Office move checklist for Dallas businesses

First: the lease, both buildings and the city

Start with paperwork, because it sets the dates everything else hangs on. Your current lease says what condition the space has to be returned in; your new building has its own move-in rules.

In Dallas, a business moving into a space needs its own Certificate of Occupancy. The Dallas Development Code requires a new CO for a change of tenant on an existing CO, for a change of use, and when floor area changes. Applications go through DallasNow, and the city says processing times vary with demand, so apply as soon as the new lease is signed. Other DFW cities run their own CO process; check with the city your new office is in.

• Read the move-out terms in your current lease: restoration, furniture the landlord owns, final walkthrough date
• Get the move rules from both buildings: elevator reservations, loading-dock hours, protection required for floors and walls
• Ask both buildings what certificate of insurance they need from the mover, and who it must name
• Dallas: apply for the new space's Certificate of Occupancy through DallasNow

Sources:City of Dallas: Certificate of Occupancy

Book the walkthrough and number the floor plan

A written quote is only as good as the list of what moves. We walk the current office with your office manager, look at the new floor plan and give every workstation, office and common area a number. That number goes on every box, crate and piece of furniture from that space, so the crew unloads straight to the right desk.

This is also when to decide what is not coming: furniture you are retiring, files going to shredding or storage, and anything the landlord owns.

• Book a walkthrough (in person or by video) and get the quote in writing
• Number every workstation, office and common area on the new floor plan
• List what is not coming: retired furniture, files for shredding or storage, landlord-owned items
• Pick the move window: evening, weekend, or phased by department or floor

IT, internet and phones

Your IT team or provider disconnects and reconnects the equipment; the movers pack it, move it and hand it over against your asset list. Internet service at the new address is the item most likely to hold up a Monday opening, so ask the provider for its install lead time early and book the date.

• Order internet and phone service at the new address and confirm the install date
• Build an asset list: computers, monitors, printers, phones, each tagged to a floor-plan number
• Agree who disconnects and reconnects (your IT) and who packs and moves (the movers)
• Back up servers and shared drives before anything is unplugged

Update your address with the IRS and Texas

Businesses with an EIN tell the IRS about a new mailing address or business location on Form 8822-B. The IRS says the change generally takes 4 to 6 weeks to process.

If you hold a Texas sales tax permit, the Comptroller has an online form to move a business location; the start date for the new location can be no more than 90 days in the future. Mailing address changes for sales and franchise tax have their own Comptroller form.

If your registered office with the Texas Secretary of State is the office you are leaving, file Form 401, the statement of change of registered office or agent. Then file a business change of address with USPS, online or at a post office.

• IRS Form 8822-B (business mailing address or location)
• Texas Comptroller: move a business location (sales tax permit holders)
• Texas Comptroller: change mailing address (sales, franchise tax)
• Texas Secretary of State Form 401, if the registered office is moving
• USPS business change of address

Sources:IRS: Form 8822-B Comptroller: move a business location Comptroller: change mailing address Texas SOS: Form 401 instructions USPS: forward mail

Two weeks out: packing and labels

Either the movers pack everything, or staff pack their own desks and the movers pack common areas, files and equipment. Either way, every crate carries the floor-plan number of the space it is going to.

Files travel in locked or sealed crates in the order they came out of the cabinet, so each department can find what it needs on day one.

• Decide who packs what: staff desks, common areas, files, equipment
• Hand out crates and labels; every label carries a floor-plan number
• Seal or lock file crates in cabinet order
• Empty and defrost the break-room fridge; clear personal items from shared spaces

Move weekend and the first Monday

Most office moves we run go Friday evening pack-out, weekend move, Monday morning set-up. Larger offices move one department or floor at a time so the rest of the company keeps working.

• Confirm elevator reservations and dock times at both buildings
• Walk the old space after load-out; note anything left for the landlord walkthrough
• At the new office, check every space against the floor plan before the crew leaves
• IT reconnects and tests each workstation
• Monday: collect a short punch list from each department

After the move: tell everyone else

• Update the address on your website, Google Business Profile and other listings
• Tell clients, vendors, your bank, insurers and payroll provider
• Update letterhead, invoices, email signatures and building signage
• Return keys and access cards to the old building