Scheme of organizing the business of road freight transport. Business plan for a freight transport company

When studying business areas in which today you can actively develop, aspiring entrepreneurs should pay attention to the field of cargo transportation. This industry directly depends on the growth of the industrial sector, as well as on the general economic situation in the state. When planning to open a transport company, a novice businessman must first of all monitor the local market, realistically assess his ability to compete, and also draw up a competent financial plan.

Registration

After making the final decision regarding the opening of a transport company, the businessman must go through the state registration procedure. To do this, he needs to determine in what status the commercial activity will be carried out:

Individual entrepreneur.
Closed or Open Joint Stock Company.
Limited Liability Company

Important! Experts in the field of economics and law recommend that Russian citizens who decide to develop a cargo transportation business choose . Its main advantage is that the founders and managers of the company are not subject to legal liability. If problems arise with regulatory authorities, the Limited Liability Company will be liable only with personal property and assets listed on the balance sheet.

After studying this video, novice entrepreneurs will be able to learn how to properly organize document flow in a transport company:

If beginning entrepreneurs have chosen LLC as their legal form, then the best option for them would be to switch to the UTII tax regime (see also). In this case, they will be able to use up to 20 trucks. For individual entrepreneurs, tax form 3 of personal income tax is more suitable. Before starting work, company managers must open current accounts in any banking institution, since very often cargo transportation is ordered by both small and large companies that need to document their costs.

Attention! Today, Russian citizens can contact legal offices whose specialists open turnkey transport companies in record time. They can also purchase a ready-made company, with an open bank account and a full set of registration documentation.

Selection of premises

After completion of registration activities, business entities planning to work in the field of cargo transportation need to find premises for an office and a protected area for a vehicle fleet. When looking for premises where clients will be served, you can choose large business centers where offices are rented. When choosing an area for a truck fleet, you should pay attention to those places that have fences and a nearby transport interchange. Today, many companies rent out their warehouses and hangars, as well as administrative buildings in which offices for management and staff can be located.

Important! To operate a transport company, you need to purchase computers, printers, a scanner, a fax and a telephone, which are necessary to work with clients and process cargo transportation. Regular office furniture is suitable for furnishing offices.

If a novice entrepreneur has a large start-up capital, he can purchase office space. In this case, he will be able to make a profit from such real estate (rent), even if there is no development in the field of transport services. The transport company must have its own garage, in which mechanics will repair cars and carry out their maintenance. It is also recommended to equip a warehouse in which customer cargo will be temporarily stored.

A business entity must approach the issue of personnel selection with full responsibility, since the financial result and prosperity of the company will ultimately depend on the qualifications and integrity of hired workers. When hiring drivers, you need to pay attention to their experience and length of service in this field. The number of such employees should match (or better exceed) the number of trucks. If the company operates daily, then one truck needs to have 2-3 drivers. A work shift schedule is drawn up for them, which includes days off.

If truck drivers have the opportunity to independently carry out maintenance and repair of vehicles, then they can save money on the position of mechanic (otherwise, such a unit should be added to the staff). It is imperative to hire qualified and sober loaders who can carry out loading and unloading operations either manually or using specialized equipment.

To work in the office, you will need to hire an accountant, cleaners, security guards and a secretary, a trade manager, a logistics manager (the number of these employees depends on the size of the fleet), who will place orders. A large logistics company must have a lawyer on staff who can handle insurance processing. If the manager cannot find suitable specialists for the positions of lawyer and accountant, he can turn to an outsourcing company and use the services of its employees. Today, many transport organizations employ full-time doctors who examine drivers before each trip.

Important! A business entity can save money if it hires drivers with personal cargo transport.

Description of services
Marketing plan
Recruitment
Financial plan
- - - Similar business ideas:

Business plan for organizing cargo transportation on intracity and intercity routes with an initial fleet of 4 vehicles.

How much money do you need to organize cargo transportation?

According to our calculations, organizing a business in intracity and intercity cargo transportation will require investing about 4,486,000 rubles:

Purchase of GAZ-3302 9 vehicles (4 units) - RUB 4,216,000.
Add. equipment and insurance - 120,000 rubles.
Advertising budget - 100,000 rubles.
Business registration and other expenses - RUB 50,000.

Description of services

Our organization plans to provide intracity and intercity cargo transportation services. The organization’s fleet, according to the business plan, at the first stage will consist of four Gazelle cars. Intracity transportation will be charged at an hourly rate. One hour will cost 350 rubles. The main clients of this service:

Apartment and office moving;
Removal of old furniture, refrigerators and washing machines;
Removal of construction waste;
Delivery of large equipment and furniture from stores.
Movers will also be available. Payment for loaders - 200 rubles/hour.

