Set two dates in your office move IT checklist: when the team can access the new site, and when the client expects to work there. Have a named project lead check the dependencies between them before accepting the delivery date. Getting the keys doesn't mean the internet or workstations are ready.
I'd quote the move as a defined project where it sits outside the existing agreement. Put the work and the responsibilities in writing before the client starts booking around an assumed IT date. For a new office with no old site, use the same readiness checks without inventing a migration task.
Bring IT Into the Site Decision
The account owner owns the initial conversation. Ask the client for the proposed address and floor plan, with the intended use of the space. Give the technical lead a chance to identify requirements while there's still a decision to make.
Don't approve a building from a plan alone. Arrange the access needed to check the actual location and involve the relevant property contact. Record what you've verified and what still depends on another party's work.
Keep the client's project sponsor responsible for commercial property decisions. Have your team identify the technical requirement and its effect on the IT plan. If a property or construction question needs specialist advice, assign it to the person qualified to resolve it before treating it as ready.
Get a Provider Plan for the Actual Address
The connectivity coordinator owns the provider record. Confirm service availability for the specific premises and ask what must happen before installation and activation. Record whether the date supplied is a requested appointment or a confirmed commitment with conditions.
Keep the order reference with the provider's contact and the outstanding prerequisites. Have the client identify the person who can arrange site access and any required property approval. Update the project schedule when the provider confirms or changes a dependency.
Don't cancel the old connection just because the new service has an order number. Have the project lead establish the required overlap and termination sequence from the actual move plan and contracts. Record the cost and approval for that decision in the project.
Assign the Work Between the Door and the Desk
The project lead owns the dependency checklist. Each line needs an accountable person and a result that can be checked. Give specialist work to the relevant contractor rather than making the MSP the unnamed owner of everything on the floor plan.
| Workstream | Owner to Name | Readiness Evidence |
|---|---|---|
| Property access and physical preparation | The client property contact or appointed contractor. | The agreed area is accessible and the prerequisite work has been confirmed complete. |
| Cabling | The cabling contractor, coordinated by the project lead. | The agreed outlets and links are identified, tested, and handed over with their records. |
| Network equipment | The MSP network lead. | The approved configuration and required connectivity have been tested at the destination. |
| Devices and placement | The MSP staging lead and client move contact. | The inventory identifies the destination and responsible mover for each scoped item. |
| Applications and communications | The relevant technical owner and client test owner. | The agreed business checks are completed and any exceptions have a decision. |
Put the actual completion dates beside those records. If cabling must be ready before network testing, link the bookings instead of scheduling them independently. A delivery van can't install a missing prerequisite.
For an included wireless network, have the technical owner check the actual destination against the approved design and agreed coverage needs. Don't reuse the old access-point count as proof that the new space is covered. Put the verification work in the quote.
Stage the Move Before the Moving Crew Arrives
The staging lead owns the inventory and the preparation record. Identify what will move and what will be replaced, then keep the destination labels tied to the approved floor plan. Agree who handles transport and who checks receipt.
Have the technical lead identify configuration and recovery information needed for the scoped equipment. Keep that information in the approved documentation and credential systems. Boxing a device shouldn't leave the team guessing what it does or how to recover its configuration.
Confirm what can be prepared before the move and what requires the live destination. Make the remaining onsite work visible in the engineer's booking. Replace 'seamless relocation' with the actual tests someone has to perform.
Make the Go-Ahead a Recorded Decision
The project lead owns the readiness review with the client sponsor. Compare the required tests with the evidence already collected, and name what remains incomplete. If a prerequisite isn't ready, present the effect on the intended working date before proceeding.
Where the client wants a temporary arrangement, define the work it can support and test it. Have the client approve the limitation and its cost before treating it as the operating plan. A proposed mobile connection, for example, needs verification for the relevant work at that site.
My test is practical: what does this do to the board on Monday morning? It should show which destination tasks are ready and which are waiting on a named dependency. The engineer shouldn't be sent to an inaccessible site because the move date stayed green.
Test the Work People Need on Their First Day
The client test owner confirms the agreed business checks with the technical lead. Use the actual work the office needs to perform, rather than treating a successful connection as acceptance of the whole move. Record the result and the person who accepted it.
Keep an exception against its own task with a named owner. Explain how the affected people should request help and which issues remain with the project. Have the service-desk lead confirm the updated environment record before the project hands support back.
Give old-site cleanup a separate closing check. Confirm the handling of equipment and the agreed service cancellations against the inventory and provider records. Keep anything deliberately left running visible so the client can approve the continued responsibility and cost.
Quote the Labor and the Outside Costs
The model's blended project rate is $185 an hour. For a hypothetical labor-only quote using its 50% project gross margin target, calculate the direct labor allowance per priced hour as $185 × (1 − 50%) = $92.50. Use the scoped task estimate and actual delivery cost rather than promising that rate guarantees the job margin.
Quote contractor and other direct charges from the actual proposed work, with their treatment explained. The wait for the provider isn't the engineer's labor time. Keep those separate in the quote. If the client changes the premises or the scope, review the price and schedule before assigning the added work.
Start with the new address and the intended working date. Have the lead collect the dependency evidence and turn it into the quoted task plan. Then book the team against readiness you can verify.
mspoutpost.com/articles/office-move-it-checklist-quote-and-verify-the-work
Written by Megan Friesen
MSP Outpost publishes information, not legal, financial, insurance, tax or compliance advice, and reading it creates no professional relationship. For decisions about your business, talk to a qualified professional.