Quick answer: start eight weeks before the move, name one person who owns the project, and settle three things first: the lease and the landlord's notice, the rules of the buildings at both ends, and the internet and phone lines at the new location. Then build the move around the Israeli working week. Moving companies generally do not work on Shabbat, so a Thursday-evening start or a Friday-morning finish is the usual way to have everyone at their new desks on Sunday morning.
The plan at a glance
| When | Focus | What you should have by the end |
|---|---|---|
| Weeks 8 to 7 | Decide and notify | A named move owner, the landlord notified, the moving rules of both buildings in writing, a target date |
| Weeks 6 to 5 | Connectivity and IT | Internet and phone lines ordered with a firm installation date, an IT inventory, a tested backup |
| Weeks 4 to 3 | Furniture and floor plan | A desk-by-desk plan, a decision on every large item, crates ordered |
| Weeks 2 to 1 | People, labels and paperwork | Staff briefed, every crate labelled, authorities and suppliers informed |
| Move day | Run sheet | One person at each end, a floor plan on the wall, a damage list |
| Week after | Settle and hand back | A snag list closed, the old premises handed back with written confirmation |
Weeks 8 to 7: decide, notify and appoint
Choose one person, usually the office manager or an operations lead, who owns the whole project and can make decisions without waiting for a meeting. Give that person a deputy for the day itself.
- Read the lease at the old premises. Check the notice period, the condition in which the space has to be handed back and anything you must remove, such as partitions, cabling or signage. Give notice in the form the lease requires, and ask your lawyer if any clause is unclear.
- Ask both buildings for their moving rules. You need to know how the service lift is booked, the permitted hours, what protective covering is required on floors, walls and lifts, where a vehicle may stop to load, whether security needs a list of names, and whether the building asks the moving company for proof of cover.
- Get a dimensioned floor plan of the new space. Mark the power and data points, the meeting rooms, the kitchen and the storage areas.
- Choose the date. Avoid the end of the month if your finance people close the books then, and avoid holiday weeks. Allow a day of slack between the move and the day your clients expect you to be fully running.
Weeks 6 to 5: connectivity and IT
This is the part of an office move that most often runs late, so start it as soon as the lease for the new space is signed.
- Order internet and phone lines now. Lead times vary by provider and by building, so ask for a firm installation date in writing. If your business number has to stay the same, ask your provider whether it can be moved and when.
- Walk the new space with your IT provider: data points, Wi-Fi coverage, the comms room or cabinet, power, cooling for equipment and a UPS for anything that must not drop.
- Make an inventory of every piece of IT equipment with asset tags. Decide what moves, what is replaced and what is retired.
- Back up your data and test that you can restore it. Do this a week or two before the move, not the night before.
- Sort out access: cards or fobs, alarm codes, cameras, visitor registration and the list of names the building's security will expect on the day.
Weeks 4 to 3: furniture, floor plan and what not to move
Walk through every room and decide what happens to each large item: move it, replace it, sell it, donate it or put it into storage until you need it. Paying to move furniture you plan to replace soon is an avoidable cost, so decide before the move, not after.
- Number the desks. Draw a floor plan for each floor of the new space, give every desk a number and print a seating plan. Stick a matching number on each desk at the new office before move day.
- Decide what gets taken apart. Workstations, shelving and partitions often need to be dismantled and rebuilt. Furniture disassembly and assembly can be added to the booking; keep screws and fittings in bags taped to the item itself.
- Handle archives and confidential files separately. Decide what to keep, what to shred and who is responsible. Ask your accountant or lawyer about retention requirements before you throw anything away. Confidential files should travel in sealed, numbered containers.
- Order moving crates and materials. One crate per desk, plus extra for shared areas, is a reasonable starting point. Reusable crates are easier to label and stack than cartons.
Weeks 2 to 1: people, labels and paperwork
Tell staff the date, the new location, how to get there and where to park, and what each person has to pack. Personal belongings are packed by their owners; company items go in labelled crates. A change in the place of work can have employment consequences, so speak to your HR or legal adviser about what you must tell people and when.
Label every crate with the desk number, the name of the person and the destination floor. Colour-code by department if you have more than a handful of desks. Photograph each desk before it is packed, so cables and monitors can be set up the same way at the other end.
Then work through the notifications. The exact list depends on your company, so ask your accountant which apply:
- Your bank, accountant, insurer, key suppliers and your most important clients.
- The authorities that hold your registered details, such as the Tax Authority and the Companies Registrar.
- The municipality, for the property tax (arnona) at both premises, so that the charge follows you and you are not billed twice.
- The business licence for the new location, if your activity needs one. Ask your lawyer or the municipality.
- Your website, email signatures, invoices, letterheads, business cards and online listings, so that the new location appears everywhere.
Ask your insurer how your contents are covered during the move and at the new place, and ask the movers to visit, or to look at photos and a short video of both buildings, including the lift, the stairs and the loading area.
Terms you will meet
| Term | Hebrew | What it means |
|---|---|---|
| Hevrat nihul | חברת ניהול | The company that manages the building |
| Vaad bayit | ועד בית | Building committee |
| Arnona | ארנונה | Municipal property tax |
| Rishayon esek | רישיון עסק | Business licence |
| Protokol mesira | פרוטוקול מסירה | Handover record for the premises |
Move day
Write a one-page run sheet with times and names, and give a copy to everyone involved. Put one person at the old office to direct the loading and to do the final walk-through, and another at the new office to direct the unloading, with the floor plan on the wall.
- Keep the essentials with you. Laptops, backup drives, keys and access cards, petty cash, signed contracts and anything you could not replace stay in your own bag or car.
- Disconnect IT early and in order. Your IT provider shuts down, labels and photographs the cables, takes the servers and network gear out last and sets them up first at the new location.
- Book the building. Confirm the service lift slot, the security desk and the protective covering at both ends, and check that the vehicle has a place to stop.
- Keep staff out of the way. Nobody should be carrying furniture. People pack their personal items and leave the rest to the movers.
- Agree who removes what. Decide in advance who takes away unwanted furniture and packing waste, and where it goes.
- Inspect at delivery. Look at the items as they arrive, photograph any damage and note it before signing anything.
Day one and the first week
On Sunday morning the power, internet, phones, printers and kitchen should already work. Ask your IT provider to stay until connectivity is confirmed, and walk the floor before anyone else arrives. Put a snag list on the wall or in a shared document, name one person who collects the issues, and go through it at the end of each day.
Hand back the old premises with a walk-through together with the landlord, photos of every room and written confirmation of the handover. Return keys and access cards, and check the lease for anything you still have to restore. In the first week, reconcile your asset inventory against what arrived, update the evacuation plan and the first aid kit for the new space, and ask senders and your post office about redirecting mail.
Mistakes to avoid
- Ordering the internet connection too late.
- Skipping the building's rules, then losing the lift slot.
- Having no single owner of the project.
- Leaving the labelling to the movers on the day.
- Throwing away files before checking how long you have to keep them.
- Forgetting to cancel services at the old premises, such as cleaning, parking and subscriptions.
- Skipping the photos at handback.
Where MovingIL fits
MovingIL coordinates office relocations inside Israel in English: one contact, a closed price agreed on WhatsApp before the move, and an independent moving company that carries out the work. The details that shape the plan most are the service lift slots, the volume of desks, crates and shelving, and whether anything has to be taken apart and rebuilt. Read about office moving, send us the floor plans or a few photos of both buildings, and we will come back with a price and a proposed date.