9 Helpful Commercial Moving Tips for Miami Businesses
Did you know that every year, thousands of businesses spend a combined total of $25 billion on commercial moving costs? Businesses may need to relocate for a variety of reasons. Sometimes the original location wasn’t ideal, and a new office or storefront is in a more appropriate part of town. Sometimes a business outgrows its original office or retail space, and needs to upgrade to the space with more square footage. Whatever the reason, Miami businesses move all the time.
If your business is picking up and moving to a new location, planning is essential. These helpful commercial moving tips can guide you as you plan and prepare for your upcoming move.
Separate the Wheat from the Chaff
Moving is one of the best opportunities to “clean the house.” This is as true for businesses as it is for homeowners. How much stuff do you have that you really don’t need? As you pack everything up, you can get rid of things that are old, broken, or just useless. Some things may need to be tossed or recycled, while others can be sold off for some extra cash. But during the moving process, you can figure out which items you actually need. This helps simplify and de-clutter things, so that when you unpack at a new location, you can have a fresh start.
Identify Essential and Non-Essential Items
Commercial moving can take a while, and it’s important to know which items you’re going to need to unpack first. Core, mission-critical items and equipment should be designated as last on the truck. You can also use transparent plastic bins to pack, or label your cardboard boxes. This helps keep things organized and identifiable, simplifying the unpacking process and ensuring you’re not left searching frantically for something important that’s buried in a box somewhere.
Take Note of What Commercial Movers Can’t Transport
Some things aren’t safe for transport in a moving truck. Flammables like cleaning fluid, gasoline, fuel oil, fireworks, and aerosol cans aren’t allowed on commercial moving vehicles. You may need to transport these things yourself. If you’re not sure about something, ask your moving company beforehand.
Make Sure Furniture & Electronics are Ready to Move
If you’re moving a whole bunch of desktop computers to a new office, you need to package them carefully, in an orderly and organized fashion. Cables should be put into ziplock bags, which can be numbered so you know which workstation they go with. There’s also the issue of protecting mission critical data. If you’re not already relying on cloud storage, be sure to back everything up before the move. In most cases, commercial moving companies will handle your furniture, making sure it’s disassembled and properly packaged.
Consider Hiring a Move Manager
When you’re relocating your entire business, you may be working with multiple service providers. There’s the moving company, of course, but you may also need IT installers, delivery for new furniture, and other things. A move manager can coordinate all of these services, keeping everything organized and on schedule throughout the moving process.
Take Inventory
Before you pack up and move, have department managers take a comprehensive inventory of everything that’s going to be moved. This makes it easier to keep track of things.
Make Sure Your Staff Has Time to Pack
Although you and your moving company will take care of moving electronics and furniture, your employees may still need to pack up personal belongings from their offices or workstations. Be sure to give them enough notice to get this taken care of in a timely manner.
Update All Your Online Listings
Moving can be hectic, but this is an important concern, especially if you rely on SEO and other forms of online marketing and lead generation. You’ll need to update your website, your Google My Business listing, and other local listing sites with your new address.
Don’t Skimp on Insurance
Moving insurance is a good idea. While moving companies are generally prohibited from offering insurance of their own, there are plenty of insurance companies from which you can purchase a policy. This keeps you financially protected if equipment is lost or damaged.
Miami Commercial Moving Services
At Orange Movers, we provide both residential and commercial moving services throughout the Miami area. To find out more, call us any time, or fill out our online contact form.