An office move is not only a furniture move. It is an operations project. Desks, chairs, files, computers, phones, payment terminals, signage, inventory, client records, internet, security, and staff routines all have to land in the right place at the right time. For a small business in BC, the goal is usually not perfection. The goal is to reopen quickly, protect customer relationships, and avoid losing equipment or data.
Small businesses have a unique challenge because the same people who run the business are often responsible for the move. A large company may have facilities staff, IT departments, project managers, and relocation consultants. A small clinic, agency, studio, office, retailer, or professional service firm may have one owner and a few employees trying to manage everything while still serving customers.
This checklist is built for that reality. It focuses on decisions that reduce downtime: lease dates, access rules, IT planning, employee responsibilities, customer communication, and a practical move-day structure.
Start with the Business Impact
Before calling movers, define what the move must protect. For some businesses, the biggest risk is phone downtime. For others, it is missed appointments, lost records, damaged computers, inaccessible inventory, or a payment terminal that does not work on reopening day. Write down the services that must be operational first in the new space.
If you run an appointment-based business, decide how many days you can be closed. If you run an office where staff can work remotely, plan who works from home during the transition. If you handle retail sales, deliveries, or walk-in customers, plan how customers will find you and when the new location opens.
The move plan should be built around revenue and service continuity, not just furniture. A moving company can move desks, but it cannot decide how customer calls will route or how staff will access shared files on Monday morning.
Twelve to Eight Weeks Before the Move
Twelve to eight weeks before the move, confirm the key dates. Review the new lease, old lease, possession date, restoration obligations, cleaning requirements, signage rules, insurance requirements, and permitted moving hours. Some BC office buildings require after-hours moves, loading dock bookings, elevator reservations, certificates of insurance, and security approval.
Assign one internal move coordinator. That person does not need to do every task, but they should own the master checklist. They should know who is responsible for IT, staff communication, furniture decisions, customer notices, building paperwork, and mover coordination. Without one coordinator, tasks tend to be duplicated or missed.
Create an inventory by area. Include workstations, chairs, filing cabinets, meeting room furniture, reception furniture, printers, servers, routers, phones, monitors, supplies, wall-mounted items, kitchen items, records, inventory, and storage. Note what is moving, what is being disposed of, what is being donated, and what needs special handling.
Eight to Six Weeks Before the Move
This is the time to request quotes from commercial movers. Provide floor plans if you have them, and describe both buildings carefully. Include elevator access, loading dock rules, parking, stairs, security procedures, and move-hour restrictions. Ask whether the mover can provide bins, labels, floor protection, computer carts, file carts, or packing services.
Ask for the quote in writing. It should include crew size, estimated hours, truck requirements, minimum charges, after-hours rates if applicable, insurance documents, packing material charges, disassembly and reassembly terms, and any equipment needed for heavy items. If the move involves medical equipment, lab equipment, servers, safes, or oversized furniture, mention those items early.
During this stage, start planning the new layout. Decide where each employee will sit, where printers will go, where network equipment will be installed, and how reception or customer-facing areas will work. A mover can unload faster when each item has a destination.
IT and Communications Planning
IT deserves its own plan because it can create the most painful downtime. List every computer, monitor, dock, phone, printer, router, modem, server, network switch, access point, payment terminal, camera, and backup drive. Decide who will disconnect, pack, transport, reconnect, and test each item.
Back up important data before anything is moved. Confirm that backups are recent and recoverable. If your business uses cloud systems, confirm staff can access them from the new location. If you use on-premise servers, hire qualified IT support to plan shutdown, transport, and restart. Servers should not be treated like ordinary boxes.
Internet and phone service should be scheduled early. Do not assume the provider can install service the day before reopening. Ask about lead times, installation windows, wiring needs, static IPs, phone forwarding, voicemail, alarms, payment terminals, and backup internet options. If phones are critical, arrange forwarding before the move begins.
Six to Four Weeks Before the Move
Six to four weeks before moving day, begin reducing what will move. Old chairs, broken filing cabinets, outdated brochures, unused monitors, duplicate cables, expired supplies, and paper records that can be securely shredded should not take up space in the new office. Arrange recycling, donation, junk removal, or secure shredding before packing begins.
