If you have a business and are thinking of moving offices, there’s a lot of hassle and upheaval involved in the process or relocating, which means it’s likely you have been putting off this decision for a while – as not only is it expensive, it’s also very disruptive and costs can quickly spiral out of control, particularly if you are outsourcing the process to professional movers.
If you’re renting premises there are a few less headaches, because if the premises are your own, then there’s a lot more to take care of in terms of maintenance issues such as needing to hire a commercial electrician, plumber, and other professional tradespeople to get the space in good shape.
That said, even if you are renting there’s still plenty of aspects to consider, and a lot of work required that does cost quite a lot of money. In this article we’re going to look at how to make an office move less expensive.
BUDGET
The first thing you need to do is work out how much your relocation budget is, as otherwise, costs can spiral out of control without any ceiling on the expectation of cost. The challenge is that costs can very quickly mount up and there are a number of unexpected costs to consider.
In this sense, it’s worth setting a specific budget and assigning a project manager to the task, who is responsible for managing the budget and anticipating unexpected costs.
Some of the unexpected factors that can affect overspending are the cost of dilapidation or repairs to the premises you are leaving, the potential for damage and replacement cost due to transportation, timing limitations and access restrictions that require an extra ‘out of hours’ fee to be paid.
It can be beneficial, therefore, to discuss your move with a commercial relocation firm that can offer some advice and insight in terms of the entire costs of your move. You don’t necessarily have to use them, as this is a more expensive way to move forward, but they will be helpful in establishing the costs of aspects you might not have considered.
TRANSPORT
If you don’t have much office furniture you could look into finding a good deal on van hire for a few days, as this way, you can manage the move at a more leisurely pace than doing everything in one day – plus you’ll save a lot of money by not outsourcing this task.
Relocation companies are surprisingly expensive, for what is basically moving furniture and driving it to the new location (often just a few blocks away). That said, when you consider the fact “time is money” in business, it might be worth considering whether the amount you save by doing it yourself – either as the owner of the business or as your entire team, is worth it on the basis that time might be spent on the business.
STORAGE
One of the largest costs when it comes to moving office is that of storage. The storage industry is highly profitable, particularly for businesses that are required to archive data in the form of paper records for six years (such as law firms). Storage can be expensive, so when looking into new offices, it might be worth buying something a little larger than you think you need in order to store your documents on site rather than encounter the expensive of additional storage.
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