Office Supplies Expense. Office supplies include copy paper, toner cartridges, business forms, pens, pencils, stamp pads, letter envelopes and other desk supplies. You typically treat office supplies as incurred expenses associated with administrating the operation of your business.

The supplies that have been used during the accounting period should be reported in the income statement account Supplies Expense. Basically, supplies are assets until they are used. When they are used, they become an expense.

The cost of office supplies can add up quickly for small and large businesses alike. Bundle1 reports that the average cost for office supplies in the United States is $19per month, with the top 10 percent of spenders paying out as much as $39 per month to buy supplies.