According to our calculations, every day in the city one car will work on average 7 hours. The expected daily revenue will be 2450 rubles. Intercity transportation will be charged according to distance. One kilometer will cost 12 rubles. According to preliminary calculations, up to 40 orders for long-distance transportation will be received monthly. For example, delivering cargo from Samara to Cheboksary will allow you to earn 11,616 rubles.

To ensure income on the return trip, it is planned to use Internet services - automatic dispatch services. For example, www.avtodispetcher.ru. Using this service, you can receive information about suitable cargo (potential customers) in the desired city via SMS message.

Within the city, one machine will work on average 10 days, and 20 days will work over long distances. Potential revenue from intracity transportation will be 98 thousand rubles. per month. From intercity - 400 thousand rubles.

Download cargo transportation business plan

Marketing plan

Competition in the cargo transportation market is extremely high. Without an extensive advertising campaign, it will be extremely difficult to obtain orders. Therefore, it is planned to spend a significant part of the budget on promoting services, especially during the formation of the company. The following advertising methods will be used to attract customers:

Advertising in the media, newspapers and radio.
Internet advertising. Publishing information on bulletin boards (Avito), forums and social media. networks.
Posting advertisements around the city.
Outdoor advertising (banners on the highway).

It is also planned to cooperate with furniture stores, household appliance stores and construction markets. Such retail outlets often sell goods that can only be taken away by truck. Stores that do not have their own fleet of vehicles will be happy to cooperate with our company. A large number of orders can come from furniture factories, door and window production, and other industrial enterprises that need to unload goods to a retail outlet or wholesale warehouse in another city or region.

What equipment to choose to provide cargo transportation services

To provide cargo transportation services, four GAZ-3302 Gazelle flatbed vehicles powered by a Cummins diesel engine will be purchased. The car will have an extended body (Euro platform) measuring 6.0(l)x2.0(w)x2.2(h). The cost of the new car will be 1,054,000 rubles. Investments at this stage, taking into account insurance costs, will amount to RUB 4,256,000. There will be a parking space at the car depot for parking. Rent will cost 11 thousand rubles per month.

Recruitment

7 drivers will be hired to work in shifts. Terms of payment for drivers on intercity routes: 3 rubles/km. + 300 days + telephone. On intracity routes, payment will be made as a percentage of the amount of revenue (20%). As an organizational and legal form, it is planned to register individual entrepreneurship with the local tax service. The taxation system is UTII (single tax on imputed income). The amount of tax payments will be 16,600 rubles per month (4,150 rubles per car).

Financial plan

The estimated volume of work for intercity transportation will be 36,000 km per month. The costs in this case will be:

Fuel and lubricants (0.13 l/km, price per liter of diesel fuel is 32 rubles) - 149,760 rubles.
Payment for drivers (3 rubles/km + 300 rubles/day) - 120,000 rubles.
Depreciation (0.7 rub./km) - 25,600 rub.
Other expenses (insurance, fines, etc. - 0.5 rub./km) - 18,000 rub.
Cellular communication - 3500 rub.
Parking rental - 11,000 rub.
Taxes (UTII) - 16,600 rubles.
Total - 344,460 rubles.

How much can you earn from cargo transportation?

Revenue for 36,000 km traveled at a service cost of 12 rubles/km. will be 432,000 rubles. Hence, the company’s net profit is equal to: 432,000 - 344,460 = 87,540 rubles per month (excluding income from transportation within the city). The minimum income from the provision of cargo transportation services within the city will be 30,000 rubles per month. The profitability of organizing cargo transportation is 25%. With such indicators, the return on investment in the business occurs after 37 months of operation.

We recommend download cargo transportation business plan only for (banner_bi-plan), from our partners, with a quality guarantee. This is a full-fledged, ready-made project that you will not find in the public domain. Contents of the business plan: 1. Confidentiality 2. Summary 3. Stages of project implementation 4. Characteristics of the object 5. Marketing plan 6. Technical and economic data of the equipment 7. Financial plan 8. Risk assessment 9. Financial and economic justification of investments 10. Conclusions

Cargo transportation is a popular service. Business in the field of cargo transportation, if properly organized, brings a stable income. Therefore, it is popular among small businesses, despite high competition. How to start a cargo transportation business? What permissions are needed? How much do you need to invest at the first stage? Read about this in our article.

