How To Move Office With Minimal Downtime - A Step-by-Step Guide
- rebeccai3
- May 29
- 7 min read
How to Relocate Your Office With Minimal Downtime
Let me guess: You're gearing up for an office move, and the stress is already setting in.
And unfortunately, it’s only going to get worse – panicked all-nighters, heart palpitations around forgotten phone lines, missing desk chairs, and whether anyone remembered to buy the bubble wrap.
The truth is, moving offices is one of the most disruptive things a business can go through. One wrong move and suddenly your team’s working from cardboard boxes.
But it doesn’t have to be that way. With a bit of foresight and some no-nonsense planning, you can pull off a seamless office move with minimal downtime and impact on your mental health. It just takes a bit of planning and know-how.
With years of experience in moving offices, here’s everything we’ve learned and our top tips for moving office with minimal downtime. And if all that sounds like a lot of effort, then you can always get in touch with us, and we will handle all the heavy lifting for you.
The Most Common Reasons Office Moves Fail
Sometimes, problems appear that you couldn’t foresee when planning a move. But 90% of the time, you’ll see the same problems crop up again and again.
If you can avoid these pitfalls below, you’re halfway there to a stress-free office move:
Lack of planning; No timeline. No clear roles. No one’s quite sure who’s doing what until moving day arrives. It’s a ready-made recipe for chaos.
Tight (unrealistic) deadlines; If you think you can turn it around in a couple of weeks, think again. Every task takes longer than you realise. And if they didn’t, we probably wouldn’t be in business.
Poor communication; No one tells the team what’s happening, when, or why. The result? Confusion, crossed wires, and missed deadlines.
Underestimating the budget; Moving always costs more than you think. Downtime, cleaners and temporary storage is almost never factored in. The end result? Plenty of awkward conversations with the finance team as the budget dwindles.
Ignoring the tech; The single biggest reason for post-move downtime? IT not being ready. No phones, no internet, no access to files. Disaster.
Bad space planning; We’ve seen offices with nowhere to store files, no breakout space, and a team awkwardly squeezed into a room like sardines. Don’t just plan for desks – plan for how people actually work.
The Key Things You Need To Do To Keep Your Office Move Downtime Minimal
Create a detailed moving plan and timeline
Start early – ideally 6 to 12 months in advance. Break the project into chunks and assign clear responsibilities and create a checklist.
Who looks after what and what’s on that checklist can vary business to business. But if you want a starter for ten, we’ve created an office move checklist to help steer you in the right direction.
For the responsibilities, you want to assign people to four key areas (Facilities, Inventory, IT, Comms) and map out the tasks and their cost for each.
Cost Out A Budget & Manage It
There are only two certainties in life: death, and that if you manage your own office move, you will go over budget.
So, make sure that you plan for it and add in a buffer budget.
What we’d recommend doing is to get your team to scope out what’s required and the costs for each task.
So, for example, if it’s packing, how much bubble wrap might you need? Get a rough cost for that and then add 20% to it. Removal vans. Get a cost for that. Get a cost for everything and then add a percentage to it.
Once you’ve got your budget, it’s important to have a budget manager whose job it is to track spending and make sure that the costs don’t massively overrun.
Top Tip: We normally see people forget to factor in costs for cleaning, temporary storage and downtime. Remember those when budgeting.
Communication, Communication, Communication
Make sure that people know what you’re doing. Sounds simple, right? But it’s an area that a lot of businesses fall down on when they are planning their move.
When you’re moving offices, you need to make sure that:
Every member of the project team is aware of the key dates and their responsibilities on that day
You communicate the moving date to your team early on
You have pre-move meeting with your employees so they know what to expect on that day
That you let suppliers and clients know that you’re moving in advance (typically 1 - 3 months) and that you send reminders out about it in the lead up.
If you do all of the above, when the big day comes, it will be a lot easier to manage.
Inventory Management
List everything, forget nothing.
Lists are your best friend when you’re moving office, and making sure that you have an inventory of everything before you move is essential for making sure nothing gets left behind.
