How to Quote for Office Removals (Checklist Included)

Why Office Moves Are Different

Office removals are a different game from domestic moves. The stakes are higher, the logistics are more complex, and the customer's expectations are sharper. A family moving house will forgive a 30-minute delay. A business relocating 40 staff expects you to deliver on time, on budget, and with zero disruption to their operations.

The upside is that commercial work pays better. A mid-size office relocation can be worth more than a week of domestic moves. But quoting inaccurately is the fastest way to lose money: underquote and you absorb the cost; overquote and you lose to a competitor. If you are still refining your general pricing approach, our guide on how to price removals jobs covers the fundamentals. This guide focuses specifically on getting office quotes right.

The Pre-Survey: Non-Negotiable

Never quote for an office move without a physical pre-survey. Photographs and floor plans help, but they do not tell you about the narrow stairwell, the loading bay that only fits a 3.5-tonne van, or the building management company that requires 48 hours' notice for lift access.

During your pre-survey, cover every item on the checklist below. Missing even one detail can turn a profitable job into a loss-maker. For a broader look at quoting pitfalls, see quoting mistakes that lose jobs.

Office Removals Pre-Survey Checklist

• Access at both sites: Loading bay dimensions, lift access (goods lift or passenger lift?), stairwell width if no lift is available, maximum vehicle size that can access the building.
• Floor level: Ground floor, first floor, tenth floor? Lift capacity and availability directly affect how long the job takes.
• Parking and loading restrictions: Is there a dedicated loading bay? Do you need a parking suspension from the council? Are there time restrictions (e.g. no deliveries before 10 a.m.)?
• Building management requirements: Many commercial buildings require advance notice, insurance certificates, method statements, or risk assessments before allowing removals contractors on-site.
• IT and specialist equipment: Servers, networking equipment, phone systems, printers, plotters, safes, or any item requiring specialist handling. Who disconnects and reconnects IT: your team or theirs?
• Furniture inventory: Number of desks, chairs, filing cabinets, boardroom tables, reception furniture, kitchen appliances. Photograph everything during the survey and record it room by room or floor by floor so nothing is missed when you build the quote.
• Packing requirements: Does the client want you to pack and unpack, or will their staff handle their own desk contents? Who provides crate hire?
• Storage requirements: Will there be a gap between vacating the old premises and the new space being ready? If so, you will need to arrange temporary storage for some or all of the inventory.
• Restricted hours: Can you work during normal business hours or must the move happen evenings and weekends? Out-of-hours work requires premium pricing.
• Timeline and phasing: Is this a single-day move or does it need to happen in phases (e.g. department by department over several days)?
• Waste and disposal: Does the client want you to dispose of old furniture, IT equipment, or confidential documents? This is a separate cost that should be quoted individually.
• Floor and wall protection: Does the building require protective coverings on floors and doorframes? Who supplies them?

Building the Quote: Floor-by-Floor Inventory

Accuracy starts with a thorough inventory. For office moves, the most reliable method is to work through the premises floor by floor (or room by room for smaller offices), recording every item that needs to move. This approach ensures nothing is overlooked and gives you the volume data you need to price confidently.

Move and Store's quoting wizard is designed for exactly this workflow. You can build your inventory floor by floor, and the system auto-calculates volume so you do not have to estimate cubic metres in your head. The result is a branded PDF quote you can send to the client directly from the platform, complete with an itemised breakdown and your company details.

Pricing Office Moves

There are two common approaches to pricing commercial removals, and the right one depends on the size and complexity of the job.

Day rate pricing

For straightforward office moves (small to mid-size, single-day, no specialist equipment), a day rate is simplest. Calculate your costs: vehicle, fuel, crew wages, insurance, and overheads. Add your margin (25 to 40 per cent is typical for commercial work) and present a single all-inclusive price.

A two-person crew with a Luton van for a full day might cost you £350 to £450. Quoting this at £600 to £800 gives you a healthy margin and is competitive for small office moves.

Volume-based pricing

For larger moves, price by estimated volume in cubic feet or by the number of van loads required. This is fairer for the customer (they pay for what they are moving) and protects you against underestimating.

Typical commercial rates range from £30 to £60 per cubic metre for a local move, depending on access difficulty and whether the move is during or outside business hours. For moves involving stairs, no goods lift, or restricted access, add 15 to 25 per cent.

Handling Temporary Storage for Office Moves

Lease end dates and fit-out schedules rarely line up perfectly. It is common for a business to vacate their old office before the new premises are ready, leaving a gap of days or even weeks. If you can offer storage during that gap, you turn a one-off move into a larger, more profitable job.

