Office Move IT Checklist for Melbourne Businesses: A 90-Day Technology Plan

An office move can look complete while the business is still unable to work. The desks are assembled, the keys have been handed over, and the removalists have left, but the internet is not active, customer calls are going nowhere, and staff cannot reach the systems they need.

This office move IT checklist puts those dependencies in the right order. It is written for Melbourne business owners planning a small or medium-sized office relocation, whether the move is across the suburb or to the other side of the city. Start around 90 days before the move where possible. Internet provisioning, number porting, cabling and building access often depend on other organisations, so they should not be left to moving week.

The quick office move IT checklist

Before the detailed timeline, make sure somebody owns each of these outcomes:

• internet is active and tested before staff arrive
• business numbers are retained, and call routing is tested
• the new office has enough correctly placed network and power outlets
• Wi-Fi coverage has been planned rather than guessed
• laptops, screens, printers and meeting rooms have named destinations
• Microsoft 365 accounts and shared files remain accessible
• backups are current and recovery has been checked
• suppliers know the move date, access rules and escalation contacts
• old equipment and data are handled securely
• moving-day decisions have one accountable coordinator

A checklist is only useful when each item has an owner and a due date. “The internet company is handling it” is not an owner. Name the person in your business who will confirm the order, installation and test.

Around 90 days before the office move

• Create one technology inventory

List what the business uses now. Include internet services, public IP addresses, firewalls, switches, wireless access points, servers, phone numbers, handsets, printers, meeting-room equipment, security systems and important cloud applications. Record who supplies each service and when its contract ends.

Do not limit the inventory to equipment in the server cabinet. Ask each department what would prevent it from working on the first morning. Reception may rely on a door system and a call queue. Finance may need a particular printer or secure banking access. A warehouse may use scanners or label printers that nobody included in the original floor plan.

This is also the time to decide what should move and what should be replaced. Moving outdated equipment can add cost and risk without extending its useful life. Article 2 in this series provides a framework for making that decision.

• Check the new premises properly

Obtain an accurate floor plan and inspect the site with the relevant technical people. Confirm where the communications room is, how it is ventilated, whether racks and power are suitable, and how cabling reaches work areas. Check building access requirements for contractors, delivery restrictions and whether the landlord controls any network infrastructure.

Wi-Fi should be designed around the layout and building materials. A router placed wherever the internet connection enters the building may not cover meeting rooms, storage areas or enclosed offices reliably. The plan should also separate staff, guest and device access where required.

• Order internet early

Confirm which business-grade services are available at the exact address. A service advertised in the suburb may not be available in the building or tenancy. Ask about installation lead time, equipment, appointment requirements and what must be completed by the landlord.

Decide what the business will do if the primary connection is delayed or later fails. A secondary connection or mobile failover may be appropriate where loss of internet would stop cloud applications, payments, phones or customer service. The correct design depends on the cost of an outage and how long the business can operate without connectivity.

Around 60 days before the move

• Plan the business phone transition

List every public number, direct number, queue, recorded message and after-hours rule. Decide which numbers will be retained, which can be retired and whether the move is an opportunity to change how calls are answered.

Number porting and system configuration are separate tasks. A port moves the number between providers. The phone-system project determines where calls ring, how transfers work, what happens after hours and how staff answer from home or mobile devices. Telco ICT’s business phone systems for Melbourne organisations page explains the available starting point for that discussion.

Set a freeze date for unnecessary call-flow changes shortly before moving. Test inbound and outbound calls, caller identification, voicemail, queues, emergency calling information and failover. Keep a written fallback, such as temporary diversion to nominated mobiles, in case the planned cutover is delayed.

• Design the network and cabling

Turn the seating plan into a technology plan. Mark data outlets, wireless access points, printers, meeting-room screens, cameras, access-control devices and any specialist equipment. Allow for realistic growth rather than cabling only the seats occupied on day one.

Confirm who supplies the rack, patch panels, switches, firewall and uninterruptible power supply. If building contractors install cabling, nominate who tests and labels every outlet. Clear labels save time during installation and every time the office changes later.

• Decide what happens to servers and local equipment

Some businesses still rely on equipment that must be physically moved. Document shutdown order, transport responsibility, insurance, reconnection and testing. Confirm that a current backup exists before anything is powered down, and that the business knows how it would recover if equipment were damaged in transit.

An office move can also be a sensible point to reassess whether a local workload should remain local. That does not mean moving everything to the cloud by default. It means comparing operational needs, application compatibility, internet dependence, support and total cost before relocating the same design unchanged.

Around 30 days before the move

• Map every employee and device

Create a seating and equipment schedule. Assign each laptop or desktop, screen, dock, headset and handset to a person or location. Record serial numbers for valuable equipment and use labels that survive the move.

