The majority of businesses will have processes and teams in place that will save them money in the long run, but one area that has been notoriously difficult to save in is postage.
While the majority have no real idea on how to save money when it comes to postage, there are many that seem as though they just don’t care which leads to them losing huge amounts of money every year. Everything adds up in the budget so the smallest of expenses multiplied 5 days a week, 4 weeks a month, and 12 months a year can lead to much larger costs. How do you save money on postage though?
Invest In A Franking Machine
If a business was told they could save an enormous amount of money based on how they are stamping their letters they would bite the hand of those feeding them, so why isn’t this the case? If a small business, for example, were to send 1000 letters a month to the fee of £1 per letter that would equate to £12000 a year which is an enormous cost for any business, let alone a small one. Investing in a franking machine could almost half that amount with an incredible saving of up to £6000.
These machines work by weighing your mail item on their inbuilt scales and automatically calculating the correct postage price which incorporates a discount from the Royal Mail. It’s then franked (a mark instead of a stamp) with the correct postage, date, company logo and a unique code. It’s then ready to send.
Further to the franking machine, there has been a development that offers even more savings when sending in bulk. Enjoy up to a further 33% off when using Mailmark, a system that boasts automatic rate updates and an extra 1p off every letter sent. Saving this much money on postage could offer other areas of your business budget the needed capital to expand and grow.
They cost anywhere from £800 – £22000 depending on how much mail your company sends and there are even opportunities to rent them for a reduced fee.
Automate The Process
When any business is looking to reduce costs the first thing they will do is see if there are any aspects of the process that can be automated. This usually means taking out human interaction with certain areas and leaving it up to a computer. Of course, this software will cost money but will end up being a saver in the long run.
The main aim of simplifying and automating the process is eliminating the number of people needed for the process to be successful. Simply put, the fewer people in the process means lower salary costs.
Look At Your Mailing List
When a company is in business for many years they will have a mailing list that has built up to thousands. Do you know if they all still live in the same place? Or if they are even interested in your service or product anymore? What about if they aren’t alive?
The postal service can help you here and will inform you if there have been any changes to address. It’s also wise to conduct some kind of survey to decipher if your current clients are still interested in your business. If they aren’t then you no longer have to waste money sending them anything.
It’s time to have a look at your mailing list and get rid of anyone that doesn’t need to be there.
Size & Packing
The price of posting a letter in the UK is mainly down to its size and not the weight. For example, posting an A4 letter will cost you more money than sending an A5 letter. So where possible try to fold your letters down into smaller envelopes.
When it comes to packaging, try and reduce it as much as you can. Sending a small package is cheaper than sending a large package of the same weight so if there’s no need for it to be in a larger box, don’t bother.
Use Email
We developed this incredible online postal service for information that needs to arrive quickly called Email and for some reason many businesses forget they can use this service. If you have any letter that doesn’t need to be sent via the postal service then put it in an Email and enjoy saving money.
Saving money will be a constant battle throughout owning a business and it’s one that will bring some interesting results. Try and be as inventive as you can when saving money as there are plenty of ways in which you can do so. Investing money to save money is the sensible way forward, so have a look at what you can do for your business today.
