The Office Relocation Guide
A practical, step-by-step plan for moving your office without losing a week of productivity. Written by the crew that will actually be doing the heavy lifting.
Start the 90-Day PlanMoving + Storage under one roof, one company, one point of contact Plus complimentary moving blankets, wardrobe boxes, and floor protection with every move.
Office Relocation Quick Facts
- Planning Window: 90 days (ideal), 60 days (minimum)
- Move Timing: Friday evening through Sunday (phase-shift)
- Coverage: $10M building and property liability
- Credentials: USDOT #2551548, CAL-T190721
- Related: Executive Office Playbook
- Contact: (888) 914-8787
Let's Talk About What Actually Goes Wrong in Office Moves
We have moved thousands of offices since 2010. Tech companies in Mountain View. Law firms in San Francisco. Medical practices in Scottsdale. And after all those moves, the pattern is always the same: the offices that go smoothly are the ones where someone took the time to plan. The ones that turn into a mess are the ones where someone said, "It's just furniture, how hard can it be?"
It is harder than you think. Not because of the furniture. Furniture is the easy part. What makes office moves complicated is the hundred small decisions nobody thought about until the truck is already loaded. Where does the server rack go first? Who has the key to the new suite? Did anyone tell the building about the freight elevator reservation? Is the internet actually live at the new place, or is that still "pending"?
This guide is the plan that answers all of those questions before they become emergencies. We wrote it specifically for office managers and facilities coordinators who may be doing this for the first time. It is organized around a 90-day timeline because that is what works. If you have less time, you can compress it, but every section still applies.
You have already chosen your moving company. That part is done. Now let's make sure every other piece falls into place.
Three Phases, Three Months, Zero Surprises
Every office move breaks into three natural phases. Trying to do Phase 3 work during Phase 1 creates chaos. This timeline keeps everything in the right order.
Phase 1: Decisions (Days 90 to 60)
The planning nobody sees, but everyone benefits from.Build Your Move Committee
You should not be doing this alone. Identify one person from each of these groups and get them in the same room (or Zoom) once a week:
- IT lead: Owns the server, network, and phone system migration
- Operations/Facilities: That is probably you. Owns the timeline and vendor coordination
- Finance: Approves budget, handles lease overlap costs
- Department heads: Each one knows what their team needs at the new space
Lock Down the New Floor Plan
Before anything gets packed, your team needs to know where it is going. This is the single most important document in the entire move:
- Get the new space measured and map every workstation, conference room, and common area
- Assign room numbers or zone codes (A, B, C) that match your labeling system
- Confirm power outlet locations for IT equipment and kitchen appliances
- Post the floor plan where every employee can see it
Take Full Inventory
Walk every room with a clipboard or spreadsheet. For each item, decide: move it, store it, donate it, or trash it. Be aggressive here. Most offices are carrying 30% dead weight they do not need at the new location.
From the field: Conference tables and oversized reception desks are the items most often left behind. Measure the new space before assuming the old furniture fits. We show up to a surprising number of moves where the boardroom table does not fit through the new door frame.
Handle the Paperwork Early
This is the administrative work that slows everything down when left for the last minute:
- COI: We issue Certificates of Insurance to both buildings. Tell your property managers to expect it
- Elevator reservations: Book the freight elevator at both locations. Weekend slots fill fast
- Loading dock: Confirm dock availability and any height/weight restrictions
- Lease terms: Check move-out requirements (broom-clean, paint touch-up, fixture removal)
Phase 2: Preparation (Days 60 to 30)
The work that makes move day feel easy.Plan the IT Migration
This is the section that makes or breaks your Monday morning. If the phones and internet are not working when employees arrive, nothing else matters. Work with your IT team on this timeline:
- Confirm internet and phone service activation at the new space (schedule installation 2+ weeks before move)
- Inventory every server, switch, router, UPS, and patch panel
- Schedule full backups 48 hours before disconnection
- Label every cable with both ends marked (this saves hours on reconnection)
- Photograph the back of every rack before disconnecting anything
The #1 mistake we see: Assuming the ISP will have the new office wired and active by move day. ISP installations run late more often than they run on time. Get the install scheduled at least two weeks early and verify it is live before move week.
