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.


Postal Updates:

USPS made many changes to postal rates and rules. We have updated the software to reflect these changes.

A general rate increase takes effect July 12. New postal statement forms take effect with the price increase, and those have been included in this update. Also, routine postal routing updates have been included.

Here are additional changes for specific mail categories:

Marketing Mail:


• VERY IMPORTANT: Marketing Mail flats will no longer be bundled. They should be placed flat in tubs without any strapping or rubber banding.
  
  
• Marketing Mail flats will no longer have Optional Endorsement Lines (OELs). That's because OELs are used to mark bundles, and bundles are no longer used for Marketing Mail flats. If you are preparing Marketing Mail flats using a mail merge, you should clear the OEL column in your mailing list file, as OELs will no longer be provided.
  
  
• A 1/10 cent postage discount for catalogs has been reinstated. You can indicate that you are mailing catalogs by checking the corresponding box on the Mail Categories screen.
  
  
• The maximum weight per piece for Marketing Mail flats will now be 20 ounces instead of 16.
  
  
• Tray tags for "Mixed" trays will no longer show a zip code. They will be automatically routed to the nearest applicable sorting center.
  
  
• For Marketing Mail flats, the minimum number of pieces to make a tray will now be 50 pieces or a full tray, whichever is fewer, except for some local trays, where there is no minimum. Until now, the minimum has been 125 pieces, 15 pounds or a full tray.
  
  
• If you prepare flats with barcoded and nonbarcoded pieces in the same mailing, those will be prepared differently now. Previously, both could be put in the same tray as long as barcoded pieces were in different bundles from nonbarcoded pieces. But since there no longer are bundles, barcoded and nonbarcoded pieces will be prepared in separate trays (as they are in combined letter mailings.)
  
  
• AADC and ADC price levels have been renamed as 3-digit prices.
  
  Periodicals:
  
  
• IMPORTANT: Postage calculations for Periodicals have been simplified. The bundle and container charges that have been shown on the last three pages of the postage statement (3541) have been eliminated, and those pages have been eliminated. The bundle and container rates have been rolled into the other rates.
  
  
• The ADC sort level has been replaced by a new SCF sort level, since ADC sorting centers have been eliminated. If you have been using pink "A" stickers to label ADC bundles, those will now be used for SCF bundles. As always, the Mail Preparation Instructions report will show you how to prepare each mailing.
  
  
• Origin Mixed (OMX) trays have been eliminated. All mixed mail will now be in mixed trays.
  
  
• Tray tags for "Mixed" trays will no longer show a zip code. They will be automatically routed to the nearest applicable sorting center.
  
  
• For Periodicals barcoded letters, the requirement to "group" (but not bundle) certain pieces in some trays has been eliminated. Barcoded letters can now be placed in each tray in any order, as long as they are in the correct tray.
  
  
• USPS has clarified that 4.4 pounds is the weight limit for Perodicals nonmachinable flats.
  
  Presorted First Class:
  
  
• The AADC and ADC sort levels have been replaced by a new SCF sort level, since AADC and ADC sorting centers have been eliminated.
  
  
• AADC and ADC price levels have been renamed as 3-digit prices.
  
  
• Tray tags for "Mixed" trays will no longer show a zip code. They will be automatically routed to the nearest applicable sorting center.
  
  Bound Printed Matter:
  
  
• For presorted Bound Printed Matter postage, weights will now be rounded up to the nearest whole pound, and the rate chart will be based on pounds. Previously, the rates were based on a piece rate plus an exact weight rate.
  
  
• A 1/10 cent postage discount for catalogs has been reinstated. You can indicate that you are mailing catalogs by checking the corresponding box on the Mail Categories screen.
  
  
• For presorted mailings, sack tags for "Mixed" sacks will no longer show a zip code. They will be automatically routed to the nearest applicable sorting center.

Additional Software Improvements:

• We found and fixed some minor bugs and clarified some wording.
  

Postal Updates:

• USPS has made routine changes to the postal routing lists. The revised lists are included in this update.
  

Software Improvements:

• No additional changes.
  

Postal Updates:

• USPS has added a new Part Z to the USPS Postal Wizard and the postage statements. Part Z shows the totals of all extra discounts, such as the full-service discount and discounts for USPS promotions.
  
  Part Z totals are calculated automatically in the USPS Postal Wizard and are shown below the other postage totals on the totals screen. We have added the Part Z totals to the Postal Wizard Instructions report so you can check your totals against those shown in the Postal Wizard.
  
