Selling chairs from an office move — a project manager checklist
If you are running a UK office relocation and need to clear chairs, this is the checklist we wish more project managers had. Drawn from running chair removals against hundreds of relocation projects across the last 6 years.
8 weeks out — get an indicative quote
Earlier than you think you need to. At 8 weeks out you usually know the new-site spec, the rough number of chairs you are clearing, and the brand mix. That is enough for an indicative quote. Use the homepage calculator or send us a model count via email — we will come back the same day.
Why this early: an indicative number lets you build the chair-buyback BACS into the move financial plan as a credit, which is much harder to do after the move plan is signed off. Many relocations underestimate this credit and surprise themselves at the BACS landing on the right side of the ledger.
6 weeks out — confirm the firm quote
Send photos. We firm up the per-chair rates against actual condition and confirm the model identification (e.g. Classic vs Remastered Aeron). Firm quote sits in your inbox, valid for 30 days. You can defer commitment until 4 weeks out without losing the rate.
At this stage also confirm: (1) which legal entity gets invoiced, (2) the VAT number for the entity, (3) whether you want BACS on collection day or within 3 working days, (4) any access constraints we need to factor in (goods lift booking, dock window, weekend-only access).
4 weeks out — book the slot
Confirm the collection date. We hold the slot once booked. If the move plan slips by a few days (it will), we hold the new slot at no extra fee provided we get 48 hours notice for major changes.
Book the slot type: single-pass (whole job in one day, suits up to ~400 chairs), phased (one floor a day, suits CAT-B-driven moves where each floor needs to land clean for the next contractor), or weekend-only (suits City of London moves with no business-hours dock access).
Send us the supplier-onboarding pack you require: PQQ, insurance certificates, RAMS, etc. Standard turnaround 48 hours.
2 weeks out — handshake with other suppliers
Most relocations have 4–6 suppliers in play: removals firm, IT decommission, telephony decommission, cleaners, dilapidations contractor, security. We need to handshake with whichever of them share a dock window or lift access with us. Send us the PoCs and we pick up the conversation directly.
Common conflict point: dock booking. If your removals firm has a 2-day dock window for desks/IT and we are picking up chairs in the same window, we co-ordinate so vehicles do not block each other. We have done this enough times to know the patterns; let us run it.
Move week — final confirmation
48 hours before collection: we confirm crew names, vehicle types, and arrival time. Send across any last-minute access changes (lift out of service, dock booking moved, etc).
On the day: our project lead arrives 15 minutes before the slot start. Single PoC for all questions during the day. RAMS already sent to your H&S team. Crew in branded hi-vis with steel toes. Sack barrows + dollies for clean transit (no floor scuffs that cost you on dilapidations).
After the move — paperwork
Within 3 working days: BACS lands. Within 5 working days: compliance pack (waste transfer notes for any items that went via licensed waste, ESG report with kg-CO₂e diversion figures, photo log of collected items, line-itemed invoice). Pack is suitable for paste into the move final report and the annual sustainability report.
If your finance team flags any invoice issue, we resolve same-day. If the ESG figures need recalculating against your specific reporting framework (B-Corp, BREEAM, SECR, GRESB), we do that on request.
When dates slip — what to do
Move dates always slip. Lease handover slips by three days, your CAT-B slips with it, our collection slot has to slip too. The right move: email us 48 hours before the original slot saying the new date. We hold the slot, no fee. Worst case (we have already mobilised vehicles that day): we charge a £200 abort fee — but we have only ever charged this twice in 6 years of relocation work.
If the entire project is cancelled or delayed by more than 30 days, the firm quote needs re-issuing — chair prices drift modestly over 30 days, and we re-base on the latest rates.
Common gotchas
Things that catch project managers out, in priority order: (1) discovering on the day that 30 chairs are actually replicas of the brand they thought, not the real thing — we authenticate from photos beforehand to avoid this. (2) Goods lift bookings double-booked with removals firm — we co-ordinate, but you have to flag it 48 hours out. (3) Dilapidations contractor needing the floor vacant by 5pm when our slot finishes at 6 — we plan for this if you tell us. (4) Finance team needing the invoice on a specific entity that is not the trading name — confirm at 4 weeks out.
Get a quote on yours
Use the homepage calculator. Indicative quote in 30 seconds. Firm quote within the hour.