Small Businesses: Why Print Postage Online

Many individuals and small business owners ask, "Why should I print postage online?"  In fact, there are many reasons why printing your postage online is preferable to doing things the "old way."  In this article we will discuss a few of the many reasons why your home-based or small business should print your own postage using online services.

The United States Postal Service, realizing the need for more efficient postage options, finally began allowing customers to print their own postage using only a home computer, an Internet connection, and a standard printer.  This decision has given rise to many online postage companies that are authorized to sell "print it yourself" postage. 

These sites have effectively revolutionized the process of preparing and posting business correspondence and packages. And the greatest beneficiaries of this revolution have been small and home-based companies, especially those that send frequent packages such as eBay businesses, or other small companies that have extensive mailing lists, or send periodic newsletters or product updates.  For these smaller companies, the online postage revolution has allowed them to compete with the "big boys,” and opened up new options for expansion and growth.

To use online postage services, no special equipment is required, and the process could not be simpler.  Most sites require the user to download a small software program that assists and setting up and printing the correct postage for any parcel.  Consider how much more efficient and time-saving this process is than taking a trip to the post office every day, waiting in line for 15 or 20 minutes, and finally having your outgoing packages weighed and the appropriate postage applied.

Using online postage there is no waste.  The individual or company only prints the exact amount of postage that they require for a given package.  This efficiency in mailing packages can help streamline business expenses and ensure that your small or home based business stays profitable, even through the tough times.

The fees associated with using online postage printing services are normally quite reasonable.  Usually, there will be a small monthly subscription fee, but this is inconsequential when compared to the daily cost and loss of productivity of making frequent "post office runs." 

Overall, small businesses can reduce their expenses while increasing their productivity by using online postage printing services. And if your small business routinely mails out orders, the increase in productivity and reduction in expenses could be dramatic.  In other words using an online postage printing service could be the difference between success and failure for many small companies.

So why wouldn't a small or home-based business use online postage services? One reason is the common misapprehension that in order to use "self postage printing" services, the company will need to rent or lease a postage meter.  While it is true that postage meters were once required by businesses wishing to print their own postage, the advent of online postage services has done away with this necessity. 

Today even the smallest home-based companies can increase productivity and reduce expenses by using an online postage printing service.  Once you try using a service to print postage online, you'll wonder how your business ever got along without it.