Everything you need to know on one page!

This is the essential guide to getting started as a courier.

Everything on this page is based on my own experience and my opinions. Not everything will be right for you, but you can follow it to start with, then learn from other people and your own experience.

How the business works

This is how it works:

A customer calls a courier to get a load taken from A to B.
The courier will either do the job, or find another courier to do it for them at a lower rate — this is called ‘subbing’.
They agree a price and the subby does the job
The customer pays the first courier and eventually the courier pays the subby.
You should start off as a subby. You will be self–employed and drive your own van as an owner driver (OD).

When you have done this for a couple of months you will probably want to get your own customers, and maybe sub some work out to other ODs.

Before you start

These are some things you need to know before you start:

Don‘t call yourself ‘freelance’ because everybody will think you are an amateur.
There is no easy money in it — you will work hard and work long hours.
You have to do it full time and give it 100% commitment.
You will need a van, not a car.
You will not ‘make’ £250 a day — your income will be around £400–£700 a week when you are busy, but you will have to pay around £150 a week for fuel, your insurance will be around £20 a week, and your van at least £75 a week.
You will need £5,000 to £10,000 in the bank before you start, to cover all your costs for a few months. You will have to pay a lot of costs up front, but you won‘t ge paid for 6–10 weeks after you do the work.

Setting up

These are the things you need to do to set up on your own as an owner driver.

know what you are talking about

Read about the business and understand how it works, and what it all means.

Print a copy of the courier‘s glossary, join codforum and read all the topics.

make plans

Do some serious research and put together a simple business plan, including:

where your work is going to come from
what rates you will charge
what your income will be, and when
what your outgoings will be, and when
sort out your money
Set up a business bank account. The bank manager might want to see a business plan.

You don’t have to have an accountant but you might want one to take care of your accounts and records, wages and tax calculations etc.

If you are self-employed you have to tell the tax man within three months. You don’t have to register for VAT straight away, but it’s easier if you do.

get a van

Rent a plain white van from Norflex. Start with a small van like a Combo — you will be able to swap it for a different size later, and you won’t have to worry about servicing or breakdowns.

Make sure you know what weight and size of load your van will safely carry.

get insured

You will need van insurance, goods–in–transit insurance, and public liability insurance. You should be abe to pay monthly.

get some equipment

The basic equipment is:

PPE (personal protective equipment) — hi–viz vest, steel toe shoes, gloves, hard hat. You can buy them from places like Screwfix, workwear shops and tool shops.
Ratchet straps — to take at least twice your payload weight. You will need these to hold heavy loads in place, and to stop small loads sliding about
A mobile phone and hands–free kit.
Satnav — not essential, but cheaper than a set of maps, and easier to use, and also lets you work out mileages for quoting.
A computer with internet access and a reasonable quality printer.

get some business stationery

You will need some business cards and letterheads — don’t waste time with flyers to start with.

You will also need some delivery notes or ‘PODs’. You can print your own and use carbon paper for copies, or get a duplicate book, or get some carbonless ones printed.

You don’t need special invoices — print them on your ordinary letterheads.

start looking for work

The first thing to do is to visit all your local courier companies — don’t send letters, don’t call yourself freelance, and don’t ask to speak to the ‘collections controller’.

When you speak to couriers tell them:

what van you’ve got
what weight and size of load it will carry (how many standard pallets or Euro pallets)
what insurances you’ve got
when you are available — try to make it 24/7
Start with the small courier companies that have got a few vans and drivers of their own. Then try the OD businesses. Don’t bother with the ‘big boys’ like TNT or DHL.

When you have visited all the local couriers, try the ones further away — up to 40 minutes away. Then call the ones up to an hour away.

don’t fall for the scams!

Don’t join anything where you have to pay an up–front charge, or a weekly or monthly fee, to get work — they are mostly scams.

If you do want to sign up for something that looks OK, check on the forums first to see if anybody else is a member.

carry on networking

Now you are ready to go, join one of the courier sheds (like Shed 5 or Fetch it Now), and introduce yourself to the other members. These sites advertise available subby work, and you will be able to make some useful contacts on their forums.

Doing the job

Now that you are ready to go you will hopefully get some work — so how do you do it?

There is more information in the new subbies checklist but the basics are:

somebody asks you to quote for a job, you give them an ETA and a price
if they agree, they give you the collection address and you do the job
you call them when you’ve collected, and again on the journey if there are any problems
you deliver the goods and get a POD signed
you call in with the POD details, then you send them the POD

Getting paid

You can send your invoice with the POD, or weekly or monthly.

Expect to get paid a week or two after the end of the following month.

If payment doesn’t turn up, call them, send a statement, then send a letter, and call them in between as well.

Avoiding problems

Here are some ideas to help you avoid some common problems:

Try to work for at least 6 different couriers or customers — if you rely on one or two and they go bust, you will probably go down too.
Keep good records of your jobs, invoices, etc, including copies of all PODs in case the originals get lost in the post.
Keep on top of invoices — don’t let them go too long without payment, and don’t work for anybody who owes for more than one month’s worth.
Keep any promises you make, and don’t make promises you can’t keep.
Don’t over–commit yourself — for example, taking on too many part loads, giving an ETA for backloads.
Pay all your bills on time.