There are a number of steps you should take after buying a new business premises. Read on to find out what these steps are.

Change the locks

The first thing you should do after buying a commercial space is get in touch with one of the companies in your area that offer locksmith services and arrange for them to change the locks on all of your new premises' doors.

It is quite likely that the previous owner of the premises gave copies of their keys to several of their employees so that these individuals could open and close up the building when the owner was not around.

Unfortunately, it is possible that some of these former employees may not be honest or trustworthy people. If they made additional copies of the keys that they were given, they could potentially still have these copies and might use them to gain access to your premises whilst it is closed, and then steal any valuable equipment or materials that they find.

This could lead to you having to make a claim on your insurance policy, which could then lead to a dramatic increase in the cost of your premiums. You would also have to spend time filing a police report and replacing all of the stolen goods. If you need these goods to run your business, you would also have to keep your enterprise closed until the replacement items arrived. This could have a serious impact on your enterprise's financial health.

As such, unless you are prepared to endure the stress and expense of dealing with the aftermath of a break-in, you should have a locksmith change your new property's locks as soon as possible.

Install security features

Security features can cost quite a bit of money and take a lot of time and effort to install. As such, if you are not planning to open your business for a few weeks, you might be thinking about postponing the installation of these features so that you can spend your time and money on redecorating and setting up your enterprise.

However, this is not a good idea, as criminals often seek out and target unsecured business premises. As such, if you wait until your business is up and running to install things like security cameras and a retractable security grille, there is a chance that your new premises will be broken into.

If you have inventory, computers or other equipment in the property, these items could be stolen. Even if you have not yet fitted out the premises or purchased inventory, the premises could still end up being vandalised, in which case you would then have to pay to have it cleaned and redecorated. This could result in you having to delay the opening of your business.

Given this, it is critical to buy and install some security features within a few days of having purchased your new commercial space.