Are you about to relocate your office? That might be the case if you’ve expanded your company and need a bigger or more prestigious place to run the business. But no matter what the reason is, here’s the most important question: what’s the office removal cost? Here’s what you need to know about the rates and the process itself.
Cheap office removals – how to approach it
Office relocation always involves expenses, no matter whether you do it on your own, or hire professionals. So the first question you have to ask yourself is, whether to go through the moving without a removal company or to have it done by the movers. That depends on:
- how big your office is,
- how much stuff you need to relocate,
- what kind of appliances you need to move – meaning: whether there’s something fragile, valuable, or over-dimensional to transport,
- how much time you can spare to relocate,
- how many members of your team you can involve in the process,
- what the distance between your old and new office is.
Long story short: if you run a small office and you’re about to move a few desks, one or two computers and a few boxes of documents, it might be cheaper to do it on your own. But if time is scarce and the office is big – you won’t save money by not hiring professionals. It will be quite the opposite.
Fast and efficient office relocation requires:
- a good plan – it’s crucial to think it through and always know what the next step is going to be. That way you can avoid unnecessary chaos and losses,
- an even better team of movers – you need to work with people who know what to do, for example how to pack fragile objects or how to organise them in the moving van, not to damage anything,
- professional equipment – like cargo control tracks or hand pallet trucks.
Those three things can guarantee a successful and cheap office removal.
Office relocations’ price
How much does it cost to move your office with professional movers? It’s not so easy to pinpoint the exact rate. As you can expect, removal of a small office, that lasts a few hours and requires the involvement of a few workers, is much cheaper than a relocation on a much bigger scale. That’s why it’s important to ask for an estimate of costs before you make a deal. Sometimes it’s good to compare the offers of a few of the moving services providers to choose the right company.
Nevertheless, the factors that have an impact on the final price are:
- the number of materials moved – the more there are, the longer it will take the movers to pack them up, carry and transport to the new place,
- the type of the equipment – it’s much easier (and cheaper) to relocate laptops and small furniture than giant photocopiers and oversized furniture,
- the logistics of the removal – if it’s necessary to use a lifting platform or any other special equipment, the costs increase,
- the time needed to get things done – the longer the process takes, the more expensive the relocation becomes,
- the range of services – you’ll pay less if you only need the movers to pick up prepacked boxes and transport them to the new place, and more if you want the professionals to take care of everything that is involved in the removal, like packing the documents, electronics and furniture, storing them for a whole and unpacking and installing everything in your new office.
That’s why it’s difficult to tell the price in general. Furthermore, the cost will grow if the distance between your old and new office is long. In most cases, you’ll pay a fixed rate per kilometre, to cover the cost of the fuel and the movers’ time. You may also expect that office relocations in Cracow are going to be less expensive than in Paris or London.
How to prepare for office removal?
If you want to save some time and money before an office relocation, prepare for the process. What can you do to make it easier and more affordable?
- Pack the documents by yourself
Or ask the employees who deal with the files on a daily basis to do it. Why is it so important? For two reasons. The first one is: it’s safer that way. Some documents are confidential, and you may want them to stay that way. Even if the movers are very discreet and professional, certain files should be protected even from them. The second reason is very practical: it’s your team who will be dealing with the files in the new office. So it’ll be easier for them to reorganise them if they’ve been put in the right order beforehand.
How to prepare the documents for the removal? Put them into special carton boxes and label each of them. You can use a marker pen to write what each box contains. And just to make sure the files are protected, wrap the boxes in foil – it’ll prevent them from getting wet.
- Unplug all the devices
That includes the printers, photocopiers, servers, routers etc. If you can, take transport light and “mobile” electronics by yourself. It’s easily done with laptops, tablets etc.
- Label the equipment
You can put post-it notes on the chairs, desks, and other appliances so that they’re put in the right places after the removal.
For more information, contact the removal company of your choice. They’ll help you to make the office relocation easier.