Determining Your Commercial Moving Budget with the Moving Checklist from The Liberty Group (Part 2)
Staying connected to your staff, vendors and clients during a commercial relocation is critical. It is not realistic to just closeup shop for a week, month, or season to relocate your office. Without proper planning, thousands of dollars can be lost during the time it takes for your relocation. You must stay connected, because there are so many details. Your business requires telephones, internet, access to servers and cloud storage, CRM and inventory systems and more.
Understanding Installation Timeline and Requirements for Voice and Data Services
Once you’ve determined a place for your relocation, it is most important to determine your service providers for all voice and data needs. You’ll need to meet with and introduce; your providers; office planners; and your IT staff to determine what spaces will require which services. Are your copiers wired or connect via Wi-Fi? Will each of the offices or partitions need wired internet or landline phones? Will you need to have cabling run throughout your space for servers, printers or televisions and monitors. There are many items to be considered when it comes to being connected. Make sure your IT staff is involved in the process! Many of these services will require a specific timeline that will need to be closely scheduled.
Choosing Business Telephone Services
We’ve come a long way since telephone services were first available in offices. You’re no longer limited to hard wired phone systems, yet you may still require incoming phone lines depending on your business practices and industry requirements. You may want to consider VoIP, look at “follow me” and call forwarding options for staying connected. Consider how calls should be routed by holding a management meeting to discuss your offices needs. You will want to source bids for these services, and you will likely find that prices and options available vary significantly based on your needs. You’ll need to plan well in advance of your physical move, since more often than not, your team will require training or the new system.
Branding for the New Location
It takes more than just submitting a “change of address form” when relocating your business. Consider all the logos, marketing pieces, forms, labeling, etc. that have your address included. You’re going to need a list of each of these items. You may want to take the time before your move to redesign or refresh your logo to match changes you’re making in the new location. You may need to meet with your accounting team to make changes to banking, checks and accounting forms. From business cards to social network pages – every item will need to be reviewed, printing bids will need to be collected, and website(s) will need to be updated. Additionally, you will need to have directory listings updated, both printed and online. Remember to notify your clients and vendors of your upcoming move, multiple times and in advance.
The key to planning a successful move is to stay organized!
We hope that you have found value in the information we have shared in the second section of this 2-part series. Please download our Premium Office Relocation Planner to take advantage of all the information we have introduced in this series. This guide has the checklists, vendor organizers, and complete budget planner you need to implement the best office moving practices. You’ll know when you should begin preparing for the move, what steps you need to consider, and which professionals you should involve in the process. We have worked to compile the most comprehensive guide possible to help you make smarter decisions during your business relocation, and we will continue to update this guide as we research the latest innovations in office relocation. Download the Premium Office Relocation Planner here.
