The Lease Is Signed. Now What? The IT Moves Lehigh Valley Firms Forget Until Moving Week
Signing a lease feels like a milestone. Then moving week gets closer, and the questions start: Will the internet be ready? Where will the network equipment go? Can staff use their phones and printers on day one?
For law, accounting, insurance, engineering, and healthcare administration firms in Allentown, Bethlehem, and Easton, those are business-continuity questions, not finishing touches. If client files, scheduling, billing, or phone service depend on technology, a poorly planned move can disrupt work and put client commitments at risk.
The best time to plan is between signing the lease and moving in. Treat the move as a business-risk project: identify what could fail, estimate the impact of downtime, reduce the risks before the cutover, and verify everything afterward.
Start with a site walk, not moving boxes
Walk the new space with your IT support and, where relevant, the landlord and cabling contractor before construction or furniture placement is complete. A floor plan is useful, but it cannot confirm whether the proposed network closet has adequate power or whether wireless coverage will reach the conference room.
Review where staff will work, where printers and scanners will sit, and which rooms need reliable video conferencing. Identify likely network-cable locations, access points for Wi-Fi, phone connections, and the route cables will take. Discuss conference room screens, cameras, microphones, and connection options early; adding them after walls and desks are in place can mean extra labor and disruption.
Confirm where the building’s internet service enters the premises and whether the landlord has requirements for installation or access. Ask to inspect any existing cabling rather than assuming that “pre-wired” means usable. Your IT partner can help turn the walkthrough into a practical plan for contractors and staff.
Order internet service early, and plan for an outage
Internet service can become a critical-path item. Start discussing service as soon as the new address and lease details are firm, and aim to place orders 60–90 days before the move. The actual schedule depends on the provider, the building, and whether installation requires construction or permits. Ask for an address survey, a written installation date, and confirmation of where the service will be handed off inside the office.
For a firm that cannot readily pause client work, consider a backup connection. Depending on what is available at the address, that could be a second circuit from a different provider or a cellular connection configured to take over if the primary internet fails. The important questions are whether the backup is genuinely independent, what work it can support, and who will test it.
Include internet downtime in your move-risk assessment. Estimate which teams and client services would stop if the connection were unavailable for a morning or a full day. B&R’s IT Downtime Cost Calculator can help put a business value on that scenario.
Give the network closet proper attention
A small, secure room or designated area can have an outsized effect on whether your office network runs reliably. Make sure there is enough space for the equipment, safe and adequate power, ventilation that works outside regular office hours, and restricted physical access. A closet that gets too hot, shares power with unsuitable equipment, or doubles as general storage creates avoidable risk.
Agree in advance on who is providing power, cooling, cabling, and the rack or shelving. Ask for installed cables to be labeled at both ends and for the finished work to be tested and documented. These details make troubleshooting easier after move-in and help prevent confusion when staff are trying to get back to work.
Check the existing equipment against the new office
Moving is a chance to assess whether your current network equipment is suitable for the new space, not a reason to replace equipment automatically because it has reached a certain age. Have your IT support confirm that it can support the planned number of users, the new floor plan, wireless coverage, phone system, and security requirements.
Also decide what equipment is actually being moved. Identify what stays behind, what is relocated, and what should be securely retired. Confirm that the equipment will fit and connect properly in the new network area. A device that worked in the old office may be poorly placed or configured for the new one.
Treat phones and numbers as a separate project
A working internet connection does not guarantee working phones. If your business uses a hosted phone system, an on-site phone system, or voice service from a separate carrier, confirm what must change and who is responsible.
Number porting, the process of moving your existing phone numbers to a new provider or service, can take time. Begin the process several weeks ahead and confirm the expected port date, account details, and any required approvals with the carrier. Keep a plan for calls during the transition, such as temporary forwarding, and make sure any emergency-service address information is updated for the new location.
Printers, scanners, and copiers need attention too. Confirm their network connections, scan-to-email or scan-to-folder settings, and any print-management requirements. A printer that powers on is not necessarily ready for staff to use.
Make moving week a controlled cutover
A moving company should not be expected to identify network devices, decide what can be unplugged, or reconnect equipment safely. Assign a clear owner for the technology move. Before anything is shut down, label cables and devices, record how the network is connected, and confirm that key system backups are current and usable.
Agree on the order for shutting down and bringing equipment online. Depending on your setup, the internet connection, network equipment, phones, servers, workstations, and printers may rely on one another. Moving servers or network equipment without the right handling and reconnection plan can extend downtime.
Set a realistic cutover window and decide what will happen if a carrier appointment is missed or an essential system does not work. Keep the old office’s services active until the new site has been tested and the business has accepted the move, where your contracts and circumstances allow.
Verify the office before calling the move complete
On the first day, walk every workstation, not just the reception desk or conference room. Confirm that staff can sign in, access the applications and files they need, use phones, and print and scan. Test Wi-Fi in all work areas and meeting rooms. Check that the backup connection works, if one is part of the plan.
Ask your IT support to confirm that monitoring is active at the new location and that backups are running as expected. After the move, test that critical data can be restored; do not assume that because a system is online, recovery is ready. Record issues, assign an owner, and track them to resolution.
These steps matter for security as well as productivity. Verizon’s 2019 Data Breach Investigations Report reported that 43% of breaches in its dataset involved small-business victims. That does not mean 43% of small businesses were breached. Verizon’s 2023 report found that 74% of breaches involved the human element, including errors, misuse of privileges, stolen credentials, or social engineering, not just employee mistakes. During a move, clear ownership, accurate labels, and a verified shutdown plan can help prevent avoidable confusion and mistakes.
For additional practical guidance, visit B&R’s business resources. Tuesday’s IRS & FTC Safeguards Briefing is another resource for firms seeking to understand safeguards that can apply to sensitive business and customer information.
Turn the move into a risk-managed project
Before moving day, identify the likely failure points: delayed internet service, insufficient Wi-Fi coverage, a phone number that has not ported, or equipment that is not ready for the new layout. Estimate the business impact of each, then assign an owner and a deadline for reducing the risk. After the cutover, verify the connections, backups, monitoring, and workstations rather than relying on assumptions.
If your firm is planning a new office or a larger space in the Lehigh Valley, B&R Computers can help assess the technology requirements and build a managed plan around your business. Request a free Business Review or Strategy Session to identify the risks, prioritize the work, and help your team return to serving clients with less disruption.