Your company buys office supplies for $10,000. After year-end usage of $4,000, what is the expense for supplies used?

When a company purchases office supplies, the initial transaction increases the supplies asset on the balance sheet. In this case, the company acquired office supplies worth $10,000. However, as the year progresses, the supplies are utilized in operations. After year-end, it has been noted that $4,000 worth of supplies have been used.

To determine the correct expense for supplies used, we need to consider the amount that has actually been consumed during the period. The supplies used, which amount to $4,000, should be recorded as an expense because they reflect the actual consumption of resources necessary for business operations.

Consequently, the correct amount to recognize as the supplies expense for the period is exactly the value of the supplies that were used - in this case, $4,000. This aligns with the matching principle of accounting, which dictates that expenses should be recognized in the period when they are incurred to properly match them with the revenues generated from those expenses.

Thus, the appropriate expense for supplies used, reflecting the cost associated with operations over that accounting period, is $4,000.