An office relocation checklist for the Netherlands or Belgium runs on a three-month clock. Three months out you book the mover, give notice on the lease and order the internet line. Two months out you fix the floor plan, sort the furniture and brief the staff. Backups, crates and parking permits fill the last month. The move runs Friday evening to Sunday; the first week brings snagging, the KVK address change and the old-office handover.
How far ahead should an office relocation plan start?
An office relocation plan for a company of a few dozen desks starts 3 months before the moving weekend; a large or specialised site needs longer. Dutch mover Van der Ent advises 6 to 12 months for most office moves and about 3 for a small one, and Sirelo UK puts the minimum at 2 months.
| When | Focus | Fixed points |
|---|---|---|
| 3 months before | Mover, lease, internet line | Survey done, fixed quote, notice given, line ordered |
| 2 months before | Floor plan, furniture, staff | Desk numbers issued, disposal list agreed, staff informed |
| 1 month before | IT, address changes, suppliers | Backup plan written, notification list drafted, parking requested |
| Last week | Packing and labelling | Crates delivered, archives labelled, keys and access cards collected |
| Moving weekend | Disconnect, transport, reconnect | Servers off last on Friday, on first on Sunday |
| First week after | Snagging, KVK, handover | KVK change within a week, old office handed back |
Verhuizenkunjezelf.nl counts about 20,000 to 30,000 business relocations in the Netherlands every year. The office relocation service page covers the weekend itself.
What goes on the checklist three months before the move?
Three months before the move, four things go on the list: the mover, the lease, the internet line and one named project owner. Ask for a site survey at both addresses now, because the surveyor counts desks, archive metres and the goods lift to book. The Easy Move gives a fixed quote after that consultation; Robin calls assuming a quote covers everything the biggest mistake companies make, so ask for an itemised breakdown. An early Easy Quote keeps a quarter-end weekend open.
Read the old lease the same week. Instant Offices advises giving the landlord official notice 3 to 6 months ahead; the exact notice period is in your contract. Order the internet line for the new address at once, since Van der Ent warns that providers sometimes need weeks to install it. Appoint one project owner with one counterpart at the mover.
What do you decide two months out: floor plan, furniture and staff?
Two months out is decision time: where every desk goes, which furniture goes with it and what the staff hear. Draw the new floor plan with a number per desk and a colour per department; every crate, chair, screen and cabinet later gets a label with that number. Fix the plan before the cabling, because Robin notes that the number of network drops follows the desk layout.
Then sort the furniture into three lists: goes, stays for the landlord, or leaves for good. Desks that do not fit are cheaper to recycle or donate now than to move twice. Spare desks can wait in secure business storage in the south of the Netherlands.
Tell the staff now that the date and address are fixed. Van der Ent recommends a memo or information session covering dates, location, parking and public transport.
How do you move the IT and the servers without losing data?
The IT move starts with a full backup and an inventory, and nothing is unplugged before both exist. Van der Ent’s IT checklist puts the hardware inventory at least 2 months before the move and calls the moment the first cable is disconnected the highest-risk point of the relocation. Test the backup and keep a copy off site.
Label every cable at both ends, photograph each workstation’s connections, and bag the cables per desk number. Hard drives travel separately in antistatic packaging and servers stand upright, per the same checklist. JK Moving advises moving servers outside business hours and testing phones, internet, printers and Wi-Fi before staff return. The Easy Move handles the disconnect, transport and reconnect of workstations, phones and network equipment including servers; your IT partner keeps responsibility for backups, licences and the line.
Which address changes must a company in the Netherlands make?
A company in the Netherlands must report its new address to KVK, the Netherlands Chamber of Commerce, within a week of the move; the change is free and goes through the KVK web form. KVK then passes the new business address to the Belastingdienst, according to its page on a changing business address. A separate postal address goes on the Belastingdienst’s own “Postadres doorgeven” form, on paper for businesses. Check the current rules with KVK and the Belastingdienst.
