Essential Office Supplies

It can be easy to overlook essential business supplies and office materials when starting a new business or upgrading and remodelling an established company; as with many things, it's the little details that help make things run more smoothly, or go horribly wrong.

Before upgrading or beginning a new company, there are several things to take into consideration when detailing out office supplies and company needs before actually making any purchases or swiping a credit card.

Organise and Budget:

Organising down to even the smallest detail seems like a tedious waste of time, but to really keep on track with a budget, it's absolutely essential to make the effort and make sure everything is in order and accounted for before placing any orders for business supplies.

Depending on the size of the office, this can be as simple as making a quick spreadsheet, or as detailed as creating an entire year-long budget plan that takes into account start-up and upgrade costs. Researching, too, will be an important part of getting organised and planning a budget that is realistic, practical and will be adhered to in the long run.

Instead of merely logging into one or two online retailers, or visiting only one or two supply stores, take the time to really compare and price match as many as is possible. Take into account possible rewards from membership offers, the brands that are being carried, and always check to see if a retailer will price match a competitor or offer other incentives for buying with them rather than another company.

Research the brands and find out which are reliable; things can go downhill very fast if it's a busy day and the bargain brand fax machine breaks without notice and there is no warranty and no tech support easily available. While name brands may cost more, it's usually for the simple fact of better customer support and warranty options, as well as dependability of the product.

Overlook Nothing:

While it seems obvious to detail out large purchases such as computers and essential software, business supplies that are smaller, inexpensive but used daily are just as important to list out and plan in the budget.

File folders, copy paper, pencils, paper clips, scissors, tape and mail packaging are all things that are frequently forgotten in a budget plan for office supplies, much to the regret of a manager or employee when one of those mundane items is needed and nowhere to be found. Think about the daily needs of the office as well as the long term goal and upgrades and remember to stock up on the small stuff that will be used up quickly and often.

For large purchases, like computer servers, phone systems and hardware like paper shredders, copy machines, and faxes be realistic about the needs of the office versus what would simply be pleasant to have for convenience. If a business can make do with three computers instead of five, start with three and upgrade the number of machines when the budget allows.

Michael Richards is writing on behalf of Cartridge World (http://www.cartridgeworld.co.uk), providers of printer consumables such as refill ink cartridges and toner cartridges.