New Office Setup Checklist: Furniture Planning for Pune Businesses
Short answer: Plan furniture for a new office in five stages: (1) before signing the lease, check that your headcount fits the floor; (2) list furniture room by room; (3) finalise layout, sizes, materials and cabling before ordering; (4) confirm the site is ready before installation; (5) check and sign off before move-in. The checklist below covers each stage and can be copied as it is.
Setting up an office involves the landlord, the building office, an interior contractor, an electrician, an IT vendor and a furniture manufacturer, often all in the same fortnight. A checklist keeps the furniture side from slipping. This one is what we share with clients at the first meeting.
Stage 1: Before you sign the lease
- ☐ Headcount for day one and for the next two years
- ☐ Carpet area confirmed (not just the chargeable area)
- ☐ A quick seating test-fit on the floor plan. See how many workstations fit in 1,000 sq ft
- ☐ Handover condition: bare shell or warm shell, and what the landlord provides
- ☐ Power load available and AC provision
- ☐ Building fit-out rules: working hours, deposits, approvals
- ☐ Service lift size and loading access
- ☐ Lease period, which decides how much to spend on fixed versus movable items
Stage 2: Furniture list, room by room
| Area | Furniture to plan |
|---|---|
| Reception | Reception desk, logo wall panel, visitor seating, side table |
| Work area | Workstations, partitions or screens, pedestals or lockers, task chairs |
| Cabins | Desk, side return, credenza, manager chair, visitor chairs |
| Conference room | Table with power boxes, chairs, credenza, writing board |
| Small meeting or phone rooms | Compact table, two to four chairs |
| Storage | Team cabinets, full-height archive units, stationery cupboard |
| Pantry or cafeteria | Counter with storage, tables, chairs or stools |
| Server or printer area | Rack space, printer table, storage for consumables |
| Breakout | Soft seating, high table, shelves |
Related guides: reception desks, workstations, manager cabins, conference tables and storage.
Stage 3: Before you place the order
Layout
- ☐ Scaled layout with every seat numbered
- ☐ Main aisles about 1,200 mm, secondary aisles about 900 mm
- ☐ Clear route to exits; electrical panel and fire equipment accessible
- ☐ Expansion seats marked for the future
Specification
- ☐ Desk sizes by role
- ☐ Board type and thickness for each item
- ☐ Laminate and edge banding colours approved on physical samples
- ☐ Partition type and height
- ☐ Hardware: drawer channels, hinges, locks and master key
- ☐ Accessories: keyboard trays, CPU trolleys, monitor arms, pin-up boards
Power and data
- ☐ Feed point for every workstation run (floor box or wall)
- ☐ Number of sockets and data points per seat
- ☐ Raceway and cable tray included in the furniture
- ☐ Power boxes in the conference table
- ☐ Electrical drawing matched to the furniture drawing
Commercials
- ☐ Itemised quote with transport, installation and taxes
- ☐ Payment stages linked to milestones
- ☐ Written schedule for approval, production and installation
- ☐ Service terms after handover
Our 7-point checklist for choosing a manufacturer and the buying guide go deeper on this stage.
Stage 4: Before installation
- ☐ Flooring, painting and ceiling complete
- ☐ Lighting and air-conditioning working
- ☐ Power and data feeds ready at each run
- ☐ No dusty work pending in furniture areas
- ☐ Building permission for material movement and timings
- ☐ Lift booked; storage area for material identified
- ☐ One person nominated to take decisions on site
What the team does on the day is described in what happens on installation day.
Stage 5: Before move-in
- ☐ Quantity check against the order
- ☐ Tops level; partitions aligned and firm
- ☐ Drawers, doors and locks working; keys labelled
- ☐ Cables inside trays and raceways
- ☐ Snag list closed
- ☐ Seat allocation plan ready
- ☐ Network, Wi-Fi and printers tested at the desks
- ☐ Deep cleaning done
- ☐ Layout drawing, laminate codes and key list filed for future additions
A simple timeline to work with
| Weeks before move-in | What to complete |
|---|---|
| 10 to 12 | Lease signed, headcount fixed, designer and manufacturer shortlisted |
| 8 to 10 | Layout approved; electrical and data drawings matched to it |
| 6 to 8 | Finishes approved; furniture order confirmed |
| 3 to 6 | Site work in progress; furniture in production |
| 1 to 2 | Furniture installation and snagging |
| Final days | IT setup, cleaning, seat allocation |
This suits an office of roughly 20 to 50 seats. Smaller offices can move faster; larger ones need more time. Details are in how long it takes to furnish a new office in Pune.
Things people commonly forget
- Lockers or hooks for helmets, bags and rain jackets
- A place for the printer, shredder and courier parcels
- Drinking water point and a pantry counter
- A quiet spot for phone calls
- Storage for housekeeping material
- Notice board or writing wall for each team
- Spare seats for visitors, auditors and interns
- Planters and their watering access
A note on timing in Pune
Many businesses like to open a new office on an auspicious day such as Dussehra, Diwali, Gudi Padwa or Akshaya Tritiya. Workshops and transporters are busiest in the weeks before these dates. If your opening is tied to a festival, confirm the furniture order earlier than the table above suggests.
Want us to run through the checklist with you?
Share your floor plan and move-in date, and we will prepare a layout and a furniture list for your office. Our workshop is in Dhanori, close to Viman Nagar, Kalyani Nagar, Kharadi and Wagholi, and we work across Pune. See the office furniture range.
Frequently asked questions
What furniture is needed to set up a new office?
Workstations and chairs, cabin furniture, a conference table, a reception desk, storage, and pantry or breakout furniture. The exact list depends on headcount and how the team works.
What should be done first when setting up an office?
Fix the headcount and get a scaled layout. Electrical, data and furniture decisions all depend on where people sit.
How early should office furniture be ordered?
For a 20 to 50 seat office, confirm the order about six to eight weeks before move-in, and earlier before festival seasons.
Talk to Encore Interiors
Encore Interiors designs, manufactures and installs office furniture from its own workshop in Dhanori, Pune.
Address: Survey No. 19, 3/1, near Shard Lawns, Madhav Nagar, Dhanori, Pune, Maharashtra 411015
Phone: +91 89799 31695, +91 75076 17409
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