Draft the rest of the list a month ahead: bank, insurers, payroll, energy and water at both addresses, courier accounts, the website, invoices and Google Business Profile. Van der Ent advises informing clients 4 to 6 weeks before the move. Start the new insurance policy before move-in and cancel the old one the day after move-out, as Robin advises.
A cross-border office move adds a second register: a company settling in Belgium updates the Kruispuntbank van Ondernemingen, so check the current rules with FOD Economie. Inside the EU there are no customs formalities for your own office goods.
What happens in the last week and on the moving weekend?
The last week is for crates, labels and parking. Staff pack their own desks into numbered crates; the crew packs archives, meeting rooms, kitchen and reception.
Lorry parking is municipal business. Gemeente Utrecht lets a removal van load and unload on parking bays without paying and needs at least 10 working days to close a street. Stad Antwerpen wants a temporary parking ban requested 5 working days ahead and places the signs itself 2 days before. Centres in 28 Dutch cities become zero-emission zones for vans and lorries between 2025 and 2030, each on its own date according to business.gov.nl, so check the current rules with the municipality and the RDW.
The weekend has a fixed order: workstations and phones off on Friday afternoon, servers shut down last; loading, transport and furniture assembly by desk number on Saturday; servers reconnected first on Sunday, then workstations and printers; a test of every system before Monday. A furniture lift with an operator replaces a stairwell where there is no goods lift.
How do you hand back the old office and settle in during the first week?
The old office is handed back empty, clean and documented. Photograph every room before the keys go and compare them with the handover report from move-in; Van der Ent advises agreeing a formal handover time with the landlord and clarifying beforehand which restoration works are expected. The Easy Move clears what stays behind through its disposal service: donation, recycling or disposal. Remove your signage and hand over the keys, fobs and access cards in one labelled box.
Monday is a snagging day: a desk with no power, a printer on the wrong floor. Robin schedules an IT check-in 1 to 2 weeks after move-in. Then confirm the old-building deposit has come back, and ask staff what went wrong in the first week.
What does The Easy Move do on an office move?
The Easy Move runs office and commercial moves from Eindhoven with a dedicated project manager who runs the survey, the plan and the moving weekend. The scope covers packing and labelling, IT disconnect, transport and reconnect including servers, furniture disassembly and assembly, disposal and recycling, storage, insurance and weekend moves. One customer review on the site describes an office move from the High Tech Campus to Microlab in Eindhoven. The full scope is on the office and commercial move page; cross-border office moves to Belgium and Germany run through the international moving service. Quotes are fixed after the survey, with no hidden fees, and handling is backed by a damage-free guarantee; the Easy Quote is free and without obligation.
Frequently asked questions
How far in advance should I start planning an office move?
Three months before the moving weekend for an office of a few dozen desks, and 6 to 12 months for a large site or one with a laboratory or a showroom. Van der Ent gives the 6-to-12-month range, Sirelo UK sets 2 months as the floor.
Who should be in charge of an office move?
One person inside the company, usually the facility manager, with the authority to freeze decisions 2 weeks before the move, and one project manager at the mover. Give each department a move ambassador. Robin’s advice is one clearly designated owner as the point of contact for every moving decision.
How do you minimise downtime during an office move?
Move over a weekend, shut the servers down last on Friday, bring them up first on Sunday and test every system before Monday. A 4G or 5G router covers the first morning if the fixed line is late. A company that cannot pause splits the move by department over two weekends.
Should I take all my office furniture to the new building, or is it better to buy new?
Take what fits the new floor plan and is in good condition; replace what does not. Measure the new rooms against the furniture list 2 months out, because a desk that will not fit costs money twice. Furniture kept for a later expansion can go into storage.
Can employees help with the move themselves, or is that inadvisable?
Employees pack their own desks into numbered crates and unpack them on Monday, which keeps personal belongings in the right hands. Carrying furniture, moving IT and handling the lift belong to the crew, which is insured and trained for it. Keep staff out of the building on the moving weekend.
