Creation of a courier service. Start a Business: Courier Service

Before starting to create a delivery service, you have to seriously think about everything and decide what kind of delivery you are going to do. You can work with public catering, you can become an intermediary of online stores, you can serve legal entities, you can provide services to individuals. Or combine several directions. Each option has its own nuances that must be taken into account. Think about what territory you can work in, based on your budget. The more extensive the boundaries of delivery, the more expensive it is to create an enterprise.

The courier delivery service is a business that you can start alone and only spend money on travel and IP registration. Such an approach, however, will not promise great profits. Most likely, you will earn only a little more than a hired courier (the average salary is 25,000–35,000 rubles), while you will work many times more. We'll have to look for customers, take calls and orders, spin. In large cities, where the market is close to saturation in terms of the number of offers, it makes sense to make serious investments (from several million rubles to several tens of millions of rubles) and create a quality service. Customers most of all complain about the quality of services. The payback of a good service, provided that you correctly determine the needs of your target audience and accurately calculate everything at the start, can be about three years.

room

The delivery service needs an office space that will house dispatchers and management. Couriers will also arrive there to resolve pressing issues. In the office you have to receive clients, so take care of the presentable appearance of the building or at least the premises in which your company will be located. The legislation does not provide for special requirements for such offices.

Logistics companies that cooperate with online stores usually have their own warehouse. If you are going to create a large-scale service, it is better to rent a larger room. You do not need a class A warehouse - it is quite possible to meet $100-130 per sq. m. m per year. You can offer your customers paid use of your facilities. Storage of inventory during the day usually costs the store on average 50 rubles per cubic meter. You can also take care of packing - picking one order by courier service employees costs 10-50 rubles.

Problems with the service arise, among other things, due to the unwillingness of courier services to work around the clock and on holidays. A flexible schedule and a willingness to quickly provide services will help attract customers who find themselves in a difficult situation.

Documentation

After registering a legal entity, take care of the documents that will protect you and the client in case of a conflict. The courier must provide the client with an invoice in two copies, a cash receipt. If he uses a car, the usual consignment note must be replaced by a consignment note (TTN). It makes sense to accompany a valuable product with an act of no claims to appearance and quality.

Invoice forms can be downloaded on the Internet, in the 1C system, ordered at a printing house. Be careful not to lose them. You will have to report to the tax office, including with their help, so all TTN should be in order. Remember that the waybill must contain your data and customer data, contain information about the cargo (size, weight, etc.) and payment.

If couriers will accept payment, you can not do without a cash register. In case of his absence, the company faces a fine of 30,000–40,000 rubles.

Other expenses

Staff

Couriers are the most important employees of delivery services. They most of all communicate with customers, so you need to approach the selection process very carefully. First, you should choose people based on their preferences and expectations. The most nervous job for a courier is food delivery. The fulfillment of the order must be started immediately after receipt, there is little time for the road - an average of an hour and a half in Moscow. In this case, there is no way to plan a route. The most rewarding work is the delivery of documents. As a rule, all addresses are known the night before, the courier has the opportunity to build the most convenient route between points.

In Russia, the work of a courier is perceived as something second-rate, so the task of the creator of the project is to convey to the employees the idea that their work is important and useful. Often, logistics companies complain about the disappearance of couriers along with goods or money. It doesn’t hurt to insure yourself in such a case - the official registration of couriers in the state works well.

Equipment, transport and software

The simplest cash register equipment costs about 10,000 rubles. If you are going to become a major player, take care of the information infrastructure. Customers usually choose courier services that offer an API (Application Programming Interface). This is an external application embedded on the site that fully automates the process of ordering delivery.

You may need to invest in other infrastructure as well. Couriers can distribute smartphones or tablets with your company's application installed. A special program will also have to be written to monitor how orders are delivered, what reviews the client leaves.

Promotion

Illustrations: Natalia Osipova

Thank you for your help in preparing the material: Bringo, Smartomato, Homeassist

Before you start a courier service business, you first need to familiarize yourself with the key rules in this area. Such rules will help the entrepreneur in the future business. In fact, start a courier service not as difficult as it might seem. This area does not require special skills and higher education. And most importantly, to open a courier service, you do not need a large start-up capital.

