A DSA Provider is a term for one of the new companies that have entered the postal market over the last few years.
Typically they are able to offer significant discounts when compared to Royal Mail pricing, especially when posting via one of the Mailsorted products.
What do DSA Providers actually do?
They replicate much of the trunking of mail that RM does. They pick up sorted mail and deliver to the correct RM Inbound Mail Centre. RM then process and sort this inbound mail into what is referred to as the "final mile", where RM postmen and women then undertake the actual delivery of the mail to the recipient's front door.
Looking to reduce your postage costs?
We work with the main DSA providers and can access the full range of postage products. To see how much you could save, why not get in touch with us and we will be glad to provide you with the details of how much you could be saving
Contact Us
Get in touch so we can detail how much you could be savingThere are a number of delivery speed options. Here are some of the more commonly used services.
- Mailsort 1 & Std Tariff 1st class - Delivered next working day.
- Mailsort 2 & Std Tariff 2nd class - Delivered within 3 working days.
- Mailsort 3 - Delivered within 7 working days.
The main services that Downstream Access Providers (DSA) provide are comparable to Mailsort 2 delivery speeds.
If you are posting at least 4000 letters or at least 1000 large letters, A3 packets or packets within the UK then your mailing should be eligible for mailsort.
Your mailing list must also be at least 90% postcoded. If this is not the case then our PAF cleansing service can highlight and update incorrect postcodes.
Actual Mailsort discounts vary from mailing to mailing and are determined by the service chosen, the weight and size of your mail piece and the information contained within your mailing list. If you would like us to run your mailing list through our mailsort software please give us a call.
Mailsort is a service offered by Royal Mail (equivalent services exist for Downstream Access Providers) which enables us to undertake much of the sortation that RM would normally undertake. For doing this RM provide discounts on postage costs of up to 30%.
For VAT reasons we have to pass on the full discount (may be worth checking if current supplier does the same)
We quite often find that the costs we charge for undertaking campaigns for our customers is more than covered by the discounts we can get them by Mailsorting their mail - and this includes supply of paper, envelopes, printed letters etc.
If posting via Royal Mail -
New VAT rules came into force on 31st January 2011, however most services posted via Royal Mail currently continue to be exempt from VAT, however changes to this are planned from 2nd April 2012, meaning that most bulk services that are undertaken will now be subject to VAT, only those services that are required to be provided under the Universal Service Obligation will continue to remain exempt from VAT e.g. purchasing of 1st and 2nd class stamps. Full details can be found at http://www.royalmail.com/vat.
If posting via Downstream Access Providers
Posting via DSA providers (such as TNT), will continue to be liable for VAT.
For organisations and charities that are not VAT registered we have a number of options available to help reduce the VAT burden. Just contact us and we will be happy to explain the options available.