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All About Franking Machines
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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Letter First Class
| Weight up to | 1st Class | Franked 1st Class |
| 100g | £0.70 | £0.64 |
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Letter Second Class
| Weight up to | 2nd Class | Franked 2nd Class |
| 100g | £0.61 | £0.47 |
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Large Letter First Class
| Weight up to | 1st Class | Franked 1st Class |
| 100g | £1.06 | £1.01 |
| 250g | £1.50 | £1.40 |
| 500g | £1.97 | £1.85 |
| 750g | £2.72 | £2.59 |
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Large Letter Second Class
| Weight up to | 2nd Class | Franked 2nd Class |
| 100g | £0.83 | £0.77 |
| 250g | £1.32 | £1.09 |
| 500g | £1.72 | £1.41 |
| 750g | £2.33 | £1.98 |
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Small Parcel First Class
| Weight up to | 1st Class | Franked 1st Class |
| 0-1kg | £3.55 | £3.48 |
| 1-2kg | £5.50 | £5.45 |
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Small Parcel Second Class
| Weight up to | 2nd Class | Franked 2nd Class |
| 0-1kg | £3.00 | £2.90 |
| 1-2kg | £3.00 | £2.90 |
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Medium Parcel First Class
| Weight up to | 1st Class | Franked 1st Class |
| 0-1kg | £5.80 | £5.35 |
| 1-2kg | £8.95 | £8.26 |
| 2-5kg | £15.85 | £15.85 |
| 5-10kg | £21.90 | £21.90 |
| 10-20kg | £33.40 | £33.40 |
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Medium Parcel Second Class
| Weight up to | 2nd Class | Franked 2nd Class |
| 0-1kg | £5.10 | £4.81 |
| 1-2kg | £5.10 | £4.81 |
| 2-5kg | £13.75 | £13.75 |
| 5-10kg | £20.25 | £20.25 |
| 10-20kg | £28.55 | £28.55 |
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Mail Formats
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Letter |
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Large Letter |
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Small Parcel |
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Medium Parcel |
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Letter Size
Up to 240mm long
Up to 165mm wide
Up to 5mm thick
Letter Weight
Up to 100g
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Large Letter Size
Up to 353mm long
Up to 250mm wide
Up to 25mm thick
Large Letter Weight
Up to 750g
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Small Parcel Size
Up to 450mm long
Up to 350mm wide
Up to 160mm thick
Small Parcel Weight
0g - 2kg
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Medium Parcel Size
Up to 610mm long
Up to 460mm wide
Up to 460mm thick
Medium Parcel Weight
0g - 20kg
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What is a franking machine and why should I use it?
| 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 24% on their mail! |
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Where can I get a franking machine from?
| Neopost and Pitney Bowes 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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My franking machine is old but it works fine. Why do I need to replace it?
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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What is the new way postal costs are calculated based on size and weight?
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. Parcels - 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 25th March 2019. Franking machine users now save 6p on every 1st Class letter, 13p on every 2nd Class letter and 29p on a 2kg parcel. |
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What's the biggest franking machine improvement?
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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How do I top up my franking machine with extra credit?
| 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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Will Royal Mail help meet the cost of replacing or modifying my franking machine?
| 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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What if I've only just found out my franking machine needs replacement?
| 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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Do these changes apply to the UK only?
| No, new franking machine standards are being introduced all around the world, to reflect advances in technology. |
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What if I miss the last post?
| 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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What if I run out of cash?
| 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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What is External Return Addressing?
| 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."> |
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How do I work out the correct postage when franking?
| 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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Is VAT liable on Royal Mail Services?
A wider range of Royal Mail services became VAT liable in April 2012. Many bulk mail products that attracted volume postage discounts are no longer price controlled and regulated, and are therefore 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 are only be available on Franking Machines with Smart technology.
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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