A courier job offering £200 for a 150-mile delivery may look better than a local load paying £100. Based on the headline price alone, the longer journey seems like the obvious choice.
But what if the collection is 30 miles away, you wait two hours before loading, pay a road charge and then drive home empty?
Once those extra costs are included, the higher-paying job may leave you with less profit. The advertised distance only tells you part of what it’ll cost to complete the work
Start with the full journey, not the loaded miles
When assessing a load, look beyond the mileage between the collection and delivery addresses.
The full journey may include:
- Travelling from your current location to the collection
- Driving the loaded miles to the customer
- Travelling from the delivery address to your next job or back hom
A load advertised as 100 miles could easily involve 150 or 180 miles of actual driving.
The unpaid distance before or after a delivery is often described as dead mileage. Although you aren’t carrying a load during those miles, you’re still using fuel, adding wear to your vehicle and spending time behind the wheel.
Finding work near your delivery location can help you reduce empty return journeys and spread your running costs across more paid miles.
Work out the costs the mileage doesn’t show
Fuel is one of the most visible courier running costs, but it’s not the only expense a job needs to cover.
Before accepting or quoting for a load, consider the following:
| Cost | What you should check |
| Fuel | The full journey, including collection, delivery and return mileage |
| Road charges | Tolls, bridges, tunnels, congestion charges and Clean Air Zones |
| Parking | Loading bays, city-centre parking and delivery-site charges |
| Waiting time | Delays at collection sites, warehouses and delivery locations |
| Vehicle costs | Tyres, servicing, depreciation and general wear |
| Business costs | Insurance, breakdown cover, software and other overheads |
Some of these costs apply directly to an individual journey. Others are ongoing costs that every completed job must help pay for.
For example, your Courier Insurance may be paid monthly or annually, but the money to cover it still needs to come from the work you complete.
Consider how long the job will really take
Two jobs covering the same distance can produce very different hourly earnings.
One delivery might involve a straightforward motorway journey, quick loading and easy access at both ends. Another could involve rush-hour traffic, city-centre restrictions and an hour waiting for paperwork.
Think about factors such as:
- Traffic at the expected collection and delivery times
- Fixed collection slots
- Security checks at warehouses or depots
- Difficult access or parking
- Waiting for goods, signatures or paperwork
- The distance from the delivery address to other likely work
A 100-mile load that takes three hours may be more worthwhile than another 100-mile load that takes six.
Judge the job by the complete door-to-door time, including the journey to the collection and whatever happens after delivery.
Ask what happens after the delivery
The finishing location can have a major effect on courier job profitability.
A delivery into a busy town, city or logistics area may put you close to another load. A delivery to a remote location may leave you with a long unpaid journey before you can find more work.
Before accepting a job, ask:
- Is there likely to be more courier work nearby?
- Can I plan the return journey in advance?
- Will I finish far outside my normal working area?
- How much would an empty return reduce the profit?
- Would the location make it difficult to complete another job that day?
Courier Exchange helps owner-drivers find courier work from thousands of transport businesses across the UK. Members can search for loads near their delivery location, helping them plan their next job and reduce the risk of travelling home empty.
You may not always find a suitable return load, but checking the available work before setting off can give you a more realistic view of the job’s potential value.
Use a quick profitability check before accepting
You don’t need to complete a detailed financial calculation for every load. A short check can help you spot work that may cost more than it first appears.
Before accepting or quoting, follow these steps:
1. Add the mileage from your current location to the collection
2. Add the loaded delivery mileage
3. Estimate the likely return or repositioning mileage
4. Calculate the expected fuel, parking and road charges
5. Estimate how long the complete journey will take
6. Allow for vehicle wear and general business running costs
7. Compare what remains with the time and work involved
Every courier has different circumstances, so there’s no single cost-per-mile figure that works for everyone.
Your vehicle, fuel economy, insurance, operating area and overheads will all affect which jobs are profitable for your business
Distance is only one part of pricing a courier job
Mileage remains important, but it should never be considered on its own.
A shorter load with fast collection, straightforward access and another job nearby can sometimes earn you more than a long-distance delivery involving delays, road charges and an empty return.
The figure that matters isn’t simply how much the customer pays. It’s how much remains after you have completed the full journey and covered the costs involved.
Once you understand the true cost of completing a load, you can price your courier jobs more accurately and avoid accepting work that leaves too little profit.
Courier Exchange gives owner-drivers access to thousands of loads every day, with tools to search for work by location, find return loads and reduce empty running. By creating more opportunities to keep your vehicle moving with paid work, the platform can help you make better use of your time and mileage.