Tips for An Office Move

Lots of things affect whether you have a smooth office move or not. Prior planning is crucial. Choosing the right professional office moving company will help ensure a seamless moving experience. Here are six tips on how to make your office move successful and choose the right moving company for your business.

1. COMPANY CONTACT: Ideally, you or one representative from your office should be the liaison with the moving company’s project manager. Look for someone who can follow through on all the details and has excellent communication skills.
2. LICENSE: Make sure the companies you are interviewing are licensed and insured. There are two different types of licenses 1.) CalT number, this is required in California for all moving companies doing work within California. 2.) ICC number, this is for moving companies doing work to and from other states.In California it’s very easy to check a license number by going onto the PUC web site and entering in the companies name and city where they are located.
3. INSURANCE: Have the moving company provide insurance certificates? Do not use a company that cannot provide a certificate of insurance for both General Liability (for property damage) and Workers Comp (employee coverage). It is also a good idea to call the insurance provider to make sure the certificate is valid. There have been companies providing certs that are not valid, with scanners and computers these days anyone can forge a certificate that looks legitimate.
4. ORGANIZATION AFFILIATIONS: Choose a moving company that is a member of the CMSA (California Moving & Storage Association). This will help ensure you don’t end up with a rogue mover. You must be in good standing and have all your licenses and insurance valid in order to be a member of this organization.  Check out the ProMover Program, this is a certification process that some moving companies have gone through to help separate reputable, professional movers from the con artists.  It’s an extra level of protection for consumers. To get a list of ProMover companies in your area check out the CMSA Member Directory.
5. EQUIPMENT: Consider what’s moving—heavy, delicate, large, or proprietary items. From the usual: desks, computers, printers, filing cabinets, copiers—to the not-so-usual: plotters, fireproof files, servers, lab equipment, and vending machines—what equipment and experience does the moving company have to accommodate these diverse pieces? Trucks? Will they provide forklifts, dollies, office carts for things like desk top equipment and computers, panel carts for flat items, like partitions?
6. PLANNING: Will the moving company project manager visit your new office space? A map of each office will need to be provided for furniture placement in the new space. Are you going to provide this? Are you going to need help from the moving company to do this? The company you choose should be able to provide labels for marking furniture and templates for mapping individual office spaces and packing tips to provide to your employees and help to ensure you have a smooth move.
7. OTHER SERVICES AND CONTACTS: A reputable company can also bring in trusted IT professionals to set up computer equipment, or an interior specialist to relocate pictures and plants. A moving company with professional contacts (computers, alarm, phones, electrical, handyman) can save you time.
8. ESTIMATE: The moving company should do a walk through and provide a written estimate. Never use a  company whose bid is “too good to be true.” Legitimate moving companies will provide a written estimate and stick to the estimate unless something changes (ie., expecting to use the elevator and it’s broke on the day of the move, or showing up and employees are not packed and ready to move).
9. STORAGE:If you are not ready for all of your items to be installed or if you are downsizing to a smaller space, can the company you are interviewing provide storage? Go visit the facility make sure they actually have an on-site storage facility, is it clean and organized? Is is alarmed and secure? You can tell a lot by doing a site visit.

When choosing a mover you can also check out the BBB web site. You can’t go wrong if you choose a company that is a Member of the BBB, a CMSA Member and of course look for the California ProMover symbol. AND the most important thing to remember is don’t be swayed by a cheap price.