<p>Most office moves that go badly are not the transport going wrong. It is the discovery, at the new place, that a cable run was never documented or that the server room was packed in the wrong order. Here is the sequence that works.</p>
<h2>Two to three weeks before</h2>
<ul>
<li>Agree a moving date that avoids a pay cycle, a month-end close, a board meeting or an exam week.</li>
<li>Decide who owns the move internally. One project manager, not six departments each talking to the mover.</li>
<li>Take an inventory: what exists, how many, what condition. Photograph server rooms, racks and the cable layout before anyone touches them.</li>
<li>Confirm both addresses with the movers, including floor, lift size, parking and whether the loading bay is reserved.</li>
</ul>
<h2>One week before</h2>
<ul>
<li>Tell IT what is being moved and when. Back up everything, and verify the backup, not just the command.</li>
<li>Label network points at both ends. A label at the wall and the same label at the patch panel saves an afternoon.</li>
<li>Flag anything fragile or unusual — server racks, printers, scanners, water coolers, the tea trolley — rather than assuming the crew will spot it.</li>
<li>Arrange the new premises: power, cooling, network drops, desk space, and access for the movers outside office hours.</li>
</ul>
<h2>Move night</h2>
<p>Sequence matters more than speed:</p>
<ol>
<li><strong>IT and network first</strong> — servers, network points and cabling, while the floor is still clear and there is room to work.</li>
<li><strong>Desks and workstations</strong> — before anything is stacked against a wall.</li>
<li><strong>Partitions and cabins</strong> — while there is still floor space to stand them up.</li>
<li><strong>Heavy furniture and storage</strong> — last, so it goes in where it belongs rather than getting moved twice.</li>
<li><strong>Stationery and consumables</strong> — final, straight into the correct room.</li>
</ol>
<p>Keep one box of immediate essentials — coffee, water, chargers, first aid, a change of clothes for the person on site — and open it first, not last.</p>
<h2>Monday morning</h2>
<ul>
<li>Walk the floor against the inventory before the crew leaves. Discrepancies are easy to settle on the spot and near-impossible a week later.</li>
<li>Get the signed job sheet and the carton inventory list.</li>
<li>Test every network point, every workstation and the printer. Problems found in the first hour are cheap; found on Wednesday are not.</li>
</ul>
<h2>One thing worth deciding early</h2>
<p>Decide what happens to the old office. If the lease has not ended, a lot of companies pack everything into storage. That is almost never the right answer — you pay for storage and you pay again when you move in again. Pack only what you will not use in the first month, and leave the rest.</p>
<h2>Two to three weeks before</h2>
<ul>
<li>Agree a moving date that avoids a pay cycle, a month-end close, a board meeting or an exam week.</li>
<li>Decide who owns the move internally. One project manager, not six departments each talking to the mover.</li>
<li>Take an inventory: what exists, how many, what condition. Photograph server rooms, racks and the cable layout before anyone touches them.</li>
<li>Confirm both addresses with the movers, including floor, lift size, parking and whether the loading bay is reserved.</li>
</ul>
<h2>One week before</h2>
<ul>
<li>Tell IT what is being moved and when. Back up everything, and verify the backup, not just the command.</li>
<li>Label network points at both ends. A label at the wall and the same label at the patch panel saves an afternoon.</li>
<li>Flag anything fragile or unusual — server racks, printers, scanners, water coolers, the tea trolley — rather than assuming the crew will spot it.</li>
<li>Arrange the new premises: power, cooling, network drops, desk space, and access for the movers outside office hours.</li>
</ul>
<h2>Move night</h2>
<p>Sequence matters more than speed:</p>
<ol>
<li><strong>IT and network first</strong> — servers, network points and cabling, while the floor is still clear and there is room to work.</li>
<li><strong>Desks and workstations</strong> — before anything is stacked against a wall.</li>
<li><strong>Partitions and cabins</strong> — while there is still floor space to stand them up.</li>
<li><strong>Heavy furniture and storage</strong> — last, so it goes in where it belongs rather than getting moved twice.</li>
<li><strong>Stationery and consumables</strong> — final, straight into the correct room.</li>
</ol>
<p>Keep one box of immediate essentials — coffee, water, chargers, first aid, a change of clothes for the person on site — and open it first, not last.</p>
<h2>Monday morning</h2>
<ul>
<li>Walk the floor against the inventory before the crew leaves. Discrepancies are easy to settle on the spot and near-impossible a week later.</li>
<li>Get the signed job sheet and the carton inventory list.</li>
<li>Test every network point, every workstation and the printer. Problems found in the first hour are cheap; found on Wednesday are not.</li>
</ul>
<h2>One thing worth deciding early</h2>
<p>Decide what happens to the old office. If the lease has not ended, a lot of companies pack everything into storage. That is almost never the right answer — you pay for storage and you pay again when you move in again. Pack only what you will not use in the first month, and leave the rest.</p>
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