Franking Machines: A Buyer's Guide
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By investing in a franking machine, you can benefit your business in numerous ways.
- A franking machine can save time in trips to the post office, and you don’t even need to leave the office to put credit on the machine as this can be done by phone or over the internet.
- In addition, a franking machine will speed up the stamping process, as franking machines can stamp anything between 100 and 10,000 letters an hour.
- As well as saving time, using a franking machine will also save you money.
- On first and second class mail, you can make savings of up to 3p per item on postage costs.
- Your expenditure on postage is documented too, making it easier to track costs.
- Another advantage to sending out franked mail is that your personalised company logo will be on all mail, giving your brand greater visibility and enabling better recall.
You can choose between buying, leasing and renting a franking machine. The advantages of leasing or renting a franking machine are that the machine will be inspected annually and the manufacturer will service the machine. If you lease a franking machine, the money you pay on an annual or monthly basis can at the end of the leasing contract be put towards the cost of buying the machine. You should work out whether it would be more cost-effective to buy the machine outright, and have to pay for service and repairs, or whether renting or leasing would be the better option. If you are planning to have the machine for a long period of time however, buying outright may be the more economical option.
As a new franking machine can cost anything up to £22,000, you may wish to purchase a second hand franking machine. If you do purchase a second hand machine then you will need to register the machine and re-license it with Royal Mail. Also, beware of buying second hand franking machines that have become a prohibited item. This happens when machines are not returned at the end of the lease period, and they then cannot be re-licensed. You can find out if the franking machine is prohibited by checking the serial number with the manufacturer.
There are several components that you should take into consideration when purchasing a franking machine. For example, there is the feeder which feeds the envelopes through the machine and attaches the exact postage. This can be automatic or semi-automatic, and if you choose an automatic feeder, this will increase the price of the machine. There is the sealer, which seals the envelope. Stackers can come in the form of a tray or an automatic stacker. As you may expect, choosing an automatic stacker will increase the cost of the machine. A tape dispenser may also be a consideration, which is used when a stamp cannot be placed on a package. There are pre-cut dispensers (which are cheaper), or dispensers with a roll of tape.
The price of postage is dependent on the weight of the package; therefore you will need a scale to weigh letters. Digital scales are attached to the franking machine and automatically enter the amount, whereas if you choose spring scales you will have to manually enter the amount into the franking machine. Spring scales are less expensive, and for low volume mailing are sufficient.
Bear in mind that with franked mail, you must post the item on the day of franking or it will not be valid. However, if you miss the post can use a late posting envelope (which can be provided by your supplier). Also note that if your business changes address, you will need to contact Royal Mail and your franking machine supplier to register the new address.
