You’re about to treat a patient. You reach into the box of latex gloves and realize that it’s empty. No big deal, you say you’ll be right back, go into the supply closet and pull the last box of gloves off the shelf. You make a note to order more gloves. You treat the patient, then go make the order. The next day, you’re at the same chair, and you open a cabinet and realize there were several boxes of gloves in there! No big deal right? You just have extra gloves now. Well, how many times have you done this?
As a bookkeeper, we have noticed that the cost of supplies is one of the biggest financial drains on a business. Supplies like masks, gloves, pens, staples, etc. really don’t cost much individually, but how often are you buying them?
Keeping inventory and organizing your supplies is the single easiest thing you can do to save money. Have someone in your office dedicated to keeping inventory and making supply orders. They should also be responsible for shopping for better pricing. Nothing should be ordered without this person’s say so. Yes this person can be the dentist, but I’d recommend having one of your office people keep inventory. You’d be amazed how much you can save just by keeping inventory