Thanks for posting & giving the new drivers a detailed insight! My partner and I have been watching your videos and others in the community for a while, we have taken the plunge and set up our courier business which we hope to launch soon! Thanks to the info you guys share & we are looking forward to becoming part of the community - Emma B :)
Im in the same position as you were once. What's your feedback having started recently and what van did you puchsse for your first van? I want to go self employed full time as a courier and I'm thinking of buying a van and taking the plunge
@@Snypa_fx We have got a MWB Ford Custom Transit, registered business, correct insurances etc. but we haven't started yet due to other commitments. We are planning to get some work on the run up to Christmas. I would recommend planning all potential costs out, ensuring you have enough to cover it (and some). Best of luck & let us know how you get on.
I don't like using the CX app for ETAs to pickup because it doesn't include live traffic information and it can be out by a huge margin. I generally try and put my destination into google maps and get an ETA from there.
Helpful video mate, thank you. Can I ask why you don’t invoice CX jobs via the FM system in the dashboard? You know you can sync the whole lot with your accounting software (we use Xero for example) so that invoices internal and external to the CX are all together inside Xero, regardless of whether we generate the invoice via CX’s FM system.
Good sound advice James, you shouldn’t have paid that driver anything. So on that basis can I have a cancellation fee for that job I couldn’t do yesterday?
@@JamesFletcherVlogs Hi there, I was just wondering. Could this work? As you quote for the job, is it not a good idea drop all the info such as Cancellation fee, waiting time fee and all that in to the description? If they agree on the job with all the information you pit there, could this be enough? Thank you
Hi I am trying to join CX, I had initial phone call already but they saying there is a fee of £1600 for joining, that put me off, is this normal?? Please advice!! Thank you..
Hi Lawrence, yeh they charge a years membership upfront. I won’t advise you do NOT join at the moment. There is very little work and the work that’s there is going super cheap.
People don't read the notes. CX as set it up that no need to be able to read or write in English. There are so many on cx they just see from to. Bang a price in. Or some of the really stupid don't know what van they got. don't know how tall through the doors. Don't know the payload. If I have a customer around the corner they get a price from around the corner I can't tell them it's £30 more today because the vans 30 mile away. Dead miles are part of the job. If you were 30 miles from your factory job would you expect to be paid from leaving home or when you click on.
Yeh I’ve come across a lot of drivers that don’t know their own van size or capabilities. And when it comes to the extra charge I mentioned it’s just because I know a fair few drivers that do that, I’m not saying it’s right but drivers can explain there charges.
The CX is big part of the problem. The day of checking if a perspective new member knew the industry as gone, it's now take anyone with a van. I have lost a customer to a bottom feeder. The customer told me a van pulled in to collect food products and asked if he could leave his cement mixer there and collect on the way back. Black Friday CX giving the first 200 new members 50% off. Do you think they had 200 established companies take the offer.
Good advice but I recommend barely even reading the job. Just get your price in immediately and then read through the job carefully and if it's not what you thought then just cancel your quote. It's fastest finger first in the rat race that the CX is and by carefully reading jobs you will loose countless jobs to other drivers who were quicker with their quotes. Just my opinion.
Hi I just wanted to ask I’m thinking of delivery and what type of things would I need like insurance wise do I need adr. And what advice would you give and do I also need to be self employed
Hi mate, Honestly if your not already doing it I wouldn’t try start now but if you still want to you need - be either sole trader or ltd company - A van - hire and reward insurance - goods in transit insurance - public liability insurance - enough money to run for 2 months before being paid. It’s very expensive to start up and a very saturated market at the moment
I’m 22 so just thinking of a side hustle was already deciding to buy a van any coz of trade so I’m just seeing what options I can play with and tbh with the way I drive a lot it will be better to do something productive and giving me money back.
@@JamesFletcherVlogs I’m 22 so just thinking of a side hustle was already deciding to buy a van any coz of trade so I’m just seeing what options I can play with and tbh with the way I drive a lot it will be better to do something productive and giving me money back.
