Defensible first-cut budget for an office move.
- Defensible first-cut budget for an office move.
- Itemized across movers, IT relocation, furniture, insurance, downtime, and contingency.
- Returns low / mid / high band plus per-employee cost.
Office Move Cost Estimator
TL;DR
- Defensible first-cut budget for an office move.
- Itemized across movers, IT relocation, furniture, insurance, downtime, and contingency.
- Returns low / mid / high band plus per-employee cost.
Methodology
Movers scale on current sq ft (~$2.50/sf) plus $75/employee, multiplied by a distance factor (local 1.0, regional 1.6, cross-country 2.4). IT relocation uses per-head benchmarks for low/medium/high complexity, with a 30% premium cross-country. Furniture is sized at $18/sf of new floorplate. Insurance/permits is 4% of physical-goods spend. Downtime loss is headcount × $320/day × 1.5 / 3 / 5 days. Final mid figure adds a 10% contingency.
How to use it
- Enter sizing — Headcount, current sq ft, and new sq ft set the base estimate.
- Pick origin and destination — Local / regional / cross-country drives the logistics multiplier.
- Choose IT complexity — Server room and lab moves are 'high'; standard office is 'medium'.
- Decide on furniture — Whether you're buying new (FF&E) or reusing existing.
Frequently asked questions
- Is fit-out included?
- No — fit-out">fit-out (construction, MEP, finishes) is a separate capex line. Use the Fit-out Budget Estimator alongside this tool.
- What about lease overlap?
- Not modeled here. Add overlap rent separately if both leases run concurrently.
- How accurate is the contingency?
- 10% covers normal slippage; budget 15% for cross-country or any move with significant IT/server complexity.
- Per-employee cost — is that net new?
- Yes. It's the total move cost divided by current headcount, useful for board approval and per-FTE benchmarking.