New office planning guide
Plan your office technology before opening day gets expensive.
Opening, relocating, or remodeling a healthcare office? Use this timeline as a planning guide for the decisions you should make with your IT rep: IT closet, business internet, cabling, Wi-Fi, phones, cameras, access control, workstations, payment systems, practice-management software, imaging, cybersecurity, backups, and opening-day support.
Decisions that affect your budget
These choices drive your cabling, computer specs, network design, and opening-day readiness.
You do not need to have every technical answer figured out. You do need a clear idea of what you want the office to do, then your IT rep can help turn that into a forward-thinking plan before the budget gets eaten by cabinets, flooring, furniture, and last-minute surprises.
- Practice-management system, EHR, PMS, and imaging software
- CBCT manufacturer and exact model when possible
- Where 3D images need to be viewed and manipulated
- Business internet provider and backup internet plan
- VoIP phone provider and call routing needs
- Credit card/payment processing system and terminal locations
- Indoor cameras, outdoor cameras, and access control
- Staff count at opening, 6 months, and 12 months
- Which rooms open now and which are wired for future growth
- Website, domain, business email, and Google Business Profile ownership
- Online scheduling, patient forms, review links, and website contact forms
Timeline of tasks
Use the right technology checklist at the right stage of the buildout.
Expand each section below and use it as a conversation guide with your IT rep. The goal is simple: make the important decisions while they are still cheap and easy to fix.
6-12 Months Before Opening
Build technology into the office plan before the budget disappears.
- Choose or narrow down your practice-management system, EHR, PMS, imaging software, and major clinical software.
- Request written hardware, network, workstation, server, and internet requirements from software vendors.
- Decide whether the office will use cloud software, a local server, or a hybrid setup.
- Plan a dedicated IT closet, technology room, or network wall with power, airflow, wall space, and service access.
- Make room for the rack, firewall, switches, patch panel, modem, battery backup, NVR, server/NAS if needed, and future expansion.
- Decide whether you want indoor cameras, outdoor cameras, access control, background music, paging, TVs, or waiting-room displays.
- Estimate staff count at opening, 6 months, and 12 months so desks, chairs, rooms, and computer purchases can be planned intelligently.
- Identify which operatories, exam rooms, offices, and desks need computers on day one and which can be wired now but left empty.
- Create a real technology budget for cabling, network equipment, Wi-Fi, phones, cameras, computers, cybersecurity, backup, and support.
- Bring your IT rep into the planning process early so the office layout, vendor requirements, and budget work together.
Key reminder: The cheapest time to fix the technology plan is before construction starts.
3-6 Months Before Opening
Finalize the systems that drive cabling and computer decisions.
- Confirm your practice-management system, imaging software, and major clinical applications.
- Choose your CBCT manufacturer at minimum, and the exact model if possible.
- Confirm pano, CBCT, X-ray, intraoral scanner, sensor, lab, and specialty equipment network requirements.
- Decide where 3D imaging will be captured and where 3D images need to be viewed.
- Identify which computers need higher-performance 3D specs and which only need standard charting or 2D imaging specs.
- Choose or narrow down your VoIP phone provider and confirm phone/data/PoE requirements.
- Choose or narrow down your credit card/payment processing system and how terminals connect to the internet or PMS.
- Begin checking which business internet providers actually service the building.
- Ask whether service is already live in the building or whether construction is required to bring service in.
- Consult with your IT rep to review the floor plan with low-voltage, equipment, software, phone, payment, internet, and general contractor contacts.
Key reminder: Practice software, imaging, phones, and payments all affect the network. Decide early so the office is not rebuilt later.
5 Months Before Opening
Consult with your IT rep to mark up the floor plan before low-voltage rough-in.
- Work with your IT rep to mark every workstation, front desk, checkout, consult room, doctor office, manager office, lab, sterilization, and clinical computer location.
- Work with your IT rep to mark which workstations need 3D imaging capability and which only need standard business/charting/2D capability.
- Work with your IT rep to mark every printer, scanner, label printer, payment terminal, phone, Wi-Fi access point, camera, TV, display, speaker, and access-control door.
- Confirm the network rack and internet handoff location.
- Confirm where the modem, firewall, switches, patch panels, battery backup, NVR, server, NAS, or backup equipment will live.
- Add extra drops for future operatories, desks, imaging, cameras, access points, and staff growth.
- Confirm electrical outlets near computers, printers, payment devices, TVs, network gear, and specialty equipment.
- Require cable labeling at both ends.
Key reminder: You bring the vision for how the office should work. Your IT rep helps translate it into real locations, cable drops, specs, and future-ready infrastructure.
4 Months Before Opening
Run cabling while the walls are open.
- Have the low-voltage team run cabling according to the marked-up plan reviewed with your IT rep.
- Run low-voltage cabling for workstations, phones, cameras, access points, printers, scanners, payment devices, TVs, and specialty equipment.
- Run cabling for CBCT, pano, X-ray, lab, access control, and outdoor cameras according to vendor and site requirements.
- Confirm Wi-Fi access point cabling is in the correct ceiling locations.
- Confirm camera angles, outdoor mounting locations, and door/access-control wiring before finishes are complete.
- Confirm cabling does not conflict with electrical, plumbing, HVAC, cabinetry, or clinical equipment.
- Test and label all cable runs.
- Photograph cable routes, wall locations, and ceiling locations before drywall closes.
Key reminder: Before drywall closes, verify every drop. After drywall closes, every miss costs more.
3 Months Before Opening
Order and stage core technology.