Confirm how new starters, staff on leave and remote workers are handled. A person working from home on moving day may still depend on a service being changed at the old office. Keep staff informed about planned outages, new Wi-Fi details and how to request help.

• Review Microsoft 365 and shared access

Cloud services reduce the amount of physical infrastructure being moved, but they do not remove the need for preparation. Check administrator access, licences, shared mailboxes, Teams calling, SharePoint libraries, OneDrive synchronisation and any applications restricted by office IP address.

Make sure critical files are synchronised before devices are disconnected. Confirm that the right people can administer the tenant if the usual contact is unavailable. If licensing or configuration has grown without a clear owner, use the move to document it rather than carrying the uncertainty forward. Telco ICT provides Microsoft 365 setup, migration and ongoing management as part of its broader business technology work.

• Build the cutover plan

Write the sequence for the final business day at the old office and the first day at the new one. Include responsible people, supplier contacts, access times, dependencies and decision points. Identify which systems must be restored first.

Reception, internet, core applications and customer communication will usually take priority over secondary meeting rooms or spare desks. Your order may differ, but it should be agreed before moving day rather than argued while equipment is in boxes.

The final week

Test the new internet connection under realistic conditions. Confirm the firewall, network, Wi-Fi and remote access. Make and receive test calls. Check meeting rooms, printers and any business-specific equipment already installed.

Take fresh configuration backups where relevant and verify business-data backups. Photograph and document the old communications rack before disconnecting anything. Confirm that removalists know which equipment requires specialist handling and which items must not be packed with ordinary furniture.

Send staff a short, practical notice covering:

• when systems may be unavailable
• where and when staff should arrive
• how to connect at the new site
• what equipment they are responsible for
• how to report a problem
• the fallback plan if the office opening is delayed

Moving day

Use one coordinator for technology decisions. Suppliers should not receive conflicting instructions from the owner, office manager and removalist.

Work through the documented start-up order. Confirm internet and network services before connecting the whole office. Bring up critical systems, then user equipment, phones, printers and meeting rooms. Record faults in one list and assign them rather than relying on verbal updates.

Test from the user’s point of view. Can reception receive and transfer a call? Can a staff member sign in, open a shared file, print and join a video meeting? Can remote staff still connect? Technical indicators may look healthy while a business process remains broken.

Keep the fallback arrangements active until the new setup has operated reliably. Do not cancel the old service prematurely if a short overlap is commercially reasonable and contractually possible.

The first week after moving

Expect small issues. Staff will find weak Wi-Fi spots, missing permissions, devices connected to the wrong printer and call routes that made sense on paper but not in practice. Collect these through one support channel and rank them by operational impact.

Review supplier accounts after the move. Cancel services that are genuinely no longer required, but first confirm there are no numbers, licences or dependencies attached to them. Update equipment and network documentation to reflect the final installation, not merely the original plan.

Schedule a short post-move review. Record what remains open, what changed during the project and which risks need longer-term work. The move is complete when the business can operate reliably, and the new environment is documented, not when the last box leaves the old premises.

Who should manage the IT part of an office relocation?

A very small business with simple cloud systems may be able to coordinate suppliers directly. A move involving number porting, new cabling, network equipment, servers, several vendors or strict downtime limits benefits from an experienced project lead.

The role is partly technical and partly organisational. Someone must understand the dependencies, ask suppliers the right questions, translate decisions for the business owner and accept responsibility for the test plan. Telco ICT’s ICT consulting services can help scope projects, while its managed IT services provide an ongoing home for the environment after the move.

Plan the technology before the removal trucks arrive

Telco ICT is based in Ashburton and works with businesses across Victoria. If you are planning a Melbourne office move, call 1300 414 214 or use the website enquiry form. Bring the proposed address, floor plan, moving date, staff count and current supplier list. That gives the first conversation enough detail to identify timing risks and the work that needs to be scoped.

Frequently asked questions

1.  How early should a business plan the IT for an office move?

Start about 90 days before moving where possible. Internet provisioning, cabling and number porting can involve external lead times. A simple move may require less time, but confirming availability early reduces the chance of opening without essential services.

2. Can we keep our business phone numbers when moving office?

Often, yes, through number porting or by retaining them in a cloud phone system. Eligibility and timing depend on the number type, current provider and proposed service. Confirm the process before cancelling anything.

3. Should we replace equipment before or after moving?

Assess it before the move. Replacing unsuitable equipment can avoid paying to transport and reinstall it, while retaining serviceable equipment can control project cost. Base the decision on support status, condition and future requirements rather than age alone.

4. What should be tested before staff arrive?

Test internet, wired and wireless networks, business applications, user sign-in, shared files, inbound and outbound calls, voicemail, printers, meeting rooms and remote access. Test complete business tasks, not only individual components.