How to Streamline Office Supply Expenses

Save time and money with these efficiency strategies to manage purchasing habits without stress

One way to manage office supply expenses is to get automated.

Are your office supply expenses getting out of control? While pens, toner, and copy paper serve a critical role in the workplace, supplies like these can also lead to overspending and waste. If you want to streamline your office supply expenses to help save time and money, consider these practical ways to manage your purchases – without the stress:

  • Get automated
  • File receipts digitally
  • Consolidate spending
  • Schedule a routine inventory check
  • Require approval for larger expenses

Learn more about each of these tips to help you manage office supply expenses below.

Get automated

Automated accounting software like QuickBooks can help you save time with simplified expense tracking reports. Be sure to choose a system your company can use to track purchases for all departments within your company so that it can be most effective and accurate. A service like this also comes with the added benefit of allowing you to import information directly into your next business tax return.

File receipts digitally

When purchasing your supplies, consider requesting digital receipts or scanning in paper receipts so that they can be filed and stored digitally. This way, you’ll cut down on the amount of paper around the office, while still having the ability to review a previous purchase or create an expense report. When you purchase through our online store, you’ll always receive an emailed receipt that you can easily access if needed. We also keep a digital file of your purchasing activity in our records should you need a more detailed report of your expenses.

Consolidate spending

Another way to manage office supply expenses is by consolidating your ordering process. Instead of allowing colleagues to make individual purchases from different vendors at any time, consider using one supplier who can handle a large order for all the supplies you need. You can set up a whiteboard list or cloud-based system where staff can document the supplies they need. Once it reaches a certain point, submit one consolidated purchase order. Many companies – ours included – offer discounts for purchasing in bulk, so it’s a good idea to pool the order to maximize savings.

Schedule a routine inventory check

Keeping a regularly scheduled inventory check – whether it’s weekly or monthly – will allow you to limit your office supply expenses only to the items you need. If you don’t have time to do this yourself, we offer it as a free service to our customers. We’ll make a note of your regularly used supplies and use frequency, and then stop by your office routinely to take stock. We’ll send a purchase order for you to authorize any items that need a refill and restock your supply closet by the next business day.

Require approval for larger expenses

With high-ticket supplies, such as office furniture and technology products, it may be best to limit purchase access to certain users. Requesting authorization from a supervisor or the person in charge of the supply closet will ensure that large office supply expenses happen only when they are truly needed.

These tips to streamline office supply expenses can help you adopt a more effective ordering and tracking process. As a provider of productivity, we are experts at saving time and money for Dane County businesses. We make our ordering process quick and easy, and offer efficiency-minded perks like fast reordering, custom ordering schedules, free delivery, and a dedicated account representative to ensure you get the right supplies every time.

If you’re not yet an EZ Office Products customer, call our local customer concierge at (608) 310-4300 to discuss how we can help your Wisconsin-based business thrive.