Open a trucking business from scratch. How to start a trucking company

Owning a trucking company is a fairly profitable and promising business. The demand for this service is always high, respectively, there is serious competition in this area. Before you open a transport company from scratch, you need to familiarize yourself with all the nuances of this business, as well as objectively evaluate its advantages and disadvantages.

Business features

If you are going to open a freight forwarding company, you should first decide on its type:

• Companies that provide services to individuals. This may be the delivery of furniture, equipment, apartment moving, and so on. Usually they work within a certain locality;
• Transportation of goods for large industrial enterprises and corporations;
• Transportation of goods to legal entities. We are talking about the delivery of goods to wholesale warehouses and stores;
• Delivery of groupage cargoes;
• Intermediary firms that do not have their own transport. They find customers for large transport companies and receive remuneration for this;
• Another fairly profitable business option is a business in transport logistics. The development of routes allows you to optimize costs and significantly reduce delivery times, so transport logistics services are always in great demand.

Legal registration of activities

Before you open a transport company, you need to officially register your business. Typically, such firms are registered as closed joint-stock companies (CJSC), LLC or individual entrepreneur. Each organizational and legal form has disadvantages and advantages.

If you are planning to open a branch of a transport company in another city in the future and will continue to expand, it is better to open a CJSC right away. But in this case, you will encounter paperwork, because registration will have to collect a huge amount of information. Therefore, many start-up entrepreneurs prefer LLC. In order not to waste time on paperwork, you can purchase a ready-made business.

Do not forget that cargo transportation requires a license. It is issued by the Ministry of Transport for 5 years.

The scheme of the company

Before developing a business plan for a transport company, you should decide on what scheme you will work with:

1. Company with its own fleet. In this case, you will have to purchase trucks or rent them. For the operation of a small enterprise, you can hire several drivers with their own transport. Thanks to this, you do not have to invest a large amount of money in the business;
2. Forwarding services. Such a company is a dispatch service for cargo transportation. For each shipment, the commission is 5-10% of its total order value. An office, a few employees, a telephone and internet access is all it takes to open a freight forwarding company. This is a fairly profitable line of business that does not require large investments.

We draw up a business plan

So, ? To answer this question, first of all, you need to draw up a competent business plan. If you have never done such a thing, entrust it to specialists. For a fee, they will prepare a step-by-step instruction with all the necessary calculations.

Consider an exemplary business plan for a freight forwarding company:

1. Registration of an enterprise;
2. Formation of a car park. It is desirable that it has cars of different carrying capacities. You also need to purchase loading and unloading equipment to perform complex work;
3. Personnel search and payroll calculation;
4. Calculation of additional costs of the enterprise - taxes, purchase of spare parts and fuel, insurance, rental of a garage for cars, advertising, etc.;
5. Do not forget to describe all the business processes of the transport company in order to have a clear idea of ​​what you will be doing.

Staff

If you decide to open a branch of a transport company in your city, you need to hire qualified personnel to work:

• Drivers. They must have the rights of the appropriate category, as well as work experience. For each car you need to hire two drivers. This is necessary for long-distance transportation;
• Dispatcher. This specialist takes orders and draws up the necessary documentation;
• The trade manager attracts clients and searches for new orders;
• The accountant is responsible for financial reporting and pays staff;
• The mechanic is engaged in the maintenance of cars and their repair.

Costs and profits

Before you open a transport company for the carriage of goods, you must carefully calculate all the costs and expected profit:

Expenses:

• staff salaries;
• Fuel and lubricants;
• tax deductions;
• Purchase of spare parts for equipment repair;
• Additional expenses - rent of premises, payment of utility bills, etc.;
• Purchase of special equipment and vehicles. It will have to spend 6-10 million rubles.

On average, the profitability of such an enterprise reaches 25-40% of the total revenue. It largely depends on what type of transport business you have chosen.

Income

Now let's talk about income. Hourly payment for cargo transportation in the city is 300-1500 rubles. Some firms charge for kilometers - 10-30 rubles per 1 kilometer. On average, one client pays 2–5.5 thousand rubles for services. If a competent approach is provided, with an average workload, transport will pay off in 18–20 months.

