If you are a self-employed courier driver then you will no doubt be keen to save money wherever possible to help increase your income. Below we suggest 10 ways that you may be able to help achieve this: –

1. Plan your delivery route – take the time to plan your deliveries ensuring that you are not having to travel huge distances between drop-offs and not having to go back on yourself. In doing so you will save on fuel costs with this being a major business expense.

2. Pay annually for your courier insurance – if at all possible, pay for your courier cover on an annual basis rather than paying monthly. This is because most insurance companies charge you extra when you pay monthly as they make an interest charge as, in effect, you are borrowing the money from the insurer.

3. Use a delivery van with a lower engine size – generally speaking, if you drive around in a van with a less powerful engine you will use less fuel thus saving money.

4. Don’t speed – stick to the speed limit at all times to avoid getting a speeding ticket that could lead to an increase in your courier insurance premiums. It should also help lower your fuel consumption.

5. Drive with care – in doing so you are less likely to be involved in a road traffic accident thus avoiding your courier insurance premiums increasing by more than normal and loss of income if you are unable to work due to your vehicle being off the road whilst it is being repaired.

6. Use a sat nav – using a satellite navigation system will ensure that you don’t get lost trying to find a premises to deliver a parcel to thus potentially saving money on excess fuel use.

7. Quote profitably – when quoting for business make sure that the price you charge is sufficient to make a reasonable profit from the job. There is normally no benefit in doing the work at a loss unless you are certain that it will lead to future profitable business.

8. Use a second hand van – if you are considering purchasing a van then it is normally cheaper to buy a used van rather than a brand new one. Hopefully this will help contain the expenditure of your business if you have had to borrow the money to purchase the van although do be aware that the costs of maintaining a second hand vehicle tend to be greater than that of a new one as things are likely to go wrong sooner with a used vehicle.

We hope that the above tips give you food for thought in operating your courier service business.