---
title: "What Is Supply costs? Dental Practice Glossary | Copeland Consulting Services"
description: "Supply costs are what a practice spends on clinical and office supplies, tracked each month and often compared with collections to see whether spending is steady."
url: https://joncopeland.multisites.ai/glossary/supply-costs
publisher: Copeland Consulting Services
email: drcopeland@joncopelanddds.com
contact: https://joncopeland.multisites.ai/contact
---

Finance and valuation

# Supply costs

Supply costs are what a practice spends on clinical and office supplies, tracked each month and often compared with collections to see whether spending is steady.

The ADA's inventory control guide defines dental supplies as items priced at less than 500 dollars per item, not per invoice. Supply spending is a regular part of [overhead](https://joncopeland.multisites.ai/glossary/overhead), along with [lab fees](https://joncopeland.multisites.ai/glossary/lab-fees) and payroll. The ADA's guidance links control of supply costs to inventory practices and monthly checks against collections. It also gives rules of thumb that are the ADA's own guidance, not an industry standard, so owners should compare against their own history. A written ordering process and a clear owner for each purchase reduce surprises. Equipment and large purchases are usually handled apart from supplies, and a CPA can advise how to book them.

[Next stepPractice consulting with Dr. Copeland](https://joncopeland.multisites.ai/contact?topic=consulting)

## Related terms

-   [Overhead](https://joncopeland.multisites.ai/glossary/overhead)
-   [Lab fees](https://joncopeland.multisites.ai/glossary/lab-fees)
-   [Overhead percentage](https://joncopeland.multisites.ai/glossary/overhead-percentage)
-   [Payroll percentage](https://joncopeland.multisites.ai/glossary/payroll-percentage)

## Sources

1.  [ADA, Dental Supplies-Inventory Control](https://www.ada.org/resources/practice/practice-management/dental-supplies-inventory-control)

## Talk with Dr. Copeland

[Contact Dr. Copeland](https://joncopeland.multisites.ai/contact)[Email](mailto:drcopeland@joncopelanddds.com)