First steps in organizing cargo transportation

The preliminary stage is market research. Analyze the activities of large cargo transportation companies in your region. Study the situation in this area, find out what types of cargo and vehicles are most in demand. This information will be the starting point for creating your own transport company.

The next step is to develop a business plan in which:

describes the stages of project implementation;
a marketing strategy is developed;
costs are calculated (including for the purchase of transport and equipment), potential profits and payback periods;
risks are assessed.

The business associated with the transportation of goods is quite specific, but like any other it requires compliance with legal regulations. Setting up a freight forwarding company will require investment. Their size depends on the financial capabilities, goals and size of the future business.

An individual entrepreneur can start with 400 thousand rubles, a transport company will invest at least 5 million.

Types of cargo transportation

Cargo transportation can be carried out by air, rail, water and road transport. A large logistics company can afford to combine different modes of transportation, ensuring multimodality. But small and medium-sized businesses (SMEs) typically start with road transport. This is the most affordable type in terms of organization, start-up costs and demand for such services.

According to the international consulting company KPMG, in 2017-2018 the volume of road transport in Russia is gradually recovering and by the end of this year may reach the level of 2014. Growth is driven by small and medium-sized enterprises. 73 percent of the market is occupied by the transportation of general cargo or FTL (Full Truck Load), that is, ordering a vehicle fully loaded with goods. The fastest growing sector is LTL (Less Truck Load). This is a type of transportation in which one vehicle transports cargo from different shippers to a warehouse (about 17 percent of the market). Dangerous and oversized cargo occupy only 3 and 7 percent, respectively.

To transport small-sized cargo weighing up to 3.5 tons, the following are most often used:

GAZ-3302,
"Gazelle Next"
"Gazelle Business"
Ford transit,
Volkswagen Crafter,
"ZIL bull."

Such vehicles are in demand when transporting goods related to construction, catering, trade and small-scale production. For bulk cargo and agricultural products, there is a separate category - trucks with an open body (MAZ, ZIL models, compact dump trucks).

Medium-sized cargo up to 5 tons is transported on vehicles with isometric vans of different capacities (for example, Hyundai HD78). Large cargo over long distances is transported, as a rule, in Euro trucks. Depending on the type of cargo, the semi-trailer on the vehicle is changed. It can be tented, isometric or all-metal.

Registration of a business in the field of cargo transportation

Register as an individual entrepreneur or create a legal entity? This is a question all aspiring entrepreneurs ask themselves.

If we are talking about a small company, registering as an individual entrepreneur has advantages over an LLC. Firstly, it is possible to work under one of the special tax regimes, such as the simplified taxation system, popular among small and medium-sized businesses (you can change it during the work process). Secondly, there is no need to maintain complex accounting records.

But there is another side to the coin:

if the company develops (significant increase in staff, purchase of equipment, increase in income), it will be necessary to open an LLC;
For debt to a client or bank, an individual entrepreneur, unlike a legal entity, is liable with his own property.

As practice shows, most small private owners working in the field of cargo transportation prefer individual entrepreneurs. When registering, you must select OKVED codes from the all-Russian classifier. The following activity codes will be needed as the main ones: 49.4 “Activities of road freight transport and transportation services”, 49.41 “Activities of road freight transport” and 63.4 “Organization of cargo transportation”.

After completing the registration of an individual entrepreneur, you will need permits. For SMEs carrying out transportation in small volumes within the city, a license is not required. The exceptions are the transportation of dangerous goods and air transportation. A complete list of licensed activities is contained in Law N99-FZ. You can read about what types of activities an individual entrepreneur can engage in.

Road freight transportation over a distance of more than 50 kilometers requires the driver to have the following documents:

waybill,
insurance,
waybill,
acceptance certificate,
contract for services.

Should I buy a truck?

Car purchases are the most expensive part of the freight transportation business. The entrepreneur chooses the number of vehicles, their carrying capacity and other characteristics based on the type of cargo and the size of the starting capital. Individual entrepreneurs usually start with the purchase of several machines. The vehicle fleet is expanded if the business generates sufficient income.

Buying or renting trucks

One of the options for starting a business in the field of cargo transportation is renting a car or leasing agreement. Leasing is gaining popularity in Russia due to acceptable conditions and is ideal for those who are not confident in their abilities. Equipment leasing is a long-term lease with the option of purchase at the residual value. This scheme is convenient, first of all, because you do not need to immediately pay for the cost of the truck. When purchasing automobile equipment, it is better to focus on new vehicles.

