Basic Office Supplies For Business

Whether you work from home, own a small business or work in a large organisation the right office supplies can make your daily life much easier. Keeping a cabinet well stocked with basic office supplies and stationery will help you to maintain a more organised work area and keep track of what you need.

1. Stationery is a vital way of expressing yourself and your business. You can make it more professional by having a logo printed on your stationery or use a more neutral colour for both business and leisure. Envelopes can also be printed with logos or can be matched with the paper used.

2. Pens and highlighters in a variety of colours are a must for any office. Even in the modern age when we spend most of our days staring at computer screens we still use pens for numerous tasks. Highlighters are great for making passages of text stand out that you want to come back to later, they can also be used for highlighting spelling mistakes or grammatical errors when writing letters or articles (I speak from experience).

3. Pencils and a pencil sharpener will always come in handy. Many of us jot notes down whilst talking on the phone, make additions to documents we are reading or to add a date to our diary. You will find using a pencil while doing rough drafts so much easier than using pens. You will not have to start over, just erase it. Also, you will save on paper when using pencils.

4. Paper clips can make your office look neater. By placing loose papers together, it will give it a look of less chaos and clutter. It can also help you to keep important papers together without using staples. Paper clips are available in a range of sizes suitable for holding varying amounts of paper. It is best to buy a mixed box to start with and then you can establish which sizes you use the most before replenishing.

5. Another essential office product is a stapler, you can bind papers together with the security of knowing that they will not come loose. There are a huge choice of staplers available ranging from your basic desk stapler to heavy duty staplers used for large numbers of sheets. Depending on the size of your office and the work being done it is a good idea to get a range of staplers. When buying your staplers do not forget the staples and staple remover.

6. Tape and rubber bands can also help you to keep things together. When using tape, a tape dispenser is handy but not required. Tape can be used on letters, wrapping presents or other projects. Rubber bands are not used as often but are nice to have on hand.

7. A hole punch is necessary if you plan on having ring binders to organise your documents. You can buy a hole punch with one, two, or four punchers depending on the type of files you have.

8. Notebooks and copier paper are the most used items in the office. Having an ample supply of both will ensure that you never get caught short when in the middle of an important task. Buying copier paper in bulk is a good way of saving money and the more you buy the more you save providing you have the space to store a few boxes in the office.

9. If you have a filing cabinet, suspension files should be put on your list of office supplies. These will not only organise your filing cabinet, but will also make it much easier to keep track of your documents. Suspension files come in A4 and Foolscap sizes and are available in range of colours to suit your needs. If you are going to be storing relatively small amounts of paper in each file then the low cost non branded options are a good choice. However, these can be a little weak and you will find if large amounts of paper are inserted very often the files rip or the suspension bar buckles under the weight. If you are going to be storing large amounts of paper then look for heavy weight suspension files that are designed for the job. You will pay more up front but save money in the long run.

10. Having an extra ink or toner cartridge in the cupboard is a must. You do not want to run out in the middle of important project or print job. You can often make a saving by buying in bulk so this may work to your advantage and help save you some money.

As you can see, there is a vast array of office supplies that are required on a daily basis in businesses of all sizes and types. Keeping on top of what you need and ensuring you don not run out of important supplies will keep your office running smoothly and effectively.