Although supplies and equipment are important ways to offset cash expenses, their cash-value is often difficult to assess. If the supplies and resources facilitate the business, meaning they help make running the business easier (pens, paper, temporary office space, personal computers, etc) their value may be incidental to the theoretical value of the business and should not be taken into account at all. Despite the expense incurred by the individual participant, the act of accounting for such inputs may cause more damage to the relationship than it is worth at an early stage.

Think about it. If a Grunt shows up with a box of pencils should they really expect to receive pie in exchange?

A potential investor will likely place little or no value on access to personal computers or office supplies. Such expenses should be ignored during the early days of a fledgling business.

Eventually these expenses could be covered by the business. However, it is rarely advisable to reimburse past expenses from an early-stage investment fund.