Comparing office moving companies in York Region comes down to four things: how they protect your business hours, what coverage they carry, how the quote is built, and who actually shows up on the day. Price belongs on that list, and it belongs last. A crew that empties your old suite overnight and has your people working by 8 a.m. is worth more than a cheaper crew that costs you a day of billable time.
We have been moving offices out of Holland Landing since 1980, small suites through to multi floor corporate relocations. What follows is the checklist we would hand a friend who was collecting quotes from office moving companies.
How do you compare office moving companies in York Region?
Score every quote on downtime, coverage, quote clarity, and crew, in that order. Downtime is the only line that shows up on your P and L, so start there. Ask each mover to put a start time, a finish time, and a recovery plan in writing, then compare those three answers before you compare the dollar figures.
Two of the four are easy to verify with a phone call. Coverage means WSIB clearance and a certificate of insurance your property manager will accept. Crew means the people loading your servers are employees the company trains and keeps on staff. The other two, downtime and quote clarity, take a site visit to get right, which is why we send a consultant to walk your floor before we put a number on paper.
Which questions separate serious office moving companies from the rest?
Six questions do most of the filtering. Ask them in the same order on every call and the differences show up fast.
- Can you work overnight or on a weekend, and what is the premium for it?
- Who disconnects and reconnects the IT gear, you or our provider?
- Can you send a WSIB clearance number and a certificate of insurance this week?
- Is the crew made up of your own staff, and how long have they been with you?
- Do you supply reusable crates, and are they rented by the week or by the move?
- What happens to the quote if the elevator is booked for two hours and we lose them?
The last one is the tell. Honest office moving companies will give you a straight answer about how they handle a delay outside your control. A vague answer there usually means a surprise on the invoice.
Why WSIB coverage is the first thing to check
Check WSIB before anything else, because a worker injured in your suite by an uncovered contractor becomes your problem. Office moving companies operating in Ontario register with the Workplace Safety and Insurance Board once they have staff, and a registered mover can pull a clearance number on demand. The WSIB confirms a clearance is valid for up to 90 days and is only issued to businesses in good standing on premiums and reporting.
A WSIB clearance certificate is valid for up to 90 days, and only a business that is registered and current on its premiums and reporting can obtain one. Source: WSIB Ontario, Clearances, updated May 2026.
Ask for the number, then verify it yourself through the WSIB clearance lookup. It takes about two minutes. Any mover who hesitates at that request has told you something useful.
What certificate of insurance will your building ask for?
Most commercial landlords in York Region will not release a service elevator without a certificate of insurance naming the building owner and the property manager as additional insured. Get the exact wording from your property manager first, send it to each of the office moving companies on your list, and see who returns a matching certificate inside two business days.
Read the coverage on the goods as well. Basic protection on a commercial move is usually settled by weight, which is thin comfort when the damaged item is a plotter or a boardroom table. Ask what replacement value coverage costs and get the answer in writing beside the base rate, so you are comparing the same thing across quotes.
Does Ontario consumer protection law cover an office move?
It does not, and this catches people out. Ontario’s Consumer Protection Act defines a consumer as an individual acting for personal, family or household purposes, and the term does not include a person acting for business purposes. Your office move sits outside it.
That matters because of the rule most people have heard about. Under the same act, a business cannot bill a consumer more than 10 per cent above a written estimate without written agreement to the extra charges. Your home move is covered by that ceiling. Your office move is governed by the contract you signed and nothing else.
So build the ceiling into the contract yourself. Put the scope, the hourly or fixed rate, the overtime rate, whether travel time is billed, what materials cost, and the damage settlement basis on one page, and have both parties sign it. Every reputable mover in the region will do this without a fuss.
How do office moving companies price the work?
Office moves are priced on volume and access, then adjusted for timing. The pieces that move the number most are the count of workstations, the metres of filing and storage, dock and elevator access at both ends, the distance between buildings, whether IT teardown is included, and whether the work happens inside business hours.
Small moves are usually hourly with a crew size attached. Larger or phased moves are usually fixed price against a written scope, which protects your budget and puts the risk of a slow day on the mover. Neither is automatically better, so ask each company which model they are quoting and why, and make sure all your quotes use the same one before you line them up.
