A community network for independent stores
Independent stores. Franchise strength. Community first.
Pack and Kin is a network of independent pack-and-ship stores that pool their buying power and share one operating system — so a family-owned counter can compete with any franchise, and bring genuine, low-cost services home to the businesses and neighbors it serves.
Switching software?
Your counter deserves better than another monthly bill.
Most pack-and-ship stores run on one of three systems. Here’s what changes when you move to PAKS.
Coming from PostalMate
Leave the Windows PC behind.
PostalMate costs $95 a month plus a $295 setup fee1, and it runs on Windows. PAKS runs in any browser on any device, and the whole counter is free.
Coming from ShipRite
No licence to buy.
ShipRite averages about $193 a month in the first year, counting its licence and support fee2, and it runs on Windows. PAKS has no licence fee, no support fee and nothing to install.
Coming from Bullship
The cloud, without the $60.
Bullship is $60 a month, with labels sold through your own Shippo account.3 PAKS is free, with network shipping rates, card processing and accounting built in.
Side by side
How PAKS compares.
| PAKS | PostalMate | ShipRite | Bullship | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Software price | $0 free plan | $95/mo + $295 setup1 | About $193/mo, averaged2 | $60/mo or $600/yr3 |
| Runs on | Any browser, any device | Windows | Windows | Any browser |
| Accounting | Built-in ledger, invoicing & bank reconciliation | Syncs with QuickBooks | Integrates with QuickBooks | Not listed |
| Shipping labels | Network co-op rates built in | Carrier integrations | Carrier integrations | Through your own Shippo account |
| Office suite | OfficeKin docs, sheets & slides | Not listed | Not listed | Not listed |
| Self-serve kiosks | Shipping & drop-off (paid pack) | Drop-off only | Not listed | Listed |
| Co-op buying power | Member network programs | Software only | Software only | Software only |
“Not listed” means we couldn’t find it in the vendor’s published materials. Competitor details are from public listings checked October 2026 and may have changed; see the sources below.
What PAKS replaces
Add up what you pay for today.
Your shipping software is only one line on the bill. PAKS replaces several subscriptions a store usually pays for separately.
| What you need | Typical tool | Typical cost / mo | With PAKS |
|---|---|---|---|
| Pack-and-ship software | PostalMate1 | $95 | Included |
| Accounting | QuickBooks Online Essentials4 | $85 | Included |
| Office apps | Microsoft 365 Business Standard, per user5 | $42 | OfficeKin, included |
| Scheduling & time tracking | Homebase Essentials6 | $30 | Included |
| Customer records (CRM) | HubSpot Starter, per seat7 | $45 | Included |
| Buying group & website | RS Associates Premium + Website8 | $45 | Free co-op membership + website builder |
| Monthly total | $342 | $0 on the free plan | |
| Over a year | $4,104 | $0 | |
It also lowers what you can’t remove
- Card processing at co-op pricing, with no long-term contract
- Parcel insurance through the network, with claims handled for you
- Shipping, freight and supplies at network rates
What’s not included
Paid packs are optional and flat-priced, such as Kiosks ($129/mo), Payroll hand-off ($39/mo) and CRM Pro with sales pipeline and quotes ($39/mo). OfficeKin covers documents, spreadsheets and slides; you still need a mailbox provider for business email.
Self-serve kiosk
Estimate the counter time a kiosk covers.
When customers ship and drop off on their own, those hours no longer need a person at the counter. Enter your numbers.
Wages only. Payroll taxes and benefits would add to the savings. The kiosk hardware is a separate one-time cost, and actual savings depend on how many customers use it.
- PostalMate: $95/month plus a $295 one-time setup fee.
- ShipRite: first-year average. A licence “starting at $1,000” (FedEx Compatible solutions listing) plus an annual support fee of $1,320 ($110/month) comes to $2,320, or about $193 a month.
- Bullship: bullship.co FAQ ($60/month or $600/year) and its how-to page (labels through Shippo).
- QuickBooks Online Essentials, up to 3 users, after Intuit’s August 2026 price change.
- Microsoft 365 Business Standard, $14 per user per month on an annual plan, from July 2026.
