Courier Business Stuff

As I’ve said in the past, I’m firmly of the opinion that high fuel prices, road charging, congestion charges and anything else that encourages car users off the roads are a good thing for the transport industry in general and the same-day courier industry in particular.

This report from the AA seems to back up my view. It quotes Government figures estimating that car traffic during April, May and June 2008 was 2% down on the same period last year. The report goes on to say that 55% of AA members who answered a recent poll claimed to Read More…

Posted under Fuel Prices

The row between the Greater Manchester Momentum Group (GMMG) and the Association of Greater Manchester Authorities (AGMA) over the Manchester Congestion Charge has caught my attention this week.

I’ve mentioned before that I’m broadly behind a congestion charge for Manchester, the mechanics of actually paying the charge are an issue for me and I can see a good case for making commercial vehicles exempt, but on the whole I’m in favour of anything that discourages commuting by car. This can only be a long-term benefit for same day couriers in the Manchester area.

According to this report in the Manchester Evening News, GMMG have come up with their own alternative proposal to the congestion charge and are suggesting that Manchester’s public transport improvements should be funded not by a congestion charge, but by a 2p in the pound increase in business rates and Read More…

Posted under Tolls, Charges & Fines

Following on from my recent post What Details Need to Appear on a VAT Invoice for Courier Services in the UK?  I thought it might be useful to supply an editable invoice template to illustrate exactly what’s needed and to maybe provide a starting point for to enable same day couriers to design their own invoices which meet all the legal and business requirements.

Download the template here (MS Excel template file) or view it as a Read More…

Posted under Accounting Systems, Courier Basics, Courier Business, VAT

There are strict, but thankfully very simple, rules for what needs to appear on a VAT invoice in the UK.

To satisfy HMRC you need to include on your invoice:

The date of issue of the invoice.
A sequential number that uniquely identifies the invoice.
Your business’s name, address and VAT registration number.
The name and address of your customer.
Your customer’s VAT registration number (only if they’re VAT registered in another EU country and you’re invoicing without VAT).
The date of supply of services (the date you did the work).
A description of the services supplied (from a VAT point of view ‘Courier work’ would be OK – your customer may want more detail).
The VAT rate applied (normally 17.5%).
Total amount of VAT payable.
The total amount payable for the whole invoice excluding VAT.
The total amount of VAT charged at each VAT rate (normally just one entry for the 17.5% rate).
The unit price of the services supplied and the number of units charged for – if this is normal practice for your industry (as far as I’m aware it isn’t normal practice in the courier industry) or required by your customer. In practice you can ignore this unless you charge your customer by an agreed price per mile or hour worked AND they’ve asked you to include the figure on your invoice. For example ’200 miles @ 70p/plm’.

To satisfy Companies House and Trading Standards:

If your business trades under a name other that its actual Read More…

Posted under Accounting Systems, Courier Basics, Courier Business, Courier Financial Issues, Late Payment, VAT

This article Benefits of electric vans now outweigh concerns has caused some chatter over the weekend, with various claims that ‘courier companies’ will soon start opting for electric vans as a matter of course.

These claims seem to be based on recent decisions by the likes of TNT to make ‘significant’ purchases of vehicles from Smith Electric Vehicles www.smithelectricvehicles.com. While this is an encouraging step forward I think that TNT’s claim to be running “world’s largest zero emissions fleet” needs to be put in perspective. By November 2009 TNT will have acquired 150 7.5-tonne electric vehicles for use in the UK, that’s much less than 10% of their fleet – without taking into consideration the thousands Read More…

Posted under Vans

www.payontime.co.uk

www.payontime.co.uk/doctor/doctor_main.html

The Late Payment of Commercial Debts (Interest) Act 1998 gives you the right to claim interest and compensation for late payments.

This is a statutory right – your customer doesn’t have to agree to it, you don’t have to inform them in advance that you intend to charge them if they pay late and you are not permitted to agree in advance to waive late payment fees unless a suitable alternative form of late payment penalty is agreed.

For invoices up to £999.99 you can charge £40 PER LATE INVOICE. For invoices of between £1,000.00 and £9,999.99 you can charge £70 PER INVOICE. You can also charge interest on a daily basis, currently at a rate of 13% per annum.

You don’t charge VAT on the late payment or the interest and you don’t charge the late payment fee on a recurring basis.

You don’t HAVE to charge the late payment fee but unless you’ve specifically agreed to waive the fee the late payer still owes it to you EVEN AFTER THEY’VE PAID THE ORIGINAL DEBT. The Read More…

Posted under Courier Basics, Courier Business, Courier Financial Issues, Late Payment, Legal Issues

It may seem a counter-intuitive opinion to be held by the owner of a same day courier company, but I’m really all for the introduction of these congestion charges, toll roads, low-emission zones and other forms of road charging. I just wish they’d get their act together over the charging though and consolidate all the charging systems into one automated system operating across the UK.

The proposed Manchester Congestion Charge is the perfect example of a system which takes no account whatsoever of the sheer nuisance factor of these charges for people who travel around the country regularly.

Regular visitors to the congestion zone will have the benefit of a pre-pay ‘tag’ system linked to an account which is automatically debited as they enter and leave the zone.

If you’re not a regular visitor, say a courier based in another part of the country, you’ll apparently be able to pay via a call centre or the internet, although this may be subject to a surcharge.

The problem with this is the sheer complexity of the proposed charging system in Manchester. With the London Congestion Charge it’s a simple enough matter for a courier to work out, at the end of the day sometimes, whether they strayed into the Zone and whether they’ve got a Congestion Charge Read More…

Posted under Tolls, Charges & Fines