The courier service launch plan
Every step from deciding to opening, in the order it happens, shaped to your situation, with your own numbers beside it. About 44 steps in 8 phases, 21 of them specific to a courier service. Free to read; ticking steps off and putting in your own numbers come with membership.
The plan44 steps
- 01Not started0/6Fold
Decide with the numbersa week or two
Before a dollar is spent. Most expensive mistakes happen here, and this phase costs nothing.
A courier makes money on volume, and the mix you build decides your margins.
Typical for one unit is $300,000 to $3,000,000 a year; the owner keeps 8 to 20% of it before paying themselves. If that band does not cover what you need, that is the signal to pause and look again.
~50% survive 5 years. Roughly half of all new U.S. businesses reach five years.
Twelve questions about your money, time, experience and temperament, scored. Then the 5 questions this business asks of its owner, about the hours and the work. Answer both before you spend a dollar.
Rule of thumb: if you can buy a courier with real, contracted recurring accounts and properly classified drivers likely to stay, buying buys you a full route base. Answer it in your situation above and the plan reshapes.
Customers, prices, rent, staff pay, what it costs to open. We filled in typical numbers; change what you know and everything on this page follows.
- 02Not started0/5Open
Plan the moneya week
What it costs to open, where the money comes from, and the cushion that keeps you alive until the business pays for itself.
A courier service has no , because the car is the business, so the cars are most of the bill.
The itemized cost to open8 lines
- Delivery cars or small vans (5): $94,000 to $236,800Used with a pre-service at the low end, new minivans at the high end
- Car sales tax, title & plates: $5,000 to $20,500Tax follows the price you pay
- Door magnets: $200 to $1,200Logo and phone number on each car
- Carrying gear: $500 to $5,200Hand trucks, insulated bags, specimen coolers, spill kits, lockboxes
- Phones, mounts, dash cams & dispatch laptop: $1,900 to $8,900Dispatch, scans, signatures and proof of delivery
- Insurance down payments, auto, cargo & workers comp: $4,000 to $12,500Often required before an account signs
- Training, screening, setup & recruiting: $900 to $7,900HIPAA and bloodborne pathogen courses, background checks, LLC, job ads
- Initial working capital: $10,000 to $50,000Fuel, payroll, and float on receivables for 2-4 months
Costs start on day one; customers take months. Map the first twelve months of cash so the business does not run out of money while it is getting going.
The business has to earn your pay like any other bill. Set it in your numbers and watch the month it move.
How deals in this business are financed4 lines
- SBA 7(a) loan (Up to 10 yr · 75-85% government-guaranteed)The workhorse for buying an existing courier or funding a startup’s cars and working capital.
- Seller financing (Often 5-25% of price · 3-7 yr)Common when buying an account book.
- Vehicle & fleet financing (Secured by the vehicles)Finance cars and vans secured by the vehicles themselves, a practical way to add capacity without draining working capital.
- Line of credit (Revolving · against receivables)A revolving line floats fuel and payroll against receivables while you wait for accounts to pay on net terms, the most common cash-flow gap in a courier.
Most new shops pair an with 10 to 20% of your own cash. Know the monthly payment before you look at a single space.
Before you shop. A lender tells you what they would fund, what they need from you (credit, your cash in, a plan with numbers), and a pre-qualification letter makes a landlord or a seller take you seriously.
- 03Not started0/4Open
Set up the companya day or two
A day of paperwork, and it has to come before the space: a lease, a loan application and every permit are in the company’s name.
Your state’s business name search, the trademark register, and the domain, before the name is on a sign, a van, or a lease.
A , an , and the S-corporation election each change what you keep and what you are exposed to. Compare them with the numbers, confirm with a CPA and an attorney, then file with your state.
After:The is free from the IRS in minutes once the company exists. The bank account needs both. Keep business money separate from day one.
After:Pick the accounting software and connect the bank account now, so every cost of opening is captured and the numbers you later are real.
- 04Not started0/4Open
The territory and the vehiclea week or two
A courier has no storefront, your "location" is the zone you serve.
What decides it for this business: high stop density (clustered demand), concentration of b2b account customers, active local commerce & e-commerce, manageable traffic & parking, not oversaturated with couriers.
Mobile businesses still answer to city rules: where the vehicle can be kept overnight, whether you can run the business from home, and what the state licenses.
The van or truck is the shop. Price it, outfit it, insure it, and brand it before the first job. The quotes go into the loan application.
Commercial auto for the vehicle, for the work. Customers and any lender will ask for the certificate.
- 05Not started0/2Open
Get the loanfour to eight weeks
Four to eight weeks with an SBA lender, longer if the file is incomplete. Everything else waits on this, so send a complete file.
Your plan with numbers (download it as a PDF from this page), the company’s papers, the vehicle and equipment quotes, your personal financial statement, and proof of the cash you put in.
The lender funds against the quotes and the insurance; the money goes to the vendors and the build.
After:
- 06Not started0/9Open
Permits and the vehicletwo to four weeks
A courier service is lightly regulated compared with a licensed trade, but commercial vehicle, insurance, and driver-classification rules are real, and specimen or legal work adds its own requirements.
Bind the policies you had quoted before a contractor, a vehicle or a customer is in play. Keep the certificates; the landlord, the lender and the city will ask.
After:With the money in hand: the vehicle, the , the branding, and the state inspection most cities require before it can work.
After:Register your or corporation and obtain a city or county operating license.
State registration to collect and remit tax on delivery services where applicable.
Register vehicles for commercial use; some vehicle classes or weights trigger additional state requirements.
coverage for every vehicle in the fleet, plus cargo coverage for the goods you carry.
Determine and document whether drivers are employees or independent contractors under state and federal rules, the single biggest compliance exposure.
Bloodborne-pathogen training, packaging, and chain-of-custody requirements for medical-specimen routes.
Larger vehicles or interstate work can trigger DOT numbers, hours-of-service, or CDL requirements; most local car couriers fall below these thresholds.
- 07Not started0/8Open
Set up to runduring the build
During the build, so the business runs from day one: the systems, the prices, the people and the routine.
The backbone, takes in orders, builds dense routes, assigns drivers, and tracks every stop in real time.
Signatures, photos, and timestamps on every stop.
You drive a fleet and carry other people’s goods, sometimes high-value or medical.
A dedicated account and clean invoicing keep recurring account separate and the books clean, essential for cash flow and any future sale.
See the price the the business needs implies, then check it against what the market pays.
Early morning: Dispatch builds the day: lock in the standing pharmacy, lab, and... Morning routes: Drivers run the recurring B2B routes, specimen pickups, pharmacy... Midday on-demand: Same-day and rush requests come in.
Opening, closing, the sale, the complaint, the cash. One page each. This is the manual a franchise would have sold you.
Free, and it is how most people will find you. Address, hours, photos and the menu or price list, live before opening day; then the sign, the soft opening and the first regulars.
- 08Not started0/6Open
Open and measurethe first ninety days
You own it. Now run it on the numbers.
Friends, neighbors and a short menu or list. Find the problems while the room is forgiving.
Enter the real numbers and see every cost line against the for this business.
Driver pay & utilization; Empty miles & loose routing; Cars, fuel & maintenance.
Wages are the start: , insurance, training time and the hours you stop billing. Register as an employer and carry workers’ comp before the first payday.
Growth consumes cash before it produces it. Find the rate your own cash funds before you push.
A courier service is sellable when it stands on a real recurring-account base and runs without its owner.