Office Relocation Checklist

Moving an office is more complicated than moving a house because you're coordinating around business continuity, not just logistics. The goal isn't just to move everything from A to B — it's to minimise the time your business isn't fully operational. This checklist covers the things that matter most for small and medium businesses.

8–12 weeks before

• Confirm the new lease — Make sure the contracts are signed before you commit to moving dates. Nothing worse than booking a mover for a property that falls through.
• Measure the new space — Floor plan, door widths, lift dimensions, loading bay access. This determines whether your existing furniture fits and what size van can access the building.
• Notify your landlord — Check the notice period on your current lease. Most commercial leases require 3–6 months' notice.
• Appoint a move coordinator — One person needs to own the moving day logistics. If it's everyone's job, it's no one's job.
• Set a budget — Include the mover, IT relocation, new furniture, cleaning the old premises, redirected post, and new signage. Most businesses underestimate by 30%.

6–8 weeks before

• Book the mover — Get quotes based on a full inventory. Office moves often need a larger van or two trips, and the mover needs to know about loading bay restrictions, lift access and parking at both sites.
• IT audit — List every piece of IT equipment and how it connects. Servers, switches, printers, monitors, phone system. Decide what's coming, what's being replaced, and what's being decommissioned.
• Arrange broadband and phone lines — Order these now. Lead times for business broadband and leased lines can be 6–12 weeks depending on the provider and the location.
• Order new signage and stationery — Business cards, letterheads, email signatures, website address — anything that shows the old address needs updating.
• Inform key contacts — Clients, suppliers, bank, insurance, HMRC, Companies House (if you're a limited company). Do this formally in writing.

4–6 weeks before

• Declutter and archive — You don't want to pay to move filing cabinets full of documents from 2018 that you'll never look at again. Shred what you can. Archive what you must keep. Digitise what's practical.
• Plan the new office layout — Where does each desk go? Where's the printer? Where do the servers live? Do this before moving day or you'll be standing in an empty room with 30 boxes wondering where anything goes.
• Staff communication — Tell your team the moving date, the new address, parking arrangements, and any changes to working patterns during the move. People worry about commute changes — address it early.
• Arrange parking at both sites — This is the most commonly overlooked thing. If the van can't park near the entrance, the move takes twice as long. Some business parks and city-centre buildings need advance booking for loading bays.
• Book the cleaning — Book a professional clean of the old premises for the day after you move out. Most commercial leases require the property to be returned in good condition.

1–2 weeks before

• Label everything — Every box, every desk, every chair. Label with the destination room in the new office, not where it came from. "Meeting Room 2" is more useful than "John's desk".
• Back up all data — Full backup of servers and shared drives before anything gets unplugged. Cloud backup if you have it. A physical backup on a hard drive that travels with you, not in the van.
• Pack non-essential items — Filing cabinets, bookshelves, spare stationery, display items. Anything not used daily can go into boxes now.
• Arrange mail redirection — Royal Mail redirection takes a few days to set up. Do it now so nothing goes to the old address after you've gone.
• Confirm arrangements with the mover — Final check on the inventory, access, parking, start time and any special requirements (IT equipment, heavy items, awkward access).

Moving day

• Start with IT — If you have an IT support company, have them disconnect and pack servers, switches and networking equipment. They should be the first to set up at the new site too.
• Clear the old office systematically — Room by room, top to bottom. One person walks through with the mover to point out what stays and what goes.
• Do a final walkthrough — Before you leave the old premises, check every drawer, every shelf, every cupboard. It's amazing what gets left behind — usually the things you need most the next day.
• Direct the mover at the new site — Have someone at the new office to tell the movers where each box and piece of furniture goes. It saves hours of rearranging later.
• Test IT first — Before anyone unpacks their desk, get the internet and phone lines working. Everything else can wait — your business can't operate without connectivity.

What always gets forgotten

• The whiteboard that's screwed to the wall (and the whiteboard pens).
• The tea round supplies — kettle, mugs, milk, biscuits. Pack a box for day one.
• Toilet rolls and handwash in the new loos.
• Returning keys and fobs for the old building.
• Updating Google Business Profile and any online directory listings.
• Redirecting the old landline to the new number during the transition.
• Letting the local delivery drivers know — especially if you get regular parcels or supplier deliveries.

If you're moving a small office, submit your move details with a full list of items and both addresses. A verified mover can review the specifics — loading bay access, lift size, parking — and quote based on the real job, not a guess.