What does one workstation consume per year? Budgeting for office supplies instead of reordering
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by Verpakkingdeals.nl
6 min reading time
Office consumption is more predictable than it seems. Here's how to calculate the annual cost per workstation for pens, markers, staples, and envelopes — with real per-item prices.
There are two ways to get office supplies. The first: someone reports that the pens are out, an urgent order is placed, and two weeks later it's the stapler's turn. The second: once a year, you calculate approximately what a workstation consumes, order it all at once, and don't have to worry about it for the rest of the year. The first method costs hardly any money but a lot of attention. The second takes half an hour of calculation and then provides peace of mind.
That calculation is less complicated than it sounds because office consumption is surprisingly predictable. Below is how to set up such a budget, with real prices so you can check the amounts.
Divide your supplies into three types
Not everything on a desk is the same type of expense. It helps to differentiate:
Consumables — are used up and don't return: pens, markers, staples, envelopes, tape.
Semi-durable — last a few years but break or get lost: ruler, tape dispenser, blades.
Fixed — bought once per workstation: organizer, desk lamp, storage bins.
Only the first category needs to be budgeted annually. The second category is put on a replacement cycle of three to five years. The third category is part of furnishing a new space and not part of your annual budget. Anyone who confuses these will budget structurally too high and then think the figures are incorrect.
Step 1: Determine your consumption per person
You don't need to be exact; you just need to be in the right order of magnitude. A widely used rule of thumb is: count what goes out of the cupboard in a month, multiply by twelve, and round up generously. If you don't have these figures, start with assumptions and correct them next year. A workable starting assumption for an office workstation, for example, is six ballpoint pens, two markers, a few hundred staples, one to two rolls of tape, and a few dozen envelopes per person per year. In a warehouse or packing station, markers and tape will be much higher and envelopes much lower.
Write down your assumptions. That sounds exaggerated, but it's exactly what you'll need next year to see where you went wrong.
Step 2: Calculate with the price per item, not per package
Here lies the biggest gain, and most surprises. Two examples from the assortment:
The Topwrite Ballpoint Pens - Set of 10 costs €2.00, which is €0.20 per pen. The Top Write Ballpoint Pens 10 pieces costs €4.00, or €0.40 per pen. Six pens per person per year therefore costs €1.20 or €2.40, depending on which set you choose. Negligible for one person; for twenty workstations, it's the difference between €24 and €48.
With envelopes, the effect is greater. C6 White Envelope 114x162mm 50 pieces costs €4.00, so €0.08 per envelope. The White Envelopes 156x220 mm - 500 pieces costs €3.00 for five hundred pieces, about €0.006 per envelope. That's a factor you can't ignore if you send mail monthly. The downside: five hundred envelopes that you don't use up in three years are not a saving but a cabinet-filling purchase. Buy large where consumption is high and small where it is low.
Step 3: Add a table
A simple table makes it discussable with whoever is in charge. Below is an example with assumptions for one office workstation per year. The quantities are a starting point; the prices are the current prices from the store.
Item
Assumption per year
Packaging and price
Cost per year
Ballpoint pens
6 pieces
10 pieces for €2.00
approx. €1.20
Permanent markers
2 pieces
5 pieces for €4.00
approx. €1.60
Staples
500 pieces
3000 pieces for €2.60
approx. €0.45
Tape
2 rolls
6 rolls for €2.60
approx. €0.90
Envelopes C6
50 pieces
50 pieces for €4.00
€4.00
Below the line, you arrive at an amount of a few euros per workstation per year for pure consumption. This low number is precisely why urgent orders are such a waste: the items cost almost nothing; the interruption costs time.
What you should replace in the table with your own situation
Markers are the item where most companies are off. In an office, two per person per year are used; in a team that labels boxes, they go much faster. Then look at sets like the Top Write Permanent Markers 5 Pieces for €4.00 or the Permanent Marker Pens 5 Pieces 3 Colors for €4.95, and use multiple colors to distinguish between, for example, destination and content.
For the fixed furnishing of a space, something small is often sufficient: a Desk Organizer with Phone Holder for €5.00 keeps pens, knives, and phone together, which significantly reduces how much gets lost.
One ordering moment per year, with a check halfway through
Choose a fixed time — the beginning of the school year or the beginning of the fiscal year works for most organizations — and put a semi-annual check in between. Then only count the two or three items that you suspect are used up faster than budgeted. If the assessment is correct, you do nothing further. If it's not correct, you adjust the assumption and order more before someone runs out of pens.
Anyone who keeps this up for two years will have an accurate list and will hardly need to look at it afterward.
Compiling your list
If you want to build your own annual list, check out Office Supplies and Office Essentials for consumables, Writing and Hand Lettering for pens and markers, Envelopes for mail, and Office & School for the complete overview. If you're ordering for multiple workstations simultaneously and want to know which packaging sizes are most favorable, email the number of workstations to info@verpakkingdeals.nl — and we'll help you calculate.
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