50-Person Office Move Timeline: A Week-by-Week Plan
For a 50-person office, plan on roughly 12 weeks from the day the lease is signed to the Monday your team sits down at the new desks. You can compress it to eight, but only if the furniture decision and the internet circuit order happen in the first two weeks. Those two items have the longest lead times and they are the ones most often left until it is too late.
A 50-person move sits in an awkward middle. It is too big for a few staff and a rented truck, and too small for most companies to hire a dedicated relocation manager. That usually means an office manager or operations lead runs it on top of a full-time job. The timeline below is built for that person.
Weeks 12 to 10: Decisions that set everything else
Name one owner. One person makes the calls on dates, budget and vendors. Each department sends one contact who handles its own inventory and tells its own people what is happening. Moves stall when every decision goes to a committee.
Lock the move date. Most offices move Friday evening through Sunday. Check the dates against month-end close, payroll runs, client deadlines and any holiday when the building may limit access. Then confirm both buildings will allow a move on those days.
Decide on furniture. Are the current workstations coming, or is the new space getting new furniture? New systems from major manufacturers can take many weeks to arrive, so if you are buying, the order goes in now. If you are reusing modular workstations, measure the new floor plan to confirm they fit, since a different column grid or window line can force a new layout.
Order the internet circuit. A new fibre circuit at a new address can take several weeks, sometimes longer when the building needs new cabling to the suite. Call your provider the week the lease is signed and get a written install date. A move with no working internet on Monday morning is a failed move, however carefully the boxes were packed.
Weeks 9 to 7: Inventory and scope
Walk the current office and list what moves, what gets sold or donated, what goes to storage and what is thrown out. For 50 people that list usually includes:
- workstations, chairs and pedestals
- meeting room tables and AV
- the server or network closet, printers and copiers
- kitchen appliances and break room furniture
- file cabinets and archive boxes
- reception furniture, artwork and signage
Leased copiers and printers often have to be moved by the leasing company, not by your mover. Check the lease agreement now so you are not looking for a technician on the Thursday before the move.
This is also the time to get moving quotes. Send each mover the same information: floor plans for both sites, the inventory list, the move dates, and details on elevators and loading docks. Quotes built on the same scope can be compared. Quotes built on a phone call usually cannot.
Weeks 6 to 4: Building logistics and IT planning
Book the elevators and docks. Both buildings will have rules on freight elevator booking, move hours and protection for floors and walls. Many property managers also require a certificate of insurance from the mover, naming the landlord and the management company, before move day. Ask for the building's move-in rules in writing.
Plan the street. If the truck has to park on the street, the city may require a permit. In Toronto, occupying part of the road allowance is handled through the city's Transportation Services. In Montréal, the borough issues the permit. Your mover should know the process, but confirm who is applying.
Make the IT plan. Your IT team or managed service provider decides the shutdown time on Friday, who disconnects the server closet, how network gear is labelled and who brings things back up on Saturday or Sunday. The mover handles physical transport and placement. Write down who does what, because nobody wants to work it out at 10 p.m. on a Friday.
Draw the seating plan. Every person, printer and piece of shared equipment gets a number on the new floor plan. That number is what goes on every label.
Weeks 3 to 2: Labels, packing and communication
Hand out crates and labels to staff. Use one simple system: each person's desk number on every crate, chair, monitor and pedestal, with a coloured label for each floor or zone if you have more than one. Ask people to pack personal items and desk contents themselves and leave computers for the IT and moving crews.
Send staff one short message with:
- the last day they work at the old office and the first day at the new one
- what they pack and what they leave
- the new address, parking, transit and building access
- who to contact with questions
Purge files before packing, not after. Moving paper you will shred in the new office costs twice.
Week 1: Final checks
Confirm the elevator bookings, the certificate of insurance, the truck permit if needed and the crew start time. Walk the new space with the floor plan and mark desk numbers on the floor or the walls. Confirm the internet circuit is live and tested. Check that keys, access cards and alarm codes for the new space will be ready on Monday.
Move weekend
A typical sequence for a 50-person office:
- Friday afternoon. IT shuts down and disconnects equipment. Staff leave their packed crates at their desks.
- Friday evening. The crew protects floors and elevators, then loads crates, IT equipment and furniture.
- Saturday. Unloading, then furniture reassembly and placement following the floor plan.
- Sunday. IT reconnects workstations and network gear. A final walkthrough checks every desk against the plan.
The first week in the new office
Keep someone from the moving crew or your move owner on site on Monday morning to deal with missing items, desk swaps and anything damaged. Collect issues in one list, not by email from 50 people. Most problems on day one are small: a monitor cable, a chair at the wrong desk, a label that fell off. Fixing them quickly is what makes the move feel smooth to staff.
For a longer view of each phase, see our office relocation timeline guide.
Frequently asked questions
How long does it take to plan a 50-person office move?
About 12 weeks is a comfortable timeline for a 50-person office. Eight weeks can work if you decide on furniture and order the new internet circuit in the first two weeks. Less than that usually means paying extra for rushed furniture or opening without working internet.
How long does the physical move take for 50 people?
Most 50-person offices are moved over one weekend, starting Friday evening and finishing on Sunday. The exact time depends on the number of floors, the elevator and loading dock access at both buildings, how much modular furniture has to be taken apart and rebuilt, and the distance between the two sites.
What should we do first when planning an office move?
Name one person to own the move, then lock the date and confirm both buildings will allow a move on it. Right after that, decide whether you are reusing or buying furniture and order the internet circuit, since those carry the longest lead times.
Do employees pack their own desks in an office move?
In most office moves employees pack their personal items and desk contents into labelled crates, and the movers handle furniture, IT equipment and shared areas. Computers and monitors are usually disconnected by IT and moved by the crew rather than packed by staff.
Plan your team's move with Mobilix
If you have a 30 to 100 person office move coming up in Toronto or anywhere else we serve, send us the floor plans and your target date through our quote form. We will come back in writing with a move plan and a free quote.