Ultimate Moving Office Checklist: Key Steps for a Smooth Move

Moving home can be stressful enough but moving office has its own unique challenges. In order to keep up the productivity of your business, it’s important to ensure that your office move has been well planned and that you can quickly get back to business as usual! You’ll likely have lots of important papers and equipment that you’ll want to get organised as soon as possible once you’re in your new office. Consider using a removals company to help ensure that your move is as hassle-free as possible; they can help you pack up your office as well as move it and unpack which is especially useful if you’re on a tight schedule.

So how can you ensure that you keep your blood pressure down when moving your office? Here are some top considerations to help keep your business property safe and get your office up and running again as soon as possible.

 

Ask your employees to pack their personal belongings

You’ll likely have quite a few employees who have enjoyed personalising their workspace. One employee may turn their area into a bit of a jungle with lots of plants while another might have lots of gadgets on their desk. Ask employees to pack up their own personal items, providing them with the necessary packaging materials, including a box each.

However, if employees are helping to pack electrical equipment such as computer monitors, ensure that they have adequate instructions and take good care when packing them. They should empty all their desk draws and clear their desk surfaces, labelling their boxes with their name so that it’s easy for them to find their items the other end. If you’re moving any office plants then these will need to be packed last. If they are large, then inform your moving company to see that they’ll fit properly in the van.

 

Sort through your office supplies

This is something that can be done in advance of the move as spare office supplies are not something that you’re likely to use everyday. Take stock of your office supplies such as paper, stationary etc. Give any unwanted items to charity and pack anything you want to keep in boxes labelled ‘Office Supplies.’ This should include printer paper and cartridges so that you can easily restock your new office cupboard and avoid buying new supplies unnecessarily once you’ve moved into your new office.

 

Start crunching through your paperwork

In many offices, dealing with the documents is likely to be your greatest challenge! Start by scanning any essential items and uploading them to the cloud so that you’re covered if you can’t find something or it’s accidentally discarded. Shed any confidential paperwork that you no longer need or recycle anything that’s not confidential. This means that you’ll have less to move, and your new office won’t be cluttered by any paperwork that you no longer require! Gather any loose paper that you’re keeping and file these in document wallets. A box or accordion file can work nicely to keep documents together and you can label the sections by topic. If you need to empty your filing cabinet to move it, invest in a special filing box and make sure that you label the boxes carefully so that you can find what you need, specifying whether it came from the cupboard, filling cabinet or desk drawers.

 

Keep your office appliances safe

Office appliances are one of the trickiest things to move as it’s important not to damage any expensive items such as computers. Pack the appliances in their original boxes if you still have them. Otherwise, your removals company can provide you with boxes made especially for transporting computer equipment. These need to be large and sturdy and they should be well padded with packaging materials. If you have an office printer then check with the printer manufacturer about how to pack up the printer – some models may need the cartridges to be removed before transportation to avoid damage.

 

What to do with large furnishings

Offices tend to have large, heavy items of furniture such as desks, cabinets and sofas. You may be wondering how you should go about moving your conference table? Depending on how you got the items into the building in the first place, you may need to disassemble a few items of furniture to get them out of the building. If you’re doing this yourself, make sure that you take care when taking items apart – keeping in mind the health and safety of your employees. Use masking tape to keep large parts together and small food bags to keep screws and fixtures together – always carefully labelling each with a marker pen. Your removals company can also help you take items of furniture apart and reassemble them the other end, so this is worth discussing with them in advance of your move.

 

Before you start

When you’re thinking about tackling the office pack-up, take some time to make sure that you have everything you need to start packing. Packing paper, bubble wrap, packing tape, markers and sturdy boxes are all essential. You’ll also want to consider how much paperwork you’ll be taking with you and ensure that you have enough document wallets, box files and labels to properly organise documentation ahead of moving day.

If you have any concerns or questions on how you should handle your office move, your removals company will be able to help. At LOVE Removals, our team of expert movers can help that you get your business up and running again in no time with a smooth move.