Over time, you can ask how to open a representative office of a transport company in another city. Thanks to this, you will be able to expand your business and, accordingly, significantly increase your income.

How to start a business without investment?

Aspiring entrepreneurs who do not have the start-up capital to start their own business are often interested in, ? The best option is to work in the dispatch service. In this case, you will regularly receive orders, but for this you will have to give part of the earnings.

Let's find out, shall we? Cooperation with several dispatch companies allows you to get a good profit. Usually entrepreneurs who are engaged in private cabs, over time, begin to expand and open their own transport companies providing taxi services.

Naturally, we will not tell you the specific amount of earnings, because it depends on many important factors. For example, a metropolitan taxi driver will earn much more than a provincial town taxi driver. The income also depends on the competition in the region, the average cost for services, etc.

-> Trade, services, transport

The idea of ​​organizing your own trucking companies or a private transport company is very popular with those who decide to start their own business. The transport business is interesting and attractive in that it requires insignificant financial investments (one or two cars can be bought even by someone who does not have significant funds), is easy to create and brings a stable income to its owner.

According to statistics, only in Moscow the annual volume of cargo transportation is more than 80 billion rubles. Forty percent of this market belongs to large players, the rest - to small firms and private entrepreneurs.

Many participants in the freight transportation market started with just one car - Gazelles or trucks, got acquainted with intermediary dispatchers and gradually built their business.

Organization of a private company for cargo transportation

Currently, there are quite a lot of transport agencies in most cities, but the volume of cargo transportation is very large, so entering the market can be quite successful, subject to a carefully planned strategy and tactics for doing this business. All upcoming steps in organizing and doing business must be worked out in the business plan of the future transport company.

Transport company business plan should include: definition of the purpose of creating a business and its concept, marketing and sales strategy, organizational part and financial calculations.

Defining the purpose and concept of the company involves a description of the creation and development of the company, its size, types of services provided, vehicle fleet (what kind of transport and in what quantity).

Search for orders.

Small trucking companies often use the services of several dispatch services to eliminate fleet downtime. Most intermediaries charge carriers 10% of the order value.

It makes sense to create your own dispatch service if you have a serious fleet, for example, of 30-45 cars. In this case, it is desirable to build your own car depot with a repair base.

Staff.

A transport company can offer not only freight transport services, but also provide comprehensive services, including cargo packaging, loading, transportation, unloading and unpacking. Therefore, in the state, in addition to drivers, there may be loaders.

Expenses and income

No business plan for the organization of cargo transportation can do without a financial component. In our country, not everyone wants to legalize their business because of the high tax burden. For example, a lot of trucks are owned by drivers and they are in no hurry to register a company in order to avoid paying taxes, which can be about 10 thousand rubles. with income from one "Gazelle" 50-70 thousand rubles. per month, excluding the cost of gasoline and repairs (~ 25 thousand rubles).

Experienced transport workers advise buying imported Mercedes, Peugeot, etc. with a body volume of at least 12-14 cubic meters and a load capacity of 1.5 tons. Initially, the purchase of such a car will cost about 2 times more than a Gazelle, but the costs will pay off with a long service life without constant repairs, and less gasoline consumption. You can buy a car with your own funds, take a loan or use leasing.

Among truck owners, registration of a legal entity is almost always present, since this expensive equipment (3 million rubles and more) is often used for transportation between cities, so it must be insured, which is very expensive for a private person.

The monthly turnover of a company with 8 cars in its fleet is from 500 thousand rubles.

Russia is a large country that needs to supply a large number of goods and services to its various points, separated by vast distances. Consequently, passenger and freight transportation services are in demand, which makes the transport business very profitable. The formation of the structure of this business began with the country's transition to a market economy. About 20% of Russia's able-bodied population is currently employed in this area.

The road network in the country is constantly growing, which contributes to the development of the transport business. In addition, now it has become safer to engage in cargo transportation than, say, in the 90s, which cannot but attract entrepreneurs. This makes shipping easier and cheaper. This area of ​​business is developing despite the unstable economy of the country, which is a positive factor for investment.