Start the Purge
Moving costs are based on volume. Every filing cabinet full of 2018 tax records that you move to the new office is money spent transporting paper you will never open again. This is the time to get ruthless:
- Paper files: Digitize what you need, shred what you do not. Bring in a shredding service if volume is high
- Kitchen: Toss expired food, mismatched containers, and the coffee maker nobody uses
- Supply closet: If you have not used it in a year, you will not use it at the new place either
- Old equipment: Schedule e-waste pickup for dead monitors, printers, and keyboards
Benchmark: A well-purged 20-person office typically reduces its moving volume by 25-35%. That translates directly to fewer truck loads, faster unloading, and a cleaner start at the new space.
Set Up Your Labeling System
A good labeling system is the difference between a one-day move and a three-day move. Here is the system we recommend to every office client:
- Assign a color to each department or zone (Engineering = blue, Sales = green, Admin = yellow)
- Assign a room number at the new space to every item
- Every box, desk, and piece of furniture gets a colored sticker with the destination room number
- Post matching color/room signs at the new space before move day
Our foreman uses your labeling system to direct the crew at the destination. The better your labels, the faster every item lands in the right room on the first try.
Communicate With Your Team
Employees get anxious about office moves. They worry about their stuff, their commute, their parking, their routine. The more you tell them, the less anxiety spreads. Send three communications:
- 60 days out: Announcement email. New address, move date, and why the company is moving
- 30 days out: Details email. Floor plan, parking info, packing instructions, what to do with personal items
- 1 week out: Final reminder. Exact packing deadline, what to leave on desks, what to take home, Monday morning arrival instructions
What works: Companies that give employees a physical walk-through of the new space before the move report significantly fewer complaints after. If the new location is nearby, schedule a 30-minute open house.
Phase 3: Execution (Days 30 to Move Day)
The final countdown. This is where planning pays off.The Pre-Move Walk-Through
About two weeks before move day, our foreman will walk both locations with you. This is not a formality. It is the single most productive hour of the entire project. Here is what we cover:
- Review the floor plan and confirm every room assignment
- Identify items needing special handling (server racks, safes, oversized art)
- Map the route from the loading dock to every floor and suite
- Confirm elevator capacity, door widths, and any tight corners
- Agree on the move-day timeline, start time, and break schedule
The Furniture Strategy
Office furniture is not like home furniture. Cubicle systems, modular desking, and panel-mounted shelving all require disassembly and reassembly. Here is how we approach it:
- Cubicles: Our crew disassembles panel systems, labels every component, and reassembles at the destination in the correct configuration
- Sit-stand desks: We note the height setting for each user before disconnecting the motor
- Conference tables: Large tables are blanket-wrapped and moved as single units when hallways allow
- Chairs: Stacked on dollies with arm-rest padding. We move 8-10 at a time this way
Employee Desk-Pack Instructions
This is what your employees need to do before the crew arrives. We recommend emailing these instructions exactly one week before the move:
- Pack personal items (photos, plants, desk accessories) into your labeled bin. Seal it and leave it on your desk
- Take home anything valuable or irreplaceable (personal laptops, jewelry, medication)
- Empty desk drawers completely. Leave drawers unlocked and slightly open
- Log out of your computer but leave it connected (IT handles disconnection)
- Take a photo of your desk setup so you can recreate it at the new office
Move Day: What to Expect
If the first two phases went well, move day is the easy part. Here is what a typical phase-shift office move looks like:
- Friday 5 PM: Employees leave. IT begins server shutdown. Our crew arrives and starts loading common areas
- Friday 8 PM: IT disconnects servers. We load them last (padded carts, anti-static wrap)
- Saturday AM: Trucks arrive at new location. Unloading starts from the back of the building forward
- Saturday PM: Furniture placed, cubicles reassembled, servers delivered to IT for reconnection
- Sunday: IT reconnects and tests. You do a walk-through to verify placement. Crew returns for adjustments if needed
- Monday 8 AM: Employees walk in, find their desk, unpack their bin, and start working
The Six Things Every Office Forgets
After thousands of commercial relocations, we know exactly where the blind spots are. Here are the items that catch office managers off guard every single time.
The Mailroom and Shipping Address
Update your business address with USPS, UPS, FedEx, and every vendor that ships to you. Set up mail forwarding. Update your Google Business Profile, website, business cards, and email signatures. This sounds obvious, but we see packages arriving at old addresses for months after a move.
Access Cards, Keys, and Security Codes
Collect all keys and access cards for the old space. Get new ones issued for the new space before move day, not after. Our crew needs building access starting Friday evening. Someone from your team needs to be there to let us in and handle the alarm system.
The Kitchen Situation
Someone needs to clean out the refrigerator. Nobody wants to do it. Assign it. Send a company-wide email: "Everything in the fridge will be thrown away on Thursday at 5 PM." Then follow through. We have moved offices where the fridge was still full of someone's meal prep from two weeks ago.