The estimated cost of some models of trucks is shown in the table:

Requirements for the safety of cargo transportation and drivers

The entrepreneur is obliged to provide safe conditions when transporting goods. The basic requirements were approved by order of the Ministry of Transport of the Russian Federation N7 dated January 15, 2014. These rules provide in particular that:

the permissible weight of the cargo must not exceed the value specified in the PTS;
the weight of the load must be distributed evenly in compliance with the weight and dimensional parameters of the machine;
each type of cargo must have special packaging;
it is necessary to draw up a cargo placement diagram.

The driver must know the structure of the truck, be able to handle operating materials and fill out the relevant documents. A mandatory requirement is Russian citizenship.

Profitability of cargo transportation business

The profitability of a business in the field of cargo transportation can be calculated using the formula: P = D minus C (where D is income, C is the cost of transportation).

The cost of a cargo delivery service consists of direct costs (rental and maintenance of equipment, payment for fuel and lubricants, driver salaries) and indirect costs (overhead costs, including driver meals, communications, management salaries).

The result obtained for the reporting period (month, quarter, year) is compared with the previous one. Based on such a simple analysis, one can conclude how profitable or, on the contrary, how unprofitable the chosen type of transportation is. Revenues must be at least a third higher than costs.

The average payback period for a cargo transportation business ranges from three months to several years.

Three months of accounting, HR and legal support FREE. Hurry up, offer is limited.

Nowadays, cargo transportation is a fairly popular and promising business. But a sufficient number of large and very tiny companies are already operating in this market, providing various services for moving goods. In order to successfully choose your niche and successfully withstand competition, you need to carefully weigh your capabilities, work out a business plan, and take into account all the intricacies of such a business.

Before you open a cargo transportation business, you need to choose the appropriate type of transport and think about the features that will help you stand out among your competitors. A win-win option has always been to rely on consistent quality of transportation, customer satisfaction, integrity and honesty.

Each entrepreneur has his own opportunities, but the main points of starting a business will be similar to each other, differing only in the breadth of scope and the availability of capital. So, the very first steps in organizing cargo transportation will look like this:

1. Register a company or become an individual entrepreneur (IP).

2. Purchase or rent trucks.

The number and brands of cars purchased will depend on the expected scope of work and the state of finances. If you have a couple of Gazelles at your disposal, then you shouldn’t count on serious orders. With such a fleet of vehicles, you will have to limit yourself to single applications from individuals when moving or transporting a small batch of goods. To serve larger clients, you will need Euro trucks with a large carrying capacity. Alternatively, you can team up with several private car owners. In some regions of Russia, cargo transportation in open Gazelles is common.

3. Rent an office or purchase premises for it.

However, with modest plans, you can limit yourself to your own apartment and garage.

4. Hire workers.

The following specialists will be needed: drivers, loaders, mechanics, lawyer, accountant, dispatcher. Moreover, one employee can combine several responsibilities at once.

5. Open a bank account.

6. Competently draw up a contract with the customer for transportation.

Cargo transportation: types, conditions, features

Cargo transportation is carried out both within the region and throughout Russia and between different countries.

In the case of delivery of goods between regions, even if the vehicle does not cross state borders, special permission is required for the movement of heavy and large cargo. After it is received from the territorial road authorities and approved by the traffic police, a pass is issued for the right to move freight transport.

When moving cargo between countries, much more permitting documents will be needed.

In addition to road transport, rail, sea, river and air transportation are widely used. The most cost-effective and speed-of-travel option is road transport. It is more profitable to use the railway one when the delivery point is located at a considerable distance from the main roads and under any climatic conditions. Sea and river transport have low cost of transportation. Air transportation is most often used when there is a strict time limit or the impossibility of other access to the destination.

Conditions for moving goods may vary between companies involved in cargo transportation, but the contracts usually stipulate the following:

place of departure and delivery;
names of all persons and companies involved;
product characteristics;
description of the means of transportation;
contract price and payment procedure;
deadlines.

When drawing up a contract, it is also necessary to provide for all the specifics of transportation, including the route. Agreements can be signed both for a single supply and for a sufficiently long period of time.

It is worth remembering that all financial responsibility for the duration of the route falls on the owner of the vehicle.

Drivers who will deliver dangerous goods, such as compressed gases, explosive or toxic materials, must obtain a special permit in accordance with the established procedure.

Usually, in order to arrange a trip by vehicle, in addition to the contract, you must have the following documents:

waybill with information about the driver and business owner, the make of the car and its characteristics, permission and assignments for the driver, as well as a note about his pre-trip medical examination;
waybill and order receipt;
compulsory and voluntary insurance in case of property damage.

