Latest Changes to
Postage $aver Pro and Lite
We've updated Postage $aver Pro and Lite to keep up with the latest postal changes, and made some software improvements. Here are the details. Note that each update includes all previous updates, so you only need to download and install the latest. Get the update.What’s new in Version 11.3.2 – March, 2024
Postal Updates:
- USPS has made routine changes to the postal routing lists. The revised lists are included in this update.
- For Periodicals, the software will now only provide in-county rates when the mailing is sent from a postal facility that is in the same county as the "known office of publication", per USPS requirements. We also changed the wording on the Addressing and Mailing screen to make clear that the software needs to know the zip code of the known office of publication.
- For Periodicals, we improved the way the software handles blocking by a firewall when updating the list of in-county zip codes. Messages from the firewall could previously be shown as gibberish in the in-county zip codes list and for the county name.
- We fixed a bug that could cause addresses to be incorrectly rejected when preparing mixed-weight shipments using dBase (.dbf) files.
What’s new in Version 11.3.1 – January 21, 2024
Postal Updates:
- The USPS January rate changes, effective January 21, are included in this update.
- USPS has issued new postage statement forms for use on and after January 21, and those forms are included in this update. While these paper forms will no longer be submitted with shipments, the information and line numbers will continued to be used in electronic versions of the forms on the USPS Gateway.
- For Periodical Class mailers, USPS has replaced the Zone Report with a new "Entry Report". The Entry Report no longer shows zones, since zones are no longer used for Periodicals. Instead, it indicates whether each 3-digit zip area in the mailing is in-county or outside-county, and whether it is eligible for destination entry rates (DDU, DSCF or DADC). The Zone column on the Price Qualification Report is similarly replaced by an Entry column.
Like the Zone Report, the Entry Report must either be submitted to USPS with the mailing, or retained by the mailer for two months after the mailing date. All references to zones have been removed from Postage Saver Pro and Postage Saver Lite, since they are no longer used for Periodical Class and Bound Printed Matter.
- USPS has removed Change Service Requested as an option for Ballot Mail, since official ballots cannot be destroyed by USPS even if undeliverable, which is what Change Service Requested causes to happen. We have updated the software to reflect this change.
- USPS has made routine changes to the postal routing lists. The revised lists are included in this update.
- We changed the "print reports" window to no longer show that the Postage Statement form should be provided to USPS.
- For Periodicals, if you indicate that you are hand-sorting one or more zip codes by carrier route, the carrier route rate now shows properly on the Price Qualification report and the Entry Report.
- We corrected a bug affecting combined mailings of barcoded and nonbarcoded flats that would sometimes cause barcoded and nonbarcoded pieces to be combined in the same bundle, and another that would sometimes cause bundles of nonbarcoded or barcoded flats to be mis-labeled on the Mail Preparation Instructions report.
What’s new in Version 11.2.19 – December, 2023
Postal Updates:
- USPS no longer sells 15-cent precanceled stamps for First Class presorted postcards. We have removed that option from the Statement Information screen, and replaced it with the 25-cent precanceled stamp.
- USPS has clarified the definition of "Ballot Mail" as "any mailpiece sent to or from an authorized election official containing a live ballot that may be used to cast a vote in an election". Ballot Mail does not mean voter registration materials or other voter information that is not an actual ballot. We have updated our help information to reflect this clarification.
- USPS has made routine changes to the postal routing lists. The revised lists are included in this update.
- NEW! We've added a new Postal Wizard Instructions report to Postage $aver Pro and Lite!
This report goes line by line through the USPS Postal Wizard and tells you exactly what to enter for your specific mailing. No more trying to figure out where something is (or isn't) on the postage statement to fill out the USPS web form!
The report also includes the postage totals you should see in the Postal Wizard when you finish entering your information, so you can make sure they match what Postage $aver has calculated.
You'll see the Postal Wizard Instructions report listed in the selection window that appears when Postage $aver has finished sorting your mailing list. It can also be printed or reprinted from the File menu in Postage $aver, just like the other reports.
- We added a hotlink to better explain what "Column Count" means on the Mail Categories screen.