We price a corporate move after a consultant visits, counts the contents, checks both loading areas, and writes it up. That visit is free, and it is the only honest way to quote a floor nobody has seen.
How do you keep the office open while you move?
Phase the move and put the disruptive work outside business hours. A typical York Region office move runs Friday evening through Sunday, with IT the last thing out and the first thing back in, so staff walk into a working desk on Monday morning.
IT gear staged and labelled the night before. Cables tagged at both ends are what gets a floor working again by Monday morning.Three habits make the difference. Number every workstation on a floor plan and put the same number on the crates and the furniture, so nothing needs a decision at the far end. Colour code by department, because a crate that lands in the wrong zone costs twenty minutes to trace. Photograph the back of every desk and every rack before anything is unplugged, since a photo settles an argument that a memory cannot.
Talk to building management early at both ends. Elevator bookings, dock windows, and after hours security access are the three things that quietly decide whether a weekend move finishes on Sunday. Our coordinator handles those calls, and we start them the week the date is confirmed.
What to check on every office moving quote
Put the quotes side by side and check the same seven lines on each. The table below is the short version, and it works whether you are weighing two office moving companies or five.
| What to check | Green light | Red flag |
|---|
| WSIB clearance | Number sent same day | We will get that to you later |
| Certificate of insurance | Matches your landlord’s wording | Generic certificate, no additional insured |
| Site visit | Consultant walks the floor | Price quoted over the phone |
| Written scope | Rate, overtime, travel, materials listed | One number and a signature line |
| Crew | Named employees, trained in house | Day labour booked that morning |
| After hours | Premium stated up front | Overtime discussed on the day |
| Damage settlement | Basis and limit in the contract | Fully insured with no figures |
Seven lines, three minutes per quote. Most of the office moving companies you call will clear five of them easily, and the two they miss are where your risk sits.
What a York Region office move looks like with our crews
We are a family run company based at 98 Sluse Rd in Holland Landing, and we have been handling corporate relocations since 1980. We have been voted York Region’s Top Moving Company for 18 consecutive years and we hold an A plus rating with the Better Business Bureau.
On a commercial job we move desks, filing cabinets, wall units, shelves, and office machines, and our consultant gives you a free written estimate after visiting the site and calculating the size and weight of the contents. Our crews carry WSIB coverage and we provide a certificate of insurance on request for your property manager. We serve Bradford, Newmarket, Aurora, Georgina, Innisfil, Barrie, New Tecumseth, Richmond Hill, and King City, and we cover office moves anywhere in Ontario. You can read more on our corporate and office relocation page or in our guide to minimizing downtime during a commercial relocation.
Frequently asked questions
How do I choose an office moving company?
Shortlist on downtime, coverage, quote clarity, and crew, then compare price across the shortlist. Ask for a WSIB clearance number and a certificate of insurance before you talk about money, because a mover who cannot produce both quickly will slow your whole schedule. Insist on a site visit, since a floor nobody has walked cannot be quoted accurately.
Do office moving companies work outside business hours?
Most established office moving companies will work evenings and weekends, and many York Region office moves are booked Friday evening through Sunday for that reason. Expect a premium for after hours work and ask for it to be stated in the quote. Building access and elevator bookings usually need to be arranged a week or two in advance.
Who moves the computers and servers?
The physical transport is ours, and the disconnect and reconnect is usually handled by your IT provider or internal team. Agree that split in writing before the date so nobody arrives expecting the other party to have done it. We stage IT gear last out and first in so your floor is working again before staff return.
How far in advance should we book an office move?
Four to six weeks is comfortable for a small office and eight to twelve weeks is safer for a full floor or a phased move. Elevator bookings, the certificate of insurance, and your IT provider’s calendar are what set the pace, and all three take time to line up.
Do we need to empty the filing cabinets and desks?
Lateral files usually travel loaded if the drawers are locked or strapped, and desks travel empty. We will tell you exactly which of your units can move as they are during the site visit, because it depends on the cabinet construction and the route out of the building. Emptying only what has to be emptied saves your staff a day of packing.
If you are comparing office moving companies for a move in York Region or anywhere in Ontario, we would be glad to walk your floor and put a written estimate in your hands. Book a site visit through our free estimate form, or call us in Holland Landing at (905) 775-3982 or toll free at 1-800-263-3281, and we will find a date that keeps your business open.