Freight dispatcher: home business

One of the options for a business idea for cargo transportation is to organize it without having your own car. In this case, the dispatcher, whom shippers contact, looks for the appropriate transport for a specific product, negotiates the terms of transportation, its cost, and creates the desired route. And after the work is completed, he receives his agreed percentage of its total cost.

To work as a dispatcher, you do not need special education, just communication skills, attentiveness, and perseverance. It is also important to have a calm, stress-resistant character.

You can start a business in your apartment, having only a computer with the Internet, a telephone and a fax. But you still have to register as an individual entrepreneur. It is also necessary to draw up a business plan for a freight dispatch service.

How to open an individual entrepreneur for cargo transportation

The process of registering an individual entrepreneur for cargo transportation is almost the same as for regular registration and consists of submitting the following papers to the tax authority:

statement;
receipt of payment of the duty;
a copy of the passport pages with your own data and registration of place of residence;

OKVED code for cargo transportation you can choose the following:

63.4 “Organization of cargo transportation”
60.2 “Other land transport activities”

Moreover, individual entrepreneurs for cargo transportation can be registered not only in personal presence, but also by power of attorney certified by a notary. Along with the cost of paying the fee, you will need to order a personal stamp for documentation and open a bank account.

A great help for a newbie in cargo transportation will be drawing up a well-thought-out business plan. Since everyone’s initial conditions are different, everyone will have their own business plan. But the average option includes the following:

General overview section. It describes the form of the business, goals, and relevance of the project.
Description of activity
Analysis of the cargo transportation market. This section provides an overview of the market in this segment in the region, analyzes the shortcomings of competitors and offers its advantages.
Production work plan. It discusses the sequential steps to complete the work, the expected risks, and a description of the necessary resources.
Project costs. All current and expected expenses, income and calculation of efficiency and payback are described.

How much can you earn from cargo transportation? Depending on the tonnage of the vehicle and the nature of transportation, you can receive from 50 thousand rubles per month. You can download an example of a ready-made business plan for cargo transportation for individual entrepreneurs.

Ready-made cargo transportation business

Many entrepreneurs are ready to buy a ready-made cargo transportation business rather than organize it from scratch. As a rule, the established business already has a fleet of cars that employ drivers and dispatchers, a base of regular customers has been established, and some contracts have even been concluded for a long period. The only thing that is needed from the buyer is an investment of money and further competent management.

If you have no experience in managing cargo transportation, then it is best to start at the intracity level.
Needs to be installed long-term relationships with clients, since this will not only provide you with regular orders, but will also give you additional advertising.
Always ask from large clients letters of recommendation. They will serve as a good guarantee of reliability.
An excellent option would be creating your own website or. This will convince potential customers that the company is serious.
Four components can lead to continued success: quality of transportation, a more attractive price for customers, safety and meeting delivery deadlines.

Useful articles

Any person sooner or later is faced with the need to transport any cargo. For individuals, this type of service usually accompanies moving, purchasing furniture, building materials or large household appliances. Manufacturing enterprises need regular delivery of raw materials, semi-finished or finished products, and trading companies need to fill retail stores with their goods.

When considering where to start a cargo transportation business, you can find that this niche in large cities is almost filled, and therefore entrepreneurs working here cannot boast of super-profits. On the other hand, studies show the presence of free demand in this industry, which even numerous offers from transport companies are not able to satisfy.

This need is associated primarily with the low quality of services and insufficient responsibility of individual market entities. It is logical to assume that an entrepreneur who successfully avoids such negative factors can provide his company with a constant high income.

Business Features

Road transport companies account for about 4% of the total volume of cargo transportation in Russia. Of course, this industry cannot compete with railroads in productivity, but for citizens and small businesses there is simply no alternative way to transport things, goods, equipment or raw materials over short distances.

Moreover, 80% of all road carriers are small firms and individual entrepreneurs with a fleet of three to five cars. This fact is explained by the availability of light-duty vehicles to the population: for example, a business plan for cargo transportation on a Gazelle requires an investment of only 1.1 million rubles, even when purchasing a new car.

When starting to organize a business, an entrepreneur must conduct some analytical work and assess the saturation of the local market for transport services. The easiest way is to use local newspapers and other media: just count the number of classified ads from other organizations to imagine the scale of the upcoming competition. Then you should find out how many cars the companies operating nearby have at their disposal, find out the tariffs for their services and the most popular areas of activity.

Finally, you need to consider the pros and cons of the trucking business so as not to miss the opportunity to take advantage of the advantages and avoid possible risks.

