Finding A Franking Post Box

What are franking post boxes?

Franking post boxes, or Business Posting Boxes, are post boxes in which to post mail that has been franked with a franking machine.

They look different from regular post boxes and are used by Royal Mail to differentiate between regular post and franked business post.

Franked mail should not be posted in regular post boxes because the post from these boxes is taken for sorting at the local post office – franked post does not actually need to go through the sorting room and so this process can cause delays for franked post.

Franking post box locations

Amazingly, Royal Mail does not publish a list of franking post boxes anywhere, so it can be pretty tricky to locate your nearest dedicated franking-only post box.

The quickest way to locate your nearest franking post box or office drop-off point is to use a franking post box map tool.

Royal Mail Post Office branches can be found online using the Royal Mail Branch Finder.

Posting franked mail

Franked post can be sent from the post office or at a franking post box. It can also be collected by Royal Mail from your business premises.

Royal Mail offers a weekly pickup service (Mon-Fri) for £825 (£990 including VAT) annually. Once you sign up, you’ll be given an FIR barcode that your collection driver scans at every pickup. There’s a maximum limit of 4,000 standard letters or 1,000 large letters and parcels per collection. A Saturday collection option is also available. The service runs in Northern Ireland too, hooray!

If your business spends more than £17,000 a year with Royal Mail, you can use their pickup service for free. To set this up you should fill out their business collections booking form or give them a call on: 08457 950950.

Features of a franking post box

There are two different types of franking post boxes. Some are separate slots in a regular (sometimes slightly larger than average) post box. The franking slot will be clearly marked saying franked mail.

There are also separate franking post boxes which stand on their own. They are more square than the usual round post boxes and have a larger slot so that packages can be posted there. They are clearly marked for franked mail only.

There are far fewer franking post boxes than regular post boxes in the UK. If your business sends a lot of mail or is out of the way of a franking post box, you have the option of delivering your franked mail directly to the post office branch or having it picked up by Royal Mail’s pickup service.

The benefits of franked post

There are many reasons for a business to use franking rather than regular post services as it provides a number of benefits. It saves time and money because it is designed to be a business solution. Franked postage is significantly cheaper than regular postage.

The small tasks of addressing and stamping letters and packages are optimised; also it is possible to print the company logo on to packages and letters using a franking machine.

Franked post skips the sorting room at the post office meaning that delays are less likely. Also you can use Royal Mail’s pickup service to have your post delivered, saving you even more time.

Expert Market Tip: Before starting on your first batch of franking, set your franking machine to zero and do a test run to ensure the print quality is top notch.

Is franked mail for me?

If your business sends a moderate amount of mail, chances are that you could save money by investing in a franking machine. Franking machine postage is significantly cheaper than regular postage and can be a real benefit for even small companies, as it was designed to be a business solution.

There are multiple ways to benefit, from renting a franking machine to buying outright. To find out whether investing in a franking machine could be the right solution for you, simply fill out the franking machine web form.

Take a minute to let us know your business needs and we’ll match you with franking machine suppliers that best fit your requirements. It’s free and totally unique to Expert Market, so you know our suppliers are trusted, friendly experts.