How to get started as an owner driver courier / independent contractor

If you?re planning to make a living as an owner-driver courier, the best way to start is to find work for a while with courier companies in your area. The following sections will help you know what they expect. Many courier companies refuse to take on beginners, so you need to set yourself up properly, as described below, to give yourself the best chance of succeeding.

Courier companies need couriers like you to carry out the work, so it?s the obvious place to start. Once you have learned the ropes working for a single courier company as an owner driver, you can, if you want, go out and get courier work for more than one courier company.

In the meantime, to get yourself started, you can find the contact details of courier companies throughout the UK, and especially your local ones, using the internet, or if you still have one, a copy of the Yellow Pages. Arrange to pop in to the local ones for a quick chat, and to show them your van and your documents, and above all, to let them get to know you.

Don?t emphasise the fact that you?re ?new?, rather that you?re ?available?. ?New? is good for washing powder, but disastrous for couriers.

Then phone up all the courier companies within 20 miles of you, and introduce yourself.

Ask them if they need any couriers at the moment, either overflow or regular. Some of them will ask you to turn up to see them. Others will ask you to write in. Others will say ?I?ll keep your number on file?. They?re the ones who may need several friendly phone calls to encourage them to remember you?re there. Write down as you go along who you spoke to and what they said, and make a note in a diary to call again the following week. Don?t be shy about calling several times. In fact that?s quite normal. And feel free to pop in to their control room, especially on a Friday morning, when they may well need more couriers, to give yourself a better chance of a result. You just have to wait till they are short of couriers. When they are, suddenly their attitude will change, and they?ll invite you in. Get the email address of those who sound interested, and email them your Goods in Transit insurance certificate, and a covering letter including a photograph of you and your smart clean van. It?s a bit of effort, but it will help your chances. When you have sent the email, give them another call the next day to check that they got it, and to ask if you can go and see them.

I strongly advise against sending letters or emails out without phoning first. All you?ll do is waste paper and postage, and worse still, you risk annoying people with your pointless junk mail.

As an owner-driver courier (independent contractor), you will be a self-employed subcontractor when working for the courier company. The relationship is similar to that between a householder and a plumber. The courier company (your customer) makes no tax deductions from your money; you are paid to get the job done, using your equipment, in the way that you see fit, and at your risk. This kind of relationship with the courier company means you are responsible for your own income tax and national insurance contributions, as this is not a contract of employment.

As an owner-driver courier you are at liberty to work for more than one courier company. In fact, many courier companies positively encourage this, as if you only have one customer (the one courier company) it may be argued by the tax authorities that you are an employee. This would be bad for both you and especially for the courier company.

Once you?ve got the hang of working for one courier company, it?s possible that working for several courier companies will help you make more money. You make yourself available on one of the courier work exchanges, such as www. mtvan. com, and bid for work from other courier members. Obviously, you have to avoid any risk of messing up work for one courier company because of work you?re doing for another.

You need also to be very careful to look after the commercial secrets of all the courier companies you deliver for. This obviously means not talking about customers and prices. You should take very seriously your own reputation for reliability, availability, discretion, and value. It?ll take a long time to build it, and possibly seconds to destroy it.

Only ever promise what you can deliver, and once you?ve promised it, deliver it, make sure the courier company knows you?ve delivered it, and make sure that you can prove that you have delivered it.

As an owner-driver courier, you won?t receive any payment to cover holidays or sickness. You are only paid for the delivery work you carry out, and you can choose your hours of availability yourself. Obviously, the more you?re available, and the more helpful you are, the more work you?ll be offered.

Courier owner drivers are typically paid an agreed percentage of whatever the courier company is charging the customer per job. Each company will advise you what the percentage is in your area and for your vehicle type. You should therefore enquire about their prices (to their customers), so you know what you?re being paid a percentage of.

Rates to the customer vary by area and by van size, but generally a small van (in the UK) is charged out at between 75p and

When choosing the right Atlanta Roofing Contractor you need to 5 general citeria about the company and operations

1. )

How To Choose An Atlanta Roofing Contractor

It can be alarming to learn the requirements to be a roofer in Georgia. Georgia currently has no state standards for roofing professionals. This means that the burden of qualifying the reputation and competition is left to the homeowners. Taking extra time to check the background of your roofing contractor is recommended before entering into an agreement to replace the roof.