Listing the main advantages, it should be mentioned that:

An entrepreneur can choose one or more of dozens of available areas and cooperate with both legal entities and individuals;
The business has enormous development potential - as the vehicle fleet expands, the profitability and profit volumes of the enterprise increase;
Unlike the transportation of passengers, transportation of goods in any volume does not require licensing;
To reduce the initial investment, equipment can be rented or arranged under a leasing agreement.

Of course, the transport business is also characterized by certain disadvantages that further complicate the activities of the entrepreneur. So:

The level of competition in this market segment is quite high;
The operation of transport is accompanied by the need for constant repair and maintenance;
The carrier is responsible for any damage to the cargo received during transportation.

Types of services

A beginner learning how to properly run a cargo transportation business should take into account that only very large companies with an extensive fleet of vehicles can afford to deliver any types of cargo for any clients. For entrepreneurs whose financial resources are limited, it is better to work with a specific type of customer at first. Finding their place in the market:

Companies delivering small cargo for private clients within one city and nearby settlements;
Firms that cooperate with trading enterprises and transport various consumer goods from city to city, as well as deliver distributor products to retail stores and warehouses;
Enterprises serving industrial or mining production, transporting various types of raw materials, semi-finished or finished products;
Intermediary companies that do not own their own fleet of vehicles and use the services of third-party carriers to service clients.

In the process of considering the question of how to open a cargo transportation business from scratch, you need to pay attention to the fact that the main service of the company in any case remains the movement of any objects over short or long distances. Depending on the type of vehicle, type of cargo and distance, all activities included here can be classified as follows:

Transportation of goods. Includes delivery of furniture, household appliances, building materials and other goods for legal entities and private customers;
Transportation of passengers. This type of activity involves servicing regular routes, transporting tourists and vacationers, as well as delivering employees of any enterprises to their place of work and back;
Moving. The service is in demand among citizens and companies transporting things from one place to another - for example, to a country house, to a new apartment or to an office;
Garbage removal. Most often, special transport is required to provide this service, but ordinary trucks can also be used to remove industrial, construction and household waste;
Special transportation. This implies the delivery of specific, oversized, perishable or dangerous goods. For these purposes, tank trucks, truck cranes, refrigerators, low-loader trawls, tow trucks, timber trucks, etc. are used.

You can increase the profitability of your cargo transportation business and win the favor of customers by providing additional services that allow customers to save money, time and resources. This includes:

Loading and unloading of goods by the contractor;
Dismantling and packaging of things, furniture;
Goods safety insurance;
Customs declaration for international transport.

Documentation

Where to start a cargo transportation business? To operate legally and safely, an entrepreneur must register his activities in the prescribed manner by contacting the local tax office. For a company with one owner, it is better to choose an individual entrepreneur, and when organizing a business with partners, it is better to choose an LLC.

Registration is carried out on the basis of an application, which should indicate the passport details of the individual, his registration address, the desired types of activity according to OKVED and the preferred taxation system. After issuing the certificate, you need to open a bank account for non-cash payments, order a stamp for documents and register with various funds.

For any entrepreneur, it is logical to want to save on tax payments. Considering the existing taxation systems and the criteria that companies applying for their use must meet, we can identify two schemes that are most loyal to cargo carriers:

USN. The simplified system is used in two versions: payment of 6% of the company’s total income or transfer of 15% of net profit (after deducting expenses). Since 2018, the use of the simplified tax system has been permitted for enterprises whose turnover for the previous year does not exceed 120 million rubles, and the value of fixed assets - 150 million rubles;
UTII. In this case, there are no restrictions on turnover, however, the number of transport units at the enterprise should not exceed 20, and the number of employees - 100 people. The rate is calculated based on the base profitability of one car (6,000 rubles) and the actual number of cars. The advantage of UTII is the possibility of deducting insurance premiums of individual entrepreneurs and transfers to funds for employees from the tax amount.

Before you open a cargo transportation business, you must also order lawyers to develop a standard contract for the provision of transportation services. When concluding an agreement with a client, this document indicates:

Exact addresses for loading and unloading of goods;
List of company employees involved in organizing transportation;
Dimensions, weight and other parameters of the cargo;
Type and characteristics of the vehicle;
The final cost of the service and the payment procedure;
Delivery terms.

In addition, each individual transportation process requires filling out a vehicle waybill, a waybill, as well as an insurance policy in case of any damage to the cargo (if such a service is available).

Car park

When drawing up a business plan for cargo transportation, an entrepreneur needs to remember that it is hardly possible to purchase cars for all occasions. Therefore, first of all, you should determine the target audience of the company, study its needs and find out the main types of cargo - for example, furniture, building materials, food, liquids, bulk substances. Based on this data, it is necessary to select vehicles designed to solve specific problems.

