Happy Easter!
Everyone at D.J. McGauley & Associates would like to wish you and your family a warm and happy Easter!
Corporate Relocation: On Office Design, Systems Furniture, and Space Planning
Corporate relocation is a daunting task that takes a lot of work. Three areas, in particular, require expertise and close attention: office design, systems furniture, and space planning. These are the same areas that D.J. McGauley & Associates pride themselves in, over their competitors in the corporate relocation industry.
Office Design that Makes Sense
Your employees will have countless questions regarding your planned office relocation, mostly centering on one aspect: the office design. For many, their office spaces have become their comfort zone. Naturally, they would be apprehensive about how the new office layout will look like: will their zone of privacy be decreased? Is the new office design comfortable to work at?
D.J. McGauley & Associates Inc understands the importance of office design, as it is one of the crucial steps in the relocation process. This is why feasibility studies and preliminary layouts are given precise attention. Your thoughts and ideas are crucial in the entire design process—and will be balanced with the need for a workplace design that makes sense and enhances productivity.
Precision in Systems Furniture
Your systems furniture has to be handled with care. You cannot afford any accidents or damage to the furniture, as it will disrupt business, and will cost you both lost profits and repair expenses.
Reconfiguring the systems furniture and installing new components must be done by a highly skilled and trained team. The team must be able to break down and seamlessly re-assemble the furniture from the old office to the new one. This is an expertise of the professionally trained team of D.J. McGauley & Associates.
Specialization in Space Planning
The problem faced by most businesses who relocate without corporate relocation specialists is most apparent in space planning. These businesses realize that their preferred office layout does not conform to the prospective floor plate, leading them to make many compromises.
D.J. McGauley & Associates makes no such mistakes, making use of engineering and structuring layouts to ensure that the layout you want matches with the space of your new office.
Tax Deductions and Credits: Corporate Relocation in Canada
Last week we discussed Tax Credits and Deductions – Corporate Renovation in Canada This week, we are focusing on Tax Deductions and Credits in Corporate Relocation in Canada. With tax deductible expenses specifically for corporate relocation, companies should not worry about additional taxes and expenses that moving one’s office entails. In fact, with D.J. McGauley & Associates, the costs of your corporate relocation will be much more affordable than with any other corporate specialist.
Provincial Land Tax Rebate Program for Vacant Commercial and Industrial Buildings
When moving out and leaving an industrial or commercial property that you own either partially or entirely vacant, you can qualify for a rebate of Provincial Land Tax throughout the entire period of your vacancy. As long as a commercial building is entirely vacant for around 90 consecutive days and remains unused, you may ask for a rebate of your property tax until February 28.
If you’ve already paid the provincial land tax for the building you own and are currently occupying, there’s no need to wait until the end of the fiscal year before you move out and let it stop you from moving. Take note that this is only available for Ontario businesses.
If one of your fears in corporate relocation is that you might end up paying taxes twice, and even incurring additional taxes, the moving taxes deduction should put your worry to rest. This tax deduction is available for businesses that will be carried on in a new location that is at least 40 kilometers away from the previous workplace.
You can claim reasonable amounts for the following:
– Transportation and storage costs (including packing, hauling, in-transit storage, insurance, and storage) for all effects
– Travel expenses either through the detailed or simplified method. By using the detailed method, you can deduct expenses ranging from your meal expenses to the vehicle expenses, as long as supported by receipts and records. With the simplified method, you can calculate the number of kilometers from the takeoff place to the destination.
– Cancellation of lease cost is for the deductions on the rental period that you weren’t able to use up
– Incidental costs covers the fees for the change on legal documents, the replacement of driving licenses, and utility hook-ups
– Cost to maintain the old office of as much as $5,000, including the property taxes, the insurance premiums, the interest, and the utility expenses
Tax Credits and Deductions: Corporate Renovations in Canada
Without careful planning and a corporate specialist, the corporate renovation you’re planning might well drain your company’s finances. Most companies don’t realize it, but there are several tax deductions and tax credits by which they can benefit while undergoing a corporate renovation. With D.J. McGauley & Associates and the appropriate tax deductions, the costs of your office renovation will be much lower than usual.
One important deduction is in Line 8960 for expenses accrued in maintenance and repairs. This will allow you to deduct the cost of labor, maintenance and repairs for any maintenance work and minor repairs for the property you use to earn income. This applies to parts of your office that have not undergone major repairs but have nonetheless undergone maintenance and improvements. Excepted from this deduction is the value of your own labor and costs of repairs that are capital in nature, which are deductible in the next section.
