Is the new office ready for your first working day?

Before committing to the first working day at a new office, ask for evidence that the essential technology will be usable there. “Internet ordered” and “phones being moved” leave several decisions unresolved. Your move plan needs named owners, confirmed dependencies, and a fallback for work that cannot wait.

Get an answer for the exact suite

Give the internet provider the full service address, including the suite, and confirm what it can install there. Ask whether it needs a site visit, building access, construction, or landlord approval. Establish where the provider's connection will end and who will connect it to the office network.

An appointment is a scheduled visit. Treat the connection as ready only after it has been installed and checked. Ask how billing, contract terms, equipment, and any fixed public internet address will change. Provider rules differ: Comcast Business, for example, says transfers involve a new contract and that equipment compatibility needs confirmation. Don't assume your own provider follows the same policy.

Source: Comcast Business: Moving Your Service.

Walk through the floor plan with the people doing the work

Mark where staff will sit, where calls will be answered, and where printers, Wi-Fi access points, cameras, and network equipment belong. Have the installer check the cabling and power needed at those locations. Ask who supplies each item and who verifies it after furniture is in place.

Give building management, the cabling installer, the internet provider, and IT the same contact list and access arrangements. A locked communications room or an unapproved cable route is a scheduling problem the office manager can help resolve before equipment arrives.

Identify services that need their own move plan, including monitored alarms and building-controlled entry. Their responsible providers should handle changes and verification. Keep those arrangements visible on the move schedule rather than assuming the internet appointment covers them.

Settle what happens to the phone numbers

Ask the phone provider whether the move requires a number transfer or only changes to the existing service. Get confirmation for every number the business uses, including direct numbers and fax services. Decide where incoming calls should go during the move and who will check messages.

If numbers are transferring between providers, coordinate cancellation with them so the old service isn't ended prematurely. The FCC's porting guidance tells customers to start service with the new company before terminating existing service. It also notes that keeping a number when moving to a different geographic area may not be possible; get the answer for your actual numbers.

Arrange the emergency-location update with the phone provider for the new physical location. National 911 Program guidance specifically tells VoIP users to update that location when a device moves. Use the provider's verification process; ordinary test calls for this move plan should go to coworkers, not emergency services.

Source: FCC: Porting Your Phone Number (official guide archived by the First Circuit).

Source: National 911 Program: Frequently Asked Questions.

Approve opening based on completed work

Before staff arrive, have someone use the actual reception phone, staff computer, printer, and essential applications in their intended locations. Check an inbound and outbound call, a transfer, voicemail access, and the main business workflow. Note who accepted each result.

For anything unfinished, write down the practical fallback and the person authorized to use it. That may mean approved remote work or a temporary call destination. Assign old-site disconnections and equipment returns only after the responsible owner confirms the dependencies are cleared; retain return receipts and final service confirmations.