How do pack-and-ship stores actually make money on shipping?
You buy postage and labels at discounted commercial rates and sell them to walk-in customers at or near carrier retail prices. The spread is your margin, and you control it - PostalPoint lets you set markup globally or per carrier and service.
Shipping is rarely the whole business, though. Most stores build revenue on top of it: mailbox rentals (recurring and predictable), packing services and materials, prepaid drop-off fees, printing and faxing, notary work, and package receiving for customers without a box.
Do I need my own carrier accounts before I can open?
No. A USPS account through EasyPost is available at signup with no minimums or contract, which is enough to start selling shipping on day one. UPS and FedEx are different - you'll want your own accounts, and ideally an ASO or FASC authorization, which you apply for with the carrier directly.
What's the difference between retail, commercial, and discounted rates?
Retail is what a walk-in customer pays at a Post Office or carrier counter. Commercial (and deeper negotiated tiers) is what volume shippers and postage resellers pay. Your store buys at the discounted rate and sells at the retail rate, and the difference is your gross margin before the software fee.
This is also why the Postage Calculator in PostalPoint shows the plain USPS retail requirement rather than your cost - it's answering "what does USPS require on this item," not "what did I pay."
If I rent mailboxes, what am I signing up for legally?
Renting mailboxes makes your business a Commercial Mail Receiving Agency (CMRA) regulated by USPS. The practical requirement is a completed USPS Form 1583 on file for every boxholder, with unexpired identification.
PostalPoint autofills the form, saves it entirely digitally, and can scan the barcode on a customer's driver's license to fill in the ID sections. Customers sign on a touchscreen. There's also an Expiring IDs report so you know which boxholders need to re-present ID before their mail delivery is affected.
Contact your local postmaster with questions or to get started as a CMRA.
Can I operate as a Contract Postal Unit (CPU)?
A CPU is a separate USPS contract that lets you sell postage at face value on behalf of USPS, with its own reporting requirements, and it's not the same thing as reselling discounted postage at a markup.
We won't stop you from using PostalPoint at a CPU, but it's your responsibility to verify that it doesn't violate your CPU contract.
What is a prepaid drop-off, and should I charge for it?
Customers bring in packages that already have labels on them - Amazon returns, eBay sales, prepaid returns - and want a receipt proving they handed it over. It's high-volume, low-revenue traffic, and handling it fast matters.
PostalPoint scans the label barcode, auto-detects the carrier, pulls the service and destination for the receipt, and prints a drop-off receipt in under ten seconds per customer. Plenty of stores charge a small handling fee; PostalPoint can also automatically charge a label printing fee when you print from a USPS Label Broker QR code.
Do I need business insurance to use PostalPoint?
Not from our side - that's your business decision, not our requirement. Other companies or franchise programs you work with may require errors and omissions or other coverage.
What about hazardous materials?
Customers must certify their package doesn't contain hazardous materials when using self-serve kiosk mode, which reduces your exposure. At the counter, HAZMAT screening is a training matter for your staff; carrier rules apply regardless of what software you run.
What hardware do I need to open?
At minimum: a computer, a 4x6 thermal label printer, a USB postage scale, and a barcode scanner. A receipt printer is optional since your label printer can print receipts. A second monitor for a customer-facing display and a touchscreen are worth adding when budget allows - the touchscreen is what lets customers sign customs forms and mailbox agreements electronically.
PostalPoint doesn't sell hardware, which means you're free to buy used or budget equipment. See the supported hardware list.
Can I run an unstaffed or after-hours shipping operation?
Yes. Any PostalPoint installation switches into full-screen self-serve kiosk mode in about two seconds. Customers weigh items, buy domestic labels, drop off prepaid packages, and print receipts without an employee. The kiosk asks shape and size questions to land on the right rate category, detects scale interference, enforces correct rates when USPS packaging is scanned, and requires a HAZMAT certification.
It also integrates with electronic locks, so outgoing packages go into a secure parcel drop that carriers can access with an on-screen PIN. Kiosk sales are reported exactly like cashier-present sales, and kiosk mode is included at no additional cost.
How do I take card payments?
Stripe is built in and supports both in-person readers and saved cards for later charges - which is what makes automatic mailbox renewals work. Plugins add Square (with a Square Terminal) and Helcim, currently in beta for in-person payments. If you want a different processor, the plugin system is open and anyone with JavaScript experience can write one; the Square plugin took less than a day.
How do I handle accounting?
PostalPoint integrates natively with Invoice Ninja, a modern and very affordable QuickBooks alternative. Postage expenses are entered automatically and every sale creates an invoice, with a client portal where your customers can view and pay invoices online. Reports export to CSV in two clicks, and plugins can push transactions in real time to other accounting systems.