Undergoing a corporate renovation will inevitably mean the acquisition of new capital assets, which may qualify as a deduction under capital cost allowance. This deduction applies to furniture, equipment, and technologies acquired for the use of business or professional activities. While you cannot deduct the entire cost of the property right away, you can deduct its depreciable cost over time depending on its estimated lifetime.
While undergoing a renovation, you might make use of supplies that would otherwise not qualify under the two preceding sections. This is where you can apply for a deduction under this section. Here, you can deduct items that the business used indirectly in its business, allowing certain refurbishments done to your workspace that are not directly related to your business goals to be deductible.
Accounting, Legal and Other Professional Fees
A renovation will require external professional advice or services that will entail consulting fees. For such expenses, you can apply for a deduction under this section. With this deduction, you can put to rest any fears that consultation with specialists will only increase the costs of your renovation.
If you plan on leaving the commercial building for a period of at least 90 consecutive days, you may qualify for a rebate of the tax you have already paid.
Make sure to tune in next week as we discuss Tax Deductions and Credits in Corporate Relocation in Canada.
Corporate Expansion: Relocation or Renovation? (Part II)
Last week we began the discussion of renovation vs. relocation during the corporate expansion process. There are several questions that need to be asked and subsequently answered before deciding whether to relocate to a new office or to renovate your current workspace. To simplify the decision-making process, D.J. McGauley & Associates has prepared a checklist of questions that you should consider. The list continues below…
4. How will the expansion affect your bottom line?
Whether you relocate or renovate, you should first calculate the monthly costs it will entail. Will relocating increase your basic costs? Will renovating be more costly for your business in the long run, in terms of maintenance, because of the increase in lease?
Carefully evaluate which of the two options will increase the efficiency of the employees, offer better access to workers, and improve the visibility of your business among several other factors. It all boils down to how it will affect your bottom line, given the interplay of expenses and projected earnings.
5. Do you want to tweak or complete re-brand your company image?
The avenue of corporate expansion you choose will ideally affect your customers and clients as much as it will affect your employees. Many businesses have strategically chosen corporate relocation to jump start their company’s image. This relocation is just one of the many changes they undertook—along with offering new products and services, changing their vision, and sometimes, even changing their names! If you want a fresh start in the truest sense, then a corporate relocation may be exactly what you need.
On the other hand, some companies are reluctant to take such a measure but at the same time express a desire to contemporize their workplace and improve its layout, energy efficiency, and technology. This is where renovation is a more viable option.
6. Do you want no disruption to your operations?
Whether you choose renovation or relocation for your corporate expansion, you can’t lose sight of your business goals—the achievement of which is the entire reason why you’re expanding in the first place. For this reason, you need a corporate relocation and renovations specialist that will ensure that the expansion will go smoothly and will take into account the achievement of all your organizational goals. D.J. McGaulay & Associates will do this, and more; it will also help you understand your new facilities better and provide the assistance needed for post-relocation or renovation.
Corporate Expansion: Renovation vs. Relocation (Part I)
As companies become more dynamic and globalized, corporate expansion is inevitable. Corporate expansion usually involves either the renovation of the workplace or relocation to an entirely new facility. Both corporate relocation and corporate renovation can not only allow a company to meet the growing demands of the business, it can also encourage the workforce to move forward and achieve their goals in a better, more suitable environment.
At D.J. McGauley & Associates, we are often asked by our transitional clients to offer advice on whether it is time to renovate existing office space or relocate to a larger corporate facility. While the choice is ultimately yours, and each situation is unique, it is important to look at both sides of the coin before making such an important and game changing decision. This is why, over the next two weeks, we will be looking at factors that might help you decide whether it is time to renovate or relocate your office space.
1. Are you planning to have an expanded workforce?
If you’re planning to expand and hire a number of employees and the floor area of your current workplace cannot possibly accommodate your target number of employees, then it’s time to relocate. Otherwise, your expanded workforce will have to cram themselves in a tight office space and your business will suffer from decreased productivity. It is also imperative to find the perfect potential new space that fits your budget and at the same time will allow all your employees to comfortably work in their own spaces.
2. Do you want to improve your operations and systems?
The workplace environment is a major factor in employee motivation. If your current workplace is shabby, poorly lit, and/or made of subpar materials, what you likely need is a redesign of your office space—in which case you might want to go for a renovation.
A renovation is also in order if you want to upgrade your furniture and appliances, as well as the systems and technology required to perform employee tasks. It is important to set clear goals and outlines in order to integrate new equipment and systems into your current office structure seamlessly and with as little downtime as possible.
