Office Move Timeline: A Week-by-Week Plan for Business Relocation

One of the most common questions businesses ask when planning a commercial relocation is: "How long does an office move actually take?" The honest answer depends on the size of your operation, the complexity of your IT infrastructure, and the specific logistics of your Los Angeles location. But as a general rule, any office with more than 20 employees needs at least 10 to 12 weeks of planning runway — and that's if everything goes well.

This guide lays out a realistic week-by-week timeline for a medium-sized office move: approximately 25 to 75 employees, a moderate amount of IT equipment, and a standard commercial tenancy in an LA business district such as Century City, Culver City, Burbank, El Segundo, or Downtown Los Angeles. Larger organizations should extend this timeline accordingly.

Use this as a living document. Assign owners to every week's major tasks and review progress in weekly coordination meetings. The difference between a smooth office move and a chaotic one almost always comes down to whether the timeline was enforced or ignored.

Week 12: Foundation and Commitment

This is your planning kickoff. The decisions you make in week 12 define the rest of the project.

Key actions:

• Confirm your new lease terms, possession date, and move-in date
• Set your official move date and protect it on all stakeholder calendars
• Appoint your move coordinator (or form a move committee for larger teams)
• Define your budget for the full relocation
• Begin drafting an RFP or gathering bids from commercial moving companies
• Obtain architectural floor plans for the new space
• Schedule a kick-off meeting with all department heads

Why this week matters: Delays in commitment lead to compounding delays downstream. Every week you wait to lock in a date, a mover, and a move coordinator is a week of planning you'll scramble to recover later.

Week 11: Mover Selection and IT Assessment

Key actions:

• Evaluate moving company bids and check commercial references
• Select your commercial mover and sign a contract (LuxeMove recommends confirming 8–10 weeks out for peak season moves)
• Engage your IT team or an IT relocation specialist for an infrastructure audit
• Document all current servers, network configurations, cable runs, and hardware
• Contact your telecom and internet providers about transfer or installation timelines at the new address
• Confirm whether any buildout or renovation work is required at the new location and get a completion date

Why this week matters: The IT assessment almost always reveals complications — outdated wiring, decommission timelines, or vendor lead times — that need maximum runway to resolve.

Week 10: Inventory, Layout, and Employee Announcement

Key actions:

• Conduct a full inventory audit of all furniture, equipment, and supplies
• Flag items for disposal, donation, or sale rather than moving
• Finalize departmental floor plans for the new space (where each team sits, conference room locations, server room placement)
• Send the first formal employee communication about the move, including:
  • Move date and new address
  • Reason for the move and what the new space offers
  • Timeline for future updates
  • A FAQ or open forum for questions
• Contact building management at both the current and new locations to understand access rules

Why this week matters: Employees who feel informed cooperate. Those who feel blindsided resist, ask disruptive questions, and sometimes create turnover. Early communication pays dividends.

Week 9: Building Logistics and Address Change Preparation

Key actions:

• Reserve freight elevators at both buildings for your move date and any pre-move delivery dates
• Confirm parking, loading dock access, and truck clearance at both locations
• Request certificates of insurance from your moving company for building management
• Begin the address change list — compile every place your current address appears
• Submit Change of Address with USPS
• Notify your bank, financial institutions, and insurance carriers

Why this week matters: In many LA business districts — particularly Bunker Hill in Downtown or Century Park in Century City — freight elevator windows are booked weeks or months in advance. Missing this step creates serious move-day complications.

Week 8: New Space Preparation and Packing Supply Order

Key actions:

• Finalize and confirm desk assignments and seating charts for all employees
• Order any new furniture, shelving, or equipment for the new location and schedule delivery
• Order packing supplies: labeled boxes, bubble wrap, foam, packing tape, markers
• Develop and distribute your labeling protocol (department + room + priority system)
• Schedule telecom installation and internet service at the new location (target: at least 3 weeks before move-in)
• Update your website's contact page, footer, and about page with the upcoming move date or new address

Why this week matters: New furniture delivery timelines in LA can stretch to 6–8 weeks. Ordering in week 8 gives you a safety buffer.

