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Courier services are booming amid the rapid expansion of e-commerce. In order to take advantage of this growth and ensure a successful courier business, you'll primarily need to deliver parcels on time and with care, while committing to great customer service. Also, there's a host of other factors to consider even before you're ready to start making deliveries.
Read on to learn the important points of launching a courier business, including the skills, qualifications and equipment to help you deliver success.
While there are no formal requirements needed to open up a courier business, having experience in deliveries and being familiar with your local area will be big advantages.
One of your first big decisions is to work out whether you want to start your own branded courier business or join an existing courier company as a franchisee. Becoming a courier franchisee allows you to collect and deliver parcels in an exclusive regional area with an existing brand. The advantage of buying a courier franchise is that you will benefit from the reputation, marketing campaigns, training and ongoing support with the brand. Most franchise relationships are set up so that you will also gain the exclusive management of a regional area.
Running a courier business can be a physically demanding job, especially if you are just starting out and have limited resources. Couriers must have superb organisation and time management skills, as the speed and reliability of your deliveries are becoming more critical than ever.
As a courier business owner, you will need to be able to coordinate and schedule your workload by estimating how long deliveries may take, how many couriers you'll need and how much to charge your customer.
The common business structures in this country are Sole Trader, Partnership and Company (Public or Proprietary). When you officially register your business, you must identify the type of business you are operating.
The amount of control you intend to have over the business, its costs and tax implications are among the key considerations for your business structure. If you're not sure which path to choose, reach out to an accountant for more guidance. Our guide to structuring your business can help too.
If you are considering using a heavy vehicle, you will need to register the vehicle and hold the appropriate licence. The following types of vehicles are classified as heavy vehicles:
You do not strictly need to have any formal qualifications to become a courier. However, you will need to have a valid driver's licence for the vehicle you are driving. You might want to explore your options around online courses as a starting point, especially if you intend to give training to others in the delivery process, systems and areas of operation relevant to your enterprise.
Access thousands of courses from some of Australia's leading providers.
You can set up a courier business with relatively low overheads, which includes:
To operate the business efficiently, you may also consider software for managing tasks such as:
It is important to have all the relevant legal documents in place before you start operating your business. Legal documents help protect your business and in many cases, clarify your responsibilities as a business versus that of your customers or employees.
Documents that you may need to set up a courier business include:
With many of the legal documents required, you can access a number of free templates (see the table below) to get started. You may also want to consult with a lawyer to get a full picture of the regulations around the courier business. You can request a free quote for lawyers services through a number of websites, including:
From social media pages to online reviews, there are many ways you can grow your customer base and in turn, sales. Some practical, easy to implement ways to do this include:
According to the online marketplace Oneflare, the average domestic courier cost is $9 for a standard parcel, whereas international parcels usually cost between $25 to $85.
A courier business usually has fixed pricing, which varies owing to the following factors:
Let's have a look at two of the major Australian courier and postal services. Sendle usually charges $6.96 for a one-off 500g & A4 satchel if it's being delivered to the same city, or $8.50 for interstate delivery. Australia Post typically charges the same parcel a flat fee of $8.95. The figures stated in this article were correct as of November 2020.
Is owning a courier business profitable?
Thanks to the growing trend of online shopping, the Australian courier market is set to grow at a rate of 2.5% until 2021. While the courier business is currently dominated by the major players, such as Australia Post, we are also seeing a disruption to the industry with local startups such as Sendle, Go People and Zoom2U.
Generally speaking, if you are looking to buy a courier franchise, you can potentially earn a gross income of between $80,000 and $170,000 depending on the area of operations. Technically, the sky's the limit if you're in charge of your own company and you're willing to put the hard yards in.
How can I grow my courier business?
The most sure-fire way to grow your business is to provide exceptional customer service through speed, reliability and proactive communications. Effective marketing is also crucial when you're just starting out and this can be as easy as contacting local businesses in your area or listing your business on Google. You may also expand your local operations through online marketplaces such as Airtasker. Another effective way to grow your business is to reach out to your customers for reviews and referrals.
How much do couriers make?
According to Payscale, a courier in Australia typically makes between $19.25 to $28.79 per hour. The average tenure of a courier is one to three years. If you need to employ couriers, keep in mind these rates as you launch and scale your company.