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Exciting news, your company is moving to a new office. But if you’re not careful your office move can go poorly, and lead to lost work time and revenue. That’s why even smaller businesses often leave the actual moving to professional companies. Although it comes at a financial cost, professional office moving services prove to be the most efficient way to get your business up and running at the new location. One thing you should consider right away is the size of the new office space. This will determine the kind of moving services you need, and dictate what kinds of companies you will be getting a quote from. Most businesses move into bigger spaces with more furniture, and the setup requires a lot more work and effort. This is why professional movers also offer installation and setup services. This is a great way to alleviate any additional stress on the employees and leave them to focus on their work.
As with everything, the efficiency and timeliness of your move greatly depend on the company you decide to go with, but there are also some steps you could and should take to help the moving to company make the move go as smoothly as possible. Let’s take a look at some factors to consider when moving a business to a new office.
How Much Does It Cost To Hire Office Movers Near Me?
Of course, the final price of the move will be a major factor in who you decide to hire to relocate your business and all of the inventory. But it shouldn’t be the main factor. With the cheapest companies, you often get what you paid for: very little in the way of project management. The more expensive companies are often more expensive for a reason, they tend to offer more premium services and pay more attention to the details, guiding you throughout the whole process. In the end, it is up to you to recognize the moving needs of your business. Going through the getting quotes process will help you decide which options you need and which ones you don’t.
Consider these price ranges when looking for office movers near you.
Office packing and unpacking services can range between $500 and $800 for every 1,000 sqft.
Workstation installation can range in price between $250 and $450 For 10 stations.
You may need to store some or all of your office inventory between the moves. Depending on the size of the storage required, this will cost you about $210 for a 10X10 storage unit.
Fees for reconnecting and setting up electrical equipment can range between $0 and $200 per move.
Business Storage Costs: How Much to Store Everything During an Office Move
Depending on the size of your office, you may need a storage facility to keep some of your stuff while on the move. Storage facilities usually vary in price depending on size. Use this chart for reference:
| 5X5 | fits few items, up to 1 room of household (not large items) | $120-150 /Month Or part of the month |
| 5X10 | fits up to small 1 BR (apartment/condo) household items on average | $190-220 /Month Or part of the month |
| 10X10 | fits up to 1.5 (1+den) BR household items on average | $280-310 /Month Or part of the month |
| 10X15 | fits up to 2 BR household items on average | $ 350-400/Month Or part of the month |
| 10X20 | fits up to 3 BR household items on average | $420-450 /Month Or part of the month |
| 10X30 | fits up to 4 BR household items on average | $550-600 /Month Or part of the month |
Moving a Business: Work With Your Moving Company For Best Results
Most good moving companies today will treat your office move like a separate project and likely even assign someone specifically to see it through from beginning to end. You should too. And as with any project planning is the most important part of successfully executing an office move.
What you can do to help the move go smoothly is have as much of an idea of what you want your new setup to be like as possible. If you can get blueprints for a layout, great. If not, try to draw up a layout for where everything will go. Don’t forget, you want everyone to like their workspace so let the employees have some say where they want to be positioned and how they envision the office to be laid out.
Next, think about all the stuff that needs to come from the old office to the new. Make an inventory of as much stuff as possible and donate, recycle, or throw away everything that will not be making the move. With a better idea of what exactly needs to be packed and moved you have a better chance of you getting an accurate quote and price for your move.
Another thing you should prepare is a rough timeline of how the move should go, with the least impact on your business or as little work time lost as possible. Companies often consider moving on weekends or over holidays, but keep in mind this may not always be the best time to find or schedule Internet technicians, contractors, or building management. You should have in mind an absolute date by which you are done moving and plan with the moving company to get your project to fit within those timelines. But be realistic, you didn’t decide to move into a new office overnight, so don’t expect the moving company to be able to do it either.
Office Furniture Movers: What To Look For In A Moving Company
If you start searching for a business moving company, it can be outright overwhelming to look on places like the Internet or online reviews. There is seemingly an endless number of companies and at a first glance, almost all of them have flawless reviews and ratings. So how do you settle down on just one, and how do you know that this moving company will do a good job. This is partially what the quote process is for. Remember you should get 4-5 quotes before deciding on a company. To get you closer to narrowing down that big list, consider these things all good moving companies must have:
- Make sure the company meets the criteria under the Good Practice Guidelines for Canadian Movers. Because there is no single governing body when it comes to the moving industry in Canada, there are a lot of shady companies out there, misleading people. The Good Practice Guidelines are the closest thing to an official document on how moving companies in our country should operate and has a lot of useful information for both residential and office movers.
- Does the moving company belong to the Canadian Association of Movers? The Canadian Association of Movers is a third-party body with voluntary membership that keeps a registry of reputable moving companies. While there are a lot of companies that are members of CAM, being a member on its own does not legitimize a moving company.
- Is the company registered with the provincial Workers Compensation Board? This is almost a standard for any trades or labourers in Canada today, and there is a good chance even your business pays into the WCV. Being in good standing with the WCB means the company’s employees are covered and protected while working at your home. Many shady moving companies will not go the length to register their business with the WCB.
- Does the company offer Replacement Value Protection, and for how much? Most moving companies do not offer any insurance or protection on your move. The RVP often adds to the cost of the move but offers much higher reimbursement on your personal belonging if something goes wrong during the move. Even if you don’t opt-in for the Replacement Value Protection it’s a good sign if a company offers this option.
- Does the moving company subcontract any of its services? This doesn’t necessarily mean the company is bad, as long as they are honest about what they do and exactly which business will handle your stuff when you move.
Keep these criteria in mind when you research your prospective office movers. If they meet the criteria under the Good Practice Guidelines you should probably consider getting a quote from that company. Online review sites like Better Business Bureau, Homestars, and Google can be a good indicator of areas where the moving company came short or didn’t deliver on client expectations. But keep in mind, because of competition a lot of companies pad their ratings with fake or assisted reviews.
Business Moving Checklists
Earlier in the blog, we talked about the importance of treating your office move like a separate project and creating a timeline to make sure different parts of the relocation are on track. Checklists are often a great way to itemize the process and keep you on track. Even if you don’t end up using the actual checklist, check these out for some useful tips to keep in mind when planning your office move.
Industry Canada Consumer Checklist for picking a moving company
Office Moving Checklist (arranged by type: planning, technology, preparation, etc).
UK Office Moving Checklist (with lots of details, and room for notes)
Hopefully, these tips gave you some idea of what to look for in a moving company and how much you can expect to pay for relocating to a new office. Remember, just like in your own business research and planning will go a long way toward keeping your office moving on track, choosing the right company, and making sure it’s back to business as usual at the new place as fast as possible.
