9 Tips for Moving Offices (Including a Free Office Move Checklist)

1. Follow an Office Move Timeline

Create a timeline for your office move to ensure you and your team are ready. Your schedule will help keep the move on track and ensure any and all crucial steps aren’t missed. Your timeline will also make sure you do everything in the right order.  

You wouldn’t want one of your clients hearing about your move and breaking the news to someone on your team before you’ve had the opportunity to let them know. And you wouldn’t want one of your clients hearing about the move for the first time because they saw the address change on your website. 

There are certain steps to follow when moving to a new office, and getting them out of order could create negative PR for your business or leave your customers feeling out of the loop. 

2. Inform Your Team First

Any office changes can cause rumors to spread and panic to follow. Let your entire team know about your plans to move as soon as possible and give them as many details as you can. Tell everyone at once so that no one feels left out—after all, you’re all part of the same team.  

Let your team know when you will be making the announcement public and ask them to keep this information to themselves until a release goes out to your customers.

Be transparent with your team about the motivations for the move so that everyone feels comfortable throughout the process of moving. Be clear about who will get what working spaces, and, whenever possible, explain why. Whether you’re upgrading or downgrading in size, it’s important to let your team know why and what might change for them in the process.

3. Make an Office Move Announcement

Don’t let your customers find out about your move secondhand. Transparency is important to your customers as well. Schedule a specific date and time to release your move announcement.

The announcement should include your new address, the date you plan to move, and any minor interruptions to business the move may cause. If no interruptions will occur, reassure your clients that it will be business as usual without any disruptions. Establish a positive reason for your move and tell that story. You can explain that you are growing as a business, talk about what’s so great about your new location, and mention the community your business is a part of. 

Send the announcement to your email lists, post it on social media, and add the information to your website. Ask your team to share the announcement with current clients and within their own networks.

4. Update Physical Addresses

No one wants to be left with piles of unusable stationery that still retains the old office address. Once you know you are going to move, begin assessing your stock of physical office products. Can you pause orders until you have a new address? Do you have enough to begin ordering products with the new address?

Ordering products with the new address a little earlier than your move will ensure you have the right address on everything once the move is complete. It would be a shame to wait weeks for these items to come in when you and your team are excited to spread the word about your new location.

Just ensure you don’t make these changes before making a full announcement to your team so that no one finds out about the move from an envelope. 

This is also a good time to think about any subscriptions you receive by mail. If you have a magazine or newspaper subscription, you will need to update the delivery address in advance to ensure you don’t miss any of your deliveries.

5. Have an IT Plan

IT equipment is expensive, and, in many cases, it’s the lifeline of your business. You should make a plan in advance for moving and setting up your office IT. You 

If you do not have someone in your office qualified and willing to organize and set up technical equipment such as computers, printers, and phones, consider hiring an IT company that specializes in moving tech. The peace of mind that comes with knowing your tech will be safe and set up when you need it is well worth the investment.

6. Clearly Label All Boxes

Any sort of move is hectic—and that’s no different when trying to move an entire office of furniture, supplies, technology, and products. To ensure everything goes smoothly on the day of the move and throughout your unpacking, ensure all boxes are clearly labeled. 

Note the type of items that go in each box and where in the new office that box should go. Not everyone will know where you or your moving manager wants everything. Labeling will ensure everyone is able to help, even if the person in charge is not around to delegate.

Labeling also identifies any fragile or breakable objects. Label what’s in the box as well as how careful the person moving the box needs to be. If it’s a really heavy box, label that too so that no one injures themselves picking it up.

7. Update All Online Addresses

Don’t forget to update your online addresses. You can mention the date of the move and the address of the new location on your website and in your social media bios to help spread the word about the upcoming change. 

On moving day, delegate someone who has access to online passwords to update all of your addresses online. Don’t do this step in advance as this may confuse anyone trying to reach you leading up to your move. As your move approaches, keep an eye out for anywhere you have your old address and add it to the list below of addresses to update.

Check the following areas for address changes:

• Website Contact page
• Website footer
• Google listing
• Social Media bios (Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Linkedin, etc.)
• Online directories
• Review websites (Yelp, Foursquare, etc.)
• Business accounts
• Online subscriptions
• Invoicing

8. Make it a Team Effort

Get your whole team involved and excited about your office move. Remember that this will be a stressful time for everyone in the office, even if they are not part of the actual moving day. Consider how you can make the move a little more fun for your team.

If you enlist their help for the move, ensure you have adequate food and beverages available. Cater lunch or take the team out for dinner afterward to celebrate the new location.  

Gratitude goes a long way, so don’t forget to thank your team for their patience and any help they provide while moving. For smaller teams, ensure you thank each team member individually for their help. This personal touch will help each member of your team feel valued and appreciated during this stressful time around the office.

9. Download Our Free Office Move Checklist

There’s so much to remember when moving an entire office. We’ve created a free office move checklist that you can use throughout your planning and execution. Read through the list below or print out the downloadable office move checklist template, so you don’t forget about any essential steps.

Click to download

Planning

• Lock in your new location and your moving date
• Finalize office layout and determine who will work where
• Make a moving announcement to your entire team (sharing as many details as you can)
• Cancel or move services (water delivery, cleaning, landscaping, etc.)
• Confirm plans for moving computer systems and other technology
• Confirm plans for moving your phone service
• Publish a public announcement with details about your new location and moving process
• Share your announcement by email and social media
• Update your address on stationery and other product orders
• Confirm location update with your insurance company
• Update your address with all utilities (if not provided through a lease agreement)
• Update your address for any subscriptions (newspaper, magazines, etc.)
• Notify any suppliers and update delivery addresses
• Select a moving company and delegate moving tasks
• Pack all non-essentials in advance

Moving Office

• Label all boxes while packing
• Make and distribute new office keys
• Share parking details
• Provide food for team members helping with the move
• Thank each of your team members for their help and patience

After Moving

• Update your office address online (website, social media, directories, etc.)
• Share photos of your new space on social media
• Continue to remind customers about your new address
• Celebrate the new space