Planning on setting up a new office for your business? No matter its size, every office needs
a lot of equipment – and you need to identify exactly what yours will require.
If you’re not sure where to start, try checking out this list that covers the essential office
equipment that every new workplace normally needs.
Furniture
A good place to start is with office furniture. After all, both you and your employees will
literally need a place to sit, set up your computers, hold meetings, store things, and more.
Some of the common essential office furniture includes:
● Desks
● Office chairs
● Room dividers
● Meeting tables
● Filing cabinets
● Shelves
That should cover the basics, and from there you can look into anything else that you think
will fit the vibe of your office – such as sofas, lounge chairs, and so on.
General Supplies
General supplies encompass (mostly) consumable items that are needed on a day to day
basis. It may surprise you, but you can expect to spend $50 per employee, per month on
office supplies.
The typical general supplies that you should stock your office with include:
● Paper in various sizes
● Pencils, pens, and erasers
● Notebooks and notepads
● Staplers and staples
● Highlighters
● Glue
● Rubber bands
● Paperclips
● Tape
● Printer ink
● Envelopes
● Binders, folders and organizers
That should cover the basics, but you may find that you want to stock other supplies
depending on your preferences.
Important Hardware
Every business now requires certain hardware in order to function. The most basic of which
include computers, laptops, tablets, and smartphones that your employees may need to
use.
On top of that you have other peripherals associated with these devices, including mouse
and mouse pads, printers, scanners, wireless routers, external hard drives, thumb drives,
surge protectors and more. The specifics of what you need will vary, and you may find that
you also need specialized monitor stands, speakers, headsets, microphones, and so on.
Last but not least, many offices also find that a solid phone system can help – as can certain
tools like a copier, shredder, and projector.
Important Software
On the software front there are also lots of essentials you’ll need. The most common being
an operating system for your office computers (e.g. Microsoft Windows) as well as an office
suite software (e.g. Microsoft Office).
However that is really just the start, and most modern businesses use a wide range of
software for project management, communication, and collaboration. Try to identify what
types of software you need and then look into the more popular choices out there.
For example, if your business needs to print lots of documents or images on a regular basis
it may be a good idea to look at print monitoring software services.
Employee Monitoring Software
Employee monitoring computer software like Controlio is a type of software essential
enough to make it worth mentioning on its own. It is designed to track what employees are
doing and will keep tabs on their activities to collect data that can be used to improve
productivity, efficiency, and security.
The features of Controlio can track pretty much any and all activity carried out by
employees. It will run in the background once it is installed and monitor app and web usage,
time spent working, emails, instant messaging communications, file transfers, and more.
Additionally it can filter and block particular websites that you deem unsafe or a distraction.
Because it is cloud-based, you can view the data that has been gathered and the reports
generated from it at any time by simply logging into Controlio’s website. It will even
calculate a productivity score for each employee so that you can easily track their
performance.
If necessary you can also use it to look more closely at any given employee and capture their
keystrokes or a screenshot of their screen. That can be used to improve security, or
scrutinize employees whose productivity seems to have dropped off and find out the reason
why.
Safety Equipment
Every office is required by code to have certain safety equipment present on the premises.
While the exact equipment required may vary in different jurisdictions, it is a good idea for
you to have:
● Smoke detectors
● Carbon monoxide detectors
● Fire extinguishers
● Flashlights
● First aid kits
It should be noted that all safety equipment should be checked and tested regularly to
ensure it is still in good working condition. If it isn’t, it is important to replace it quickly.
Janitorial Supplies
Although you may hire cleaners who bring their own cleaning supplies, it still helps to have
some items that you can use in an emergency and if something needs to be cleaned up
quickly. The most common items that may come in handy include:
● All-purpose cleaner
● Hand soaps
● Air freshener
● Vacuum cleaner (and bags)
● Garbage bags
● Mop (and bucket)
● Sponges
● Paper towels
● Broom (and dustpan)
In most cases that should cover all your needs – though it doesn’t hurt to have additional
items that you think could be useful.
Breakroom and Kitchen Supplies
Assuming your office has a breakroom and kitchen, there will be supplies that you need to
kit it out. While none of these are technically essential, you may want to consider getting a:
● Coffeemaker
● Teapot
● Cups and mugs
● Refrigerator
● Microwave oven
● Toaster
● Water cooler
At the end of the day it really depends on what you think your employees will want in the
breakroom.
Conclusion
Hopefully by this point you’ll have a pretty firm idea of the essential office supplies you’ll
need to think about purchasing for your new office. Be sure to remember that there are
likely to be lots of other supplies that you need too – based on what equipment your
business needs to operate.
Think of this list of essentials as a starting point that you can use to make sure your office is
kitted out with all the basics that are necessary. In most cases that should be enough for you
to start running your business, and other items can be purchased as required.