- Order firewall, switches, access points, patch panels, rack, battery backup, cameras, NVR, phones, and access-control hardware.
- Order standard workstations and higher-performance 3D imaging workstations where needed.
- Order monitors, keyboards, mice, mounts, docking stations, printers, scanners, label printers, card readers, and payment devices.
- Confirm server, NAS, cloud storage, endpoint protection, backup, remote support, and cybersecurity requirements.
- Create a naming system for computers and network devices.
- Build an inventory list for equipment, serial numbers, warranties, logins, and support contacts.
- Review the final equipment list with your IT rep before ordering so you do not overbuy, underbuy, or miss specialty requirements.
- Coordinate installation dates with construction, equipment, software, phone, internet, and payment vendors.
Key reminder: Opening week is too late to discover that computers, phones, payment terminals, or network gear are backordered.
1-2 Months Before Opening
Confirm internet, phones, payments, and core network readiness.
- Work with your IT rep to confirm which business internet providers actually service the building.
- Confirm whether the provider already has service in the building or must run new service.
- Confirm installation dates in writing and verify the internet handoff location matches your network closet.
- Confirm static IP needs for VPN, remote access, cameras, servers, or vendor requirements.
- Plan backup or temporary internet if wired service may not be ready by opening day.
- Consider temporary cellular internet, fixed wireless, or satellite options like Starlink if the building is not ready.
- Set up or claim the Google Business Profile.
- Confirm the Google Business Profile name, address, phone number, website, hours, services, service area, and opening date.
- Confirm the website is live or close enough to soft-launch before patients start searching for the office.
- Test website contact forms, online scheduling links, patient intake forms, and click-to-call buttons.
- Have your IT rep install and configure the firewall, switches, Wi-Fi, battery backup, private office Wi-Fi, and guest Wi-Fi.
- Have your IT rep coordinate phones and test inbound calls, outbound calls, voicemail, call routing, after-hours routing, and emergency routing.
- Install and test credit card/payment processing devices and confirm they can communicate with the internet or PMS/EHR if required.
- Install cameras, confirm recording, set up remote viewing, install access control, and test each controlled door.
Key reminder: Internet, phones, and payments are not optional. If any of them fail, the office cannot operate normally.
1 Month Before Opening
Have your IT rep install workstations and coordinate software vendors.
- Install front desk, checkout, consult room, clinical, doctor office, manager office, lab, and back-office workstations.
- Install higher-performance 3D imaging workstations where needed and standard workstations where appropriate.
- Install monitors, printers, scanners, label printers, card readers, payment devices, and specialty devices.
- Install practice-management, EHR/PMS, imaging, communication, accounting, forms, and payment software.
- Have your IT rep coordinate with software vendors for setup and testing.
- Confirm CBCT, pano, X-ray, sensors, intraoral scanner, and imaging bridge workflows.
- Confirm scanner workflows, printer mapping, label printing, user accounts, permissions, endpoint protection, remote support, updates, and backup.
- Perform a test restore from backup and create an opening-day support plan.
Key reminder: Staff training should not be the first time imaging, payments, phones, or software are tested.
2 Weeks Before Opening
Test real office workflows.
- Test patient check-in, scheduling, charting, imaging capture, 3D viewing, checkout, and payment processing.
- Test receipt printing, label printing, scanning, document workflows, and printer mapping.
- Test phone routing during business hours and after hours, plus voicemail notifications.
- Test Wi-Fi coverage in every patient, staff, and clinical area.
- Test guest Wi-Fi, cameras, remote access, access-control doors, staff logins, and vendor support contacts.
- Confirm admin passwords are documented and staff knows who to call for technology problems.
Key reminder: Opening day should not be the first real test.
1 Week Before Opening
Run the final opening-day readiness check.
- Walk the entire office and verify every workstation, printer, phone, camera, access point, payment terminal, and network device.
- Confirm cables are labeled, computers are named, staff accounts are ready, and software vendors have completed setup.
- Confirm backups are running, endpoint protection is active, phones are live, cameras are recording, Wi-Fi is stable, and payments work.
- Confirm remote support works and prepare a quick-reference support sheet for staff.
Key reminder: The goal is boring technology: everything works, and nobody has to think about it.
Opening Day
Support the team and fix small issues fast.
- Have IT support available during opening hours.
- Watch for printer, scanner, login, phone, payment, and software issues.
- Confirm calls are coming through, payments are processing, front desk workflow is smooth, and clinical computers are working.
- Track issues and clean them up quickly.
Key reminder: Opening day is for supporting the system, not building it.
30 Days After Opening
Stabilize and improve.
- Review recurring support issues, Wi-Fi coverage, phone routing, camera angles, access-control permissions, and payment reliability.
- Confirm backups are still running and test restore again.
- Review endpoint protection, remove unused accounts, update documentation, and plan any needed additional drops or devices.
Key reminder: The first month exposes what the floor plan could not.
90 Days After Opening
Move from launch mode to maintenance mode.
- Review network, workstation, phone, payment, imaging, backup, cybersecurity, camera, and staff pain points.
- Update documentation and decide whether ongoing monthly IT support is needed.
Key reminder: A stable office needs maintenance, not just installation.
Free fillable PDF checklist
Download the new office technology planning checklist.
Grab your checklist to get started with an organized technology plan.
Free planning review
Have a floor plan or buildout timeline?
Send it over and Revv Tech can help mark up the plan, coordinate the right questions with vendors, and translate what you want into cabling, network closet, Wi-Fi, cameras, access control, phone, computer, payment, and imaging requirements before expensive mistakes get built into the office.