- We fixed a bug on the Mail Preparation Instructions report where the stack number would not print for Marketing Mail flats mailings where the column count is set to 2 or more.
- We fixed a bug in the Mac version where undo would not work properly.
- We fixed a bug in the Mac version where column names would not be properly displayed on some of the dropdown menus on the Column Identification screen.
What’s new in Version 11.2.18 – October, 2023
Postal Updates:
- USPS has begun adding new Regional Processing and Distribution Centers (RPDCs) into its network of National Distribution Centers (NDCs), and we have updated the software to handle these new facilities. For now, this will only affect mail entry in the Richmond, VA area, but other facilities will be brought on line soon.
- USPS has made routine changes to the postal routing lists. The revised lists are included in this update.
- For Mac users, this update now supports the Mac Sonoma operating system, as well as the three previous operating systems.
- On 2" x 4" address labels, we added an option to either print or not print the indicia, instead of always printing it.
- If you are preparing mixed weight mailings of Bound Printed Matter of fewer than 300 pieces, you can now use Postage $aver Pro to prepare all pieces in the same mailing. You no longer need to separate your mailing by weight, as long as you include the weight of each piece (in ounces, not pounds) in a column in your mailing list file.
To create a mixed weight mailing, just choose "mixed" on the Mail Categories screen, instead of entering a weight. Then, on the Column Matching screen, you will be asked to identify the column in your mailing list file where the weight has been entered for each piece.
The software will create the necessary postage statement and weight report, and include a "piece number" and weight on the mailing label corresponding to the listing in the weight report, as required by USPS. No sorting is required for these mailings.
If you are printing your own labels using a mail merge, instead of using Postage $aver to print your labels, you must include the sequence number for each piece on your labels.
- We clarified that the 20 ounce limit on Bound Printed Matter applies to full-service mailings only.
- We corrected the bold font on 2"x 4" address labels on the Mac version.
What’s new in Version 11.2.17 – August, 2023
Postal Updates:
- For Bound Printed Matter mailings of fewer than 300 pieces, USPS has ended the requirement that the mailings be separated by zone or presorted. Sorting and sacking are no longer required, so the software will no longer provide specific sacking instructions for such mailings.
- In some cases, bundling is no longer required for Marketing Mail flats and First Class Mail flats.
Specifically, if the sorting level of all bundles in the tray is the same, and is the same as the level of the tray, bundling is not necessary. For example, if the tray is a Mixed ADC tray, and all the bundles have endorsement lines that say "Mixed ADC", there is no need to separate the contents of the tray into bundles.
But, if the contents of that Mixed ADC tray include bundles to specific 3-digit zips, for example, then all pieces in that tray must be bundled.
Note that whether or not to bundle is determined separately for each tray, not for the entire mailing. For each tray, look at the Mail Preparation Instructions report to see if bundling is required for pieces in that tray.
This is what will be shown on the Mail Preparation Instructions if bundling is not necessary:
This is what will be shown on the Mail Preparation Instructions if bundling is necessary:
- For Marketing Mail nonbarcoded flats, tray minimums have been reduced, which may result in more trays but lower overall postage for such mailings. For example, instead of one 3-digit tray, you might have several 5-digit trays that now meet the new minimum. Since the postage for pieces in 3-digit trays is higher than for pieces in 5-digit trays, this change may result in lower postage overall.
The new minimum reinstates the minimum that was in place before sacks were replaced by trays last January. At that time, the minimum for trays of some nonbarcoded flats was increased. We pointed out the problem at the time and thank USPS for making this correction.
Note that this change only affects nonbarcoded flats. The minimum for barcoded flats was not increased in January, so no correction was necessary.
- USPS has made routine changes to the postal routing lists. The revised lists are included in this update.
- We fixed a bug affecting Bound Printed Matter mailings that could cause some sacks to have too many pieces.
What’s new in Version 11.2.16 – July 9, 2023
Postal Updates:
- Important: If you are using the USPS Electronic Payment System (EPS), you should now include your EPS account number in the name/address section of the postage statement. We have provided that option on the Statement Information Screen.
- Important: New way to calculate rates for Marketing Mail flats and nonmachinable letters weighing more than 4 ounces per piece.
