There are several things you need to do in order to move your office to a new place, outside of dealing with your items alone.
Handle Your Current Contract
Depending on your contract, you usually need to inform the landlord in writing a month or two before you move out.
Your landlord should return your security deposit to you a few weeks after you move out. Don’t expect to get it back in full, since you still need to pay for the cost of cleaning, repairing, painting, and renovations.
These costs will be deducted from the security deposit.
Sell Unused Items
The very first thing you should do when moving to a new office is to decide which items you need to move and which ones to sell.
There are generally two things you can do to get rid of stuff you don’t need anymore – either sell it or donate it.
Normally, we give or sell unused stuff to our employees first. After that, we tell maids in the office building that we are moving out. These maids usually have a lot of connections.
They can quickly spread the news, and you should be able to quickly sell unused furniture and electronic devices.
You should always provide a receipt or tax invoice when selling company items. If you are a VAT-registered company, you need to include VAT as well. It’s required by law.
Donate Unused items
If you don’t want to sell, donation is also another good option. You can donate to temples and foundations in Thailand.
Some popular places that accept donated items include:
- The Mirror Foundation: One of the most well-known foundations in Thailand. They accept many types of second-hand items, including clothes, books, furniture, computers, electronics, medical equipment, stationery, and dry food.
- Second Chance Bangkok: A good option if you are in Bangkok. They accept clean clothing, baby items, toys, kitchenware, working electronics, computers, books, bedding, furniture, musical instruments, sports equipment, and office supplies.
- Baan Nokkamin Foundation: This foundation supports orphans, street children, underprivileged children, the elderly, and people recovering from drug addiction. It can be a good place to donate clothes, stationery, household items, and other useful goods.
Before donating, it’s best to contact the foundation first and ask what they currently accept. Some places only accept items in good condition, while others may not accept large furniture unless you arrange pickup in advance.
You should also ask the temple or foundation to give you a receipt for all of the items that you donate for accounting purposes.
Store Documents
Running a company in Thailand involves a lot of documentation. By the time you need to move to a new office, there might be a pile of documents that you need to deal with.
What we usually do is have our documents stored at DataSafe , a data storage service.
We only keep the latest two years of the accounting documents with us and other documents that we might need to use from time to time, such as contracts and employee records. The rest go into storage.
Finding a Mover
You have two options for movers: professional movers or freelance movers.
What we usually do is ask our secretary to find a freelance mover. It’s much cheaper and they can get the job done just as well. You can also talk to maids or the office building admin for recommendations as well.
Our favourite mover is Tonnam . They are a mover in Bangkok that are good and fairly cheap. In addition, you can also use Lalamove application.
You can also read our full article on how to find a domestic moving company in Thailand .
Update Landline Phone and Internet Package
Don’t forget to update or cancel your landline phone and internet package before moving out.
Check with your new office on which internet provider they are using, and about landline phone options, since they might be bound to a specific provider.
If it’s the same provider you currently use, then it might be possible to keep your current internet package and phone number at your new office.
Update Address
Updating your address is the worst part of moving. You need to visit each organisation yourself or send someone on your behalf with a power of attorney.
Usually, we update the address by ourselves without outsourcing it. It’s a straightforward process but can be time-consuming as well.
Here’s a list of organisations you need to deal with when updating the company address.
Please note that documents mentioned in this section are subject to change. You should check with each organisation again before doing it.
Revenue Department
You need to contact the Revenue Department in your area at least 15 days before moving out.
If you move to a new area, then you need to contact the Revenue Department in both areas.
For example, if your company is in Ratchada and you want to move to Sathorn, then you need to contact the Revenue Departments in both Ratchada and Sathorn.
To update your address with the Revenue Department, here’s what you usually need:
- Three sets of the P.P.09 form (ภ.พ.09), the VAT registration amendment form available from the Revenue Department
- P.P.20 (ภ.พ.20)
- Rental contract (obtained from the landlord of your new office)
- Letter of consent (obtained from the landlord of your new office)
- Map to the new office
- Pictures of your new office. They must include the entire office building, your company signage, and your office space
Please note that each Revenue Department requires a different set of documents. Sometimes different officers at the same department also require different documents. So it’s important to keep dealing with the same Revenue Department officer throughout the process. This is why you should ask for his/her name and contact information.
You can issue a power of attorney and ask someone to update your address at the Revenue Department on your behalf.
Once you submit all of the documents, you should get an updated P.P.20 within a few weeks.
You must not change your billing information to the new address unless you get an updated P.P.20 from the Revenue Department.
Department of Business Development
After the Revenue Department, you should update your address at the Department of Business Development. For a limited company, changes to registered particulars such as the head office address generally need to be registered with the DBD within 14 days of the change. You need the updated company registration in order to update your address at other organisations.
It’s quite straightforward to update your address at the Department of Business Development. They have the instructions and forms available on their website.
You need to fill out the required forms and then submit them to the Department of Business Development through an available filing channel.
Please note that you, an authorised director, or a representative with a power of attorney may need to handle the filing, depending on your company documents and the filing method. Alternatively, you can ask an accounting firm to do it for you.
Social Security
Updating your address at Social Security is a straightforward process. Once you have the updated company registration, go to the Social Security office that handles your employer account with the following documents:
- S.P.S. 6-15 form (สปส.6-15), available for download at the SSO website
- Map to the new office
- A signed copy of company registration
- P.P.20 or P.P.09 from Revenue Department
- Power of attorney
Board of Investment
If you are a BOI-promoted company, then you need to update your address with BOI. Check with BOI or your BOI officer whether the update can be submitted through BOI’s e-services or must be filed in person.
Here’s what you usually need:
- A letter with your company logo to BOI, telling them that you moved to a new office
- A signed copy of the company registration
- BOI certificate
- Power of attorney
Then, you should get the updated BOI certificate back within a few weeks.
Banks
You need to go to the bank branch where you opened your corporate account in order to update the company address.
Each bank requires different documents. Usually, they need:
- A signed copy of the company registration
- Their own form for updating the address
- A letter with your company logo to tell them that you moved to a new office*
*It must have the exact words as required by the banks.
Please note that each bank account and credit card require a separate set of documents.
For example, if you have two bank accounts and three credit cards, it means that you need to prepare five sets of documents, even if all of them are from the same bank.
Depending on each bank, you may or may not need to go there by yourself.
Service Providers
Once you are done with banks, then it’s the time to update your address at every service provider you are using.
They may ask you to fill out some forms and give them a signed copy of the company registration. That’s usually it.
Handling Mail
Even after you update your company address at every organisation you can think of, there’s still a chance that some people will still send mail to your previous address.
So you might still want to visit your old address once in a while to get all your mail. If you have a good relationship with a maid there, then you can ask her to monitor your mail for you.
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