Courier Service Business: What You Need

The best option for opening such a business is to open a courier service in big cities. This is obvious, since in small settlements there will simply be no demand for this business.

For complete courier service automation You will need, at a minimum, a dispatcher, a courier / driver, an accountant. In some cases, you may need a loader if your business will deliver large loads.

Before, how to start a courier delivery service, decide what kind of transportation your company will be engaged in. Delivering documents or medical equipment requires completely different transportation conditions. It should be noted that for the transportation of certain goods, special certificates and permits may be required.

Investing in a courier business

We have already said above that opening a courier service does not require a huge initial capital. However, you will still have to spend some certain amount. If you have opened a company in a big city, then in any case you will need a car. There is an optimal option: hire a person with a car to work as a courier. In this case, you will have to pay him gasoline.

Don't forget to invest in advertising. In this case, the price will depend directly on you. Advertising can be placed in city newspapers, on television. Also, it would be great to place an advertisement on the city portal. Use social media to promote.

Clientele

Who uses the courier service? We will try to consider this issue in detail from all sides.

• Every city has cafes, restaurants and other catering establishments. So, many catering establishments are starting to deliver their food to the house. You can become an intermediary in this case. In this case, all parties will benefit.
• Online shopping is the next option. There are a huge number of them now. Such stores are hesitant to open a courier service, because it is not profitable for them, because they sell their goods throughout the country. You can offer online stores a low price and fast delivery around the city.
• A huge number of large companies are always in need of a courier service business. Large companies always need to send documentation to various points and government agencies.

Profitability

Initially, you need to determine how profitable this business is. According to statistics, many courier services pay off pretty quickly. Most often, the profit reaches 90 percent. In big cities, the price for the delivery of one unit of goods is 5-50 dollars. The price directly depends on the weight of the cargo and how important it is. You can develop a special system of discounts for regular customers.

Possible problems

In any business, sooner or later, problems can arise. Of course, it is best to prevent problems, but sometimes they are inevitable. Then you need to learn how to deal with them.

• Often problems arise with the human factor. There may be traffic jams or the driver will simply be late to the appointed place. Suppose the dispatcher of your courier service is rude to the client and it is you who will have to deal with all the conflict that has arisen. That is, you need to carefully select employees in your company. It would also not hurt to learn the basics of logistics in order to deliver the necessary parcels on time.
• Competition is unavoidable in this business. Each such company has its own unusual approach to each client. In this case, you do not need to take existing ideas. They will be useless. You must come up with something new that may be of interest to a potential client. In this business, it is very important to find the ideal approach to each client.

Opening a courier service is only half the battle. It is very important to reach the automation of the courier service. This will help you stay afloat for a long time. A lot of work needs to be done at the initial stage (when choosing staff, searching for regular customers). When all the work comes to automation, you can start coming up with new "chips" for all clients.

Do you want to open your own business, but the trouble is that the start-up capital is not just small - it is completely absent? Well, then this idea is for you! For its implementation, you will need at first: a clear head, a burning desire, and quick feet. Or, if possible, some kind of transport. Today we will talk about how to open a courier delivery service.

Mobility, speed and reliability are the main trump cards of small companies involved in the delivery of goods, helping to compete very successfully with such large giants as Russian Post, SPSR, or Zest-Express. It is good to resort to the help of such "monsters" when it is necessary to deliver bulky cargo, associated with the provision of additional services for security, cargo insurance, forwarding, etc. As a rule, delivery in such companies takes from a day to several days, depending on the distance.

The term for the execution of an order by a small company takes from several minutes to several hours. Opening a courier delivery service is not easy, but very simple. But first, let's decide what order format will be "your bread":

• Documents, business letters, receipts, etc.. No need to think that with the development of the Internet and the advent of e-mail, faxes, etc. there was no need for circulation and transfer of paper and other information carriers. After all, an electronic copy is one thing, and the original document is completely different.
• Parcels and parcels. Your advantages, and therefore the benefit of customers in the delivery of this category of goods in comparison, say, with the same Russian Post: speed (remember the slowness of the postal giant!), Reliability and delivery guarantee (how many goods were lost due to the fault of the monopolist for postal services !), attentive and careful attitude to the transported object.
• Flowers. Arrange with flower shops, kiosks, boutiques, you can just leave a few of your business cards with them so that they pass them on to customers.
• Food. Establish contact with a cafe, or other fast food company regarding the delivery of dishes from their menu to offices and homes.
• Goods. Recently, the possibility of ordering various products in online stores has become widespread. Which, by the way, is much more profitable to contact the courier service than to maintain their own delivery department.