In the process of implementing a business idea for cargo transportation, the question of choosing between new and used cars may arise. There is no clear solution to this situation, since new models are much more expensive, and used cars require additional repairs and maintenance. However, practice shows that it is better to purchase any domestically produced vehicles in a showroom or at a factory, and foreign trucks - when they are no more than three years old. The fleet of a logistics company may include:

Light vehicles. Among domestic models, the most popular trucks and minibuses are “Gazelle Business”, “Gazelle Next”, “ZIL Bychok”, capable of transporting from 1.5 to 3 tons of cargo. The cost of a new Gazelle is from 1,100 thousand rubles, with low mileage - from 810 thousand rubles;
Isothermal vans. A sandwich panel body with thermal insulation properties is most often installed on five-ton trucks. Such vehicles can be used to transport both regular and perishable goods. The cost of three-year-old Hyundai HD65 and Hyundai HD78 cars belonging to this class is in the range of 1.9–2.2 million rubles;
Truck tractors. Designed for long-distance transportation of long cargo semi-trailers with a carrying capacity of 20–30 tons. The cost of Scania, Mercedes, Volvo, and Man trucks starts at 4 million rubles;
Trucks with open body. Various models “MAZ”, “KAMAZ”, “ZIL”, “FAW”, “Tatra” are used for transporting bulk and large cargo - sand, earth, building materials, agricultural products. This category also includes dump trucks and vehicles with trailers;
Special equipment. To transport non-standard cargo, special-purpose equipment is used - food tank trucks, fuel trucks, refrigerators, manipulators, tow trucks, low-loader trawls, car transporters.

Staff

Running a trucking business on your own is quite difficult. An entrepreneur who owns a single vehicle can still cope with administrative work, but expanding the fleet inevitably entails the need to hire additional employees, including:

Drivers. The number of drivers is determined by the vehicle load. For example, with a standard eight-hour workday, one person per vehicle is enough, for long-distance transport, two are needed, and for trucks operating around the clock, three;
Mechanic. Of course, for a vehicle fleet consisting of two cars, it is not advisable to hire a mechanic, but if the number of vehicles exceeds 5-6, you need to invite an experienced specialist to work. His responsibilities will include routine repair and maintenance of trucks, inspection before leaving the line and other measures to prevent and eliminate technical faults;
Dispatcher. As a business, cargo transportation requires constant coordination of transport operations and monitoring of the current situation in order to process orders in a timely manner. If the number of cars exceeds 2–3, the entrepreneur will need the help of a dispatcher, whose list of responsibilities will include accepting applications from clients and receiving information from drivers in the process of completing them;
Accountant. An outsourced specialist can easily handle accounting for a company that owns two trucks. If the number of vehicles exceeds five or six, it is better to hire a part-time accountant. If an entrepreneur considering how to develop a freight transportation business plans to expand the fleet to ten units or more, he cannot avoid hiring a full-time employee;
Loaders. A company providing a full range of services will definitely need loaders - qualified specialists without bad habits, who can work quickly and accurately. To create a positive image of the enterprise, they should be given a new uniform with corporate symbols;
Managers. In the early stages of organizing a cargo transportation business, you can do without office workers, however, in the future, the entrepreneur should hire a sales manager who searches for clients and a logistics manager who compiles and optimizes transport routes.

Production area

Providing transport services is considered a space-friendly activity, since you can start a cargo transportation business from scratch even in your own apartment, using a home computer and telephone. However, some clients negatively perceive this format of the company, and therefore all entrepreneurs sooner or later realize the need to rent an office.

A large area is not needed, since a maximum of five people will be at the workplace at the same time - the director, accountant, managers and dispatcher. Location is also not particularly important, since basic issues are resolved over the phone. You can rent such an office even in a large regional center for 230–250 rubles/m² per month.

Let's assume that an entrepreneur starts a cargo transportation business from scratch and has two or three cars. At this stage, he will not need the help of other support staff except the dispatcher: drivers and loaders will be constantly on the routes, and an outsourcing company will handle the accounting. Therefore, the office equipment can be represented as follows:

Office equipment

Name	price, rub.	Qty	Amount, rub.
Work table	3500	2	7000
Chair	1000	4	4000
PC or laptop	18000	2	36000
Internet connection	1000	1	1000
Telephone lines	1500	2	3000
Telephone sets	1500	2	3000
Switching equipment	2000	1	2000
MFP	11000	1	11000
Filing Cabinets	3000	1	3000
Rack	2500	1	2500
Stationery	–	–	4000
Other small equipment	–	–	5000
Total:			81500

The second important issue that must be resolved when starting a freight transportation business is finding a place to park trucks: by leaving them in the yards, the entrepreneur risks causing dissatisfaction with residents, while parking lots for cars are simply not capable of accommodating vehicles of this size. The ideal option is to have your own garages, however, finding a box more than 12 m long and more than 4 m high, as well as its construction, is not always possible. Therefore, businessmen rent space in the territories of motor depots or in specialized parking lots for trucks: the cost of one parking space here is in the range of 100–150 rubles per day.

