Starting Up a Couriers Business - The Boxby Tips for Survival during a Credit Crunch.
(8) Flexible Van Finance for Couriers & Delivery Companies
In the previous article we outlined the difference between contract hires and Hire Purchases for Van finance. However, the current credit crunch is putting couriers in a tricky situation for van finance. Many couriers & delivery companies who have happily used Contract Hire's in the past are currently reluctant to take out new 3 year contracts, simply because the industry is suffering during the downturn, and very few courier companies are able to state with confidence that they know their workloads are not going to decrease over the next few months.
For anyone in this situation, Boxby has found the perfect solution - Flexx28. A van finance method whereby you are only committed for 28 days. Therefore, if you're workloads decrease, you know that you can quickly cut your van costs and your fleet size, without incurring buyout costs, penalties, interest and other surcharges.
 |
|
Trading as a courier during a recession is a very tough business. You can only deliver what your customers are selling, and at present not many are selling. Many couriers have lost regular contracts and so one of the most important things for couriers to consider to help them survive the recession is to try and keep as many costs variable as possible. This means, that if the work dries up for a reason, that you can react quickly and cut your costs. All established couriers and delivery companies know that there is nothing worse than walking out of your office and looking at a yard of parked up vans, you want your vans out there earnign money for you.
Contract Hires have been the favourite method of van finance now for a few years, as they've offered couriers the chance to pay monthly rentals, which can be claimed against Tax, and which were frequently cheaper than the payments that they would pay under a HP. The only drawback is that you are tied into a two or three year contract, and getting out of that contract could prove either difficult or costly.
There are many couriers now that have vans coming to the end of their contract hires, and couriers are wary about taking out new fixed long term contracts during a recession. It's also a tricky time to buy vans too, because although the prices of new vans are falling, so are the resale prices of secondhand vans, and its either difficult or expensive to get the finance to buy outright.
Flexx28 is the credit crunch busting solution to this. If you feel that you would like a short term solution to tie you over until your are more certain about the trading situation of your courier services business, then Flexx28 can be used to fill that gap, because you can secure vans on a rolling 28 day agreement. If you want a longer term solution then you can take that too, but you still have the security of knowing that if you need to, 28 days notice is all it takes to end the contract.
