Office Supplies Insider Price Is Important But Total Cost Is Key To Small Business

Most small business buyers of office supplies believe shopping for hours to find the rock bottom lowest price for a carton of paper, box of hanging folders or package of Post-It Notes is the key way to save money and spend less on office supplies. In reality, there are many other variables than just price you need to consider when buying office products.

Any business owner will tell you the biggest expense they have running a business is employee salaries and the associated benefit costs. Anytime you have a relatively high paid employee, say $15 per hour, searching the newspapers, or shopping the aisles at office superstores to save ten cents on a ream of copy paper, or .$50 on that box of file folders, the wasted time you are paying in salaries usually offsets any savings you are get fixating on the lowest invoice price.

The key to saving money on office supplies is finding a supplier you can trust to have every day low prices on all office products, not just loss leaders like the office superstores, and stick with that supplier rather than wasting time and money searching for the next "deal". Now buying office supplies online is the way to go, and there are some new independent companies in the industry that actually guarantee their prices meet or beat the "Office Mega-Stores". More importantly, some companies are embracing a conscious capitalism business model that does good work in the community by donating as much as 50% of profits to worthwhile charities. I encourage you to search out these companies online, it's not hard, and start saving on office supplies and helping others today!

Th whole key to this article is to get you to consider the Total Acquisition Cost of buying office products for your small business. The best way to show you the impact of this is to show you an example of a normal order from a small business buyer, and comparing the cost of using a trusted online office supply company versus driving to that office superstore to take advantage of the weekly "specials" from an email promotion.

A typical small business order will include 1 box Pentel black rollerball pens, 1 dozen Tops writing pads, 1 box Smead legal size file folders, HP #67 ink cartridge, 1 box ACCO paperclips, 1 box Swingline staples, 1 carton Universal copy paper, and 1 bag Lifesaver candy to put on the desk.

Let's estimate an order like this costs $80.00 from your trusted online dealer, which is a good thing because many office supply companies offer free next day shipping for orders over $50.00 or more. However, you noticed an ad in the paper from a big chain store for "in-store specials" on copy paper and you really like knowing you're getting the best price possible on paper because you use a bunch. When you total your order at the "Mega Depot" your invoice price is only $74, which on paper looks to save you almost 10%, or $6. But now let's look at those hidden costs most people don't consider; let's view the True Total Cost of buying these office supplies, and what you see will surprise you.

So the retail store is pretty close, only about a 15 minute drive, no big deal. That's 30 minutes getting there and back. Finding the products you need in a large retail superstore isn't easy, so getting the products on your list takes some time to navigate down the aisles stocked with products that all look the same. I'll be conservative and say it takes 20 minutes to find all your stuff, load the cart and checkout. In total, that is close to one hours time you are paying an employee to shop, and this is a really conservative estimate...total time is usually more. If your employee is making a typical white collar admin type salary of $15.00, you just spent and extra $15 on your order. Compare that to the typical 10 minutes it would take to buy 5-6 items online which is only $2.50 in employee time.

The government allows you to claim $.52 cents per mile on expenses for gas, so saying the drive there and back is 15 miles that's another $7.80. Also, many internet companies are not required to charge sales tax in most states, so an order from the office superstore will have a sales tax charge of around $5.92, or 8%. I won't quantify it here, but remember there is also the risk of employee accidents while on company business driving, and the increased insurance cost this could cause.

Now that you see the picture of real "unseen" costs, let's see who has the lowest Total Acquisition Cost when buying a typical small business office supply order. The total product cost buying online was $80, which on the surface was $6 higher than the superstore. When you add the 10 minutes of employee time to shop, you have a True Total Cost of $82.50 for this order from your trusted online office products store.

Taking advantage of that in-store copy paper deal, and the promo on ink cartridges gave you a lower invoice price of $74.00 at the Big Box store. However, adding in sales tax of $5.92, the employee time costs of $15, and the cost for gas reimbursement of $7.80, this supposed great deal really equals $102.72 in Total Acquisition Cost!

The surprising conclusion often shocks people. A typical small business order that looked like a $6 savings, and better deal from the big office Mega Store, isn't the better deal after all - not even close. Ordering from a trusted online office supply dealer actually saves you 20%, or $20 in this example! The key is considering the Total Acquisition Cost.

So remember to be smart when ordering Office Products, Janitorial Supplies, Office Furniture or Technology items for your office. Find an independent dealer you can trust, always consider the Total Cost for your office supplies, support other small businesses, not Big Box stores. Save cash for your business!

Stephan R Vonn is an expert on Office Products, and he searches out companies that practice Conscious Capitalism. He loves Zuma Office for great prices and free shipping, plus they give back 50% to great charities! Check them out today.