Hi. Good video. Is there much manual labour involved in all these jobs? No cardio left after covid. Looking for some decent paying work that doesn't require lifting.
Honestly pal, it’s not the job to get into at the moment. It’s very oversaturated, a lot of people are struggling to find work and it cost a hell of a lot to start up.
The price ?? Court exchange?? Its beer money isn’t it ? Courier exchange themselves do absolutely great out of it though i think its great for them and shippers
I try not go with the ETA's on the CX they're usually far too ambitious. I use Google Navigation to give me a rough estimate. But you also have to use a bit of common sense too. For example if you know you're going to be hitting a built up area after half 4ish you know traffic is going to increase and add to you're time. Better to give a realistic ETA based on knowledge and experience rather than give an ambitious one based on hopes and dreams.
Yeh I agree it can be abit unrealistic from time to time, I just mean it’s always a good idea to give an eta on the bid. I’ve had many people tell me 20 mins and an hour later they arrive 🤦🏻♂️
There is no average wage per week pal, it all depends on if you bid cheap enough to fight off all the competition. Unless you have your own customers and are using it for a backload site I wouldn’t recommend
How would you recommend getting work m8. I’m new to it all and don’t know where to start. I applied for shiply but they Havant yet activated my application yet. It’s been 3 weeks so wanted to try find something to go at.
hi Thanks for your videos i watched most of them . i am new in that curier business and i use the courier App wich is free (because i wasn't sure the curier bussiness works for me or not ) now i am ready to buy a curier app but i confused with that wich one is works for me can you help me please (send me a link please). i living in Birmingham and have small van which i update it with bigger van also i need your opinions about that. Thanks🎉
Hi Pal, Honestly i don't know what to recommend the courier exchange has the most jobs but is also massively over saturated, the other apps dont have enough work. so i honestly couldn't recommend them maybe try local Birmingham companies and sub contract for them.
Did you know to do site clearances you need a waste carriers licence and tell your insurance it costs about 365 +vat for 3 years my insurance told me that they wanted £1500 a year their are many types
30 minutes of free waiting time! Why would I give my precious time for free? Free waiting time is a myth! It's misunderstood by some drivers and misinterpreted by a few shippers. I calculate my quote based on journey time I assume that the goods will be ready when I arrive and delivery will go smoothly as expected. However, I understand it may not be possible sometimes and I am giving you 10 or 15 minutes of my precious time for free if, If, and only if I make that collection and delivery within that time period. If not, minute 16 you owe me 16 minutes. I won't deduct that first 10_15 minutes from the overall waiting time. By the way, this is not only my opinion, this is how it is. This is the way big courier companies operate. I see some shippers dictate their terms on drivers but I encourage you to ignore it guys. There is no such thing as *first 10/15/30 free* it is free if, only if you can turn up within that period. I am not talking about loading/unloading time by the way. For any unexpected time loss caused by you or your customer, we discuss waiting time and it's not free. Remember, you hire me like you hire a minicab. Minicab won't wait for free more than 5 minutes
I’ve been in this industry around 13-14 years now and we have always offered 30 minutes free before waiting time starts. You do you pal whatever works for you.
@@JamesFletcherVlogs We all offer some time before considering waiting time charges but once that time is up, the customer missed the opportunity to avoid waiting time charges and that also includes the first 10/15/30 minutes. All you have to do is pass that charges to your customers who are responsible for that delay. There is no deductible-free waiting time. The true application of it is : *[make sure you don't waste my time more than 10/15/30 minutes, otherwise you would be liable for charges including the first 10/15/30 minutes]* This will ensure your customer will make it in time next time and the contractor is not pissed off. If you go and look at the terms of conditions of some of the courier companies on the Web, some of them have clarified it fully. Mini-cab companies are also the same. Even deliveroo and uber eats are the same. I have been on cx for years and never ever deduct such free time from total waiting time once I consider waiting time charges. Nobody complained about it so far except for a few newbies on CX. The links below will show you how courier companies approach the matter in their terms of conditions. www.ecourier.co.uk/terms-and-conditions/ speedyfreight.com/terms-and-conditions/
