The world of office work has changed substantially in recent years and continues evolving. Despite the changes, three-quarters of those in remote-capable jobs work from the office full-time or on a hybrid basis. And despite employees preferring remote work, there appears to be a trend toward employees returning to the office.

Two indispensable specialists are moving out of the office.

Those studies suggest people will work in business offices for some time to come, and those offices will need to relocate periodically. If you anticipate moving your office soon, this article will help you understand the office relocation process and the associated office relocation costs.

The Office Moving Process

The complexity of the process and office moving costs vary with the number of people in the office. Yet, the underlying process is similar for small, medium, large, and enterprise offices. This article focuses on local moves. Moving an office or other business to a different city or state substantially increases the complexity and cost of the move.

Employees and Square Footage by Office Size

Office Size	# of Employees	Square Footage
Small	<20	1,000 to 2,500
Medium	20 to 75	2,500 to 10,000
Large	76 to 300	10,001 to 50,000
Enterprise	300+	50,000+

Regardless of the number of employees and square footage involved, planning for office relocation costs and initiating “Day One” follows a series of steps, including:

Strategic Planning: Review current office contract for exit terms, inventory current office and IT equipment, define new office requirements, and potential locations. (6 to 12 months in advance)
Procurement: Select a new location, define the new floor plan and buildout, identify IT and other equipment transition requirements, confirm the need for vendor support (e.g., office movers), and obtain office moving quotes. (3 to 6 months in advance)
Pre-Move: Detailed move planning (what goes where and when), employee communication, and confirm move insurance (4 to 8 weeks in advance)
Move: Pre-move IT setup, physical asset transfer, re-establish IT system, positioning of assets per floor play (one day to several months)
Post-Move: Resolve immediate move-related issues, decommission old office and signage, and identify near-term enhancement plan

Despite substantial differences in the scope and details of moving a small real estate agency’s office versus a large corporate campus, the fundamentals remain the same, as is the potential need to engage an office moving company.

How Do Office Movers Help?

Office movers are moving companies that specialize in office relocations. They have experience with all aspects of office relocations and generally offer three primary services: pickup, refinish, and delivery.

Pickup

Much like home movers, office movers transfer your physical assets from one location to another. Unlike home movers, they have specialist knowledge of furniture disassembly and assembly, and the proper handling of computers, printers, copiers, and other valuable office equipment.

They have established practices for moving office furniture, file cabinets, desks/chairs, and employee belongings. Other than some employee possessions, the movers pack everything, ensuring the boxes are marked with their contents and destinations.

Refinish

Before delivering desks, cubicle walls, conference tables, and other furniture and equipment to your new location, the movers or others can repair, repaint, or refinish them. Refinishing furniture or equipment requires additional planning and timeline adjustments to account for the time needed to perform this work.

Delivery

Your belongings are transported from one location to another and positioned where you want them. The movers should track the location of each asset to prevent their misplacement or loss.

If your move is to a nearby location, the delivery process should be quick, typically within a day or two.

General Office Moving Costs

While industry rules of thumb suggest that office moves cost $1 to $5 per square foot, these estimates are inadequate for planning and budgeting. Your out-of-pocket costs for moving your office change with the:

Volume/amount of equipment being moved
Equipment complexity/sensitivity (e.g., computers, printers)
Distance between locations
Office setting, including staircase/elevator use

Access to loading docks, the number of trucks shuttling between locations, and whether the offices are in dense urban or small-town locations all affect the logistics of the move. A professional mover can optimize the mix of resources needed to meet your desired completion speed.

Estimated Local Office Relocation Metrics

Office Size	Average Move Duration	Estimated Cost Range	Recommended Mover Team Size
Small Office	1 day	$1,500 to $5,000	2 to 4
Medium Office	2 to 3 days	$5,000 to $15,000	2 to 4
Large Office	2 to 5 days	$20,000 to $100,000	8 to 10
Enterprise Level	Multiple weeks or months	$100,000 to Millions	10 to 20+

Hidden Office Moving Costs

In addition to the direct, out-of-pocket costs, office moves have hidden costs due to disruptions to office routines.

The man is loading small boxes into a small car. The office is moving.

Downtime and Productivity Loss

Even when new offices offer long-term benefits and efficiencies, they disrupt the status quo and force people to try new things and adapt. Industry sources suggest employee productivity drops each day of the move, lowering productivity by $200 to $400 per day and more, depending on the nature of the work each person performs. Many companies prefer to relocate on weekends to minimize the disruption for employees and customers.

Decommissioning Costs

Companies often underestimate the cost of returning the old office to its required conditions. Removing or patching walls, cleaning carpeting, and disposing of equipment or other items that do not move to the new location can be substantial. Businesses often pay directly to move and dispose of old equipment and may have accounting losses for equipment that is not fully depreciated.

Overtime Labor

In addition to paying higher rates to the moving company at higher rates for weekend moves, your hourly personnel work longer hours during the move, often at overtime pay.

IT Transition

Organizations that run lean often lack the IT resources to execute a relocation using only internal resources. New offices typically need cables run, a telephone system setup, server installations, and many other systems established that require outside resources to execute on schedule. Be sure to obtain office moving quotes from qualified vendors during the planning process.

Get Your Office Move Started

Like all aspects of running a business, moving an office requires planning, effective use of your employee resources, and engaging outside experts and resources. Each step takes time and money, so start your planning as early as possible.

While this article focuses on local moves, an office relocation to another city or state may require transferring company trucks, cars, or other motor vehicles to the new location. If you have a long-distance relocation coming up, you can quickly get a quote for the move with our vehicle transport cost calculator.

FAQs

What insurance coverage is provided for high-value IT equipment during a move?

Your first line of defense is the moving company’s cargo insurance policy, which offers $0.60 per pound coverage and is inadequate for IT equipment. A company specializing in commercial moves likely carries supplemental insurance, but you should consider obtaining inland marine insurance, which covers commercial property in transit.

Note that inland marine coverage does not cover data loss resulting from damage that occurs during a move.

Can the relocation be executed outside of standard business hours to prevent operational downtime?

After-hours relocation is common in the business world, especially for those delivering professional services, since productivity losses can be quite costly. Moves are often staged and scheduled from 4 PM to 8 PM during the week or on weekends and require significant planning and preparation of IT and communication resources.

Do companies offer temporary climate-controlled storage if the new premises face construction delays?

Yes. Major national moving companies offer climate-controlled storage for up to 180 days called Storage in Transit (SIT). Longer-term storage is also available. Climate-controlled storage is used as part of a moving plan and due to construction and other delays.

Is specialized packing for confidential corporate documents included in the standard service?

Specialized packing is not part of most movers’ standard package, but is widely available, though their offerings vary widely. Organizations subject to HIPAA and other client confidentiality requirements use their services. Offerings include moving crew background checks, bonding, lockable and tamper-resistant packages, coded package labeling, and chain-of-custody procedures.