Do you send hundreds of letters or parcels a week through your business? Then you will most likely benefit from investing in a franking machine. A franking machine essentially weighs your mail, provides accurate postage, and then stamps it for proof right in the comfort of your office. All your employees will need to do is head down to the local post office or business posting box to drop the mail off – making it a much more convenient and seamless mailing process.
If you’re considering getting a franking machine for the office, we’ve created this list of the top 7 benefits of a franking machine to help you decide if it’s right for your business.
1. Save Money on Postage Costs
Did you know that franking machines can save you up to 34% on sending your business mail? Not only does the machine weigh your mail accurately to make it easier for you to select the correct postage amount, but Royal Mail also offers significant discounts on postal charges for businesses who frank their mail.
They offer these discounts because dealing with franked mail is a lot cheaper for them than issuing stamps and processing stamped mail – so it’s a win-win for everyone involved. Currently, Royal Mail offers a 12% discount on all franked mail. This can make a huge difference for both small and larger businesses.
2. Improve Efficiency in the Office
Franking machines can improve efficiency in the office since it’s quick and easy to prepare your mail and employees won’t need to spend countless hours sticking stamps and return address stickers on letters and travelling to the post office to stand in long queues. Thanks to machine automation, not only will the postage marks on your franked mail be more consistent but staff can work on more important tasks elsewhere to help propel your business further.
3. Present a Professional Image
With a franking machine, you have the ability to include your company logo, slogan or a message on the envelope or label of your post, such as your latest deals and discounts or whether the mail is urgent. This helps present a more professional image to the businesses or customers you’re sending your mail to, and they’ll be more likely to open a letter with your brand name on it.
4. Increased Security
Using a franking machine is far more secure than stamping your mail as you won’t have stamp books lying around the office. Franking machines also typically have pin code access to ensure that only authorised employees are able to use the machine. This also applies to accessing reports that track the monthly spending of franking and which department used the machine most often.
5. More Accurate
Since franking machines have their own built-in scales, you can be confident that the measured weight of your mail will always be accurate. This is important as it means the machine will be able to calculate the correct amount of postage every time, so you won’t underpay or overpay postage, and your clients/customers/business partners won’t be put in a position where they’ll need to pay to receive your mail.
6. Automatic Updates
Franking machines require an internet connection in order to work, which also means that they will download and implement automatic postage updates as and when they are available. So, rather than your employees using extra brain power to figure out any new postal rates, services and Royal Mail products, the machine will do it all for you.
7. Easier to Account For
Lastly, both you and your finance team will need to know your monthly expenses and that, of course, means your postage too. With a franking machine, you can easily keep track of all your postage costs and compile them into a report which can be printed anytime you need.
Whether you’ve just bought a franking machine or are unsure of how easy it is to use, take a look at our step-by-step guide on how to use a franking machine.
For more information, check out our franking machine and mailer solutions page and contact our team today to talk through your business needs.