The Bottom Line

Common sense ways to boost your income

Plan Ahead

There’s an old saying that 20 minutes planning will save 2 hours driving.. If you have multiple deliveries on board one of the best thing you can do is take a few minutes and plan your route. Avoiding the dreaded ‘doubling back’ will save you time, fuel and ultimately allow you to earn more in your day.

Stay Healthy

If your wheels ain’t rolling then the money ain’t flowing! Odds are you don’t have any paid sick days and if you have a benefit package it’s likely pretty basic so it only makes sense that taking care of your health should be a very high priority. It’s very tempting to take on so much work that you never get a break. This only leads to increased stress in an already high stress industry. And increased stress makes you more vulnerable to a wide variety of illnesses. Your company should have health and safety material available for you to use.

- Take 20 minutes during the day and get out of your vehicle

- Use your wheeler for heavy loads

- Lift properly

- Eat a healthy diet

It seems like common sense but when the deliveries and the weather and the dispatcher all seem to have gone insane it becomes very easy to fall into the trap and go insane with them.

 

Keep Good Records

The taxman cometh and the taxman taketh. Whether you use a professional accountant or do your own taxes or don’t claim at all you want to have good record keeping. And keep those receipts! If you are ever audited the tax department will want original copies. 

Claim back your fuel GST. If you buy fuel to do your job you are eligible to get back all the GST.

While courier and messenger drivers are considered dependent by the Canada Labour Code nothing changes for Revenue Canada. You file your taxes exactly as you have previously.

Unionize

This may not be the quickest and most immediate way to boost your income but it will have the greatest long term impact. Union drivers not only receive paid vacations and stat holidays but in some cases have successfully applied for back holiday pay through Human Resources Development Canada (HRDC). The most recent case was Alpine Express in Winnipeg where in 2008 some 40 drivers shared in a $240,000 reward of back vacation pay. Union workers, on average, earn 7.7% more than non-union workers.

Most union contracts also restrict the number of drivers to the work available and have a process for ensuring that the work is divided out equally. This decreases down time and keeps your wheels rolling.