Many workplaces buy one or two types of notebook and use them for everything. That works until a job needs something different: a pocket book on site, perforated pages for minutes that get filed, or a planner the whole team can see.
Meeting notes, site work, training, planning and front desk admin each ask something different of a book. The differences come down to size, ruling, durability and how far the book has to travel.
Q4 is a sensible time to settle it. Next year's diaries and wall planners need to be ordered before the shutdown, and the stationery cupboard is usually due for a restock at the same time, so the notebooks can go on the same order.
Agree on a standard book for each job. One A4 book for meetings, one pocket book for anyone who works out of the office, and one pad for every desk. New starters then know what to use, and reordering is a repeat of the same list.
From our team in Tweed Heads
Five jobs and the pads and books that suit them
Each job sets out what to look for, three checks to tick before you buy, and our picks.
Prefer paper? Print this page (Ctrl + P or ⌘ + P) and only the guide will print. Ticks are not saved once you leave the page.
Meeting notes and minutes
Managers, admin teams, committees and boards
Minutes are only useful if the actions can be found afterwards. A book with the same layout on every page makes that much easier.
- Size
- A4 for full minutes, A5 for quick notes
- Ruling
- 7mm or 8mm lines, or a template page
- Durability
- Polypropylene or hard cover, wire binding that lies flat
- Portability
- Carried between the desk and the meeting room
What to use: a meeting book with the same template on every page, or a plain A4 notebook for free-form notes. Our pick is the Spirax P703 Meeting Book.
Site work and on the road
Trades, field service, sales reps and drivers
Out of the office, a notebook has to fit in a pocket, open with one hand and cope with the weather.
- Size
- Pocket, about 112 x 77mm to 150 x 100mm
- Ruling
- 5mm lines, or 5mm graph for measurements
- Durability
- Sturdy cover, waterproof paper for wet work
- Portability
- Shirt pocket, glove box or clipboard
What to use: a top-opening pocket notebook, with a waterproof option for outdoor work. Our picks are the Spirax 560 and the Protext Waterproof Notebook.
Training and classroom use
Training rooms, TAFE and university, schools
When a group is learning, the book has to hold a full course of notes and make it easy to hand work in.
- Size
- A4 for most courses and subjects
- Ruling
- 7mm or 8mm for adults, wider rulings for young writers
- Durability
- A stiff or polypropylene cover for books carried in bags
- Portability
- Carried between home, class and work
What to use: a lecture book for adult learners and senior students, and exercise or project books for younger classes. Our picks are the Spirax Kode lecture book and the Spirax 144 project book.
Lecture books · A4 exercise books · Educational exercise books
Planning and task lists
Team leaders, office managers and project coordinators
Planning works best when the whole team can see the key dates and each person has their own list.
- Size
- A5 organiser for personal lists, wall planner for the team
- Ruling
- Task columns or dated layouts
- Durability
- A stiff cover for daily use, write-on wipe-off for wall planners
- Portability
- The organiser travels, the wall planner stays put
What to use: a task organiser for each person, and one wall planner where the team can see it. Our picks are the Spirax 701 Things To Do and the Sasco 2027 year planner.
Everyday admin and the front desk
Reception, office admin and accounts
At the front desk, the work is quick notes, phone messages and paperwork that ends up in a file.
- Size
- A4 pads, with smaller pads by the phone
- Ruling
- 7mm or 8mm ruled
- Durability
- Top glue binding for tear-off sheets, reinforced edges for binder sheets
- Portability
- Stays at the desk or in a compendium
What to use: a top-bound A4 writing pad for each desk, and reinforced refills for anything that goes into a binder. Our picks are the Spirax 411 writing pad and Stat reinforced refills.
Office notepads · Telephone message book · Loose leaf refills
Buying for more than one team?
- List the jobs. Note which of the five jobs each team does most.
- Pick one book for each job. Use the same book across the workplace.
- Put it into one order. Add next year's diaries and wall planners to the same order.
Fitting out a new office or training room? Contact our team and we will help you put the list together.
Eight formats and what each one suits
A quick reference if you already know the format you want, or want to compare the options side by side.
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Wire-bound notebook
Spiral or twin wire binding lets the book fold back on itself, so it sits flat on a desk or in one hand.
- Usual sizes
- A4 and A5
- Best for
- Meeting notes, project logs and day-to-day notes
- Shop
- Office notebooks
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Pocket notebook
A small notebook that goes wherever you go, often with the spiral along the top so pages flip over.
- Usual sizes
- About 112 x 77mm to 150 x 100mm
- Best for
- Site notes, measurements and phone messages
- Shop
- Spiral notebooks
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Exercise book
A soft cover book, usually stapled, with a lower page count and a wide choice of rulings.
- Usual sizes
- A4 and smaller school sizes
- Best for
- School subjects, short courses and single-topic records
- Shop
- A4 exercise books
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Lecture book
An A4 spiral book with a higher page count, often with a margin and perforated pages for handing in or filing.
- Usual sizes
- A4, usually 140 pages or more
- Best for
- Training courses, TAFE, university and senior students
- Shop
- Lecture books
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Project book
Spirax project books pair ruled pages with plain pages, so writing and drawings sit side by side.
- Usual sizes
- A4
- Best for
- Projects with sketches, graphs or glued-in handouts
- Shop
- Spirax range
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Writing pad
Glue bound along the top edge, so sheets flip over and pull off when they need to be filed.
