Is Your Assistant Overspending On Office Supplies?

Since office supplies are one of the most common expenditures in a business, it is no surprise that the overall costs add up in a budget. From pens, to paper, binders, paperclips, notepads, scissors, and more. Often, these expenses go somewhat untracked – and this can lead to overspending.

While this may not seem like a big deal, it adds up for both large and small organizations. If you think that your assistant or other employees have been overspending on office supplies, there’s an easy way to find out, and reduce spending! Find out how now.

Take An Inventory Of What You Have

Reducing your spending starts by taking an inventory of all of the supplies you have on-hand now. A helpful inventory includes not only the supply type and volume, but also the purchase source and the estimated expectation when it will run out.

You could find out that you have 10,000 pens available – but only a few reams of multi-purpose paper left, and very few file folders. By taking an inventory and logging the results, you’ll be able to prioritize spending.

In that above example, you’ll likely want to avoid purchasing more pens for a while, and instead focus on all of the other supplies you’ll need.

Try Double A Paper for Yourself

Assign One Person As The “Office Supplies Manager”

If you have one person who must regularly conduct an inventory of your office supplies, and is responsible for handing out office supplies, you’ll be able to do a much better job of lowering office supply usage among employees. You’ll also be able to order the right supplies, at the right time, and you’ll always know what you have on-hand.

In addition, this may help you identify employees who have a tendency to “hoard” office supplies, and encourage them to stop doing so, in order to ensure that everyone has the supplies they need.

Make Infrequent, Bulk Purchases

You don’t want to have to purchase office supplies every month. This is inconvenient and expensive. Typically, you can save much more money when you put in bulk orders for paper, pens, folders, and other such basic necessities.

If you can, try to make only quarterly or yearly purchases of office supplies. This will help you save quite a bit of money, especially if you do the following:

Take Advantage Of Periodic Sales

Office supply wholesalers tend to have periodic sales, often at the end of their fiscal year, or as a summer promotion when things usually start to slow down somewhat. If you can wait until you find a sale to order office supplies, you’ll save quite a bit of cash.

Recycle Office Supplies When You Can

Don’t throw away those binders, folders, or other reusable office materials. Even printed paper can be re-used if it’s only been printed on one side – it’s perfect for scratch notes and informal memos.

Try to encourage a corporate policy of reusing and recycling office supplies whenever possible. This will help decrease expenses and minimize your impact on the environment. It’s a win-win!

Reduce Your Expenses On Office Supplies With These Simple Suggestions!

Office supplies are not expensive, especially if you choose affordable, sustainably-sourced products from Double A Paper. But if you don’t keep an eye on your spending, your expenses may rise quite a bit. So start following these tips today, and reduce your expenses for office supplies.

Subscribe for tips