Guide to moving an office

First things first – choose your new location.

Give yourself plenty of time to find the perfect office that satisfies all your working requirements – but also make sure you give yourself a realistic deadline or it can go on forever! Ask yourself a few simple
questions:

Is it big enough for you and your employees now, and is there room for you to expand in the future if you need to?
What’s the security like? Not just in your particular building but in the surrounding area? And how will it affect your insurance?
Check the transport links and parking. Your employees will need to be able to get to work easily, and offering convenient access to visiting clients is always a bonus.
Check it has all the facilities you need – enough power sockets, a kitchen you can use, drinking water taps, male and female toilets and showers, air con and central heating.

Whatever you decide your priorities are, be sure to negotiate the terms of your lease effectively to suit them; it is often essential that you get legal advice to do this properly. Remember, if you’re a start-up business, a flexible lease will be ideal, but if you’re confident enough to want a non-flexible lease, it may take longer to negotiate

Get your Project planned out!

The next step is the planning – this can never be too detailed. If you plan for every eventuality, nothing can surprise you and you can be sure of a smooth office move. Remember, the longer the move takes, the more it will cost your business, so planning really is everything.

Moving An Office Checklist

Six weeks to moving day:

Measure your new office space ready for your new furniture design and layouts!

Four weeks to moving day:

If your management company does not take care of the security, arrange for a security company to survey your new office.
Ask your furniture suppliers if they offer advice on layout and design to make the best use of your space.
If you need to, order new furniture to suit the new space and ensure it will be delivered the week before the move.
Contact Clockwork Removals and get quotes.
Arrange your new electronics and phone lines. Your existing IT support should be able to help you with the technical aspect of the move, but a reputable removals company will have specialists for this. The fewer people who are about on moving day, the smoother it will go!

Three weeks to moving day:

As with moving house, make sure you inform all your existing suppliers that you are moving out, so cancel, or move, everything from your daily milk deliveries to your cleaners and maintenance engineers!
Order your new stationary with the new business address, and organise the change of address notifications so they are ready to send.

Two weeks to moving day:

While the office is still empty, have all your broadband and phone lines put in.
Set up forwarding telephone numbers, unless you can transfer your phone numbers with your telephone providers.
Set up a postal redirect ready for the move date and send out your change of address notifications.
Make sure you have all the essentials in place and check the kitchen and bathroom facilities are all working.
If for any reason there is a delay between your moving out and moving in dates, arrange for external storage of your desks, files and IT equipment.

One week before move:

Have Clockwork Removals supply and deliver your moving boxes – we offer a packing service for you, so your employees can continue working for as long as possible.
Ensure any large pieces of storage furniture are set up so they can be used straight away.
Make sure that all your furniture is delivered and arrange for your movers to set it all up.
Ask your cleaners to do a final clean of the old office to be sure you leave it in a good condition for your landlord.

Moving day:

We know that being in charge of an office move can be stressful and nerve-racking – after all there is a lot at stake – but if you follow this guide and plan everything meticulously, come moving day you should be able to relax a little. Leave your move in the safe and capable hands of Clockwork Removals.

printer friendly guide to moving an office