Have Extra Budget at Year-End? Buy Office Supplies and Equipment

We are approaching the end of the year in 2014. For many organizations this is also their financial year-end.

With an approach to year end there is often a more detailed examination and focus on financials. Are we close to our revenue targets? How are our expenses looking?

In some cases, your department may discover there are extra funds available to be spent before the year-end. It may make sense to use those funds toward a year-end purchase because of tax reasons, budget planning, or because the funds will be taken away if they’re not used.

If you have a surplus of funds at year-end, it may be productive to use the extra funds to buy office supplies, equipment and furniture. Here are examples of office supplies and furniture you can buy depending on the amount of your budget surplus.

• Bigger purchases: If you have a bigger amount to spend, consider bigger ticket items such as new computers, equipment or office furniture. Office equipment includes printers, shredders or projectors. Office furniture could include new chairs, filing cabinets or desks. Buying new items not only helps to use excess funds but also improves morale at the office.
• Smaller purchase: For smaller amounts look for items that you use on a regular basis to get the best bang for your buck. This could include basics like toner cartridges, paper, sticky notes and pens.
• Inventory space: You may have enough money to buy a skid of paper, but not have the space to store it. For the best bang for your buck consider buying toner cartridges.
• Maximizing spend: Office supply and equipment vendors are often trying to hit their sales targets at year-end and might offer discounts on orders or other favourable terms on new purchases. Contact your supplier and and see if there are any specials on the products that you regularly buy. This could mean large savings for minimal effort.
• Promotional items: You may be able to use your excess funds to reward, recognize, or thank people you work with. Promotional items such as plaques, gift baskets or chocolate could be excellent options to acknowledge your employees, partners and customers.

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