What To Do When Relocating Your Business in Singapore

Relocating a business can provide many benefits for business owners. Expanding to a larger office or warehouse space, reducing overhead, and in some cases, reducing operational costs and tax implications. These are a few of the many great benefits of relocating to Singapore as a business owner. With these benefits in mind, you’ll have to plan the move out strategically. There’s plenty that goes into guaranteeing everything goes off without a hitch. Preparing a relocating business checklist is a great starting point for your move!

Before Relocation: The Planning Process

It starts with a plan. As a business owner, you’ll have to create a relocating business checklist:

1. Decide which items you’ll keep, donate, sell, or dispose of
2. Choose where to store paper files and electronic files safely
3. Preparation of essential business documents for operating a business in Singapore
4. Set up phone, internet, electric, and other services in the new office space

While this isn’t an all-inclusive list of the tasks you’ll have to complete, it’s a good place to start. Having a solid plan in place, and making sure your business is properly registered to operate in Singapore are still some variables you’ll have to work through when relocating to a new space.

Packing, Donating and Deciding What Stays and Goes

First off, it’s the big items you’ll have to decide what to do with. If you’re moving to a new office, is it worth bringing desks, office chairs, large filing cabinets, and other huge office equipment and pieces? Probably not. In these cases, you can donate to local charities, try to sell some of your office equipment online, and otherwise get rid of unwanted items. Employees might choose to take some items if you don’t plan on moving them overseas, so ask current employees if they’re interested in keeping items you plan on disposing of.

Pack intelligently. There’s no sense in packing and bubble wrapping large office supplies and furniture you’re not going to move into the new office space. So, have a relocating business checklist in place to help guide your transition. If you can remove drawers, or break furniture down to reduce weight and minimize space, this is a great way to easily pack and ship items which are essential when you’re moving. This will make it easier for you to properly mark, pack, and store items that you will be moving, and discard of or donate the items which aren’t going to move into the new office space.

A good approach to consider when deciding what to keep, give away, or dispose of is this:

• If it costs more to ship and pack, than it does to buy brand new equipment, you might want to consider getting rid of it.

The earlier you begin the packing and planning process, the less stress, fewer hitches, and fewer expenditures you’ll incur as a business owner.

Pack and Label

When you have decided which items are going to be shipped to your new office, make sure they’re properly packed and labelled. Some ways to organize/label boxes include

• Office supplies (business cards, staplers, pens, pencils, paper clips, etc)
• Paper goods (envelopes, printing paper, photo paper, etc)
• Files and documents
• CD, DVD, USB, electronic storage items

When labelling boxes, it’s also important to include weight (heavy, light), and to label in print so that they’re legible, and written in dark pen/sharpie. Make sure you label boxes so that you know exactly what’s in them, and you make it easier for movers to carefully transport items from your office to storage, and the new office. This will also make it easier for you to unpack when you arrive at your new offices.

Storing Important Business Documents, Electronics, and Files

There are also business files, electronic and paper, that your organisation needs to maintain for clients. When storing client files, it’s a great idea to keep these items in a self storage facility. Paper files should be safely kept in filing cabinets and labelled appropriately to maintain order while the items are in a storage unit. Electronic records can securely be stored in the Cloud (company CRM systems) so this won’t require self storage units.

In terms of electronics, there are several ways to pack these items safely for storage. Some things to remember are

• For computers, laptops, or other large electronics like fax/scan machines, remove cables and place them in plastic bags for storage
• Use zip ties for cables and other wires, and label everything accordingly
• Pack all USB, wires, cables, and other similar connection cables in a single box to prevent losing items or misplacing important cables which are necessary for electronics to operate

Organisation is critical here. Find a system where you can keep everything together for maximum efficiency when placing these items in self storage.

The Benefits of Utilizing a Self Storage Facility

A self storage unit is a great option when planning for a major office. Why? Some reasons to utilize self storage facilities while moving are

• You eliminate hoarding, clutter, and keeping items you don’t need
• It allows your business to take an inventory of what is needed vs items which are disposable
• Storage facilities are monitored 24/7 and under video surveillance, so you know your possessions are safe until they’re ready to be transported
• Safely store computers, electronics, cubicles, and other items of value, while preparing to move into the new office space
• Safely store paper and electronic client files, in temperature controlled settings and monitored storage units

There are some instances where businesses can’t move into a new office immediately. In others, there are fees, registering new tax documents, and other legal paperwork that needs to be completed first. Until you’re ready to open your doors, a self storage facility offers an excellent storage medium, to safely protect your important business assets, furniture, and electronics in one place.

Let StorHub Self Storage Service Help with the Transition

StorHub Self Storage service has the perfect storage solutions for when your company is transitioning to a new office in Singapore! With affordable storage units, we offer a wide range of self storage options for business owners and businesses of every size. Whether you need to store belongings for a few weeks, or several months, we have a unit that’s waiting for you!

Check out the many different units we have available, to suit your business’s needs when you’re making the transition.