Document shredding is a steady, recurring-revenue business: offices, clinics, banks and law firms produce confidential paper every week and need proof it was destroyed. Starting one takes more planning than buying a truck. Here's the order most new owners work through.
1. Pick your service model
- On-site (mobile): a shred truck destroys material at the client's location while they watch. Higher equipment cost, and clients often value seeing it happen.
- Off-site (plant-based): you collect material and destroy it at your facility. Lower cost per pound, but you need a secure plant and a careful chain of custody.
- Both: many companies start with one and add the other as they grow.
2. Know your market
List the businesses within an hour or so of your yard that handle confidential paper: medical and dental offices, banks and credit unions, accountants, law firms, insurance agencies and property managers. Find out who already serves them and what they charge. Recurring accounts are the base of the business; one-time purges and residential shred events fill the gaps.
3. Equipment and facility
- A truck: a mobile shred truck for on-site work, or a box truck for off-site collection
- Locked containers to leave at client sites: consoles for offices and larger bins
- For off-site work, a secure facility with controlled access and cameras, plus a baler and a recycling buyer for the shredded paper
- Phones for drivers and a way to collect signatures at the stop
4. Paperwork and protection
- Business registration, a commercial vehicle and any local permits
- Commercial auto and general liability insurance, and ask about coverage for the loss or exposure of client information
- Background checks and a confidentiality agreement for every employee
- A written service agreement and a certificate of destruction you're proud of
- Healthcare clients will often ask you to sign a business associate agreement under HIPAA
Many established companies pursue NAID AAA Certification, run by i-SIGMA, the industry association. It isn't required by law, but some clients ask for it, and the habits it builds are worth starting with from day one.
5. Pricing
Decide how you'll charge: per container per service, per pound, per box or flat, plus minimums and a fuel surcharge. Write it down as a price list from the start so every quote matches every invoice. Our guide to pricing shred services covers the trade-offs.
6. Systems before your first route
It's tempting to run the first year on paper. The trouble is that the habits stick, and moving years of records later is harder than starting clean. At minimum, set up a customer and site list, a recurring schedule, a numbered certificate and a consistent invoice from your first stop.
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Where Trakro helps
Trakro is priced by truck, so it fits a one-truck startup and grows with you. Schedule recurring service, run routes from the driver app, send certificates automatically and invoice from the same records.
Let Trakro handle the paperwork.
Certificates, chain of custody and invoices, built from every stop.