Week 7: External Notifications and Packing Phase 1

Key actions:

• Notify key clients and partners of your upcoming address change
• Update your Google Business Profile listing (allow up to 2 weeks for verification)
• Update industry directories, LinkedIn company page, and any city or county business registrations
• Begin packing non-essential items: archival documents, surplus supplies, seasonal materials, reference books
• Have IT begin labeling all cables, hardware, and peripherals according to the relocation plan
• Prepare updated business cards, letterhead, and signage with the new address

Why this week matters: Many address updates — especially government registrations and Google listings — have multi-week processing times. Starting now prevents a gap in your digital presence.

Week 6: IT Cutover Planning and Operational Readiness

Key actions:

• Finalize your IT cutover plan: which systems go down when, who reconnects what, and what the recovery procedure is if something fails
• Schedule temporary connectivity (mobile hotspots, temporary ISP service) to cover any gaps between old and new locations going live
• Conduct a full data backup of all critical systems before the move window opens
• Confirm the construction or buildout completion date at the new location — build in a buffer
• Confirm with your moving company that they have final floor plans and updated inventory lists
• Schedule the post-move IT support team for move day and the following 48 hours

Why this week matters: IT is the highest-risk element of any commercial move. A 6-week advance plan means you can identify and resolve most issues before the physical move begins.

Week 5: HR, Facilities, and Access

Key actions:

• Distribute parking information and access badge procedures for the new location
• Update employee directories, org charts, and HR systems with the new address
• Coordinate with facilities on decommissioning the old space: cleaning, repairs, key return, and lease exit requirements
• Confirm the move-day schedule with your moving company (arrival time, crew size, equipment needed)
• Remind employees of their packing responsibilities and deadlines

Week 4: Deep Packing and Final Floor Plan Review

Key actions:

• All non-workstation areas should be substantially packed by end of week 4 (filing rooms, storage rooms, break room supplies)
• Conduct a final floor plan review with department heads at the new space if possible — walk the physical space
• Confirm IT installation is proceeding on schedule
• Prepare "essentials" boxes for each department: items needed on day one at the new office (chargers, stationery, passwords, contact lists)
• Confirm elevator and loading dock reservations

Week 3: Communication Finalization

Key actions:

• Send a detailed move-day instruction email to all employees (what to pack, when, what to leave for movers)
• Send official change-of-address notification to all clients and vendors
• Update email signatures with move announcement
• Confirm all vendor and supplier address updates are complete
• Brief move-day supervisors on their roles (one at the origin, one at the destination)

Week 2: Final Preparations

Key actions:

• Workstations should be packed by end of week 2 except for items needed through the final working days
• Confirm internet and phone lines at the new location are live and tested
• Do a final walk-through of both spaces with your move coordinator
• Prepare a move-day contact sheet: move coordinator, building managers at both sites, IT lead, movers' dispatch
• Review your damage and insurance coverage with your moving company

Week 1: Move Week

Monday–Wednesday:

• Final packing completed; all boxes labeled and staged for movers
• Confirm move-day schedule one final time with the moving team

Move Day (Thursday or Friday — or weekend if building requires it):

• Move coordinator present at origin location at the start
• Designated receiver at new location to direct incoming furniture and boxes
• IT team present at new location for immediate reconnection
• Photograph any damage observed before movers depart
• Sign off on delivery inventory

Post-Move Days:

• IT stabilization: confirm all systems are operational
• Send move-complete notification to clients and partners
• Address employee questions and workstation issues
• Submit any damage claims promptly

The Week After: Stabilization

A great office move doesn't end on move day. Expect one to two weeks of adjustment:

• IT support tickets will spike — have coverage ready
• Employees will need time to find their rhythm in the new space
• Some address updates and vendor confirmations may still be outstanding
• Schedule a post-move debrief with your coordinator and leads to capture lessons learned

Final Thoughts

The businesses that execute office moves most successfully treat the timeline not as a guideline but as a contract. When milestones slip, downstream tasks pile up and move day becomes chaotic.

LuxeMove's commercial moving team has executed hundreds of office relocations across Los Angeles — from boutique agencies in Culver City to multi-floor corporate moves in Downtown LA. Our project managers work alongside your team to build and enforce a timeline like this one, so that move day is calm, organized, and exactly what you planned for.

Explore our commercial moving services or contact our team to begin building your custom relocation timeline today.