This is also when customer communication should start. Update your website, Google Business Profile, appointment reminders, email signatures, invoices, business cards, social profiles, and voicemail scripts. Tell customers whether hours will change during the move. If clients visit your office, provide the new address, parking details, transit notes, and reopening date.
For professional offices, clinics, and service providers, think about privacy. Client files, HR records, financial records, and medical or legal documents should be packed securely, labelled discreetly, and handled according to your obligations. Do not leave sensitive documents in open boxes in public hallways.
Three Weeks Before the Move
Three weeks before the move, give staff packing instructions. Each employee should know what to pack, what to label, what to take home, and what not to move. Personal items should be boxed separately. Computers may need tags. Desk contents may go into bins. Confidential records may require sealed file boxes.
Create a destination labelling system. For example, assign every workstation a number and mark furniture, monitors, chairs, and bins with that number. Label rooms in the new office before movers arrive. A simple floor plan with workstation numbers can save hours on move day.
Confirm building paperwork. The old and new building may need mover insurance certificates, elevator times, loading dock bookings, security access, floor protection, and after-hours entry. If the building requires security staff or engineer access, confirm who arranges it and who pays.
Two Weeks Before the Move
Two weeks before moving day, pack archived files, supply rooms, marketing materials, kitchen items, and non-essential storage. Keep daily work areas functional as long as possible. The goal is to reduce move-week packing without disrupting normal operations too early.
Test the new space if you have access. Check outlets, lighting, washrooms, meeting rooms, kitchen areas, storage rooms, internet demarcation points, alarm panels, door access, and loading paths. If furniture placement will block outlets or network ports, adjust the plan now.
Prepare a first-day business box. Include keys, fobs, alarm codes, router information, extension cords, labels, tape, scissors, basic tools, pens, paper, cleaning wipes, printer paper, coffee supplies, phone numbers for vendors, and the move-day contact list. Keep this box with the move coordinator, not buried in the truck.
One Week Before the Move
One week before the move, confirm every vendor. Contact the mover, internet provider, phone provider, IT support, building managers, cleaners, junk removal company, signage vendor, and any staff helping after hours. Reconfirm dates, times, access, addresses, and phone numbers.
Remind employees of packing deadlines. Ask them to take home personal valuables and anything they need during downtime. If staff will work remotely during the move, confirm they have laptops, chargers, passwords, and access. If staff will be onsite, assign specific roles such as elevator monitor, old-office sweep, new-office room guide, IT support contact, or customer communication lead.
Update customer-facing messages. If calls will be forwarded, test forwarding. If appointments are moving to a new address, send reminders. If your office is closed for a day, make that clear on your website and voicemail.
Move Day
On move day, the internal coordinator should meet the crew and review the floor plan. Walk the movers through the old office, point out items that are not moving, identify fragile or high-value equipment, and confirm the loading path. Keep building contacts available by phone.
The old office should have someone responsible for final checks. They should inspect desks, closets, filing areas, storage rooms, kitchens, meeting rooms, washrooms, signage, and loading areas. The new office should have someone directing placement. Without a receiving person, movers may unload boxes wherever space is available, which creates extra work later.
IT equipment should follow the IT plan. If possible, avoid mixing critical equipment with general office boxes. Computers, servers, routers, payment terminals, and backup drives should be tracked carefully. If a third-party IT provider is reconnecting systems, coordinate timing so they are not waiting for equipment or working while movers are still blocking access.
First Day in the New Office
The first day is about getting operational. Test internet, phones, printers, payment terminals, alarms, door access, computers, shared drives, and customer-facing systems. Set up reception or client areas first. Make sure staff know where to park, how to enter, where supplies are located, and how to report issues.
Expect some disruption. Cables may be missing, chairs may be in the wrong room, and boxes may need sorting. Keep a simple issue list and assign owners. Avoid letting every small problem interrupt the entire team. Handle critical operational issues first, then comfort and organization issues.
After reopening, update any remaining address records. Check invoices, proposals, email templates, shipping profiles, vendor portals, directories, ads, appointment systems, and business licences or registrations if applicable. Old addresses can linger in places you do not check often.
Final Takeaway
A successful BC office move is planned around downtime, not just moving trucks. Start with the business functions that must work first, then build the checklist around them. Book building access early, protect IT and records, communicate with staff and customers, label everything by destination, and test systems before declaring the move complete.