Congratulations on your new place! Perhaps you’re excited and exhausted at the same time. Or you may be feeling like you don’t know where to begin with all the preparations and arrangements that need to be made. A new office and new journey in life can be pretty overwhelming.
The move may also be taking up a lot of your time and efforts. Whether you’re downsizing or upsizing, tree-changing, or sea-changing, most individuals move their places of work several times in the course of their lives. But if you’re moving your own office then it feels like a big responsibility. It’s vital to have a checklist of some of the items one may need when you are moving office. A comprehensive checklist is crucial when it comes to moving. With a detailed checklist, it’ll be easy for you to pack your treasures and move with the least amount of disruption to your processes and business.
General Packing and Moving Tips
When you’re packing your items, it’s highly likely that you may come across belongings that you have not used in a while. Moving office offers you a great opportunity to clean and throw away anything you may not need in the new place. We all need to spend some time decluttering once in a while, and the office is no different. It accumulates all sorts of outdated equipment, and other items that are redundant.
It can hard to work out how much you actually have that needs moving so engage the experts and have an moving professional give you a volume estimate. It could save you money further down the line when you discover that you need far more moving assistance than you originally planned and budgeted for.
It’s vital to pack up safely and accurately. This may take up a significant amount of time. The more effort you put into packing, the easier it will be to unpack. Ensure that your office equipment is appropriately packed, labelled and securely put in storage if necessary. This will help reduce the risk of damaging anything vital to the running of the business during the relocation.
Checklist and Tips
You may think that two months before the moving day is too early to start creating a moving checklist. The key to a great and successful move however, is early preparation. Moving office takes longer than you may expect, just as moving house always does too. In the process, obstacles may pop up on the way. This is especially true if you’re packing your items by yourself. By following a comprehensive checklist, you offer yourself a greater chance of enjoying a painless and more efficient move.
The Comprehensive List
- Saving- Moving is quite expensive. People don’t just wake up and make the decision to move the location of their business. You need to budget for all aspects including finding suitable transport as well as paying the movers. You may need specialist movers if you have large or valuable equipment in your place of work. You should also budget for the cost of storage if you are not immediately able to put all your items into the new place, or if for example, there is renovation work that needs to take place at the new location before it is suitable for your business to completely move into. Both of these things are costly and need to be budgeted for.
- Lock in all your removalists. This is the right time to obtain various quotes from the professionals who specialise in moving offices. Request a visit from each company to the offices you are moving from and to, to assess their professionalism and get their advice.
- Notify your utility company– Let the relevant utility companies know of your departure.
- Speak to employees – If you have employees then you must engage and involve them in all stages of the moving process. Their help will be invaluable and they may think of problems or solutions regarding the move that you haven’t.
- Book a handyman or builders to facilitate the moving process– If your new office requires modernisation or adaptations to make it suitable for your type of work, then book them in as early as possible. Obtain various quotes and arrange for them to visit the site with you and put forward a comprehensive plan with deadline for the project.
- Check the paperwork– Keep your budget on track. This can be achieved by creating a list of all the moving expenses. Create a folder for your moving documentation. It should include quotes as well as receipts.
- Find secure storage– Perhaps you need long term storage for your items. A last minute backup storage solution may also come in handy. Contact a storage professional to help you find a solution because you may get cheaper storage options.
- Collect or purchase packing boxes– Collect together the appropriate packing boxes and crates that you will need. Depending on the type and size of office you have, you may be able to borrow boxes from friends, family or employees to save yourself the expense of buying everything new.
- Research different packing hacks– When it comes to moving, you always wish that you could do more. Perhaps organise differently or plan more. Research the best packing hacks to help you organise your items. Go through this comprehensive guide.
- Label your boxes– Use different colours to label your moving boxes. You may also use coloured stickers for each box. You’ll find it easy to identify your items as you move.
- Take care of your bolts and screws – In its simplest form, moving is tiresome. It’s important to make it easier by storing all the bolts and screws in one box. Label it clearly. You’ll be glad you did it because it’ll help you keep everything organised.
When it comes to moving offices, preparation is everything. So start planning early and give yourself plenty of time. It’s bound to be a big project with its stresses and it’s unforeseen circumstances but it’ll be worth it when you’ve made the move and you’re ready for the next stage of your business journey.
