Business Services
The Postal Service of the Velocity Interoperability Network provides the services on this page to the member organisations of the Velocity Interoperability Network and to other organisations posting in volume within the Network. They exist so that an organisation posting hundreds or thousands of items a month need not buy postage item by item, and so that the Service can plan the sorting capacity such postings require.
Business services are managed by the Business Services Division from the Central Exchange post office, with a second business counter and parcel depot at Westbrook. Applications, and every change to an account in force, are made in writing to the Division.
Accounts open from 7 September 2026
The services. Each may be taken separately, but all except post office boxes require an account.
- Account posting
- Postage is charged to a monthly account instead of being paid item by item. Items are handed in at a business counter, collected from the organisation by arrangement, or franked on the organisation's own premises. A statement is issued on the first working day of each month and is settled within twenty-one days.
- Bulk mail
- Postings of 200 or more identical or similarly addressed items, handed in together and accompanied by a posting docket. Bulk mail attracts a discount on the ordinary rate that rises with the volume posted in a month, and a further discount where the items are pre-sorted by district.
- Franking
- A franking machine, licensed by the Service, prints postage on the item at the point of despatch. Machines are set by the Service and read monthly; the reading is the basis of the account. Franked mail is handed in at a business counter or collected, and must be presented separated into ordinary and priority.
- Post office boxes
- A numbered box at one of the six full post offices, to which mail may be addressed instead of to a delivery point. Mail is available for collection from the start of counter hours on the day of delivery. Boxes are let to organisations and to individuals alike, in order of application.
- Business counters and parcel depots
- Counters reserved for account customers at the Central Exchange and Westbrook post offices, where large postings are accepted without queueing, dockets are checked and parcels are taken in at the depot alongside. Both open earlier than the public counters.
- Scheduled collections
- Collection from the organisation's own mail room between 15:00 and 17:00 on working days, at a time fixed in the account agreement. Collections are available to account customers posting an average of 500 or more items a month.
Bulk mail discounts. The discount is calculated on the ordinary rate for the format posted and is applied to the monthly statement. The pre-sorting discount is added to the volume discount where the posting is separated by district. Priority items are not discounted.
| Items posted in a month | Volume discount | Pre-sorting discount | Conditions of presentation |
|---|---|---|---|
| 200 to 999 items | 2 per cent | 3 per cent | Posting docket; items faced and bundled |
| 1,000 to 4,999 items | 5 per cent | 3 per cent | Posting docket; items faced, bundled and labelled by format |
| 5,000 to 19,999 items | 8 per cent | 4 per cent | As above, with 48 hours' notice of the posting |
| 20,000 items or more | 11 per cent | 4 per cent | As above, with five working days' notice and a posting plan agreed with the Service |
Business counters and depots. Account customers may hand in at any post office or counter, but large postings are better taken to a business counter, where dockets are checked at acceptance and the posting is passed straight to the sorting office.
| Counter or depot | Opening hours | Services |
|---|---|---|
| Central Exchange business counter | Monday to Friday 07:00–18:00 | Account posting, bulk mail, docket checking, franking machine readings |
| Central Exchange parcel depot | Monday to Friday 07:00–19:00; Saturday 08:00–12:00 | Acceptance and collection of parcels in quantity |
| Westbrook business counter | Monday to Friday 07:00–17:00 | Account posting, bulk mail, docket checking, franking machine readings |
| Westbrook parcel depot | Monday to Friday 06:30–18:00 | Acceptance and collection of parcels in quantity |
Opening an account. The steps below apply to every organisation.
Step 1: Check that the account is worth opening
Accounts are offered to member organisations posting more than 200 items a month. An organisation posting fewer items is better served by buying postage at a counter, since the account carries obligations of notice, presentation and settlement.
Step 2: Write to the Service
Give the name of the organisation, the site and postcode from which it will post, the officer responsible for the account, the number of items expected each month and the services required.
Step 3: Agree the terms
The Service replies within five working days with a draft account agreement setting out the collection time, the business counter to be used, the discounts that will apply and the day of the monthly statement.
Step 4: Have any franking machine set
Where the organisation will frank its own mail, the Service licenses and sets the machine before the account opens, and reads it on the last working day of each month.
Step 5: Begin posting
The account opens on the first working day of the month following the agreement. Postings are entered on a docket at each handing in, and the dockets are the record from which the statement is made.
Step 6: Settle the monthly statement
The statement is issued on the first working day of each month and is settled within twenty-one days. An account not settled within thirty days is suspended, and postings are then accepted only against payment at the counter.
Conditions. The conditions below apply to every account and to every bulk posting.
- Presentation of bulk mail
- Items must be faced the same way, bundled in hundreds, and separated by format and by rate. Where a pre-sorting discount is claimed, they must also be separated by district in the order CE, NG, SB, EF, WB, MD. A posting that is not presented as agreed is accepted at the undiscounted rate.
- Notice of large postings
- Postings of 5,000 items or more require 48 hours' notice, and of 20,000 items or more five working days' notice and an agreed posting plan, so that sorting capacity can be reserved. Unannounced large postings are sorted after the day's ordinary mail.
- Contents and addressing
- Account customers are bound by the same rules on contents and addressing as any other sender, and the account does not permit the posting of anything the Service does not accept. Bulk postings are sampled at acceptance, and a posting whose addresses lack postcodes is charged at the undiscounted rate.
- Delivery standards
- Account mail is measured against the same standards as other mail, except that bulk postings of 5,000 items or more are delivered over two working days where the Service gives notice at acceptance that it will do so.
- Closing an account
- An account may be closed by either party on one month's notice in writing. Any franking machine is read and returned to the Service, the final statement is issued on the next monthly date, and post office boxes let against the account are given up unless taken over by another payer.
Post office boxes. Boxes are let at each of the six full post offices for 60 credits a year, or 18 credits a quarter, and may be paid for on an account. Mail addressed to a box is not redirected and is held for fifteen working days where a box is given up. Applications are made at the post office concerned and are met in order of receipt.
Prices for postage and additional services are set out on the Services and Prices page, the volume of mail handled on the Statistics page, and the postcode districts used for pre-sorting on the Postcodes page. To apply for an account, write to contact@postal.gov.vin.