3. Is location a primary consideration?
For one reason or another, you may not be satisfied with the current location of your office. Maybe it’s because the location is not accessible to your target market, clients or expanding workforce. Perhaps it’s not near to your suppliers. Another reason most businesses cite is that they simply want to be in the central business district. For example, if you started your business in a small plaza on the outskirts of Toronto but you’ve always dreamed about relocating to that downtown Bay Street location, it might be time to realize your dream instead of putting your money into a renovation. In other words, if location is a primary factor in your corporate expansion, then corporate relocation should be your choice.
Still haven’t made up your mind? Tune in next week while we continue this discussion with a few more important points to consider.
Corporate Renovations Experts in Toronto
Many people do not realize the full scope of a corporate relocation specialist’s abilities. Did you know that corporate relocation companies will expertly handle a lot more than office moving? For example, D.J. McGauley & Associates will help not only relocate corporate space but also renovate and/or expand your existing corporate location.
Renovation services you can expect from the consultants at D.J McGauley & Associates include:
- Practical, cost effective and attractive design options that maximize the use of your current space.
- Furniture solutions and options that fit your needs and budget.
- Modernization and updates that fit your corporate image, client base and employee needs.
- Maximizing light and air quality while promoting worker health and ergonomics
If your company is considering renovating or expanding your existing office space, make the consulting team at D.J. McGauley & Associates the first call you make. We have the experience and the know-how to make your corporate renovation in Toronto or surrounding area a glitch-free success.
For more information about why you should call a corporate relocations specialist, read our last blog post, Does the Success of Your Corporate Relocation Rely on Who You Know?
Does the Success of Your Corporate Relocation Rely on Who You Know?
Does the Success of Your Corporate Relocation Rely on Who You Know?In short, the answer is yes, absolutely. Choosing the wrong contractor, engineer or designer will turn your corporate expansion from a positive to a negative before you’ve had time to file a change of address card at the post office.
This is why, if your office is relocating or expanding, one of the most important decisions you will make in this process is choosing the right corporate relocation specialist for the job. Experienced corporate relocation specialists will not only work with your real estate agent, act as a point of contact with building management of both your current and your newly chosen location, and foresee any potential issues before they become complex problems, they will also hook you up with the best of the best in terms of contacts you will need to enjoy a seamless relocation.
D.J. McGauley & Associates have an extensive network of industry professionals, whom we work with for corporate expansions and relocations. Through years of experience, we have long ago weeded out the contractors who are not ideal and developed relationships with professionals who work on time, on budget and with a focus on making your expansion a great experience. Think of us as your trusted source for all areas of corporate relocation and expansion. We will source the right:
- Designers
- Engineers
- Construction teams
- IT, phone and cabling experts
- Movers
- Furniture, equipment and appliance providers
- Installation teams
When you make your move with D.J. McGauley & Associates, you will always be one step ahead. Call us today to learn more about our services and find out how we plan to help you with your next corporate relocation.
Troubled Employees over an Office Relocation?
3 Tips to Combat Lack of Productivity during a Corporate Move
Relocating your office is expensive enough, but it will be even more costly if the thought of moving to a new workplace causes anxiety and lack of productivity among your employees. This is a common occurrence that most companies have had to struggle with during a corporate move. Because of their desire to speed up the relocation of their office, these corporations often forget one crucial factor: employee productivity.
Here are three ways to address a recurring issue during a corporate move: lack of employee productivity.
Set a time for your employees to sort their personal work desk.
Give your employees time to set aside and organize their personal belongings and files that will be carried over to the new office location. An hour or two for two weeks at most should be enough for your employees to organize their things. If you don’t impose a specific timeframe, your employees will end up rushing their tasks or piling their files in between work hours, which should be allotted specifically for performing their work-related hours.
Communicate with your employees through and through.
According to the Psychologically Healthy Workplace Program, communication plays an integral role in the success of any workplace program. Without question, an office relocation is an example of that. Put a premium in providing regular and open avenues for employees to voice their concerns. By doing this, your employees will stop speculating and they will feel all the more involved in the effort to make the office relocation as seamless and efficient as possible.
Inspire them with the features of their new workplace
Instead of stirring doubt and anxiety, why don’t you give them a glimpse of their fabulous new office? Conduct a communication campaign that will highlight the features of the new office and the improvements over their current workplace. Doing so will not only excite them but even motivate them to achieve their work goals.
At D.J. McGauley & Associates Inc we make sure that all factors will be accounted for when your business decides to move. This includes the possible resistance of your employees, undoubtedly one of your strongest assets and reasons for initiating a corporate move.
- ← Previous
- 1
- …
- 17
- 18
- 19
- Next →
Corporate Space Planning & Relocation Advice 