What you need to open a courier service

In order to open a courier delivery service, you really need a little:

• Transport. Of course, you can use the public one, but you must admit, it is always more convenient to have your own, at least a scooter or a bicycle, which, by the way, are one of the best means of transportation in today's traffic jams. Alternatively, you can conclude an agreement with a taxi service or involve a temporary courier with a personal car.
• Dispatcher who will take orders by phone. By the way, orders can be taken around the clock. This feature will set you apart from your competitors.
• Several couriers.

Have you noticed the main feature of this business idea? All of the listed positions at the beginning of the organization of activities can be combined by one person - you! Of course, you will have to work hard. And with the development of the business, it is possible to expand the staff. Only at the same time, do not forget those distinctive points that helped you open a courier delivery service and brought you to the pinnacle of success: mobility, guarantee, attentiveness. I recommend that you read the article on working on personal transport.

One of the ways to make a profit can be considered a courier service as a business. We will describe in more detail how to open it and whether it is profitable to engage in such a business today. Increasingly, people and various organizations use delivery. After all, spending time on the independent transfer of letters, contracts, invoices, goods is inconvenient.

And although there are real giants in the courier service industry around the world, most companies and stores prefer to cooperate with local services. Therefore, you should focus on affordable prices and search for customers in a given region, offering more favorable conditions in order to win the competition.

Registration questions

In order to provide courier services legally and make a profit from it, you will need to organize everything correctly:

1. Contact the tax office and register an LLC or individual entrepreneur. In the first case, there will be more trust from customers and partners, and if you want to expand the scope of activities, you can use the help of investors, creditors or invite co-founders. The second option is only suitable if you are going to work in a medium-sized format and have a small amount.
2. Get registered with the statistical authorities, and when hiring staff, draw up documents with the Pension Fund.
3. To work, you will definitely need to open a bank account for a legal entity, where payments from customers will be received.
4. When choosing a taxation system, try to focus on a simplified form.

Market analysis

Where to start a business? After a novice entrepreneur has a brilliant idea to start his own profitable project, this issue worries me the most. When drawing up a business plan for a courier service, you will need to pay attention to the following points:

• Decide on the target audience, find potential customers who your activities will focus on.
• Find out all available information about competitors, their prices, services, promotions, bonuses, opportunities, etc.
• See the situation on the delivery market in your city and understand which of the directions is less busy, but at the same time in demand.

You also need to decide on your capabilities and ambitions. So, it is one thing to organize a courier service as a business in a small format and deliver only papers within the business center of the city, and it is quite another to focus on oversized cargo or long-distance routes outside the selected region. In each case, completely different investments will be required.

Services

What will your courier delivery be aimed at? Potential clients today include:

1. Various private organizations, business centers.
2. Internet shops.
3. Flower stalls.
4. Publishers and printing houses.
5. bookstores.
6. Catering establishments (pizzerias, restaurants).

Such firms do not keep permanent couriers on their staff and it is much more profitable for them to conclude a delivery agreement with a specialized local company. And the more such customers you attract, the more successful your business will be.

To stand out from the competition, consider some special services, for example:

• engage in the delivery of documents, contracts;
• the courier can stand in line and submit papers to any organization;
• perform the services of a trustee;
• express delivery, etc.

seasonality

Please note that a business such as a courier service also has a certain seasonality. When working with online stores or flower stalls, a special demand for this type of service arises before big holidays - New Year, February 23, March 8, etc.

Sales are also very popular these days. It is then that the number of purchases increases significantly and people want the goods to be delivered to them on time. The peculiarity of such a business is that delivery must be made before the expected holiday, that is, in a short time. On such days, it makes sense to increase the staff so that they can cope with orders.

