Can toner ruin your business? It can. It has. And it probably will happen to a number of business owners who overlook the importance of planning. Think about it. You forget to assign your employees to purchase ink toner for the printer. The big pitch meeting arrives and you need a last minute print-out. The printer refuses to work. Believe me, this happens. Now is the time to be proactive and look over your office administrative needs so you are ready for smooth sailing in September when the real business kicks in. Here are some useful tips for your offices admin list!

Look over your contact list

Take some time to go over all personal business contacts that you did not interact with before or during the summer: referrals, contacts that you met at events, or clients on hold are far too important to let slide. If you only have their cards or contact information on a loose piece of paper, consider implementing a system where you can easily access and look up the person of interest. This time of year is the perfect opportunity to check in with your contacts and ask them how their summer has been.

Empty your inbox

When returning to the office from a long weekend or vacation, chances are that you will have an inbox overloaded with emails. If you forgot to set up a automatically sorting of your incoming emails before going on vacation, there are still some smart tips that will help you once you’re back at the office.  You can sort and group all emails by subject, date, and sender. This will give you a quick and easy view of what can go directly into the spam folder and what and which ones that is most urgent to respond to.

Clean the office

Set aside half a day, order some food and turn a rather boring task into an empowering bonding team game. A clean office creates a better and less stressful working environment. Your clients who come to visit will appreciate the clean atmosphere and it will generate an overall positive spirit. Having an organized and clean office where everything is easy to find will also improve time management. Throw in a prize and you’ll turn any employee into a vacuum cleaner.

Order office supplies

Start by doing a thorough review with all staff members and ask them to write down what they need. Stock up on everything from tape, paper, pens, folders and binders. Sharon Chapman gives some great tips in the article “Save Money on Office Supplies.” She recommends looking online, at Office Depot for example, for the best prices. Sign up for membership to receive special offers and rebates. Look for coupon codes, those few pennies saved can actually make a difference in the long run. Make sure that the person who goes crazy over Staples’ latest selection of Post-its is in charge of purchasing the supplies!

Go Green!

Be environmental friendly and keep sustainability in mind. Recycle office supplies. Paper that has been used once can be reused for faxes or by staff to write down notes. Come up with a system that works for your office and inform your employees about the importance of taking these actions, and most importantly where they can find these recycled supplies so it serves its purpose. Encourage your employees to email instead of print while communicating. Don’t print reports that you just as easily can view from the screen.

When you have accomplished these tasks you’re ready to face the challenges that are the reason why you’re actually running your business. Not the challenge how to control your anger when realizing that the printer is still in vacation mode.