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Frequent Questions about Postage $aver ProductsMy hard drive crashed (or, I have a new computer). How do I replace my copy of Postage $aver? As long as your registration is current, you may download a replacement copy of Postage $aver at no extra charge. You can have download instructions and registration and update codes automatically sent to the email address at which you are registered by going to "Lost Codes and Downloads". I entered the registration codes that I received when I purchased Postage $aver Pro (or Secret Barcoder Ring) and I still can't find the barcode font. The barcode font is not included in the demo package, so you cannot get it simply by entering the registration codes into your demo software. Your registration notice included instructions for downloading a complete file that includes all software and the font. You must download and install that file after you purchase Postage $aver Pro or Secret Barcoder Ring if you want to install the font. The USPS tells me that I need to use a new kind of barcode, called an Intelligent Mail Barcode. When you will send me the update for that. The Intelligent Mail Barcode is currently in a trial phase with USPS. It will not be implemented for bulk mail until May, 2009. Even then, it will not be required until May, 2011. We are in touch regularly with USPS as they move forward on this change and will provide you with the necessary updates as we get closer to the implementation date. What's all this about me having to do "move update" on my mail now. I've never done that before. Beginning November 23, 2008, USPS has a new requirement for all standard mail and first class presort that essentially requires you to check to see if anyone on your list has moved since you added their address. The requirement can be met easily by simply putting "Or current resident" as the second line on each address, or you can track address correction notices, or you can send your list out to have it checked against a national USPS change of address data base. For the details, click here for our step-by-step help page for the new move update requirement. I printed my 9-digit zip codes using your barcode font and the post office says it is wrong. A proper postnet barcode contains more than just the 9-digit zip code. It is either 10 digits (for business reply mail) or 12 digits (for bulk mail), plus a start bar and a stop bar. Our Secret Barcoder Ring software creates the correct string of digits and start and stop bars for you automatically. Or, see our help page on delivery-point barcodes for technical information if you want to try to create the strings yourself. Postage $aver is telling me to put more pieces in a tray than will fit (or it is creating a new tray to a destination when the first tray to that destination is not full yet.) Every mailing has a different thickness, so it takes a different number of pieces to fill a tray. Postage $aver determines thickness from the number you put in the "Pieces in a 5-inch stack" question on the first screen of the wizard. For each mailing you prepare, you must stack up 5 inches worth and count the number of pieces in that stack. (Squish the pieces as tight as they would be if they were actually in the tray.) Postage $aver will determine the correct number for 1-foot and 2-foot trays from there. My USPS person tells me I have to use "Optional Endorsment Lines" (OELs). Postage $aver says these are optional. What's the deal? For mail that must be prepared in specific rubber-banded bundles (which includes all flat-sized mail, for example), a mailer must either place a colored sticker (like the ones below) on the top piece in the bundle, or must add an endorsement line (like ***** 5D 77036) on each piece above the address.   The sticker or endorsement line show the sorting level of the bundle (5-digit, 3-digit, etc.) For mail required to be prepared in 5-digit or 3-digit "scheme" bundles, however, the USPS had no colored sticker, so a mailer's only choice was the endorsement line. This has recently changed, as the USPS announced in June that they now have new stickers for 5-digit and 3-digit scheme bundles, so as long as mailers use these stickers, they are not required to use the endorsement line. If you choose to use OELs instead of colored stickers, they must be placed above the first line of the address. If the barcode is located above the address, the barcode goes above the OEL. The OEL must be in the same typeface as the address. The USPS is saying that my flat is now in a category called "not flat-machinable" (NFM). How do I use Postage Saver to process that category. You can use it to process NFMs, if they weigh 6 ounces each or less. Note that these NFMs are prepared in sacks, but, unlike flats, are NOT bundled. (They are just loose in the sacks.) If your NFMs weigh more than 6 ounces, they are prepared like a parcel, which Postage $aver does not support. The tray tags I'm getting for 5-digit trays from Postage $aver do not match the contents of the tray. What's wrong? Probably nothing. The USPS requires that some 5-digit zips be combined with others that are delivered from the same post office into what are called 5-digit schemes. Trays and bundles for the schemes are always labeled the main zip code for the scheme. So, if 77003 and 77010 are in the same scheme, the 5-digit scheme tray containing pieces to either of those zips may be in a tray labeled as 77003, even if all the pieces in the tray are for 77010. You can tell it's a scheme tray (rather than a tray for a single 5-digit zip) if it says SCH or SCHEME on the tag. The contents of the scheme tray or bundle are shown by scheme on the rate qualification report. USPS says I should be using the 3602NZ (or 3602RZ) and Postage Saver is printing the 3602N (or 3602R). How do I make it print the NZ? The "Z" versions of the forms are the "short forms", which are convenient for mailers filling out forms by hand but are not required. Postage Saver prints out the longer form, which does not have the "Z" at the end, but is always acceptable. I prepare Periodical Class mail. I understand that there is a new Limited Circulation Discount. Does Postage $aver calculate that and what do I have to do to qualify? Periodical Class mailers now receive a 5% discount off all outside-county postage, except for the postage for advertising pounds, if: This discount will show up on the "Preferred Price Discount" line on the front of the Form 3541. Note that Periodical Class mailers mailing at Classroom or Nonprofit rates already receive this discount for all of their mailings, regardless of whether they meet the in-county/outside-county minimums. I prepare Periodical Class mail. I understand that I can now include some addresses as In-County even if they are outside of the county. What's the deal? As of 8/30/07, USPS is allowing some additional addresses to be included as "in-county". Here is the difference: BEFORE 8/30/07: An in-county address was any address in the same county as the location of the mailer. SINCE 8/30/07: An in-county address is any address in the same county as the location of the mailer, PLUS any address that is delivered from a post office in the same county as the mailer. Another way to say this is that a piece qualifies for in-county if: it is addressed to a zip code that is handled by a post office located in your county, OR if it is handled by a post office outside of your county but the actual address on the piece is in your county. Please note that Postage $aver still has no way to automatically tell whether an address or post office is in or out of your county. You still must code each address in your data file that is eligible for in-county rates. But with this new rule, there may be additional addresses that qualify that you need to code to take advantage of the price break. Click here to get a list of all zip codes handled by post offices in your county. Why do I need to know what kind of sorting equipment the USPS will use for my flat-sized Periodical Class mail? To get the best Periodical Class rates, your mail has to be qualified for the newer AFSM 100 sorting machine, which generally means it meets tighter size restrictions and must be able to bend. But you can still barcode and get a not quite as low rate if your piece does not work on the AFSM 100 but still works on the UFSM 1000. You also get a better rate for nonbarcoded mail if it can go on the AFSM 100 instead of using the UFSM 1000. Just to make it more confusing, UFSM 1000 compatible pieces are called "nonmachinable", even though they work on that machine. If your piece doesn't fit on either sorting machine, then it's no longer a flat - it's a parcel, and Postage $aver cannot sort it. I have some Periodical Class bundles that are not charged, and it doesn't seem to follow any pattern. Is the software wrong? Probably not. There is no bundle charge for any bundle that contains only in-county pieces (assuming you are using in-county rates), and for any bundle that has at least some in-county pieces and goes to a single 5-digit area or 5-digit scheme. Same goes for container charges. Why does page two of the 3541 print after all the others? That is the optional page that only prints if you are using in-county rates. It is printed after all the others. |
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Copyright 2009 L. Scott Hochberg |
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