The cost of an office move depends on what is moving and how hard it is to move it: the size of the inventory, access and elevators at both buildings, whether the work happens after hours, the distance, how much furniture must be taken apart and rebuilt, IT equipment, crating, storage and disposal. Many commercial movers price by project scope after a site assessment, not per desk, and confirm it in a written quote.
This guide explains each of those factors, why a desk count is a poor guide to price, and what a good written quote should say. It will not give you a number, because an honest one is impossible without seeing the space.
Why there is no price per desk
It is tempting to ask for a cost per workstation. The trouble is that a workstation is not a fixed unit. One desk is a freestanding table and a chair. Another is part of a benching system with privacy screens, cable trays and a pedestal, and must be taken apart, moved in pieces and rebuilt. A third has two monitors on arms and a docking station.
The building matters just as much. Ten desks on a ground floor with a loading dock at the door are a different job from ten desks on the thirty-second floor with one freight elevator booked from six in the evening.
For these reasons, many commercial movers quote on project scope. A scope-based quote should consider inventory, workstation count, crew, access, distance, schedule, disassembly and reassembly, packing, IT equipment, specialty items and any extra services.
What drives the cost
Size and inventory
The volume of what is moving sets the number of people, trucks and hours. Files and storage are often underestimated: a wall of lateral filing cabinets can take longer than a department’s worth of chairs. An accurate inventory is the single best way to get an accurate price.
Access and elevators
Much of the time in an office move is spent between the truck and the floor. The number and size of freight elevators, the distance from the loading dock, and how long each building allows you to use them all shape the schedule. If one elevator serves the whole move, the crew can only move as fast as that elevator.
After-hours work
Many office buildings require moves to happen in the evening or at the weekend. After-hours work usually costs more in labour, and building rules may add their own requirements, such as security staff on site. Set this against the cost of closing the office for a working day.
Distance
A move across the street and a move across the city differ less than you might think, because much of the time is spent loading and unloading. Distance matters more when traffic, bridges or highway time stretch the day, or when the move leaves the city.
Furniture disassembly and reassembly
Systems furniture, sit-stand desks, large boardroom tables and modular storage often need to be taken apart and put back together. This is skilled, careful work, and on a large floor it can account for a great share of the hours. Some furniture also needs the manufacturer or a specialist installer; it is worth asking your furniture dealer before the move.
IT equipment
Moving computers, monitors and servers needs proper packing and careful handling. The work of disconnecting and setting up again usually belongs to your IT team or provider, and their time is a cost too. Include it in your budget, even though it will not appear on the mover’s quote.
Crating and specialty items
Artwork, sculpture, large glass, server racks, safes and fragile reception pieces may need a custom crate or extra crew and equipment. These are usually priced item by item.
Storage
If the new space is not ready when the old lease ends, some or all of the office may need to be stored. Ask how storage is priced, how items are documented on intake, and how they are covered while stored.
Disposal
Furniture and equipment that is not coming needs to go somewhere. Removal, donation, recycling and secure destruction of records or drives all cost time and money. Personal information must be securely destroyed or removed before hardware is disposed of, according to guidance from the Office of the Privacy Commissioner of Canada summarized by Bennett Jones (Bennett Jones). Plan and price this separately from the move itself.
Why a site assessment matters
A quote without a site assessment is a guess. A mover who walks both spaces, or reviews them in detail on a call, sees the things that change the price: a freight elevator smaller than it looks on paper, a loading dock that cannot take a large truck, furniture that will not come apart easily, a storage room nobody mentioned.
A thorough assessment covers both locations, the inventory, floor plans, building access, elevators, loading, operating hours, IT needs and the date the new space must be ready. For a larger project, ask whether the mover will walk the site before the price is final.
The assessment is also where risk is settled. A price agreed after a proper look at both buildings is far less likely to change on the night.
What a written fixed quote should contain
A fixed quote is only useful if it is specific. Before you sign, check that it sets out:
- The scope. What is moving, from where to where, with the inventory or floor plan it was based on.
- The schedule. The dates, start times and building access windows the price assumes.
- The crew and equipment. How many people, how many vehicles, and who leads the crew.
- What is included. Packing, labelling, disassembly and reassembly, IT equipment handling, protection of both buildings, removal of packing material.
- What is excluded. Disposal, storage, crating, specialist installation and IT setup, unless they are listed.
- Insurance and coverage. The mover’s liability insurance, whether a certificate will be sent to both buildings, and the contractual limit on what the mover will pay if something is damaged.
- Changes. What happens if the scope changes, and how a change is approved before the extra work is done.
- Payment. The deposit, when the balance is due, and any cancellation terms.
On the last two points, a written quote protects both sides. Yugo quotes a fixed price for the agreed scope, as set out in the quote. If the scope changes, we tell you first, and any extra charge is billed only after you approve it. If there is waiting on the day, we let you know when waiting time begins, and it is billed.
Liability and valuation
Read the coverage section closely. General liability insurance covers damage the mover causes to a building or to people, which is why property managers ask for a certificate. It is different from the limit on what the mover will pay if your own property is lost or damaged. That limit is often set by weight: for household moves, BrokerLink notes that a common basic level is 60 cents per pound (BrokerLink), which is very little for light, valuable equipment. Ask what limit applies to your move, and speak to your own commercial insurer about what your policy covers in transit.
The costs that sit on your side
Some of the cost of an office move never appears on a mover’s quote. Budget for these separately:
- Staff time. Packing desks, clearing storage and the lost hours of the last afternoon and the first morning.
- Your IT provider. Shutdown, reconnection, testing and any new cabling or network work at the new office.
- Furniture dealers and installers. New furniture ordered for the new space is often delivered and installed by the dealer, on its own schedule.
- The old space. Many leases require the premises to be returned in a set condition. Cleaning, patching and removing fixtures can take time after the move.
- Overlap. If the two leases overlap, you are paying for both spaces for that period.
Knowing these in advance keeps the mover’s quote in proportion. It is one line in a larger budget, not the whole of it.
Comparing quotes fairly
Lay the quotes side by side against the same inventory and the same schedule. The lowest figure is not always the lowest cost. A quote that leaves out reassembly, building protection or packing material removal will cost more once your team is rebuilding desks on Monday morning. A price that has been planned, with its assumptions written down, is the one you can hold the mover to.
If you would like a fixed quote for your office move, talk to our commercial team or read how our office relocations are priced and planned.
Sources
Office relocation, Yugo
Regulatory Obligations Concerning the Disposal of Outdated Hard Drives and Servers, Bennett Jones
Is Your Stuff Covered When You Use a Moving Company?, BrokerLink
