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10 Reasons to Start Using Franking Machine |
 | Cheaper than stamps! |
| | Royal Mail's latest price increases will come into effect on 30th April 2012. Although bad news for stamp users, Royal Mail have increased the discounts available to Franking Machine users.
Franking your mail is now up to 38% cheaper than using stamps!
- Save 16p on every 1st Class Letter
- Save 19p on every 2nd Class Letter
- Save up to £1.41 on a 2kg Packet
| | | See how much you can save using the Postage Rates Calculator |
 | Franked will give your business a professional image |
 | You can re-credit your franking machine on-line 24 hours a day, no more running out of stamps! |
 | Use a slogan to promote your business or add a return address |
 | Royal Mail will treats franked mail as business mail, avoiding delays |
 | Automatically set the exact postage
- No more over-stamping saves you money!
- Ensures no under-stamping and surcharges to your cutomers
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 | No more lost, torn or stolen stamps! |
 | PIN password protection for increased security |
 | No more going out to buy stamps, or queuing up at the Post Office! |
 | Postal accounting and individual cost centre reporting
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Using a franking Machine is an easy, flexible way to pay for postage as and when you need it, giving you the freedom to manage your business mail more efficiently.
You can top up credit by phone whenever you like, so there's no need for petty cash, cheques or stocks of stamps. It also means you can handle any last minute mailing jobs - at the last minute. So, if at short notice you need to send out a larger than normal mailshot, that's no problem. Just top up your franking machine by phone and continue franking.
Integrated scales let you print the right amount of postage every time, so you never pay too much or too little, and the value of each item you frank is simply deducted from your credit balance.
You can also add a business logo or advertising message to letters and packages, giving your mail a slick professional look with a friendly personal touch.
Use your franking machine to pay for all 1st Class, 2nd Class, Special Delivery™, Recorded Signed For™ and overseas mail.
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From 2nd April 2012 a wider range of Royal Mail services will be VAT liable. Many bulk mail products that attract volume postage discounts will no longer be price controlled and regulated, so will therefore be liable to VAT. Royal Mail wrote to customers in January 2012 to inform about changes in the way their services are regulated following the Postal Services Act 2011. This has affected the VAT status of a number of Royal Mail products.
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VAT services will only be available on Franking Machines with Smart technology. Neopost Franking Machines models with the designation beginning 'IS' are Smart Franking Machines. These Smart Franking Machines frank at VAT-inclusive prices and allow reclaiming of VAT through production of a VAT invoice that is acceptable to HMRC. All other model designations are non-smart meter and therefore are incapable of processing VAT liable mail.
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| Using a Franking Machine provides your business with an easy, flexible way to pay for postage as and when you need it. There's no need for stamps, petty cash or cheques, saving you time and resources. Franking machine users save up to 30% on their mail! |
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| Neopost are the largest manufacturer and supplier of Franking Machines in Europe. Whether you post 10 letters a day or 10,000 a week, it's simple to find the right franking machine for your business. |
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Like for any area of business, advances in technology mean upgrading software or hardware every so often. Ordinarily you'd usually get to choose when, but a service like franking requires standards for technology, efficiency and security, to be followed by everyone who uses it.
When Royal Mail reviewed the service in 1997 they discovered there were franking machines being regularly used that were over 30 years old. Not a problem if they work, you might say. But other customers required more efficient machines, and Royal Mail recognised improvements they could make to the service as a whole by introducing new standards based on updates in technology, usage, mailroom requirements and security. Improvements that would benefit every customer.
So that's what Royal Mail did. They've spread the introduction of these standards over a seven year period, to make it as easy as possible for both customers and manufacturers to apply them. |
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In 2006 the Royal Mail changed the way postal costs are calculated with the introduction of a new system called Pricing in Proportion. With Pricing in Proportion ordinary mail is divided in to three sizes:
- 1. Letters - most small and medium envelopes up to half the size of A4
- 2. Large letters - most larger envelopes up to A4 size
- 3. Packets - anything else
Mostly, you will be able to tell which category your mail is in by the size of the envelope, but you will also need to consider its thickness and weight.
Royal Mail's latest price increases will come into effect on 30th April 2012. Franking machine users now save 16p on every 1st Class letter, 19p on every 2nd Class letter and £1.41 on a 2kg packet. |
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Mail Formats |
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Letter Format |
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Large Letter Format |
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Packet Format |
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Up to 100g
Up to 5mm thick |
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Up to 750g
Up to 25mm thick |
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More than 353mm long
Or more than 250mm wide
Or more than 25mm thick
Or weight exceeds 750g |
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The biggest improvement has been the ability to re-credit your machine remotely, via your phone line. This means you can keep track of your mail costs and increase the amount available from your own office. Other benefits in using the new electronic franking machines include:
- Exactly the right amount of postage on all items
- Quicker processing and dispatch of your mail
- Digital printing
- You can include a logo, advertising message or return address
- The machines change date automatically
- Accurate tracking of mail costs
- Connection to other office equipment such as scales, inserters, folders computers and printers
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| The credit on your machine is automatically topped up when you dial-in to the automated credit system of your franking machine supplier. |
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| Unfortunately not, but they've introduced the standards over a seven-year period to give you time to fully depreciate your old machine on your balance sheet. |
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| Please contact your Franking Machine Supplier as soon as possible, or call your local Royal Mail Sales Centre on 08457 950 950. |
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| No, new franking machine standards are being introduced all around the world, to reflect advances in technology. |
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| No problem. You can use a special envelope to put franked mail in a designated local post box. For details call Royal Mail on 0845 601 5726. |
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| There's no need for petty cash, stamps or signed cheques when you use a franking machine. Just set up a direct debit for your machine and top up your account via phone. |
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| Since 2004 it has been a new condition of service for franking machine customers to include an External Return Address (ERA) if you want your undeliverable mail back. Click here for External Return Addressing details. |
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Now you don't have to waste time looking up the correct postage price for your mail. The latest technology enables franking machines to link directly to built-in weight scales that calculate tariffs for you.
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