- Usual sizes
- A4, A5 and smaller desk pads
- Best for
- Desk notes, compendiums and clipboards
- Shop
- Office notepads
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Planner and diary
Dated layouts for scheduling. A diary suits one person, and a wall planner shows the whole team's year.
- Usual sizes
- A5 and A4 diaries, large wall planners
- Best for
- Appointments, leave, deadlines and shutdown dates
- Shop
- Planners and diaries
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Loose leaf refills
Punched, ruled sheets for ring binders and lever arch files, so notes can be sorted and added to.
- Usual sizes
- A4
- Best for
- Notes filed by client, project or topic
- Shop
- Loose leaf refills
The pads and books we recommend for each job
One or two dependable lines for each job, from the meeting room to the front desk.
Meeting notes
Spirax Polypropylene Meeting Book A4 140 Page Black
An A4 meeting book with 140 perforated template pages. Each page has spaces for the date, topic, attendees and objectives, then notes and an action items section with tick boxes.
Also has a pen holder on the cover and a business card holder inside.
View product
Site work
Spirax Notebook Top Opening 112 x 77mm 96 Page Pack of 5
A 112 x 77mm top-opening notebook with 96 pages of 5mm ruling, in a pack of 5. It fits a shirt pocket and flips over with one hand.
Good for part numbers, measurements and phone messages.
View product
Site work
Protext Waterproof Notebook 150 x 100mm 50 Sheet 5mm Graph Ruled Pack of 20
A 150 x 100mm pocket notebook with 50 sheets of 5mm graph waterproof paper, in a pack of 20 for field teams and survey crews.
Good for data recording and sketch plans in wet conditions.
View product
Training
Spirax Kode Lecture Book A4 140 Page Assorted Box of 15
An A4 lecture book with 140 pages of 7mm ruled, perforated paper, a margin and one divider. The box of 15 comes in assorted cover colours.
Give each subject or group its own cover colour.
View product
Classroom
Spirax 144 Project Book A4 96 Page 8mm Ruled
A 96 page A4 project book on 70gsm paper. Each 8mm ruled page faces a plain page for graphs, sketches and glued-in handouts.
Good for a subject or project that runs for the whole year.
View product
Planning
Spirax Organiser Things To Do Notebook A5 96 Pages
An A5 task book with columns for priority, task, due date and a tick box. It has a polypropylene cover, twin wire binding, a divider pocket and a removable ruler.
The pages are perforated, so a finished list can be torn out.
View product
Planning
Sasco 2027 Standard Year Planner 870 x 610mm
A 2027 wall planner, 870 x 610mm, printed with Australian and New Zealand public holidays and week numbers, with a write-on wipe-off surface.
Good for leave, deadlines and shutdown dates the whole team can see.
View product
Admin
Spirax Writing Pad A4 100 Pages Ruled White
An A4 writing pad with 100 white pages ruled at 8mm, glue bound along the top edge. It suits a compendium, a clipboard or the desk.
Sheets are not perforated, so pull them off the glued edge carefully before filing.
View product
Refills
Stat A4 Loose Leaf Reinforced Refills Ruled Pack of 200
A4 refills with 7mm feint ruling and 7 punched holes, to fit 2, 3 and 4 ring binders and lever arch files. A mylar reinforced edge stops sheets tearing away from the rings.
Good for notes filed by client, project or topic.
View productThree ways to keep ordering simple
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Standardise on a short list
Choose one book for each job and use it across the workplace, so each reorder repeats the same short list.
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Add planners to your next restock
Put next year's diaries and wall planners on the same order as your notebooks and pads. Free standard delivery applies to eligible orders over $149.95 to most ACT, NSW, QLD and VIC metro areas.*
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Ask for a quote on volume
Ordering for a whole team or site? Use Add to Quote or Bulk Enquiry on the product page, or talk to our team.
*Bulky items, hardware, regional and remote deliveries are excluded. See shipping and delivery information for full details.
Frequently asked questions
What is the difference between a notebook, a lecture book and an exercise book?
Notebook is the general name for a bound book of ruled pages, often wire bound, in sizes from pocket to A4. A lecture book is an A4 spiral book with a higher page count, and often has a margin and perforated pages for handing in or filing. An exercise book has a soft cover, is usually stapled, has fewer pages and is common in schools and short courses.
Which notebook is best for taking meeting minutes?
An A4 book with the same layout on every page makes minutes easier to write and easier to search later. The Spirax P703 Meeting Book has spaces for the date, topic, attendees, notes and action items on each page, and the pages are perforated, so a list of actions can be torn out and passed on.
What notebook should I use on a work site or outdoors?
A pocket notebook with a top-opening spiral is the easiest to use standing up. For wet conditions, choose a notebook with waterproof paper, such as the Protext Waterproof Notebook, which has 5mm graph pages for measurements and sketch plans.
Will loose leaf refills fit our ring binders?
Check the number of holes on the refills against the rings in your binder. The Stat A4 reinforced refills have 7 punched holes and are listed as fitting 2, 3 and 4 ring binders and lever arch files. If you are not sure, send us the binder details and we will confirm the match.
Can we get a quote for a bulk order?
Yes. Use Add to Quote or Bulk Enquiry on any product page to build a list, or contact our team with the items and quantities you need.
Choose the right pad or book for each job
Start with the jobs your team does most, work through the checks and put the books you need into one order. If you are not sure which book suits a job, our team will help you choose.
Mega Office Supplies helps Australian workplaces keep everyday essentials covered, from our Tweed Heads team and our suppliers' warehouse network nationwide.