Business organization

Before you open a company that provides freight services from scratch, you need to decide on the type of future enterprise and the type of transport required for this. If you plan to provide services to individuals, such as the delivery of furniture, household appliances, assistance with moving, etc., then you will need light trucks (carrying capacity up to 7 tons).

If you want to open a large company to provide services to legal entities (shops, wholesale depots) in Russia or neighboring countries, you will need trucks with trailers, trucks, refrigerators. To open a company that provides services to industrial enterprises, dump trucks, tractors and long lengths are used. There is also the option of an intermediary company that searches for orders. The company does not need its own transport.

The next step when opening a transport company from scratch is the choice of legal form. If the company has one founder, then the IP form is ideal for it. For a company with several founders, it is better to choose such an organizational and legal form as an LLC.

The form of taxation of your company will depend on the types of services provided and the amount of transport available. If your company will have up to 20 cars and provide services to individuals, then the optimal type of taxation will be UTII. For transport companies providing services to industrial enterprises, the 3NDFL taxation regime should be chosen. For limited liability companies, the general taxation regime is chosen. Intermediary transport companies can apply either a general or a simplified taxation regime.

Starting from scratch, a business such as a transport company should remember that it is mandatory for it to open a bank account, even if you plan to provide services to individuals. Legal entities work mainly by bank transfer, so they will not enter into a contract with a company that does not have a bank account.

Another important point is the selection of personnel for your company. When opening a transport company from scratch, you will need to hire drivers, the number of which depends on the number of cars and the work schedule.

With round-the-clock operation, up to 3 drivers will be required for one car. The number of dispatchers depends on the number of cars and the type of service. For companies with more than 5 cars, an auto mechanic will be required. It is advisable to introduce an accountant into the staff in a company that has more than 10 cars under the general taxation regime.

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How to make a trucking business successful?

The success of your business directly depends on the number of customers, so finding them is one of the most important tasks of a businessman.

Starting a business from scratch, you should take care of good advertising for your company. For a high-quality and quick search for customers, the following types of advertising will help you: posting ads around the city, advertising your company on the websites of your city and district, in newspapers and magazines, placing ads in furniture stores and household appliances stores. Dispatch companies can also help you in finding customers.

If your company works with legal entities, then you can send commercial offers of your services with prices to a certain circle of companies. Currently, large enterprises hold tenders, in order to win in which your company must offer optimal conditions. In addition, you should enter into agreements with large dispatching firms.

When opening a transport company, it should be remembered that customers primarily pay attention to the quality of services, so starting such a business from scratch is quite difficult, regardless of whether it is urban, intercity or international cargo transportation. The profitability of your business depends on the literacy of your employees. The simplest option for the transport business is to provide customers with vehicles for rent.

The quality of the purchased transport determines the future profit of your company. Mercedes, Peugeot, Ford, Hyundai trucks are best suited for this business. Such cars, although they have a high price, last longer than inexpensive domestic cars. A couple of hackneyed Gazelles and Bulls are unlikely to bring you a lot of income.

Opening your own business and starting to work for yourself is a dream of many. But as you know, one desire is not enough, it is necessary to take into account many nuances. The crisis and the unstable economic situation in the country lead to the fact that many enterprises stop their work, become bankrupt. Starting your own business, in our time, is quite difficult, but quite realistic, and this is proved by successful entrepreneurs who make good money despite the crisis.

You can earn money in almost any field of activity, as an option, you can open your own, or you can start with something simple, for example, with the transportation of goods.

In this article, I want to discuss the topical question for many, how to start a cargo transportation business? How to open a freight forwarding company?

Transportation of goods is a popular and stable way of earning, which does not lose its relevance even despite significant competition in the market. Therefore, it makes sense to think about such an attractive income option.

Cargo transportation: business plan

Before proceeding to organizational issues, you should draw up a detailed business plan that will help you correctly distribute the available start-up capital and achieve success in a short time. How to compose this document? For an example, see detailed.

Profitability of the trucking business. First, you need to determine the relevance of the idea. In other words, analyze the degree of competition, the demand for services and the amount of costs for opening a transport company. After that, draw the appropriate conclusions about whether the trucking business is profitable in your area or not.