Routes

The real experience of entrepreneurs shows that it is necessary to think over the territorial scope of the future business in advance. So, it is much easier and cheaper to organize courier delivery in your city in cooperation with restaurants or flower shops. And a completely different project format, which implies the movement of large cargo around the country or even abroad.

In the first case, you do not need to rent a large room. Couriers can move around using public transport, bicycles, subways, roller skates, or even on foot. In the second case, large investments and compliance with certain requirements will be required, since it will be necessary to provide a warehouse for storing parcels and a fleet of vehicles for suitable vehicles.

In any case, it is important to learn how to competently plan a route around the city or outside it for each employee. It is necessary to take into account the availability of roads, the presence of traffic jams, the proximity of several customers and much more. It is desirable that the courier be able to make as many successful deliveries as possible in one trip.

If you need to choose a place to house a courier service when working over long distances, then you should focus on the following criteria:

1. Convenient location closer to the city center so that those who wish can pick up their parcels on their own. This service is called "self-delivery" and involves some discounts when paying.
2. Parking is needed near the office, where customers can stop on their vehicles and the couriers themselves.
3. Sometimes it is required to have an airport nearby in order to be able to send cargo using aircraft. This will significantly reduce the delivery time and simplify cooperation with many companies.
4. The size of the premises must be sufficient for receiving visitors, waiting for them, a warehouse for parcels, administrative staff, etc.

couriers

Usually, students or people without education who want to earn extra money and do not have a specialty are hired in such services. Therefore, their wages will not be high. It is most profitable to evaluate labor using a percentage system, depending on completed orders, the distance and complexity of the route, etc.

Carefully select personnel, as the courier is the face of the company. And if employees are rude to customers, spoil the goods, turn out to be dishonest, rude, non-punctual, then this will ruin your business. During the probationary period and at the interview, pay attention to such trifles:

• Whether he fills out the questionnaire completely, answers all the points - this shows interest in the work and a serious attitude.
• Ability to communicate, sociability and courtesy.
• How he maintains documents, fills out invoices, submits reports.
• Does it follow the set schedule, delivers the goods on time.
• Feedback from customers will confirm your opinion about whether to hire such a person.

Customer acquisition

It is not enough to open a courier service from scratch, you also need to advertise it so that many customers use the services. The strategy will also differ from your financial capabilities and the chosen business format.

If there are not so many monetary assets, and cooperation involves working with shops and restaurants, then it is better to use the so-called point impact. That is, you personally draw up a competent and interesting offer for specific companies and communicate with their owners personally. Under mutually beneficial conditions, a contract is signed for the provision of delivery services on order.

In the case of solid financial investments and a wide range of activities in the region, country or beyond, you can use more expensive advertising media:

1. Website on the Internet.
2. Ads.
3. Banners.
4. Posters.
5. Business cards.

Price policy

Pricing becomes a separate issue. To do this, you must definitely study all the offers of competitors in your industry, identify their strengths and weaknesses, learn about discounts and promotions, bonuses that they provide to regular customers. To this end, you can simply call all the courier services in your city and clarify this issue.

You can also focus on low cost services to attract customers at the initial stage or offer interesting and unique additions to the service that your competitors do not have. A careful approach is required so as not to work to the detriment of oneself, but also not to overcharge.

Here you can download for free as a sample.

Financial part

When compiling a business plan, most entrepreneurs are interested in the money issue. What investments will be required to organize the project? It is not possible to give precise figures as there is a strong dependence on the expected scale of activity.

For example, if you need to purchase vehicles for oversized cargo and send them to different cities of Russia, then the costs may exceed 1,000,000 rubles. If you are only engaged in the delivery of food, flowers or documents within a small city, then you just need to pay for the registration of the company in the tax service and spend money on advertising.

Profit can also be completely different. Usually simple delivery costs 50-350 rubles. The margin is considered to be no higher than 10-30%. For a month of operation of a small city-format courier service, such a company will bring its owner about 100,000 rubles of profit. From this amount, you need to make contributions to the state treasury in the form of taxes and pay for the work of couriers.

When organizing a large business, the following items of expenses are assumed:

• rental of premises;
• purchase of transport;
• staff salaries;
• branded uniform;
• automation of work processes;
• purchase of cash registers and their maintenance;
• mobile, fixed telephone communication, Internet;
• advertising campaign;
• stationery;
• fuel;
• taxes;
• various banking services;
• utility bills, etc.

