5 Ways to Save Money on Your Workplace Office Supplies
If you work in an office environment, you’ll be all too familiar with the fact that office supplies tend to run out very quickly. No matter how often you stock up, it doesn’t seem long until you’ve yet again ran out of supplies such as printer paper and ink, pens, post-its, and other essential office items that are crucial to ensure that the office runs smoothly and is productive. Although office supplies are necessary, they’re also quite expensive when their purchase isn’t planned wisely. We’ve come up with the five top ways to save money on your office supplies.
Set Limits
Rather than ordering supplies as and when you need them, limiting ordering office supplies to once per month should not only keep costs down, but is an effective strategy to get employees thinking about waste and making sure they’re using the current office supplies wisely. Ask your employees to create a list of what they need each month, along with anything that may need replacing such as a HP printer fuser before you place the order, as this way you won’t be spending any extra money on anything that your office doesn’t actually need.
Order Online
As a business you’ll most likely order your office supplies in bulk, which is why it pays to order office supplies online – many online suppliers will offer free delivery to those customers spending over a certain amount, meaning that you’ll not only save money on delivery charges, you’ll also save time by not having to go to a store to pick up your supplies.
Don’t Allow Personal Items
Never allow an employee to order a personal item on the promise that they’ll ‘pay you back later’ as in this situation the most likely result is that you’ll end up needing to chase the member of staff for the money back. Allowing staff to order personal items which they have not provided the money up front for can be a move that could prove costly to your business, so it’s important to ensure that all employees know that any personal items that they wish to order must be paid for in advance.
Use Generic, Non-Branded Products
When it comes to branded office supplies more often than not you will be charged simply for the name, and to avoid being ripped off you should always opt for cheaper, non-branded products that can do the same job. For example don’t buy branded pens and post-it notes, instead go for own-brand, cheaper alternatives.
Buy in Bulk
When it comes to the basic essentials that are always used – e.g. paper and pens, staples, and paperclips, buying in bulk is a great way to save you a lot of money over the year. You can never have enough of these items – even if you over order, you can be assured that they’ll eventually be used up.
How do you save money when ordering your office supplies? We’d love to hear any advice that you might have for others in the comments below.