Business registration

First of all, you need to legally formalize your type of activity. To do this, it is necessary to determine the substantive form of activity. At this stage, a lot will depend on your financial capabilities. If the start-up capital is large, and you are planning to open a large transport company, then, of course, you need to register as a legal entity. In this case, a suitable option is to form a limited liability company (LLC).

To carry out the transportation of goods on a small scale, it is much more profitable and easier to register as an individual entrepreneur.

Documentation process:

• Prepare a standard package of documents for registration of IP;
• Pay the state duty in accordance with the law;
• Submit an application to the tax service and provide your passport data, OKVED activity code.

You can collect and execute the entire package of necessary documents yourself or entrust this matter to an experienced lawyer.

Freight scheme

At the initial stage, it is necessary to analyze the market, determine the degree of demand for the service and competition in the region. I want to note that the competition in the field of cargo transportation is quite serious. But, despite this, there is always a place for an honest, decent entrepreneur who provides high-quality cargo transportation services. Your main advantage is the provision of quality services at the best prices.

Rent or buy a vehicle?

Naturally, it all depends on the material possibilities. If you can afford to buy a car to transport goods, great. Otherwise, you will have to rent a vehicle or buy a car on credit.

As a rule, start-up entrepreneurs are content with little and at the initial stage, they personally provide cargo transportation services. Over time, of course, it will be possible to open your own transport company and hire drivers.

Transportation of goods: types, conditions and features

Cargo transportation is divided into three types: the movement of cargo within the region, throughout the country and international cargo transportation. The most difficult are international shipments. It will be necessary to draw up all documents for the transported goods, transportation permits, etc. But, accordingly, the cost of transporting goods abroad is much higher. Therefore, choose the most suitable option for you, taking into account all the above nuances.

Conditions for the movement of goods

A contract for the transportation of goods is drawn up with each client. As a rule, the following points are stipulated in this document:

• Indication of the specific place of departure and the exact address of delivery;
• The name of all involved persons of the company that provides the cargo transportation service;
• Detailed characteristics of the goods;
• Choice of means of transportation of cargo;
• The cost of the service with detailed calculations;
• The terms of delivery of the goods to the destination point are negotiated.

In addition to the contract, other documents should be available when carrying out cargo transportation.

Waybill. This document contains all the data about the driver and the owner of the transport company. Also, the brand of the car, the permission and task of the driver of the route, a mark on the passage of the medical examination by the driver on the eve of the trip.

Bill of lading and order-receipt;

Property damage insurance.

Freight dispatch business plan

If you do not have the start-up capital to start a trucking business, then there is an easier way to generate income.

A dispatcher is a person who finds consignors, negotiates the delivery of cargo with the owners of vehicles, forms a route, and specifies all the conditions of transportation and the timing of delivery of goods.

You can even work as a dispatcher at home. This does not require education and any specific work skills. Communication skills, responsibility and literacy will be quite enough. Your task is to establish yourself as an honest and responsible person who will not let you down. And then with the help of word of mouth you will gain regular customers and a good stable income.

Advertising

Trucking is a business that needs publicity, especially in its early stages. Therefore, it is worthwhile to advertise your services in every possible way. Start with friends and acquaintances, tell them about your occupation and advise them to apply if necessary.

2005 year. Several years have passed since the end of my studies at the university, and I have not found a sensible application for myself. I am a historian by profession, but I was not interested in history. However, from his youth, he noticed more than once his interest in commerce, in managerial impulses and all kinds of financial schemes. Even while studying at the university, I created the Youth Public Organization “Our Choice” under the Committee on Youth Affairs of the city N (later they even prepared me for the position of Chairman of the Committee on Youth Affairs). However, something with social activities at that moment did not become full, and the desired "Mercedes" also did not appear (I had a very big predilection for the automotive industry since childhood).

