Office relocation checklist for India: a 12-week plan
Plan an office relocation about 12 weeks ahead: lock the new space and vendors first, then inventory and tag every asset, label crates by floor and desk, and move IT over a weekend with a written runbook. Finish with an audit that every tagged asset arrived, and a list of where everything went for admin and finance.
Who owns what
Name one move owner with the authority to decide, and one owner for each stream. Most office moves go wrong in the gaps between teams, not inside them.
| Stream | Owner | Owns |
|---|---|---|
| Overall move | Admin / facilities head | Timeline, budget, vendor contracts, communication |
| IT | IT lead | Network, servers, laptops, desktops, printers, data backup, access control |
| Records | Finance or compliance | Files, statutory registers, record boxes, archive room |
| Each team | A team coordinator | Packing their desks and team cupboards, labelling, unpacking |
| Old premises | Admin | Landlord handover, security deposit, utility closures |
The 12-week timeline
Weeks 12–9: decide and book
- Sign the lease for the new space; get floor plans and confirm power, network points and AC capacity
- Review the old lease: notice period, restoration obligations, security deposit terms
- Get quotes from at least three movers; ask how they handle IT equipment and liability
- Book the internet line for the new office early — installation can take weeks
- Plan seating: desk-wise layout for every team
- Set the move dates; a Friday-evening-to-Sunday move avoids losing working days
Weeks 8–5: inventory and tag
- List every asset that will move: furniture, IT, pantry, record boxes, signage
- Decide what will not move — sell, donate, scrap or e-waste — and book the pickup
- Tag every asset and crate with a code: floor, team and desk (e.g. F3-FIN-12)
- Photograph the condition of furniture and expensive equipment before the move
- Confirm the mover’s insurance cover for transit
- Inform clients, couriers and banks of the new address and the move date
Weeks 4–2: prepare
- IT: full backup of servers and shared drives; label every cable and port
- Records: box files by department and year; seal and number each record box
- Hand each employee crates and labels; set a packing deadline
- New premises: install network, test power at every desk, set up access control
- Update GST, shops and establishment and other registrations with your CA as required
- Write the move-day runbook (below) and share it
Week 1: final checks
- Confirm the mover, truck count, loading times and building permissions at both ends
- Book lifts and loading bays with both building managements
- Print a floor plan with desk codes for every floor at the new office
- Tell employees what to take home (personal items, laptops if working from home)
How to label crates and assets
A label should answer three questions at a glance: which floor, which team, which desk. Use the same code on the crate, on the floor plan at the new office, and on the desk itself.
- Format:
FLOOR-TEAM-DESK, e.g.F2-SALES-07; record boxes asREC-FIN-2023-04 - Label two sides of every crate, never only the top
- Colour-code by floor so movers can sort without reading
- Keep a list of every code: what it contains and where it should land
Copy the table below into a spreadsheet as your master list.
| Code | Contents | From | To | Packed by | Arrived | Condition |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| F2-SALES-07 | Monitor, keyboard, files | Old 4th floor, desk 31 | New 2nd floor, desk 07 | Riya | ✓ | OK |
| REC-FIN-2023-04 | Vouchers Apr–Jun 2023 | Record room | Archive cabinet B, shelf 2 | Accounts |
WhatsWhere can keep this list for you from photos. Rename each crate to its code, photograph it as it is packed and the AI lists what is inside; print QR labels that show the contents when scanned; and run the move as one trip with progress you can see — packing, sealed, arrived, unpacked. At the new office, map cabinets from a photo so record boxes go into a named shelf. Afterwards, the “where everything went” report exports a CSV for admin and finance. It is a move-and-storage record, not an IT asset-management system — keep serial numbers and assignments in your IT register.
Move-day runbook
- Friday evening: shut down systems in order; IT disconnects and packs servers and network gear; employees leave sealed, labelled crates at their desks.
- Loading: one person at the old office checks each crate code against the list as it leaves; IT equipment travels in its own vehicle where possible.
- Unloading: one person per floor at the new office directs crates to desks using the floor plan.
- Saturday: IT brings up the network, servers and printers; test every desk’s power and network point.
- Sunday: furniture placed, crates at desks, signage up, pantry stocked; walk-through with team coordinators.
- Monday morning: an IT and admin help desk on every floor for the first two days.
Post-move audit (first two weeks)
- Every coded crate and asset ticked as arrived; chase anything missing the same week
- Damage checked against the before-move photos; claims raised with the mover within their deadline
- Record boxes in the archive and the shelf list updated
- Old premises restored, keys and access cards returned, final meter readings and handover signed
- Security deposit claim filed with the landlord
- A short note on what to do differently next time
Run the office move as one trip you can see
Rename crates to their desk codes, photograph each as it is packed, print QR labels, and track the move from packing to unpacked. Afterwards, export a CSV of where everything went. Invite team coordinators to record, and management to look only.