Wall-Mounted Items
TVs, whiteboards, projection screens, artwork, and signage on the walls. These need to be taken down before the crew arrives, or you need to tell us they are part of the move so we bring the right tools. Check your lease, too. Some landlords want wall mounts removed and holes patched.
Plants
This might seem small, but we get asked about it on almost every office move. Live plants can be transported, but they need to be watered the day before and placed upright in the cab, not in the cargo area. Large floor plants in heavy ceramic pots should be wrapped with stretch film to keep the soil in place.
The Monday Morning Essentials
Toilet paper, paper towels, hand soap, trash bags, a first-aid kit, and a box of coffee supplies. Someone needs to bring these to the new office before Monday morning. There is nothing worse than 40 employees arriving at a new office with no toilet paper in the restrooms. Be the hero. Buy the supplies.
Packing, Disposal, and Everything In Between
You do not have to do all of this yourself. Here is what our crew takes off your plate so you can focus on running the business during the transition.
Office Packing Services
Most office managers underestimate how long it takes to pack a 20-person office. Between the filing cabinets, the break room, the supply closets, and the executive offices, you are looking at days of work. Our packing crew handles it systematically:
- Common areas first: Break room, lobby, conference rooms, and storage closets are packed before move weekend
- Desk-level packing: If your team cannot pack their own desks, our crew packs and labels each workstation individually
- File rooms: We pack filing cabinets in order so they unpack in the same sequence at the destination
- Fragile items: Art, awards, framed certificates, and glass conference tables get custom wrapping with packing paper and bubble wrap
- Electronics: Monitors, projectors, and AV equipment are wrapped in anti-static material and boxed individually
Timing note: For full-service office packing, our crew typically arrives 1 to 2 days before the move to pack common areas while your team is still working. Workstations are packed Friday after close. See our Packing Guide for item-specific tips.
Disposal and Cleanout
An office move is the best time to get rid of things you have been meaning to throw away for years. We handle disposal as part of the move so you are not scrambling to arrange separate pickups. Our junk removal team takes care of:
- Old furniture: Broken chairs, wobbly desks, stained cubicle panels, and anything that is not making the trip to the new space
- E-waste: Dead monitors, old printers, keyboards, mice, and tangled cable bundles. We sort recyclables from landfill items
- Bulk paper: If your shredding service cannot handle the volume, we remove boxed paper for off-site destruction
- Kitchen cleanout: The refrigerator contents, the microwave nobody cleaned, and the expired supplies in the pantry
- Donation sorting: Furniture and equipment in good condition can be separated for donation. We coordinate the pickup
Lease reminder: Most commercial leases require you to leave the space "broom-clean." If the landlord walks in and finds old furniture, you will be billed for removal at their vendor's rates, which are always higher than ours. Handle it on move day.
Need Storage Between Locations?
If your new lease starts after your old one ends, or if you are downsizing and need time to sell excess furniture, our secure vault storage at our Hayward, CA headquarters keeps your office contents organized and accessible. Each vault is inventoried and tagged. Pull what you need with 24 hours notice.
Insurance, COIs, and What Your Building Manager Needs
Most Class A and Class B office buildings will not let a moving crew through the front door without a Certificate of Insurance on file. This is standard. Here is how it works with Ontrack:
Our $10,000,000 Combined Protection Tower covers building and property liability, including damage to floors, walls, elevators, and common areas. We carry workers compensation for our crew and commercial auto for our trucks. When your building manager requests a COI, we issue it directly to them, typically within 24 to 48 hours.
Your office contents (furniture, electronics, files) are covered by standard $0.60/lb cargo liability per article, which is the federally mandated minimum under FMCSA. A 50-pound office chair, for example, carries $30 of basic cargo liability. If your company needs broader valuation coverage for high-value equipment, additional options are available for purchase.
Our safety record: 0% Federal Out-of-Service Rate under FMCSA inspection (USDOT #2551548). You can verify this yourself on the FMCSA website.
What to Tell Your Building Manager
- "Our moving company will send you a COI directly. What email should they use?"
- "We need the freight elevator reserved from [time] to [time] on [date]."
- "Can you confirm loading dock availability and any restrictions?"
- "Are there specific floor protection requirements for the common areas?"
- "What are the building hours for weekend access?"
Pro tip: Have this conversation with both buildings. The new building often has stricter requirements than the old one, especially in downtown San Francisco and Scottsdale Airpark properties.