- Homebase Essentials, $30/month per location (Capterra listing).
- HubSpot Starter, $15 per seat per month on an annual plan.
- Retail Shipping Associates Premium + Website plan, $45/month.
Typical costs are published list prices checked in October 2026, rounded to the dollar. Your own prices may differ.
How the network works
We pay stores to serve their community.
Our co-op programs aren’t only discounts. When your store brings them to the businesses you already serve, the network pays your store for that work. Every program becomes a new line of revenue beyond the counter.
We negotiate as one
Independent counters buying together get the shipping rates, card processing, insurance, freight and supplies a single store never could on its own.
You bring it to Main Street
You invite the bakery, the online seller and the law office down the street into our co-op programs. They save money, and they keep coming back to your counter.
We pay you for it
When the businesses you bring in use the programs, the network pays your store. You earn on more than the parcels that cross your counter.
New ways your store earns
Who we serve
Built behind a shipping counter. Open to the whole street.
Pack-and-ship stores
Independent and family-owned stores that want franchise-grade tools and pricing without giving up their independence.
For stores →Local businesses
Shops, offices, makers and online sellers, invited by their local network store into low-cost co-op programs.
Co-op programs →Contract postal units
Post office counters facing closure that want to stay open under their own name, with more carriers than before.
Keep your doors open →Small businesses
PAKS, the system our stores run on, is a small-business operating system: register, books, invoicing and customers in one place.
Meet PAKS →Neighbors & rural towns
Fast, friendly, locally owned shipping and mailbox service — especially where the nearest post office has closed.
Why it matters →Young people starting out
The KINSHIP Program trains foster and low-income youth in real network workplaces and helps place them in jobs.
KINSHIP →Compete with the franchise
Everything a franchise gives you. Nothing it takes.
Franchises win on buying power, systems and support. The network gives an independent store all three — through a co-op it belongs to, not a brand that owns it.
A typical franchise
- Their name over your door
- Required vendors and suppliers
- Territory and operating rules set for you
- Profit leaves the town
A network store
- Your name, your sign
- Co-op pricing you can choose to use
- Your hours, your services, your rules
- Value stays in the community
PAKS · Pack and Kin Studio
One operating system for the counter and the back office.
PAKS is the small-business operating system every network store runs on. It was built at a pack-and-ship counter, and it is free to start.
- Point of sale with shipping on the same ticket
- USPS, UPS and FedEx rates side by side
- Mailboxes, package logging and CMRA reporting
- Accounting, invoicing, customers and tasks
- OfficeKin docs, sheets, slides and email
- Self-serve shipping and drop-off kiosks
- Unlimited staff logins — nothing to install
An illustration of the PAKS register. Figures are examples, not live quotes.
Only on PAKS
More than a register.
Two things you won’t find in typical shipping-store software.
OfficeKin productivity suite
Documents, spreadsheets, presentations and business email, built into the system you already run the store on. Edit together in real time, and open Word, Excel and PowerPoint files.
Explore OfficeKin →Self-serve shipping kiosks
Customers weigh, compare live rates, pay on your card terminal and print their own label. Drop-offs and returns check in without a line.
See the kiosks →What we stand for
Our guiding principles
The network is built to keep ownership local and wealth in the community — not to grow by extracting from it.
Local ownership, local control
Every location is owned and run by the people who live there.
Shared rails, shared strength
One platform and one buying group, so no store stands alone.
Resilience through decentralization
Many independent counters are harder to shut down than one chain.
Choice and interoperability
Multiple carriers and open data — stores are never locked in.
Customer dignity
Fast, friendly service without the long line.
Workforce opportunity
Good local jobs, and a path into them through KINSHIP.
Practical innovation
Kiosks, lockers and software that solve real counter problems.
Universal access
Rural equity first — service where others are pulling out.
Community wealth
Growth that stays in the town, not growth that drains it.
Our story
We started as one family-owned pack-and-ship store, tired of outdated software and of watching neighbors lose their post office. So we built the network we wished we had.
Bring the network to your town.
Run a pack-and-ship store? Join the network. Run a local business? Ask your nearest Pack and Kin store for an invitation.