Thanks for the advice everyone, as zac_a has mentioned I think I’ll get an in depth understanding when I eventually come to do the transport manager cpc
Stick to driving for someone else no stress no hassle no worries
Why have all the stress and hassle for a wage of £30k a year?
I expect there to be hassle and agro, nothing comes easy I suppose.
30k is just a baseline to start with, obv the more profit I earn the business the more I’ll pay myself, within reason. I’ve seen online that arctic hauliers charge 3.00 per mile, if I can charge more I would.
My query is whether my costings are realistic.
It’s hard to say if your costings are realistic, there’s at least a few factors I can see are missing.
For example if you’re running in an out of scrap metal facilities, you’ll spend shed loads more on tyres than if you’re trunking up and down the motorway to RDCs. Are tyres included in the leasing? I wouldn’t bank on it
You’ve listed an accountant, but not a TM. Are you going to be your own TM? If not there’s a few more grand on your costings. If you’re going to be your own TM, have you qualified yet?
I don’t see your Financial Standing listed, you still need this even with leased vehicles.
There’s shed loads of “going it alone” threads, try the search function andnn have a browse through what’s already been said.
Zac_A:
It’s hard to say if your costings are realistic, there’s at least a few factors I can see are missing.For example if you’re running in an out of scrap metal facilities, you’ll spend shed loads more on tyres than if you’re trunking up and down the motorway to RDCs. Are tyres included in the leasing? I wouldn’t bank on it
You’ve listed an accountant, but not a TM. Are you going to be your own TM? If not there’s a few more grand on your costings. If you’re going to be your own TM, have you qualified yet?
Thanks I’ve updated my original post to reflect tyre cost + financial standing, I will be my own TM. I’ve just put general haulage for now because who knows what customers I may get in the future. I’ve not included the TM course cost into the expenses because I’ll do that in my own time in the next 5 years. Cheers again.
Dont include financial standing in your costs, you dont need to pay that money to anybody. Just need access to it in a bank account / credit etc.
Also dont include fuel in your fixed costs as this is variable.
Your yearly fixed costs therefore are 88400 per year = 384.35 per day based on 230 days. I say 230 days as 52 weeks x 5 = 260, - 28 days holiday allowance and 2 days for MOT = 230 working days. As an owner driver you may potentially work more shifts but this is your bonus do not base costs on this, you could squeeze in the odd 6th shift every other week, not take holiday allowance etc…
Then regarding fuel, you haven’t included adblue which I estimate 0.03 litres per mile. Cost this time last year was 25p per litre in bulk, currently paying 1.22 per litre. Let’s say 4p per mile. Fuel currently 1.27ish, let’s say 1.30 @ 7mpg = 84p per mile. Fuel and adblue = 88p per mile and lets round to 90p for your example. I think 7mpg is quite low, especially if doing 2000 miles a week you would be doing long distance motorway work which generally yields higher mpgs.
Costs therefore being 385 daily + 90p per mile
400 miles per day would be 385 + 360 = 745 = 1.86 per mile
320 miles per day would be 385 + 288 = 673 = 2.10 per mile
PA22:
Dont include financial standing in your costs, you dont need to pay that money to anybody. Just need access to it in a bank account / credit etc.Also dont include fuel in your fixed costs as this is variable.
Your yearly fixed costs therefore are 88400 per year = 384.35 per day based on 230 days. I say 230 days as 52 weeks x 5 = 260, - 28 days holiday allowance and 2 days for MOT = 230 working days. As an owner driver you may potentially work more shifts but this is your bonus do not base costs on this, you could squeeze in the odd 6th shift every other week, not take holiday allowance etc…
Then regarding fuel, you haven’t included adblue which I estimate 0.03 litres per mile. Cost this time last year was 25p per litre in bulk, currently paying 1.22 per litre. Let’s say 4p per mile. Fuel currently 1.27ish, let’s say 1.30 @ 7mpg = 84p per mile. Fuel and adblue = 88p per mile and lets round to 90p for your example. I think 7mpg is quite low, especially if doing 2000 miles a week you would be doing long distance motorway work which generally yields higher mpgs.
Costs therefore being 385 daily + 90p per mile
400 miles per day would be 385 + 360 = 745 = 1.86 per mile
320 miles per day would be 385 + 288 = 673 = 2.10 per mile
This makes a lot more sense than my workings out. Cheers.
Just a v quick look at the figs, O licence cost is approx £1k not £8k (are you confused with financial standing? I thought it was £12k anyway, you just have to have the funds available)& just for year 1 & renewal is far less 5 yrs on, accounts seems expensive, mines about £500, parking? Do you mean for yard parking space? Or on the road at services etc?
O-licence fees:
Licence application: £257
Licence issue: £401
Later:
Five-year continuation: £401
Plus potentially:
Significant licence change: £257
Interim licence: £68
Just for clarity, Financial Standing is not just for the first year, and whilst it is true you don’t necessarily need cash in the bank, it is still important to consider where that FS is going to come from when drawing up a plan.
Anyway, planning for five years down the line in an industry which is constantly undergoing significant changes is all a bit pie-in-the-sky, and many of the questions OP has now, and may have in the future, would all be answered in an up-to-date manner if he goes ahead with his TMCPC studies.
Gaining his TMCPC may in itself may lead to a change in plans, as you can earn more as a part-time External Transport Manager than the projected £30k P.A.being a full-time owner driver.
WhoDaresWins:
I expect there to be hassle and agro, nothing comes easy I suppose.30k is just a baseline to start with, obv the more profit I earn the business the more I’ll pay myself, within reason. I’ve seen online that arctic hauliers charge 3.00 per mile, if I can charge more I would.
My query is whether my costings are realistic.
I missed this, been away. Throw my tuppence in.
The jobs nothing but hassle, usually of other people’s making, wombat car drivers, your own employees, clueless customers and a truck that develops a new fault on a weekly basis. You never earn what you hope for in the early days at least, even 25 years letter you realise you must be mental to work for what you do given the hours and responsibilities.
28 years in the business, would I do them again? Not the last 2 when corporate carp took over, the other 26, definitely. If you want an easy life, plenty of jobs there. If you like risk, problems and the occasional sense of achievement, go for it.
You also need a large cash reserve when things go pop. Recovery fees and things that fail on the truck. As Albion pointed above its much hassle. Its better to try and fail than not to. In the current climate its the big boys who have economies of scale.