The Monday Morning Test
Every decision in this guide leads to one moment: Monday at 8 AM. Your employees walk in. Can they work? Here is the checklist our foreman runs through before signing off on any office move.
Connectivity
- Internet is live and tested
- Phone system is active
- Printers are connected and printing
- Access control system works
Workstations
- Every desk is in the right spot
- Monitors and keyboards connected
- Personal bins on correct desks
- Chairs at every workstation
Daily Operations
- Restrooms stocked and clean
- Kitchen set up with basics
- Conference rooms functional
- Trash cans and recycling in place
The "Thank You" That Changes Everything
Here is something we have learned from watching office cultures on Monday morning: the companies that order pizza or coffee for the team on the first day at the new space have dramatically better morale. It is a small thing. Thirty or forty dollars. But it tells your team that someone thought about them during this process. And the office manager who arranged it becomes the person who "made it all work." That is you.
What Our Commercial Clients Say
Verified reviews from businesses that relocated with Ontrack Moving®
Commercial Office and Warehouse Move
We recently hired Ontrack Moving for our commercial relocation, and I couldn't be happier with their services. From start to finish they were on point. The movers were punctual, well-coordinated, and handled our office and warehouse move with care. They meticulously packed, transported, and unpacked everything... Their experience in commercial moving was evident throughout the process.
Verified on Google
Office Move, On Time and On Budget
We used James, Adrian and Jahir for an office move. It was a very positive experience. They were on time, professional, careful and very hard working. They never slowed down, and the move was completed on time, on budget and met all the requirements of the property management company. These guys nailed it!
Verified on Google
Handled Difficult, Odd-Sized Items With Ease
Ontrack foreman Jorge Gonzalez and his crew provided us a terrific service packing our moving truck. Jorge and his guys are clearly pros. We had more than a few odd, difficult objects to load and pack but nothing was beyond their skills. We recommend them highly. You couldn't ask for better service.
Verified on Google
Common Questions About Office Relocations
Straight answers from our commercial moving team.
Start 90 days before your target move date. The first month is for decisions: floor plans, IT strategy, and employee communication. The second month is for preparation: purging, packing non-essentials, and vendor coordination. The final month is for execution: labeling, final walk-throughs, and move-day logistics. If you have only 60 days, compress Phase 1 and Phase 2, but do not skip any steps.
Yes, and most of our office clients do exactly that. We call it a phase-shift move. Loading starts Friday evening after your team leaves. We move through Saturday. Your IT team reconnects over the weekend. Employees arrive Monday morning to a fully set up workspace. For offices larger than 50 workstations, we often recommend a two-weekend phased approach where non-critical departments move first.
Your IT team or managed service provider handles the disconnection, backup, and reconnection of servers, switches, and networking gear. Our crew handles the physical transport: anti-static ESD packaging, padded server carts, and careful loading. We coordinate timing so servers are the last items loaded and the first items off the truck at the new location. This minimizes the window that your systems are in transit.
A Certificate of Insurance (COI) from us, a reserved freight elevator time block, and loading dock scheduling. We issue COIs directly to your building management at both the origin and destination. Our foreman handles elevator and dock coordination as part of the pre-move walk-through. Most buildings also require advance notice of weekend access for the moving crew.
We handle furniture decommissioning as part of the move. Items in good condition can be separated for donation pickup. Everything else gets removed and disposed of properly. We typically handle this on move day so the old space is left broom-clean for the landlord walk-through. If you have a large volume of furniture to decommission, let us know during the walk-through so we can plan accordingly.
Each employee gets a labeled bin or banker box. They pack their personal items (photos, desk accessories, personal files), seal it, and leave it on their desk by the packing deadline. Our crew picks up the bins and places them on the matching workstation at the new location. Valuables and irreplaceable items (personal laptops, medications, jewelry) should go home with the employee, not in the bin.
Related Ontrack Services
Proprietary Operational Notice
The "Phase-Shift Protocol," "Color-Zone Labeling System," and "Monday Morning Test" methodologies referenced herein are proprietary operational frameworks developed and owned exclusively by Ontrack Moving® LLC (U.S. Reg. No. 5390865).
Technical specifications, including office relocation planning frameworks, IT migration coordination protocols, and commercial building compliance procedures, are protected under common law copyright and trade secret provisions. Unauthorized reproduction, digital scraping, or commercial use of this proprietary logistics data is strictly prohibited and subject to legal enforcement under the Defend Trade Secrets Act (DTSA), 18 U.S.C. § 1836.
