Commercial moving can seem overwhelming. Coordinating employees, each of their office spaces, figuring out how to move those filing cabinets full of documents: there are just as many factors you need to think about for an office move as a personal home move, if not more. Moving large bulky office furniture and almost countless electronics can prove tricky. Finding time to plan everything is complicated as you can’t just halt the regular work that needs to be done. But the last thing you want is a night-before-the-move-all-nighter of throwing notepads and folders into any box you can find. It’s a lot of hard work, but it has to be done. And if you follow these 9 tips for commercial moving, you should make it to other side of moving day with no problem.
Start Planning as Soon as Possible
You’ll need to start planning, at the very least, roughly 3 months before the move. Not only do you have to prepare for a move, but you need to complete your regular work at the same time. Having as much time as possible will be more beneficial than you think.
The first thing you’ll need to do is create a budget for the move. This will determine what you can afford in terms of:
– moving services
– packing supplies
– packing services
– equipment set up at the new office
– cleaning servicesYour budget determines what services you can outsource and what you need to take care of in-house. Once you have the budget figured out, you’ll find the rest of the decisions you need to make are basically already made for you.
Appoint a Moving Manager
Choose one person to oversee every aspect of the move. This position is usually designated to the office manager or administrator. Choose someone you can trust to manage all the details, follow up with moving companies for quotes, and keep everyone up to date on any changes.
Depending on the size of your company, you may want to appoint a “moving officer” for each department to keep things organized. But it’s important to have one person for those moving officers to report to.
Plan Out the New Space
Regardless of whether your new office building is larger or smaller than your current space, plan out where everything will go. Draft a floor plan of the new office and draw or cut out and place pieces of paper to represent the furniture you have.
If you need to downsize, determine what is definitely not going with you before the move. This could drastically change the quotes you receive from moving companies. Figuring out the layout of the new space will also help you decide where everything needs to go on moving day. This could save you valuable moving time, which in turn will save you money as well.
Research and Gather Quotes From Moving Companies
Research and ask around for recommended moving companies in the area. Read reviews to ensure the companies you request quotes from are legitimate. The company you go with should be licensed and insured and will have no problem providing testimonies from previous moves.
Onsite estimates are the best way to get a quote for commercial moving. Because office buildings and office furniture sizes can vary drastically, you can only get the most accurate estimate by seeing everything in person. Just giving the information over the phone could lead to an inaccurate estimate. You’d probably get an underestimated quote that will end up costing you way more than you anticipated.
When you do choose a moving company, schedule your commercial moving date with them as soon as you know it. You’ve done so much of the hard work already, and you don’t want lose out on the moving date you planned for.
Packing: In-House or Outsource?
If you’re packing in-house, schedule a meeting for everyone who will be involved with packing Show them how to label boxes and furniture according to a set system of your choosing. It needs to be cohesive wither everything you’re packing to ensure everything ends up where it’s supposed to. Have supplies on hand for everyone to use, like small and medium sized boxes, sharpies, and tape.
If you go with a packing service, go over your plan with the company. Ask how they plan to label the boxes. And if you’re doing some of the packing yourself, communicate with your moving company about your labeling system. Let them know how you’re labeling the boxes to indicate where they need to go. The more you keep your movers in the loop, the smoother your move will be.
Change Addresses
Whoever has your address will need to be notified of the change. Anyone who has it on file for company business: banks, credit cards, Amazon, W.B. Mason, and anyone else who you receive mail from need to be notified at least one week before your move. You’ll also need to order new business cards, envelopes, and any other distribution products with your address on it.
Keep Your Employees in the Loop
About a month before the move, compile all the details your employees need to know into a document to print and hand out. Let them know the moving date and what to expect on the day of the move. And of course, include the new office address and where their new desk or office will be.
Label Boxes and Furniture (If Packing Yourself)
Create a list of everything being moved. You can easily copy this list into an Excel file and create a system that works for you. You could number the rooms and label the corresponding furniture and boxes with those numbers. In the Excel file, you can also number boxes and list out what is in each individual box. This way, in case you can’t get to unpacking everything immediately, you at least know where everything is so you and your employees can find it when you need it.
Labeling will save you both time, and potentially money. If your movers understand where everything is going, the furniture and boxes will arrive at their correct location the first time. If the movers aren’t sure about what goes where, more time might be spent moving boxes and furniture around after everything has been moved in. Or you might end up having to do some heavy lifting yourself later on.
Plan for Unloading and Set Up
One of the most intricate and complicated parts of commercial moving is setting everything back up for your employees to start work again. Whether you have an in-house I.T. department or need to outsource the set up, schedule time for them to come out for the set up on moving day. Or, if possible, see if you can set up anything the day before the move. Procrastination of this particular aspect of commercial moving could be detrimental to the business as a whole. If anything goes wrong and set up is delayed, you’ll want to have the right people on site to sort out the problems as soon as possible.
Once your budget is in place, start your commercial moving plan by looking into reviews of local companies that provide full service commercial moving, like Moving U & Junk U. Our all-inclusive commercial moving services can be tailored to your needs, factoring in every aspect of moving, packing, and junk removal you need. Our friendly, professional movers are ready to get you moved in to your new office. Give us a call or text at 484-301-2442 or email us at info@movingujunku.com to get started.
