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Courier Related
Articles
New Courier Guide
P1... Introduction
As with any
other self employed project, if you fail to prepare, prepare
to fail. This is one of a series of articles designed to help
new and existing couriers prepare to succeed.
We take you through some of the steps needed to succeed, but
in the end it is down to every individual to put 110% effort
into succeeding. You will succeed through your own efforts,
or fail through lack of effort, the choice is yours. What
ever the economic climate, what ever the competition, you
can always find a niche market.
Being a self employed courier can be very rewarding and also
very frustrating, especially if you are stuck in a traffic
jam with a load that should have been delivered hours ago.
You will have days when you have no work coming in especially
during your start up period, and you will have other days
when you take on a small job for a customer, and you can bet
your life you will have more profitable work coming in which
you can’t do, while your on that small job.
If this hasn’t put you off being a courier, carry on
reading, you will learn how you can make a good living from
courier work.
What ever you do, read this article before you spend any money.
This information comes to you free and it will save you a
lot of money. Read
the full article Download
PDF
New Courier
Guide P2... What sort of Courier do you want to be? The
word ‘Courier’ covers a large variety of different
types of work, from cycle, motor bike, car, small vans, large
vans and HGV’s.
For the purpose of this article, I am going to concentrate
on the van side of courier work, for the simple reason that
this is where the majority of the work is, and is the business
I specialise in.
This segment of the business can be broken down into lots
of different segments. The reason you researched the market,
was to find the segment which suits you best.
The first thing you need to decide is, whether you are going
to work local or long distance.
Local work tends to mean you are home early most time, this
can be important to someone with family commitments. The biggest
sector in local work is parcel and contract deliveries, with
either a small or LWB van. The smaller the van the lower the
mileage rate you can charge, typically 25% to 30% below the
LWB van rate. Contract deliveries entail delivering to customers,
or group of customers every day. Contract work tends to be
less profitable, but is regular money coming in, with some
contracts paying out weekly. Contract work is a good place
o start, what you will find is a group of like minded contractors
who have a wealth of experience, and can point you in the
right direction to more profitable work.. Read
the full article Download
PDF
New Courier
Guide P3...What Van?
By this time you will have decided what sort of courier you
want to be, which will dictate the size of van you need. Most
courier companies will want to make sure your van is respectable,
and not a rusty old heap. Some companies insist on vehicles
les than 3 or 4 years old, and some insist you have the van
in their company livery. Very few courier companies will accept
a vehicle which is lettered up with your name on it.
Purchasing a new van can be an expensive item, especially
with a new venture. One alternative is to contract hire from
a local company. They will supply a van on hire for a month
at a time; this could help with start up costs. [Courier companies
will accept vans which are lettered with a hire company name
on.] You could buy a van quite cheap from an auction specialising
in fleet disposals. These vans usually come with long M.O.T.s
and service history, although high mileage, they can be a
viable alternative to long hire purchase or lease periods.
Read the full article
Download PDF
New Courier Guide
P4...Keeping Records The
first thing you need is a simple record of all the work you
do. Using either Microsoft Word or Excel or similar, draw
a table with 5 columns and 8 rows [9 with he headings] the
headings I used were date, invoice to, collection address,
delivery address, Order no.
The first columns can be narrow enough to fit the date going
down the column instead of across. The second column again
I made this narrow, and put the initials of the company who
had instructed me. The collection address and delivery address
were made big enough to put the full address, post code and
telephone number in. The last column needs to be just big
enough for the ref no, of the order or delivery note. In the
margin I put the mileage. Most companies who pay mileage rates
work on the shortest route using Microsoft Auto route or similar.
Read the full article
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