But the profit in this case will be much greater, which will also affect the payback rate. If there is not enough experience in organizational matters or you want to immediately work with a recognizable brand, then you can purchase a franchise of a courier company. In this case, it will be possible to quickly gain the trust of customers and achieve high profits.

Risks

In this type of activity, there are certain difficulties that it is desirable to know about in advance:

1. When drawing up a route and schedule, it is difficult to predict traffic jams and other road obstacles.
2. Quite often there are difficulties with the staff - dishonesty, rudeness with customers, lack of punctuality.
3. There is a "turnover" of personnel because this work is not a permanent place of activity for most couriers. They usually come here for temporary work.
4. When leaving for customers, delivery is not always perfect the first time. Therefore, you need to pay only for the last successful attempt.
5. There are risks of losing correspondence, documents, money or parcels.
6. It is important to constantly monitor the pricing policy, as the cost of services often changes.
7. When cooperating with other cities and firms, difficulties and misunderstandings also arise.
8. There are difficulties in drawing up a successful and profitable route when ordering from different parts of the city.
9. To improve control over the work of couriers, it is advisable to install modern software.
10. When problems arise in communicating with customers, the owner receives feedback from them, sometimes too late to correct the situation.

It is important to remember that in the courier service, work is constantly happening with people, and not with silent parcels. By establishing communication with staff and customers, you can achieve success, and by ignoring one of the parties, you can fail.

Video: how to open a courier service?

If you do not have any special knowledge in a particular area of ​​​​entrepreneurship, this does not mean that you do not have a chance to open your own business. If you have some (not necessarily impressive) amount of money that you are ready to give in favor of developing your business, and an obsessive desire to work, as they say, for yourself, then you should think about how to create a courier delivery service.

This kind of activity does not require special skills or knowledge, the purchase of expensive equipment or the investment of sky-high funds, so this business idea is a great solution for a novice entrepreneur with a limited budget.

Of course, it is better to open such a business in a large settlement, where home delivery services are more in demand, but with perseverance and desire, you can achieve success in any city. Where to start? Of course, the first step is to draw up a business plan to take into account all costs and calculate the possibility of making a profit.

Organization of a courier service: where to start?

So, if the desire to earn income from your personal business is tenaciously stuck in your head, and you don’t know what to do, then this article is just for you.

Legal business requires state registration, so the first step is to go to the tax office and register your type of activity. Then you need to open a current account in the name of the organization in any bank that is beneficial for you (here you will be required to provide documents from the tax service on the registration of your enterprise and a certificate from the State Statistics Committee). In principle, from the formal side of the issue, that's all.

In parallel with the execution of all documents, proceed to the search for an office space. If your budget is very tight, then rent it. In case of success and prosperity in this matter, in the future it will be possible to purchase your own corner.

Then, when writing a business plan for a courier service, take care of the technical side of the issue. Today you can't get anywhere without modern equipment. We need telephone and computer networks, as well as transport. It is desirable that it be your own, although at first you can rent it. If the budget allows, you can create a whole fleet of several cars, as well as get bicycles to deliver mail. And it is even better to hire couriers with personal cars.

The scope of your activity at first, most likely, will be limited to one city. Indeed, at this stage of development, it is important to get a good reputation, and if you deliver orders late, then no one will want to work with you. In order for the business to have a good start, it is recommended to find a couple of large customers who would carry out regular orders. By qualitatively fulfilling the instructions of such customers, you can count on receiving a stable profit, which can immediately be used for advertising.

How to promote your business?

The courier service, like any other business, requires an investment in advertising. Start by creating a website. This marketing tool is considered the most effective today. Do not save on creating your site on the Internet, because in the future it will become the face of your organization. Order a website promotion service for a web company. Its specialists will analyze the market in which you operate and will be able to create a truly competitive resource.

Don't forget to include business card costs in your courier business plan. They should also characterize you from the best side.

A high-quality tactile and eye-catching business card with full information (clearly visible name of your company, all necessary contacts, hours of operation, any special conditions or discounts, etc.) will encourage its owner to contact your courier service again.

