Despite the rising prominence of e-mail as a vehicle for marketing and communication, physical mail is still an indispensible tool for most businesses. Sending packages via e-mail is impossible, of course. Moreover, although junk mail exists, it is nothing compared to the trillions of spam messages that clog inboxes every year. For businesses that rely significantly on mail, postage meters can be powerful tools to cut costs and improve efficiency.

One of the greatest advantages of a postage meter is accuracy. Many business administrators do not know exactly how much it costs to mail letters with unusual weights, leading to the inefficient method of sticking on one more stamp just to be sure. For businesses that mail out thousands of items yearly, this wasted postage can result in many wasted dollars. The postage meter knows exactly what the correct postage is, and applies it with no wasted money. This is particularly helpful for business that ship oddly shaped packages.

Using a postage meter is also substantially quicker than trying to stamp packages manually. Sliding an envelope through the meter takes very little time. Furthermore, pieces stamped by a postage meter bypass certain steps at the post office, such as postmarking. This allows the package to get to its intended recipient faster, improving customer satisfaction and making the process more efficient.

In a world of financial uncertainty, postage meters also allow businesses to keep shipping costs under control. Postage meters not only eliminate wasted postage as described above, but also make it all but impossible for employees or contractors to steal stamps. After all, there are no stamps to steal! Meters accurately track shipping costs for efficient record-keeping; the best ones even feed these records directly into computer accounting software. With a postage meter, shipping costs are one less headache for the accounting department.

So, how much does a postage meter cost? First, it is important to note that businesses cannot buy postage meters outright. The US government views postage as equivalent to currency, and refuses to allow private businesses to own postage meters for much the same reason that companies cannot print their own money. Instead, businesses need to rent or lease meters from one of a handful of USPS authorized vendors.

Fortunately for small businesses, renting one of these helpful devices is by and large fairly affordable. Regular postage meters generally range from $20 to $60 monthly. Note that these rental costs include only the machine itself; postage costs are set by the United States Postal Service and must still be paid for every letter or parcel.

For companies that handle a larger volume of postage, more advanced features can be a good investment, but those features are also quite expensive. While manual feeders are fairly chep, semiautomatic feeders often cost around $700. Fully automatic feeders may cost over $1200. These expensive upgrades are generally only worthwhile for companies that need to handle huge amounts of mail.

Other costly features include high speed stackers, which often run from $1000 to $2000; advanced bases, which can cost thousands of dollars; and digital scales, which can cost several hundred dollars. Note also that some bases use rolls of postage meter tape, while others use pre-cut tape. The former are more expensive to rent but use less expensive materials, which can save the company money depending on the volume of mail.

Pricing also depends on the postage meter company that leases the machine. Some vendors charge fixed monthly fees, while others use variable fees that depend on usage. Some contracts include other benefits such as free maintenance, a free trials or complimentary postage meter supplies. It is important to analyze the value of these benefits along with the base cost of rental to get the best deal for a given company.

Taking the price of postage meter into account, companies that spend at least $40 monthly on postage are usually good candidates to rent one of these devices. The exact savings depend on many factors, including the distance to the local post office, which determines travel time and the cost of gas. Businesses should consult with one or more postage meter vendors to find out whether a postage meter is a worthwhile investment, and if so, what type of postage meter to rent.

For many businesses, postage meters make sending mail much more efficient. They provide cost certainty, eliminate time-consuming trips to the post office and can handle a huge volume of mail, including oddly shaped packages. Despite their cost, any business that spends signficant amounts of money on postage should look into postage meters. Consult with an authorized vendor to learn more.