Search for clients

As a small business, cargo transportation is of interest to many beginning entrepreneurs who have the required capital, as a result of which the level of competition in the transport services market remains quite high. To find your client, the owner of the enterprise needs to pay constant attention to promoting and finding clients, spending a significant part of the budget on this.

The most effective for attracting individuals are:

Contextual advertising in search and on thematic sites;
Advertising on social networks, maintaining your own group;
Offers of services on the Avito service;
Searching for customers and publishing proposals on portals;
Advertising and notices in free newspapers;
Posting advertisements at bus stops, near construction materials markets;
Collaboration with furniture stores, household appliances supermarkets;
Cooperation with intermediary companies;
Your own website in a one-page or full-fledged resource format.

When working with corporate customers and other entrepreneurs in the business plan of a cargo transportation company, you need to consider slightly different channels for organizing demand, including:

Participation in tenders held by large public and private companies to find performers;
Cold calls to managers of enterprises potentially in need of cargo transportation or forwarding;
Distribution of commercial offers to customers indicating the list of services, price range, terms and conditions of delivery;
Registration on popular cargo transportation portals.

Investments

For an enterprise that does not involve the construction of its own office building or warm garage boxes, the main investment will be related to the purchase of cars. Below is an example of a business plan for a freight transport company whose fleet consists of two cars - a one and a half ton Gazelle and a five ton Hyundai with an isothermal body. The presence of such trucks will allow the entrepreneur to provide a wider range of services in the transportation segments of both regular cargo and food products, as well as simultaneously work with private and corporate customers.

Initial Investment

Analyzing the structure of an enterprise's current expenses, it should be noted that many variable costs depend on the mileage of vehicles, while others appear once a year. So:

The cost of compulsory motor insurance for vehicles of the specified carrying capacity is 5880 rubles. Insurance is paid annually;
The cost of technical inspection for vehicles weighing up to 3.5 tons is 1,100 rubles, for vehicles weighing up to 12 tons is 1,900 rubles. Inspection is carried out annually;
When operating at 75% load (six hours a day), the average vehicle mileage is 120–130 kilometers per day;
The average fuel consumption in the combined cycle is from 12 liters per 100 kilometers, and the cost of diesel fuel is 30 rubles per liter;
The cost of maintenance for trucks of this class is up to 10,000 rubles per 15,000 kilometers.

Monthly expenses

Article	Amount, rub.
Office rental	4600
Rent a parking lot for two cars	6000
Maintenance and repair	4160
fuels and lubricants	22460
Transport tax	270
OSAGO	980
Technical inspection	250
Car wash	1200
Driver salaries, 2 people	56000
Salary of loaders, 2 people	32000
Dispatcher salary	12000
Insurance premiums for employees	30000
Accounting services	5000
Insurance premiums for individual entrepreneurs	2300
Marketing expenses	15000
Communications, stationery	3000
Total:	195220

You can learn how to open such a company and organize its work from video lessons on doing business in the field of cargo transportation:

Video on the topic

Revenues and profitability

Is the trucking business profitable? The profitability of an enterprise is largely determined by the effectiveness of advertising, correct pricing policy and quality of work. Average tariffs for services of transport companies in large regional centers are given below:

Tariffs for company services

Let's say the enterprise will operate on a six-day schedule with 75% load, fulfilling an average of 1-2 orders per day with the provision of loading and unloading services. Thus, the effective working day for drivers will be 6 hours, for loaders - 3 hours. These data allow you to calculate the expected monthly profit:

Enterprise profitability

Based on the results obtained, we can conclude that in order to increase profitability and reduce the payback period, the business plan of a freight transport company needs to provide for an expansion of the vehicle fleet as the customer base develops and the number of orders grows: overhead costs will grow more slowly than income.

Conclusion

The main competitive advantages of small motor transport enterprises are mobility, the ability to quickly respond to changes in the market situation and affordable prices: unlike large carriers, their owners do not need to maintain huge office buildings and additional staff.