So moving day is upon you.

First and foremost, you will need to get your communications up and running. This means moving the telephone and computer systems and having them hooked backed up by professionals. In the Atlanta market, for telephone systems, I recommend Robert Brock’s company, Square 1 Technology. For computers and the network, I obviously recommend my company, Carceron.

As far as moving your office is concerned, you can do it yourself of course (that’s what we did, along with an army of youth volunteers). But you may want to outsource that part, especially if you’re a bit bigger (2000 sq ft. or more). In that case, Debbie Ponder from Suddath Relocation Systems is who I would use in the Atlanta market. Regardless of who you use to move or how, you should have a space plan for the new office. A space plan is a layout map of the office that shows where every piece of furniture is going to go and how it will be positioned. It’s especially helpful to have measurements of your furniture relative to each room’s dimensions. also be mindful of the position of the door into the office relative to your desk. “L” shaped desks may not be able to go into the office just how you want it based on the position of the door into the office. If you’re getting any additional new furniture for the office, make sure to coordinate with your furniture rep on the move in as well.

You also might have a lot of loose ends to tie up here. Such as:

• Getting office and server room locks re-keyed and disseminating those keys to relevant employees
• Signage (reception area, parking, etc.)
• Touch painting after move in (hopefully not)
• Security system operational
• Interior Decoration (hanging plaques, awards, etc. – adding some plant life to soften the place up a little)
• Stocking the kitchen / break room
• Commercial Insurance is updated for the new property and you have a certificate of insurance into the landlord / lender

If you brain storm with your staff over everything that needs to get done from the very beginning, then put that list where everyone can see it (in LifeTick or SharePoint for example), you should have a very successful and relatively pain-free move.