Do you know what it costs for you to maintain even one driver for deliveries?  (for worksheet, click here)

A lot of companies keep their own, in-house drivers on board for various reasons.  Whether you keep one driver around for emergency work or are maintaining a whole fleet, it is important to break down the costs of maintaining that convenience.  Because you have other employees, you may not think about many of the hidden costs beyond payroll for keeping your own drivers.  Review the worksheet (click here) to see how the costs break down; each category is explained below and addresses why using Crystal Courier can save you time, money, and stress.

Driver:  The starting rate for a driver in a courier service is anywhere from $9.25-$13.00 an hour.  At $10.00 an hour, that driver is costing you $1733.33 a month. But that’s only payroll!!  When you factor in any health benefits or other perks that you provide, plus worker’s compensation insurance, taxes, and any related fees, the cost of that one driver (estimated conservatively) is $2345.33 per month.  All of our drivers at Crystal Courier Service are full-time, salaried employees, not contract workers.  The laws around contract workers are tricky and if you use contract drivers and don’t meet every single requirement by the state, your company will be held liable for any insurance claims that may come up (see Insurance section below).

Vehicle: Purchasing and maintaining a vehicle, or vehicles, for everyday use is expensive.  The amortization schedule on any vehicle hits you hard, and if you choose to lease or carry a note on a vehicle, the expenses just continue to go out the window.

Business Insurance:  It is harder to get business insurance for vehicle coverage than it is as an individual and there’s more at stake.  You must cover each vehicle completely and comprehensively, otherwise, your company could be held liable for even the smallest accident, and the entire company’s assets are at stake.  Some companies choose to keep their drivers on as contract workers and think that exempts them from liability.  The laws regarding contract workers are complex and have numerous loopholes.  Recently, a dental laboratory running their own work had a contract driver in a serious accident, thought they were covered, but because of an oversight, faced a suit of $6,000,000.00!! 

Gasoline/ Fuel: We all know that the cost of fuel tends to fluctuate over time.  In recent years, the prices have gone up significantly.  This can dramatically affect your budgeting from month to month.  At Crystal Courier Service, your prices will remain the same despite the weekly, sometimes daily, fluctuations.  If prices rise consistently over time, we will do our best to carry those costs until we can assess where the costs are stabilizing.  If we change our rates due to these fluctuations, you will be notified in advance and have a chance to budget accordingly.

Repairs/ Maintenance: The regular maintenance on a vehicle is expensive (oil changes and filters every 3,000 miles, tire rotation and replacement, air filters, transmission fluid, brake pads and rotors, radiator upkeep).  Even more expensive, however, are the not-so-regular but must-be-done maintenance items: timing belts, water pumps, new tires, brake rotors, transmissions, engine mounts, etc, etc. Beyond those, you have the entirely unexpected issues- cars broken down on the side of the road, towing, major fixes, accident repair, etc, etc.

Overhead: It’s hard to account for many of the hidden costs of any employee.  Some portion of your overhead costs (e.g., office space, rent, phones, utilities, parking, copies, paperwork) is accountable to each employee.  Your time in hiring, managing, reviewing, etc-- all of these are hidden costs that add up.

Backup Facility and Replacement: These are other hidden costs that companies rarely consider.

1.What do you do when a car breaks down? 

a.Keeping extra vehicles on hand is an additional expense one that often just sits and depreciates.

b.Using your own or an employee’s personal car could be the greatest risk you ever take.  The insurance company will not cover you if you are in an accident while delivering for work; they will pass the costs on to you.

2.Who covers when a driver is sick or on vacation? 

a.Do you hire extra back-up drivers?  If so, what other responsibilities does this employee have and who covers for those jobs when he/she is on the road?

b.Do you pull a technician off of their work (now you’re losing money both in productivity and time)?

c.Do you run the work yourself?*

3.Who trains new drivers? 

a.Do you have the back-up expertise in house to train new drivers?

b.Do you take time away from your busy schedule to train?*

4.Who deals with the administrative support and/ or managerial headaches that come up? 

a.You?*

*Each of these questions boils down to one simple question: What is YOUR time worth?  Every hour you spend on the road covering, training, managing drivers is an hour lost in production, sales, and business management.

With Crystal Courier Service, you will never know when a driver is sick, when a vehicle breaks down, or when a management issues arises.  You won’t have to shop around for the best insurance coverage year after year.  You won’t have to tow cars and shop around for the best mechanic for specific jobs.  You won’t have to take on the time-consuming burden of buying and selling vehicles, and then performing the regular maintenance duties on those vehicles. 

With Crystal Courier Service, you can focus on your work and provide the best product for your customers-- we’ll take care of the rest.