And then one day, driving along the Moscow-St. Petersburg highway on an autumn day, I noticed an insanely large number of trucks flying along the road. So, apparently, at that moment the idea came to me to go into the automotive business, more precisely, the business related to cargo transportation. I immediately opened the Internet, magazines, newspapers, in short, I was looking for information about what kind of business it is and what it is eaten with! As a result, I realized one thing - that I didn’t understand anything, in addition, either the former heads of the “sovdepovskie ATP”, who fell into their hands during the “times of general division”, or criminal structures are engaged in this business. Something at that moment decreased my enthusiasm, but my interest did not disappear, I would even say it increased. I even had to take a ride on the track, talk to the "carriers", they say, too, here, I want to buy a truck. In the next two or three months, I studied the type of this business and calculated the mathematics of this project. I found out that there are two types of this “transportation” business. The first one is when you went, bought yourself a truck, put the driver behind the steering wheel, sent him on a flight and you sit for yourself, waiting for him to bring you a lot of money for well-trodden flights (this is how I told you in a simplified version). This option was somehow not suitable for me, since there was no money to buy a used Mercedes, which I dreamed about so much, not like a truck! But the second type of this business somehow immediately attracted me. I thought, this is my theme! It consisted in the following... All these truck owners, after all, turn to someone for cargo, look for cargo in order to load the truck and transport the cargo? That's right, they look for and find all sorts of different dispatchers (however, in Russia there were several tens of thousands of them). The task of the dispatcher is to find someone who needs to transport their cargo, and find someone who can transport it. True, there are many more details and subtasks for the dispatcher, but ... more on that separately sometime later. It was in this simple formula “out of thin air” that a small but frequent profit was formed from each flight. And the more trucks you load and the more often they ride back and forth, the more and more profit you get.

As a result, I borrowed 50 thousand rubles from a friend. Registered "LLC" (7000 rubles), rented an office for a month (8000 rubles), bought a computer, fax and printer (20000 rubles) and, of course, connected to the Internet. He left the rest of the money for "provision", you never know what!

First work day. I'm sitting on the Internet rummaging. What I'm looking for, I don't know. On different sites I climb (profile, of course). By that time, I already had contacts of several carriers who agreed that if I had any cargo (for good money), they would be ready to transport it. So I'm sitting on the Internet rummaging, so to speak, looking for clients. And suddenly, inadvertently, I get to a site in which there is a large list of these drivers themselves and the clients themselves, and even all the contacts are there, however, for money (the guys who came up with that site, thank you so much, I will never forget you!).

As a result, I paid a couple of thousand from my current account, got 30-day access to contacts... and go! This is where my work began. I call one, I offer cargo, I call another, I offer transport. And so from 8:00 to 18:00 every day. And I'm not the only one, there are thousands of them in the network and all over Russia. After 18:00 I make all sorts of lists (now these are databases) of drivers and customers who are somehow interested in my proposals. True, sometimes I had to lie, like the fact that the trucks are mine. Who would work with me? Would think, another intermediary! Even though I was like that at the time. Well, what to do something, it was worth starting with something.

As a result, in the first week I shipped about 8 cars and earned 12,000 rubles, in the second another 12 cars, and so on ... in a month I recaptured the "debt" 50 thousand rubles and was very pleased! With accounting and reporting, thank God, my mother helped, she is my accountant with experience.

I work, I work, and in the middle of the second month I go to one customer who ships a lot of cars a day with his products. I'm calling. I propose. I'm being "kicked off". Like, they say, “we have a cloud of our own carriers, you weren’t enough here yet!”. Okay, I think you are not alone in Russia. And I forget about them. Fortunately, this business allows you to cover a large geography, as long as there is a telephone and the Internet. Then I found a couple more small customers, and so little by little, “from the world by a thread”, it seems that the money began to appear.

A few weeks pass, and the New Year is approaching. And then the call. A representative of the plant that “kicked me off” calls and says that they do not have enough cars before the new year, and they began to deliver products to a new region and did not have time to develop contacts with local carriers. They ask to help. Of course, I'm not a vindictive guy! Agreed. But the representative says that we need to meet, discuss the nuances. I agree, meaning by this official acquaintance and conclusion of a written contract with a price agreement. In principle, everything happened just like that, however, in my office, and not at the customer's factory (which surprised me a little). And it was not in vain that I was surprised, because at the end of the conversation I was told that the cost of each transportation to which I agreed should be increased by 1000 rubles, and this amount should be transferred to this representative personally and monthly as a reward for the contract and support provided. For all questions. I took a couple of days to think. After consulting with "experienced people", he came to the conclusion "apparently everyone works this way."

