Make your move: Tips for relocating your business

So you’ve decided to change locations. Whether it’s for personal reasons, expansion purposes, or simply to get closer to your target market, moving businesses is one of the hardest challenges an entrepreneur could face. To help you with this transition, here are some surefire ways to make your move as painless as possible.

Update your contact information

The last thing you’d want is to leave your suppliers and customers in the dark about your move. Having an inbound number reduces the stress of informing people of your new number, but also guarantees minimal downtime during your relocation. Since it can be pointed to any number, you can easily direct calls to your mobile while your new landline is being set up. You also save customers from paying long distance charges.

Budget! Budget! Budget!

A move is the best time to evaluate what you have been spending on and how to redirect resources to the most important parts of your business. More importantly, it is the best time to evaluate your current phone system. Now is the perfect time to go through with the upgrades you’ve been considering. Ask yourself the following questions:

• How many lines are you currently using, and how many do you actually need? Are you running up costs due to multiple PSTN lines that are barely used or do you only need to leave just 1 for an alarm system or a POS System?
• Does your business require reliable voice and data transmission? Do you require multiple devices for a single line? Are you planning to stay long term once you move? Consider having ISDN lines installed.
• Do you prefer flexibility in terms of portability and scalability? Unlike dedicated systems that require costly installation, a hosted phone system only relies on a high-speed internet connection while users can be added or reduced as needed. Can you get more convenient than plug and play phones?

Remember that bundles and lower packages do not automatically translate to savings. If you keep going over your usage allowances, you may be spending more than you would if you upgrade to a higher plan. The same also goes with product bundles. Go for bundles with products that work together, like having an inbound number to route your calls, live answering for when you can’t answer calls, and fax to email or voice to email services so you get important messages and documents even on the go. Don’t work for your bills, make your telco services work for you.

Sort-Pack-Purge

Here it is, the moment you’ve been (dreading) waiting for—packing. Starting the day before the move is a recipe for disaster. If you are planning to hire movers, do so 1 to 3 months before the actual move. They can alleviate the stress of organising by giving you options and strategies to make packing more efficient.

Donate/sell office equipment you no longer need. Now is the perfect time to get rid of old and bulky machines that would cost more to move. Better yet, switch to virtual office solutions like fax to email or voice to email services that guarantee business continuity even before you’ve fully settled into your new location. The best part is not having boxes and boxes printed documents and messages to ship the next time you decide to move.

Prepare for the Unexpected

The reality is that not all of your best employees will be willing to move to a different site, and relocation bonuses may not exactly be on your budget. Consider having a remote workforce instead, by utilising a hosted phone system. With just a stable high-speed internet connection, you can collaborate and work with your employees without worrying about geographic barriers.

Transitioning to a new site requires that you keep both sites operational for at least 1 month before you migrate all processes to the new location. This helps in sorting out kinks in the system and minimising lost business. A hosted system allows you to communicate between sites easily for free, and closing up shop could just be as easy as unplugging the phone and taking it with you to your new space.

Decades ago, SMEs were forced to stick close to their customer base in one part of the country and moving was considered a logistical nightmare. Thankfully, technology has broken geographical barriers, allowing you to cater to a wider market, providing the option for mobility and relocation. For more information on how your business communications technology can do this, give us a call at 1300 ALLTEL or visit us at ALLTEL