It’s also a good opportunity to declutter and throw away everything that you don’t need. Fewer things to worry about forgetting equals fewer headaches.
Top Tip: When creating an inventory, it’s a good time to prioritise what to move first. Think about the items you’ll need space to set up and the things that you need up and running ASAP.
IT & Technology Transition
IT managers have the hardest job when moving. It’s easily the most complicated part of the process, with them having to factor in everything from connectivity and infrastructure to just making sure that nothing gets broken en route.
We’d honestly recommend getting some external support for this part of the move, as the cost of not doing that and it all going wrong far outweighs the cost of hiring professionals.
If you choose to go it alone, then make sure that you do a few key things before moving:
Create a contingency plan for things like connectivity issues or damaged hardware
Get the phone lines, internet, etc., set up in advance
Test everything before moving day
Back up everything.
Need a hand with your IT relocation in London? Have a look at how we can help.
Prepare The New Office
Imagine going through all the stress of moving offices, only to then have to completely rearrange everything again because no one thought to plan the layout properly. Desks are in the wrong places, teams are split across different corners, and the printer’s somehow ended up in the kitchen.
No one wants that, do they?
So make sure that you create a floor plan, you consult team leaders and department heads on it, and work with them to make sure that teams who collaborate often are seated near each other. Otherwise, you’ll have people getting their 10,000 steps walking back and forth just to chat to another team.
Assign A Moving Day Manager In Both Locations
Someone needs to be in charge on the day, in both your old place and the new one. They’ll need to coordinate everything from the load out to the setup, as well as directing departments and answering questions.
Top tip: It’s worth also considering having IT support on site at the new location, as they’ll be able to troubleshoot any issues.
Update Business Details
Once the boxes are unpacked and your team is settling into the new space, don’t forget one of the most important steps: updating your business details everywhere they appear. Not doing this can cause confusion for customers, missed deliveries, and even impact your online visibility.
Here’s what we recommend:
Update all public-facing platforms: This includes your website, social media profiles (LinkedIn, Facebook, Instagram, X), email signatures, and your Google Business Profile. Your new address, phone number (if changed), and any updated contact info should be visible and consistent across all platforms.
Update online directories and listings: Think Yell, Yelp, Bing Places, and any industry-specific directories your company is listed on. This helps customers find you and ensures local SEO signals are accurate.
Inform business partners, suppliers, and clients: Send out a notification email to all key contacts at least a few weeks in advance of the move. A reminder closer to the date helps too. This ensures deliveries, correspondence, and service contracts are all directed to the right location.
Notify utility providers and service contracts: Internet providers, energy suppliers, phone lines, waste disposal services... anyone who keeps your office running needs to know you’ve moved.
Don't forget financial and legal documentation: Update your address on business bank accounts, insurance policies, tax records, Companies House (if you're UK-registered), and any contracts or legal documents.
Pro tip: Create a “Change of Address” checklist before the move and tick off each platform or contact as you go. It’s the small admin details that often get missed, but they can have the biggest impact.
Tips That Aren’t Critical, But Definitely Help
Moving doesn’t have to be dull, and these extras can make it a whole lot smoother:
Pack an office move survival kit; Tea bags, paracetamol, extension leads, bin bags. Trust me.
Gamify the process; Make it fun – prizes for the neatest packer or the fastest desk dismantler.
Create a moving day playlist; Music makes everything better. Bonus points for cheesy throwbacks.
Ask for employee input; Get their thoughts on layout, breakout space, kitchen gear – they’ll appreciate being involved.
Host a pre-move or thank you party; It’s a big milestone. Celebrate it.
Document everything; Take photos. Note down serial numbers. Keep receipts. You’ll thank yourself later.
To A Stress-Free & Successful Moving Day
Moving offices is a big deal – but it doesn’t have to be a disaster. With the right plan, the right people, and a bit of humour, you can pull it off without losing business (or your sanity).
If you need a hand with the heavy lifting – literally or logistically – give us a shout at Burton & Smith. We’ve helped hundreds of businesses move without the drama, and we’d love to help you do the same.
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