The customer really turned out to be a very serious client, I delivered 8-10 cars a day to only one of his plants with a profit of 2,000 rubles. And there were three factories. By that time, I had already hired a deputy, an accountant, a couple of dispatchers and a secretary-operator. Work was in full swing. I am constantly on the road, meeting with new clients, carriers, constantly discussing directions of transportation, rates, resolving disputes, etc. In short, what I dreamed of, real business activity! Everything was going great, new lines of business were added, I even had to move the entire business to Moscow. Of course, with most of the staff. Moving to Moscow was accompanied by emotional joy. Buying an apartment, a car, renting a beautiful and spacious office in a modern business center. In short, life has improved!

Business also grew, the company became recognizable in its field. By that time, Wimm-Bill-Dann, Russian Alcohol, Rosstekloprom, Russian Aluminum, etc. were already among the main clients.

With "Wimm-Bill-Dann" in general, an interesting story happened. They refused to cooperate with us in the field of freight transportation for a very long time. And I got them so badly that they couldn’t see me anymore, except that I didn’t spend the night with them. As a result, I was very well acquainted with the logistics department and its boss, who would not mind working with us, but there are no instructions from above, therefore, there is no contract. As a result, after two months, I “enticed” almost the entire transport department with the boss to join my company. Of course, for very good money. And literally three days later I received a call from the management that almost the entire transport department had quit, and there was no one to deal with the supply of transport. As a result, now my guys were already engaged in supplying vehicles to their former plant. As you understand, I had no problems and now my employees had no problems with this. True, all this was revealed four months later, as a result, they were offered an even better salary, and they changed employers again. Although it was to be expected, since they came so easily, they should have left just as easily. But I drew a lot of conclusions from this situation. First of all, I took a close look at the staff and their motivation, so that in the future, employees would not leave me so easily.

So 2006-2007 passed, then 2008 ended, and by the end of the year I felt something was wrong. Clients somehow strangely began to pay for services, or rather, I would say, they stopped paying at all. And .... here it is CRISIS!

Back in August 2008, our company created a new direction, more precisely, new relationships with financial institutions. Name of the direction: "Management of illiquid transport assets of banks and leasing companies". We were well aware that the problems in the banking sector, first of all, would affect our company. By that time, we were planning to expand the truck fleet and were preparing for a deal with the leasing company "N" to purchase 40 vehicles. The contract value was about 4.8 million euros. Preparation and verification went on for about two months, then the leasing company asked for more additional documents, the consideration dragged on for several more months. As a result, when everyone agreed, and we were even given a positive decision of the credit committee signed by the management and stamped, and we were ready to make an advance payment, this leasing company sends us a notice of suspension of financing, because. the head office (in Europe) was not ready for funding. It became clear that if everything is so vague with the leasing company “N”, what should we do with others! Then it was decided to start working with the banking sector under the program "Management of illiquid transport assets". By that time, the crisis had greatly affected the cargo transportation sector, and many companies that failed to prepare for cost optimization measures and develop an anti-crisis strategy began to go bankrupt. Since our company mainly works with mono-customers (where at least 30 regional shipments are made daily from a client), we were ready for harsh competitive conditions.

Leased property was seized and returned to creditors on a daily basis. Banks and leasing companies had no idea what to do with it, sell it? And to whom? All car dealerships and dealers themselves cannot sell their equipment.

We approached banks and leasing companies with a proposal to manage these trucks. Our lawyers and financiers have developed several management options. Basically, we relied on the fact that when managing illiquid assets of banks and leasing companies, their balance of payments remains positive (we pay for debtors), arrears on payments are significantly reduced, and assets are redeemed at the residual value by our company for the year. These measures allowed many banks and leasing companies to get rid of illiquid (problematic) assets.

This direction of "Management of illiquid transport assets" allowed our company to avoid risky investments, adapt to the crisis liquidity of transport assets and create the necessary fleet of vehicles, which is one of the most important competitive advantages in the field of road freight transportation.

In short, this is one of the ways we solved the problem of lack of funds to increase the fleet.