Business

4 Things to Know When Packing Your Office for a Move

Moving the entire contents of your office is never easy. And for that reason, planning for an office move is essential if you want everything to go well. But it’s not as though most people have much experience with moving offices. Here’s a list of 4 things to know when you’re planning an office move.

1. An Inventory is Essential

The average office spends each day as a hive of activity. And when a company has occupied the same space for a long time, they’re likely to have a great many things in their office that everyone’s lost track of. This might mean disused files, equipment, or even furniture. So the first thing to do when you’re moving offices is to take an inventory of what’s there.

Although you may not know it, there’s probably plenty of things you won’t need to bring along to the new space. So you should think about disposing of unused files (destroying them, if necessary), and donating any unused equipment or furniture before beginning to pack. This will reduce the amount of work everyone will have to do, lower your moving costs, and leave you with a clean and organized new office.

2. Packing Takes Longer Than You Think

If there’s one thing mistake almost every business makes when moving offices, it’s underestimating how long it will take to pack. This is especially true when work must continue even as the boxes begin to fill up. So, the best thing to do is get started by packing up everything that’s not in regular use in the office. Think about what items are needed for the office to continue to function, and work backward to that point. Then, leave a generous amount of time for what’s left. It could be a fraction of everything you’re moving but will take the majority of your time.

3. Your Electronics Need Special Care

In a typical office, the most valuable and irreplaceable things that will be moved are pieces of electronic equipment. That means copiers, computers, printers – and all kinds of other critical gear. But electronics can be rather sensitive and might get damaged in a move if they’re not handled correctly. And certain kinds of equipment will even have handling instructions included in their user manuals. For example, you may have to secure hinged doors with tape and remove toner from copiers and printers before you attempt to move them.

4. Digital Photos are a Must

The last thing to think about before beginning an office move is the fact that you should be taking as many detailed photos as possible of your office setups before disassembling anything. Having a visual reference of how things fit together will speed up the work of setting everything up in your new space. This is especially helpful when the time comes to put your computers and networking equipment back together. Getting things right on the first try could mean the difference between getting up and running on day one and having to wait for a costly visit from your IT support provider.

Ready to Work

By thinking about these four things before you move your office, you’ll have a great chance of having your move go exactly as planned. And that will mean getting back to work with as little interruption as possible – and you’ll have a stress-free start in your new space.