How Metered Mail Helps Small Businesses Save Time and Money

Mail is a cornerstone of many successful businesses. Sending monthly statements and occasional postcard campaigns help companies grow and thrive.

As the volume of mail grows, many businesses find it hard to get to a Post Office™ location to calculate the exact postage for each piece. Instead, they estimate postage to save time, which ends up costing them.

One solution to save time and money? A postage meter, which places an impression on a mailpiece as proof that payment has been made in advance. This tool makes sending mail quicker, less expensive and more customized. Here, we’ll highlight four benefits of postage meters for small businesses.

For a more in-depth analysis of metered mail’s benefits, see our article, “Metered Mail 101: The Benefits of Digital Meters.”

How to Save on Postage

Instead of estimating postage by using traditional stamps, you can weigh each piece you send—whether it’s a letter or a package—and pay the exact postage required.

Plus, USPS offers businesses that use postage meters a $.05 discount on every First-Class Mail^® letter they send.^[1] The savings add up: A small business sending 500 mailpieces a month could save about $300 a year by using a meter.

With metered mail, you can address your bulk mail far more quickly than you could with retail stamps, further saving in-house costs.

Metered Mail Helps Avoid Surcharges and Delays

When you estimate the cost to send an item—especially one that is large, heavy or unusually shaped—you may underpay for postage by using stamps. This leads to surcharges that could delay delivery or make an item undeliverable entirely.

With metered mail, you’re always paying exact postage, which helps to ensure that your mail gets to its recipients without costing you time and money.

Drop Off Mail and Skip the Line

Finding the time to get to a Post Office location can be tough. With a meter, you don’t need to go out of your way or wait in line.

Once the metered postage for your mail or packages is printed on your pieces, it’s ready to mail. Drop mail in the nearest blue collection box or at a convenient drop‑off point and get to the next thing on your to-do list.

Personalize Your Mailpiece to Boost Brand Recognition

Meters can print more than postage on your mailpieces. You can add a personalized message or your company’s branding to envelopes, too, which boosts your visibility.

Envelopes with messages specific to the recipient—as simple as “Kate, your offer is inside!”—are shown to be effective. In a survey of 600 marketers, 82% of respondents said integrated, branded and personalized direct mail is effective at reaching their target audience.^[2] In fact, they said direct mail is tied with events as the most effective marketing channel for that purpose.^[3]