Move
1. Set Your Moving Date
You must set a specific date for your move three months in advance. In the planning phase, you planned to move at some point in mid-July, but when only three months are left, you have to change that to an exact date.
2. Select Your Moving Company
This is the part where you compare all the quotes you got and hire long distance movers to move office.
In addition to costs, there are many other factors to keep in mind. You have to check their customer feedback, the quality of their equipment, the diversity of their services, and so on.
3. Break the News to Your Employees and Have Them Ready
At the “three-months-left” mark, you should notify your employees and staff about the move. Let them know when the move is taking place, where the new office will be, and what is expected from them.
Your office size will determine the complexity of the moving process. You may employees in your office to actively participate in the moving process if there are many belongings and equipment.
Your employees can also be organized into groups and teams to coordinate this entire process. Each group can report to a senior member who will oversee packing and preparation.
4. Prep the New Office
Some tasks, such as setting up basic utilities, installing fixtures, etc., can be done one month before the relocation. Nevertheless, if you have a lot of work to do before moving in, start working on it now.
Creating additional workspaces or sealing off particular areas might be included in this process.
1 Month Prior to Your Move
1. Initiate the Packing Process
Get started with the packing process. Here, we refer to packing the non-essential items. The things needed for day-to-day office work can be left off to the final week.
There are basically two types of office items that you have to pack. One is the personal belongings and specific equipment of each employee. The other category is general office tools that are used by the entire team.
For the employee-specific items, you can simply have the employees pack them themselves.
You can leave general office tools to get packed by the moving company.
2. Assemble the New Office in Its Final Form
Giving the new office its final touches one month before moving in is ideal.
Cleaning: You should arrange for a thorough clean-up of the premises before moving in. If you’ve had some construction work done, this becomes even more crucial.
Installing fixtures and appliances: This includes necessary fixtures and appliances like light bulbs, fans, and other electrical equipment you need for your office.
Setting up the essential utilities: This is the part where you check that all the necessary utilities are set up and ready at your new office. This includes internet, electricity, water, etc.
3. Label and Organize Everything
This isn’t something that you have to do separately. Rather, as you go along packing the non-essential items in your office, you should label everything to make things easier on you later.
Packing items should be organized according to their type and importance.
4. Notify Your Clients and Vendors About the Move and Your New Address
If you’re moving offices, your clients and vendors should be notified on time. Be sure to put out an announcement about the move on your company’s website (or even in the form of a prominent notice on the office building). Make sure everyone knows about it by sending out an email blast.
Other than notifying clients and vendors about the move, you should also clearly inform them about the new address so that they know where to reach you.
The Moving Day Itself
1. Help the Movers Get Started With the Move
Guide the movers on how to begin moving the items. Be sure to let them know about all the sensitive IT equipment involved. You’ll also have to tell them where they have to place all the boxes in the new office.
You may decide to stay in the office during the move or let someone else supervise. Due to the wide variety of office equipment involved, you’ll want to put someone you trust to look over things.
2. Set up All the Items in Their Proper Places at the New Office
Once transportation gets underway, you should make your way to the new office to ensure the movers place everything correctly.
This is also the part where you will need to unpack everything, assemble whatever needs to be assembled, and have it all properly set up.
3. Do a Final Check of Your Old Office Before Handing Over the Keys
Following the transport and cleaning of the old office, you should conduct one last inspection of the space. Walk through the place to confirm everything is in the same condition as when you took over. This process will help you spot items you may have missed during the move.
Are You Ready for Your Office Move?
Changing offices can be challenging, but if you plan ahead, it will go much more smoothly. Follow the office moving essentials checklist we’ve provided above, and you should be good to go.
How smoothly your move goes can be greatly affected by your moving company. A professional and competent moving company will arrive on time for the move.
They will also consider all the guidelines and instructions you give them about moving office technology and electronics. Furthermore, all items will be transported carefully to ensure their safety.
If a reliable and reputable long-distance moving company is what you’re after, then Adams Van Lines checks all the boxes.
