Office Move Costs: What AV and Tech Really Add to the Bill
Office move costs go well beyond rent and removals. Here are the AV and technology line items most budgets miss, and how to plan for them early.
Chris Gore Updated 2026
Office move costs are almost always higher than the first budget suggests, and technology is one of the biggest reasons. Rent, removals and furniture get planned early, while AV and IT tend to appear late, once the design is already fixed. If you are at the start of a relocation, our guide on planning an office relocation without losing your AV investment is the best companion to this article.
What Office Move Costs Usually Include
Most budgets cover the obvious items. Rent and deposits on the new space, removals, furniture, any dilapidations on the old lease, legal and agent fees, and the fit out itself. These are the items finance teams recognise, so they get a line in the plan. The items that go missing are the ones that sit between departments, and AV is a classic example, because it belongs to facilities, IT or nobody, depending on the company.
The AV Costs Most Office Move Budgets Miss
Removing and Moving Existing AV
Taking down existing screens, cameras and video bars, packing them properly and reinstalling them is a cost in itself, and it needs skilled people. Equipment that is not packed well can be damaged on the way, and some systems are cheaper to replace than to move. Make that decision room by room, not as a blanket rule.
New Cabling and Infrastructure
Cabling is easy to overlook because it disappears into walls and ceilings, yet it can account for a large share of an AV installation. Power, data and display cabling should be planned before the ceilings close and the floors go down, because retrofitting is slower and more expensive. Our guide to the cost of a full office AV installation shows how the cost of a full installation builds up.
Downtime and Double Running
If your old meeting rooms close before the new ones are ready, people still need to meet. That can mean temporary equipment, hired rooms or lost productivity. Phasing the move so some rooms stay live for as long as possible reduces the disruption, but it needs to be planned from the start.
Snagging and Handover
The final stage of a move is where small problems turn into expensive ones. Screens that do not wake, microphones that are not connected and rooms that nobody has tested all show up in week one. A proper handover check stops them becoming a long running complaint, and our AV snagging list covers what to check.
How to Budget Office Move Costs Properly
Involve AV at the Design Stage
The single biggest saving comes from bringing technology into the conversation before the layout is fixed. A room designed without thinking about screens, cameras and acoustics usually needs expensive fixes later. That is part of the reason we joined forces with a design practice, as we explain in why an AV company and an interior design consultancy fit together.
Hold a Contingency
A contingency allowance is standard practice on relocation and fit out projects, and technology is one of the areas most likely to draw on it. Projects that go over budget rarely do so because of one big mistake. They usually go over because of several small ones that nobody planned for, which we cover in our article on why AV projects go over budget.
Get Quotes on a Like for Like Basis
Ask for AV quotes that list the same items in the same way, including cabling, installation, commissioning and aftercare. A low headline price that leaves out cabling or support is not a cheaper quote, it is a more expensive one that has not been finished yet.
Get a Price in 60 Seconds www.wearespor.com/av-pricing-estimator Add a realistic AV figure to your office move budget before the design is fixed. |
Frequently Asked Questions
What do office move costs usually include?
Typically rent and deposits, removals, furniture, fit out, dilapidations on the old lease, legal and agent fees, and IT and AV. The technology items are the ones most often left out of early budgets.
Why do office move costs go over budget?
Usually because of several small, unplanned items instead of one big one. Cabling, AV, IT, double running and snagging are common culprits.
Should we move our existing AV equipment or replace it?
Decide room by room. Newer equipment that is in good condition is often worth moving, while older or poorly matched equipment can cost more to move and reinstall than it is worth.
When should AV be included in office move costs?
At the design stage, before the layout is fixed. Including AV late usually means paying more for cabling and fixes that could have been planned in.
How can I keep office move costs under control?
Plan early, involve AV and IT at the design stage, get like for like quotes, hold a contingency and check every room before you sign off the project.
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