How many crates does an office move need?

For an office move, a useful starting point is one crate per desk for personal items, four to six crates per filing cabinet and about two crates for every metre of shelved files. Add a few for the kitchen and the store cupboard, which are always forgotten. Below is how to turn that into a real number, and how to plan the move so the business loses as little working time as possible.

How do I work out the crate count for an office?

Count the desks, the filing cabinets and the metres of shelving, then apply the figures above and add about ten per cent. Most offices underestimate, because the things nobody owns are the things nobody counts: the kitchen, the stationery cupboard, the server room, the box of cables under somebody's desk.

• Each desk: 1 crate for personal items, 2 if the desk has drawers in use
• Each filing cabinet: 4 to 6 crates
• Each metre of shelved files: about 2 crates
• Kitchen: 4 to 8 crates
• Stationery and store cupboard: 4 to 10 crates
• IT and cables: 2 to 6 crates, kept separate and labelled

Each crate holds up to 30kg, which sounds like a lot until it is full of files. Ring us with the number of desks and we will get you close on the phone rather than making you work it out alone.

How is commercial crate hire priced?

Commercial hire is priced per crate per week rather than in fixed household packages, with the rate dropping as the order gets bigger. The minimum is 20 crates over two weeks. Delivery, collection and a dolly are included, and there is no deposit to pay.

That per crate per week model matters for an office, because an office move is rarely a single day. You usually want the crates on site before the move and for a few days afterwards while people unpack at their own speed.

How do we move without losing a day of work?

Have the crates delivered several days early and let people pack their own desks in their own time. That single decision does more than anything else, because the packing stops being an event that halts the office and becomes twenty minutes each, spread across a week.

• Deliver the crates at least three days before the move
• Each person packs their own desk and labels their own crates
• Shared areas get one owner each, or they get done last and badly
• Keep IT separate and label it clearly, it goes in first at the other end
• Leave the crates in place for a few days afterwards so nobody has to unpack in a rush

What do we do about confidential files?

Use numbered, tamper-evident security seals, which lock a crate so it cannot be opened without the seal being visibly broken. They come in packs of 20 for £8.50 and they are the thing a taped cardboard box can never do, which is why anybody moving personnel files, client records or accounts should use them.

Seal, number and record. If a crate arrives with its seal intact, nothing has been in it.

Are crates better than cardboard for an office move?

For an office, considerably, because the loads are heavier and the volumes are bigger than a house move. Crates stack squarely on a dolly so a stack moves in one trip instead of six armfuls, they do not sag when full of paper, and they have lids rather than needing tape. Nothing has to be built before packing can start.

How far ahead should we book an office move?

As soon as the date is fixed, and earlier if the move is at the end of a month or on a Friday, which is when most businesses move and when crates go out fastest. Tell us the desk count and the dates and we will confirm what is available rather than leaving you guessing.

What areas do you cover for business moves?

Sudbury and everywhere within 30 miles, which covers Ipswich, Colchester, Bury St Edmunds, Braintree and the towns between. Ipswich and Colchester are where most of our business moving comes from.