Place ads in the most popular newspapers in your city, do not forget about radio and television. And just share information with your friends and acquaintances. This simple form of advertising is often the most effective.

You can also distribute flyers, the presentation of which guarantees the client a discount. It may be quite small, but the opportunity to save at least a little always encourages customers to further cooperation.

Connect fantasy!

Promotions and discounts are, of course, good, but it’s even better to come up with your own “chip”, which can be a decisive factor in choosing a courier organization by a customer. After all, there are many such services today, they compete with each other in the quality and speed of delivery, the cost of their services, etc. But modern people want diversity, and this can play into the hands of a newly minted courier company.

Anything can be your "chip". For example, let female models deal with the delivery of goods, then the circle of your customers (especially males) will definitely increase.

You can hire a few guys of model appearance. Then women will turn to you for services much more often.

To make the ordering process more interesting, create an online catalog on your organization's website in which you place photos of your charming employees and employees.

Thus, leaving a request, the client gets the opportunity to choose the desired couriers provided to him. In general, connect your imagination, creativity is always welcome!

Such a "highlight" of your business will allow you to slightly inflate the cost of your services, but in most cases this will not affect the choice of the client.

Recruitment is important

It is impossible not to include labor costs in your business plan for a courier service. The issue of recruitment must be approached with all responsibility, because only serious and diligent employees will help to get good reviews about the company as a whole. If you do not have experience in the provision of courier services, then it is all the more desirable to hire professionals in this field who will help you establish the whole process and organize the correct work with clients.

Do not hire people who want to make good money and still work from 9 to 6. Such employees usually do not give their best to help grow the business. Before official employment, arrange a trial period of at least a week. This will help to understand how the future employee treats the client, whether he is able to provide the level of service you set.

Price policy

In the matter of setting prices for delivery, you cannot act “at random”, it is important to analyze the cost of such services in your city. You can qualitatively "monitor" information using the Internet, because today every serious company has its own website. But don't just rely on the information you get online. It is better to call the courier service you are interested in.

Usually telephone consultants are very talkative and will tell you about some conditions, promotions or other points that you can use in your activities. And in general, such calls are the best way to find out how the courier service works.

The provision of services for the delivery of documents and goods within the same city usually requires insignificant expenses, therefore, the cost of such delivery should also be small. But do not underestimate your prices too much in order to fully recoup your expenses. To do this, carefully consider all possible exit options and the distances that will need to be overcome. A well-designed pricing policy can recoup all costs in almost three to four months.

Your business abroad?

The homeland of the business we are considering is France, so let's use its example to see how to open a courier delivery service and make good money abroad while in Russia.

If you follow French laws, then the delivery service staff must consist exclusively of French citizens. Therefore, to begin with, find a native Frenchman for the position of director, preferably a friend. You, respectively, as the founder of this organization will need to obtain a visa.

The so-called "merchant card" is long-term and is issued to the founders of legal entities with French registration for a period of 1 to 5 years. Obtaining such a visa entitles its holder to many rights, which will be more than enough to bring your business idea to life. The courier service can now be led by you personally.

What other formalities must be observed in France?

French legislators have clearly determined the entire procedure for the establishment and operation of enterprises with foreign capital.
Therefore, in order to find out how to open a courier delivery service for a citizen of the Russian Federation in this country, you need to carefully familiarize yourself with the norms of local legislation. In general, it all comes down to a few basic questions:

• to begin with, it is necessary to submit all the registration documents of the founder to the commercial court of the city you have chosen for carrying out activities;
• after considering the above papers, the commercial court decides on the registration of the enterprise in the unified commercial register;
• after that, you can apply for a “merchant card”;
• obtaining a residence permit for a period of 1 year; if you become the head of your courier service, then it is automatically extended for the duration of your leadership.

Summing up

After reading this article, you have a general knowledge of how to open a courier delivery service and how to start working in the domestic or foreign market for these services. In general, the most painstaking activities require the recruitment, organization of work processes and their improvement, as well as the policy to attract customers.

Your individuality and creative approach to work is also important - only interesting and exclusive projects reach the desired heights.

Remember to take all these points into account when you write your courier service business plan.