  Part Z is optional for postage statements, so we have not added it to the postage statement printouts.
  
  
• USPS has made routine changes to the postal routing lists. The revised lists are included in this update.
  

Software Improvements:

• We added support for precanceled stamps and USPS promotional incentives in the Postal Wizard Instructions report.
  
  
• When entering USPS promotional incentive discounts on the statement information screen, we changed the entry from the total amount of the discount to the percentage discount, since the total amount is not known until the total postage without the discount is calculated. Postage $aver will calculate the total amount of the discount and print that on the postage statement and also include it in the Postal Wizard Instructions report.
  
  
• On the postage statement, we corrected the affixed postage and lowest postage rate shown when using USPS promotional incentives.
  

Postal Updates:

• USPS made a significant change in how they designate Sectional Center Facilities (SCFs). Those are the locations where you can take your mail to use lower "DSCF" postage rates on mail going to addresses within the SCF's service area.
  
  Up until now, you would take the mail to the same location whether it was letter-sized or flat-sized. But effective February 1, there will be separate "DSCF" locations for letters and flats for the zip areas listed below.
  
  The SCF location shown on the second screen of the preparation wizard may show a different location depending on whether you have selected letters, flats or parcels on the first screen.
  
  You can still take your mail to either location, but you will only get DSCF rates for the location that corresponds to the size of the mail (i.e. letters, flats or parcels). Otherwise, the location will be considered a local station and should be entered that way.
  
  This will initially apply to the following zip code areas:
  
  For zips 010-012, 060-065, 067:
   DSCF location for letters: Hartford CT; for flats: Springfield MA
  
  For zips 018-019, 055:
   DSCF location for letters: Middlesex-Essex MA; for flats: Boston MA
  
  For zips 111, 113-114:
   DSCF location for letters: Queens NY; for flats: Brooklyn NY
  
  For zips 184-188:
   DSCF location for letters: Scranton PA; for flats: Lehigh Valley PA
  
  For zips 395:
   DSCF location for letters: Gulfport MS; for flats: Mobile AL
  
  For zips 541-545:
   DSCF location for letters: Green Bay WI; for flats: Oshkosh WI
  
  For zips 560-561:
   DSCF location for letters: Mankato MN; for flats: St. Paul MN
  
  For zips 566:
   DSCF location for letters: St. Paul MN; for flats: St. Cloud MN
  
  For zips 683-685, 688-689:
   DSCF location for letters: Lincoln NE; for flats: Omaha NE
  
  For zips 808-812:
   DSCF location for letters: Colorado Springs CO; for flats: Denver CO
  
  For zips 850-853, 855, 859-860, 863:
   DSCF location for letters: Phoenix AZ; for flats: West Valley AZ
  
  For zips 949, 954:
   DSCF location for letters: North Bay CA; for flats: San Francisco CA
  
  
• USPS has made other routine changes to the postal routing lists. The revised lists are included in this update.
  
  
• USPS has released new revisions of the postage statement forms, and we have updated the software to use the new forms.
  
  
• USPS has corrected an earlier change and again allows the preparation of 5-digit scheme trays for First Class barcoded flats. This could allow more pieces to earn the lower 5-digit rate. We have updated the software to include this change.
  

Postal Updates:

• USPS has made routine changes to the postal routing lists. The revised lists are included in this update.
  

Software Improvements:

• We added support for the Macintosh Tahoe operating system.
  
  
• We corrected an error in the Postal Wizard Instructions report for Periodical parcels where it listed the containers as trays rather than sacks.
  
  
• We added a warning to prevent weights over 70 pounds from being entered for Periodical parcels.
  

Postal Updates:

• USPS has made routine changes to the postal routing lists. The revised lists are included in this update.
  

Software Improvements:

• We removed Optional Endorsement Lines (OELs) from flat-sized pieces in Mixed ADC tubs that have no bundles, if you have chosen not to prepare optional bundles.
  
  OELs are only used when pieces are prepared in specific bundles according to destination. When bundles became optional for some flat-sized mailings, we did not initially remove unnecessary OELs from pieces in Mixed ADC tubs that did not have bundles.
  
  
• We corrected an incorrect postage statement line number in the Postal Wizard Instructions report in the Mac version.
  
  
• We corrected missing group numbers on address labels and label separators for several types of mailings where pieces are grouped by destination within trays but are not bundled.
  

We hope you find these improvements helpful. Many of "our" best ideas come from our users, so please don't hesitate to let us know if you have suggestions or questions.

Thanks!