By Labor Day, most teams come back to a full calendar, returning customers, and the kind of momentum you want to ride. Here's the supply-side checklist that keeps a busy fall from turning into a chaotic one.
1. Paper, Toner, and Ink — Two Months Out
Q4 is when print volume spikes: proposals, contracts, year-end reports. Make sure your paper is stocked two months deep and your toner inventory matches the machines on your floor right now (not the ones you replaced last year). Nothing wastes a Tuesday like discovering you have toner for a printer you no longer own.
2. Pens, Notebooks, and the Basics
Demand for the unglamorous stuff — pens, sticky notes, legal pads — climbs in September. Restock to a real par level rather than letting it drift down until somebody complains. A few extra packs in the supply closet costs nothing and saves a dozen small interruptions.
3. Folders, Labels, and Filing
If your year-end involves any kind of paper records — and most do — order folders, labels, and file boxes now while they're easy to get and not on backorder. The same is true of shipping supplies if you fulfill anything physical.
4. Whiteboard Markers and Flip Charts
Strategy season needs working markers. Every office has a drawer full of dead ones. Pull them all out, restock fresh, and you'll have meetings that don't start with three minutes of "does this one work?"
5. New-Hire Kits
Fall hiring season means more new desks. A pre-assembled kit — notebook, pens, sticky pads, headset, mouse pad, business card holder — gets people working on day one without scrounging. Build five at a time and you'll always have one ready.
6. The "Did We Forget Anything" Walk
Walk the office, top to bottom, and look at every supply station. The breakroom, the print room, the conference rooms, the reception desk. What's missing or running low? Order it before you need it. The walk takes 20 minutes and saves a dozen interruptions over the next quarter.
If you'd like a hand auditing your current supply spend or setting up an account that takes the routine ordering off your plate, give us a call. That's a big part of what we do every day.
