Essential Office Supplies for Starting a Business

When you start a new business there are lots of important and useful office supplies that you need. You might not know all of them, or some of them you might forget about. This guide covers the essentials that you need for efficiency when you start up.

Office Furniture

You can have a good office without somewhere good to sit! Whether you want to furnish out your office extensively or take a more minimalist approach, you will definitely need a roomy, functional desk with at least a few drawers of space, as well as a comfortable office chair.

Basic Stationary

A good mix of affordable stationary is the best option at first – ballpoint pens, pencils, highlighters, permanent pens and whiteboard markers, and perhaps a fountain pen for writing those special communications! Then on to the heavy duty stuff – scissors, rubber bands, paper clips, staples and staplers, office tape and binder clips.

Paper and Organization

General supplies are the simple things you need to keep your desk/office running, and these include paper and stationary. For printing out reports and documents you will need high quality printer paper, and for taking notes and small bits of information you will need notepads. As the paper builds up you will need a place to store them and keep things organized. Stock up on the file folders, ring binders, dividers, plastic wallets, envelope wallets, in/out trays, clipboards etc. You might want to think about investing in a few smaller drawers and desk organizers for storing files and supplies.

Boards

Most offices with at least a few people will have a white board or a pin board. White boards are great for group writing and planning and keeping track of tasks. Make sure you have white board pens and erasers. All you need for pinboards are tacks, but if you want a better way to stick things to the wall then you should go with a magnetic pinboard instead.

Time Keeping

Diaries, calendars, planners and schedules are useful supplies if you want to have a physical copy of deliveries, lunch meetings and other important things (computers, tablets and mobiles are taking over this task, but many people still like to have something visual in front of them).

Mailing

Sending and receiving mail is something that almost every business has to do. If you are sending mail regularly you should stock up on all of the types and sizes of envelopes that you need, such as pocket envelopes, wallet envelopes, window envelopes etc. Obviously you will require postage stamps also.

Cleaning Supplies

Even if it is not your responsibility to clean the main office space, you will still want basic cleaning supplies to keep desks and equipment fresh and clean. Antibacterial spray and wipes are fast and effective at cleaning office surfaces.

Office Equipment

Technological supplies are crucial for every new business, and the most important piece of equipment is the computer/laptop. The simplest way to achieve connectivity is to install a wireless router, though with larger offices where large amounts of information is being shared between computers, a local area network may be a good idea.