Small business owners should still always into security. Sure you may not be facing threats like industrial espionage or sabotage but petty thievery can cost you thousands of dollars in the long run.

If you notice that you’re always out of paper, pens, clips and what have you, better take an inventory of your office supplies. The first sign of wastage and possible thievery is a climb in your office supply expense. These operational expenses seem to be meager compared to what you spend on other things like office infrastructure and employee salaries but these are the now-menial-tomorrow-grand amounts.

One thing you can do is to regulate supply room access. Appoint a supply officer (a manager) who will keep the key to the room. Have supply requests approved or place a sign-out sheet too to track of supply use and consumption.

If this sounds too iron-fisted for your taste, you might want to be cautious in suddenly implementing such policies. People hate it when there’s a sudden hint of distrust. It will ruin everyone’s productivity. Just be honest about it. Perhaps in a company meeting remind everyone to look for pens and markers in their desk drawers. Keep what they need and return them back to the office supply.