The challenge is keeping track of what is in storage and where it needs to go when the new site is ready. If you are managing storage units alongside your removals operation, you need software that links the two: the items from the move go into a tracked storage unit, and you know exactly when they are due to come out. For a deeper look at managing this side of the business, read our self-storage management guide.

Move and Store includes storage management on every plan, so you can track units, assign inventory, and schedule collections without juggling separate spreadsheets. For office clients, this level of visibility builds trust: they know exactly where their equipment is and when it will arrive at the new site.

Presenting a Professional Quote

Commercial clients expect a professional quote document, not a verbal estimate or a text message. Your quote should include:

1. Company details: Your business name, address, company registration number, and VAT number if applicable.
2. Scope of work: Exactly what is included: packing, loading, transport, unloading, unpacking, crate hire, floor protection, and any storage period.
3. Exclusions: What is not included: IT disconnection and reconnection, specialist equipment handling, waste disposal (unless quoted separately).
4. Timeline: Proposed date(s), estimated start and finish times, and any phasing plan.
5. Insurance details: Confirm your Goods in Transit cover, Public Liability limit, and Employer's Liability cover. Attach certificates if requested.
6. Price breakdown: Total price with a breakdown of labour, transport, materials, storage, and any extras. State whether the price includes or excludes VAT.
7. Terms and conditions: Payment terms (deposit, balance on completion), cancellation policy, liability limits, and any excess the customer would pay in the event of a claim.
8. Validity: State how long the quote is valid (typically 30 days).

Tip: A well-presented PDF quote with your logo, clear pricing, and attached insurance certificates immediately sets you apart from competitors who send a one-line email. First impressions matter in commercial work. Move and Store's quoting wizard generates branded PDFs automatically from your inventory data.

Deposits and Payment Terms

Office moves are higher-value jobs, which means you have more at risk if a client cancels at the last minute or delays payment. It is standard practice to collect a deposit when the client accepts your quote: typically 20 to 30 per cent of the total, with the balance due on completion.

State your payment terms clearly in the quote document. For larger phased moves, you might structure payments in stages: a booking deposit, a progress payment after each phase, and a final balance on completion. This protects your cash flow and keeps the client committed to the project.

Collecting deposits does not need to be awkward. If your quoting software includes an online payment link, the client can pay the deposit the moment they accept the quote. Move and Store supports this through its payment features: the customer views the quote in their portal, accepts it, and pays the deposit in one step. For more on structuring this smoothly, see our guide on how to collect deposits for removals.

Timeline and Phasing

Many office moves cannot happen in a single day. The client may need to keep some departments operational while others relocate, or the new premises may not be ready to receive everything at once.

For phased moves, create a timeline that shows:

• Which departments or areas move on which days
• What order items arrive at the new site
• When IT disconnection and reconnection happens
• Any overlap period where both sites are partially operational
• Storage periods for items that cannot be delivered immediately

This level of planning takes time, but it is what wins commercial contracts. A removals company that presents a phased plan alongside their quote demonstrates competence and professionalism that a simple price alone does not convey.

Insurance for Commercial Work

Standard domestic Goods in Transit cover may not be sufficient for office moves. Check your per-load limit. A single office can contain £50,000 or more of IT equipment, furniture, and records. If your GIT policy covers only £15,000 per load, you are exposed.

Increase your cover before taking on commercial work, and confirm with your broker that the policy explicitly covers commercial premises. Some policies have exclusions for certain types of commercial property or equipment.

Winning More Commercial Contracts

Office moves often come through different channels than domestic work. Estate agents and removals comparison sites are less relevant. Instead, focus on:

• Commercial estate agents and office brokers: Build relationships with agents who handle office lettings. They are the first to know when a business is relocating.
• Facilities management companies: Large organisations outsource their office moves to FM companies, who then subcontract to removals firms.
• Direct outreach: Contact local businesses directly. A simple introduction email to office managers or operations directors can open doors.
• Case studies and testimonials: After completing a commercial move, ask for a testimonial and write a brief case study. Publish these on your website to demonstrate experience.
• Professional presentation: Sending a branded, itemised PDF quote rather than a rough email estimate signals that you take commercial work seriously. Clients notice the difference.

Getting Started

Office removals are more complex to quote than domestic moves, but the margins are better and the clients tend to be more loyal once you prove your reliability. The key is thorough surveying, accurate inventory capture, clear pricing, and professional presentation.

If you want to streamline your office quoting workflow, try Move and Store free. Build quotes floor by floor, manage storage alongside your moves, and send branded PDFs that win commercial contracts.