Business Mail Advanced Prices 2019 – Mailmark

9th April 2019

Business Mail Advanced is the next step from standard franking rates for enhanced discounts. It is a cost-effective way for businesses to send UK business correspondence and transactional mail.

What is business mail advanced?

Business Mail Advanced is a highly flexible service from the Royal Mail for businesses who are producing bulk mail outs with a minimum of 250 letters for delivery within the UK. The discounts apply to a choice of delivery services and discounts are based on mail volumes and how you prepare and present your mail, allowing you to adopt Business Mail to suit your specific business needs.

Formats

Letter format represents dimensions up to 240mm x 165mm x 5mm and up to 100g in weight.

All letters sent using a MailMark franking machine print a 2D barcode, meaning every mail piece you send is machine-readable, this helps Royal Mail automate its processes so you benefit from additional savings as a result.

How much can you save?

Business Mail Advanced (BMA) discounts are based on the volume of the post you send in any single mailing. As of 2nd January 2018 the cost of sending items via business mail advanced using Mailmark are:

• 1st Class letters – 58p
• 2nd Class letters – 38p

Below is a table of the savings that can be made by using a Mailmark franking machine with Business Mail Advanced. These discounts are based on the unsorted machine readable letters sent.

For more in-depth detail about sorted and unsorted levels of discount download this brochure Business Mail Rate Card 2018

To obtain these discounts you must meet certain criteria, as summarised below:

As well as sending a minimum of 250 letters, your business also needs to meet the following criteria:

1) Address location and format

• Addresses must be machine printed in a defined area of the letter (clearly visible in the window of the envelope)
• All addresses should be 90% accurate, postcoded and inappropriate readable fonts
• Optical Character Recognition (OCR) address specification is recommended

2) Clear Zonest

• Appropriate Clear zones – Royal Mail requires certain areas of the mail piece to have no markings. These are called clear zones. Royal Mail print barcodes on each item in these areas to assist the sorting process so these areas must remain clear to benefit from savings.

3) Presentation/Sorting

• Customers should use white DL (220 x 110mm) envelopes
• Letters need to be separated into 1st and 2nd class
• Letters presented upside down and into Royal Mail postal trays facing the front of the trays
• Trays should be placed in the wheeled containers (Yorks) also provided by Royal Mail
• Letters should bear a license number – this is normally applied when your franking machine franks a letter or through your composition software and printing process.
• Complete a customer collection receipt online
• The collection is free: if there are less than 4,000 items ring before 12.00pm same day collection, If there are 4,000+ items 24 hours’ notice is required

VAT and Business Mail Advanced

On 2nd April 2012, Business Mail Advanced became subject to VAT. For further information visit, http://www.royalmail.com/information-vat-and-postal-services VAT is applied at the time of franking using software loaded onto the franking machine.

How is the discount assessed and how do I claim my money back?

The discount is now automated.

Mailmark franking machine using BMA will frank their post each day using the tariffs provided within the machine and send off as normal.

Royal Mail’s sorting machines use the 2D barcode to identify the BMA product, the price paid, and date of mailing that the user has selected. Royal Mail will then calculate the correct price (+VAT) and send this information to the relevant franking manufacturer. At the end of each month, the manufacturer will provide an automated VAT invoice so as to allow your business to claim your VAT back. Any rebates relating to volume-related discount (VRD) will refund back into your postage account.

Will an invoice be provided?

An invoice will be received at the end of each period showing how much you have posted using BMA and any adjustments (+/-) that have been made. The invoice will allow you to clearly see:

• Daily posted volumes by class-
• The level of VRD achieved each day
• Identify when BMA discounts were not achieved
• Detailed adjustment summaries (+/-)
• VAT for their business accounts

GET IN TOUCH FOR EXPERT  ADVICE FOR YOUR REQUIREMENTS