When I was working for the U.S. Census in 2000 one of the enumerators in my group got an idea where $20 of office supplies would save tens of hours for us.
Of course there was no procedure at all for getting reimbursed but since we were getting paid $12 an hour and the investment would easily pay off for our employer, that she should just say she worked another hour and a half and get the supplies. The supervisor (who was getting paid $14 and hour and working heavy overtime which he wasn't getting paid for) didn't have any argument, so she went out and did it.
Comments
If you need something, buy it. Your time is worth more than any number of pens, paperclips, and pads of paper.
... isn't this one of the standard questions from "startup or not"?
When I was working for the U.S. Census in 2000 one of the enumerators in my group got an idea where $20 of office supplies would save tens of hours for us.
Of course there was no procedure at all for getting reimbursed but since we were getting paid $12 an hour and the investment would easily pay off for our employer, that she should just say she worked another hour and a half and get the supplies. The supervisor (who was getting paid $14 and hour and working heavy overtime which he wasn't getting paid for) didn't have any argument, so she went out and did it.