Moving Services Buyer's Guide

Preparing for an office move

To save yourself time and effort, carefully evaluate your upcoming office move before contacting a mover. This includes knowing what you will be moving, where everything will go in the new location, the time of day you want to move, building access (stairs, freight elevators, loading docks), parking issues, and any other important requirements.

Understanding exactly what your office move will entail makes it easier to get an accurate estimate. Furthermore, the better-planned your move, the more you'll wind up saving, since movers often charge by the hour. Having detailed schedules, budgets, and floor plans will make everyone's job easier, including your own.

Getting access to your new space before you have to be out of your current office is an opportunity to save time and money. You can reduce the burden - and therefore your total costs - on your movers by having new furniture or equipment delivered directly to the new office in the days preceding your move.

Of course, paying rent on two offices simultaneously can cancel those savings out. If possible, ask the new landlord about moving some equipment in early before the lease goes into effect.

Paper or plastic?
You'll have to choose between cardboard boxes or renting reusable plastic crates for your office move. We recommend the latter - even some movers who sell cardboard boxes recommend plastic packing crates. They're available from well-known brands (e.g., Rent-a-Crate) and are designed to stack easily on dollies so there's no heavy lifting involved. A side benefit of using rented plastic crates: because they have to be returned, everyone is forced to unpack all their belongings in a timely manner, instead of leaving full cardboard boxes around.

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