In the past, there has been one per-piece rate for pieces weighing 4 ounces or less, and a different per-piece rate, plus a per-pound rate, for pieces over 4 ounces. To find the total rate for a piece over 4 ounces, you would multiply the weight (in pounds) times the per-pound rate, and then add the over-4-ounce per-piece rate.
Example:
8 ounces (.5 pounds) x 1.101 per pound = .551
plus .297 per piece = .848 total rate.
Effective July 9, there will be one per-piece rate that applies regardless of weight, plus a per-pound rate for pieces over 4 ounces. But the per-pound rate will only apply to the part of the weight that is more than 4 ounces. So to find the total rate for a pieces over 4 ounces, you would first subtract 4 ounces (.25 pounds) from the weight of each piece, then multiply what's left (in pounds) by the per-pound rate, and then add the per-piece rate.
New example:
8 ounces - 4 ounce deduction = 4 ounces (.25 pounds) x .896 per pound = .224
plus .609 per piece = .833 total rate.
There are new "pounds charged" columns in the postage calculation grids on the postage statement to show how many pounds will actually be charged after deducting four ounces per piece. Of course, Postage $aver will fill this in automatically and make the correct calculation, but you should watch for this if you are using the USPS Postal Wizard to enter your statement electronically.
The result of this change is actually a slight decrease in postage for Marketing Mail flats weighing just a bit over 4 ounces, but a significant increase in postage for pieces weighing near the 16 ounce limit.
- USPS will no longer provide address correction notices on paper for full-service barcoded mailings, so we have removed that option from the Tracking and Address Correction screen. Full-service mailers can continue to receive address corrections electronically.
- The USPS July rate changes, effective July 9, are included in this update.
- USPS has issued new postage statement forms for use on and after July 9, and those forms are included in this update.
- USPS has made routine changes to the postal routing lists. The revised lists are included in this update.
- We fixed a bug that could cause trays and bundles with no pieces when preparing flats more than 1/2" thick.
- We corrected a bug that would cause incorrect placement of information on the postage statement if the computer was set to a screen resolution greater than 100% (Windows only).
- We corrected a bug where the sample file was sometimes not installed. (Mac version with ARM processor only.)
- We fixed a bug where the serial number information would not show on the Preferences screen when preparing a combined barcoded and nonbarcoded mailing of Marketing Mail letters.
What’s new in Version 11.2.15 – May, 2023
Postal Updates:
- USPS has made routine changes to the postal routing lists. The revised lists are included in this update.
- We moved the barcode serial number information from the Mail Categories screen to the Preferences screen, since it is generally not changed once it's set up. You do not need to do anything as a result of this change.
- In the Windows version, we improved how the software windows are enlarged when using a screen resolution more than 100%. This should correct situations where some selections on the column matching screen were not visible and some text was the wrong size.
- In the Mac version, we added labels for the entries in the name and address blocks on the Statement Information screen.
What’s new in Version 11.2.14 – March, 2023
Postal Updates:
- USPS has deleted the use of 5-digit schemes for sorting Periodical Class parcels. The software has been updated to reflect this change.
- USPS has made routine changes to the postal routing lists. The revised lists are included in this update.
- We corrected a bug where some address labels would sometimes not print when "add a page break between trays" was selected.
- The software now rejects state abbreviations in a mailing list file that are longer than 2 letters, and we corrected the wording in the warning that appears concerning state abbreviation errors.
- We added a warning when a starting serial number is entered on the Mail Categories screen that has too many digits for use with a 9-digit Mailer ID. Serial numbers with more than 6 digits can only be used by mailers with 6-digit Mailer IDs.
- We corrected a bug where the software could crash when preparing flats close to 3/4" thick.
- We corrected a bug where a nonprofit mailer number could appear when the statement setup for a commercial customer was retrieved.
- We changed the Mail Categories screen to prevent barcoding from being selected for mailings of Periodical Class nonmachinable letters.
- We changed the Tracking and Address Corrections screen to prevent IV Tracking from being selected when "unique serial number for the entire mailing" has been selected on the Mail Categories screen, instead of "unique serial number for each piece". For tracking, each piece must have a unique serial number.
Thanks!