Learn About Bulk Mailing and Tracking → Electronic Postage Statements
Scott
Postage $aver Software
Postage statements are the forms used to tell USPS about your bulk mailing, and to calculate the postage.
USPS no longer accepts hard copy postage statements. You now need to submit the information from the postage statement electronically before you take your mailing to the post office.
USPS Now Requires Postage Statements to be Electronic - What Bulk Mailers Need to Know
ScottPostage $aver Software
Postage statements are the forms used to tell USPS about your bulk mailing, and to calculate the postage.USPS no longer accepts hard copy postage statements. You now need to submit the information from the postage statement electronically before you take your mailing to the post office.
Who does the USPS electronic postage statement requirement apply to?
Just to be clear, this requirement has nothing to do with normal mail dropped in a blue mailbox, picked up by your carrier, mailed at a USPS retail counter, etc., regardless of quantity.
This only applies to mailers who get postal discounts by sorting, barcoding, printing a postage paid box, or otherwise saving the post office money by doing some of USPS' work themselves. If you've never had to submit a postage statement with your mail, this requirement does not apply to you.
But all mailers who prepare mail for bulk mailing discounts must submit postage information electronically instead of on paper. There are no exceptions for "small mailers" or anyone else
Postage $aver bulk mail software automatically figures out exactly what to enter for each mailing, and prints line-by-line instructions walking you through the entries. See a sample.
Plus, it computes all postage amounts so you can check your work!
And, you get full instructions for assembling your mailing, tray tags, a hardcopy postage statement for your records, and more!
Starts at just $49.50 with a full year of updates! (Full price, not a monthly charge.)
"Just wanted to tell you that your Postal Wizard instructions are perfect. My BMEU guy is telling me that I'm the only person in my area doing it right, thanks for making me look good!" - Michael, Foxy's Publishing.
This only applies to mailers who get postal discounts by sorting, barcoding, printing a postage paid box, or otherwise saving the post office money by doing some of USPS' work themselves. If you've never had to submit a postage statement with your mail, this requirement does not apply to you.
But all mailers who prepare mail for bulk mailing discounts must submit postage information electronically instead of on paper. There are no exceptions for "small mailers" or anyone else
Confused by the USPS Postal Wizard?
Postage $aver bulk mail software automatically figures out exactly what to enter for each mailing, and prints line-by-line instructions walking you through the entries. See a sample.
Plus, it computes all postage amounts so you can check your work!
And, you get full instructions for assembling your mailing, tray tags, a hardcopy postage statement for your records, and more!
Starts at just $49.50 with a full year of updates! (Full price, not a monthly charge.)
Try it FREE for 30 days! No credit card required!
"Just wanted to tell you that your Postal Wizard instructions are perfect. My BMEU guy is telling me that I'm the only person in my area doing it right, thanks for making me look good!" - Michael, Foxy's Publishing.
What do I have to do to meet the USPS electronic postage statement requirement?
There are two ways to meet the USPS electronic postage statement requirement. One is fairly easy and free. The other is easier, but expensive.
USPS Postal Wizard – free, and believe it or not, pretty easy to use:
Fortunately, USPS has actually done something to make life easier for small and medium volume mailers. If your mailing is not full-service barcoded, or is full-service but has less than 50,000 pieces, you just have to give USPS to information it needs to calculate the postage you owe for the mailing.
You can do this by simply entering the information from the postage statement onto the Postal Wizard tool on the USPS business customer gateway web site.
If you use our Postage $aver Pro or Postage $aver Lite software to prepare your mailing, you'll automatically get line-by-line instructions telling you exactly what to enter into the Postal Wizard. Otherwise, here's our step-by-step Postal Wizard walkthrough.
We recently asked our users how easy the USPS Postal Wizard is to use. 60% said it is easy or very easy to use, with just 11% finding it difficult or very difficult. That's pretty great for a postal app. And with Postage $aver's new line-by-line instructions, it's even easier!
Mail.dat and Mail.xml – the expensive solution:
Instead of using the USPS Postal Wizard, you can submit special files, called Mail.dat or Mail.xml, that include piece-by-piece barcode information about your entire mailing, plus postage calculations and other information. These files are created by special software created for that purpose, usually as part of a larger presort software package.
Mail.dat and Mail.xml are designed for large volume mailers. The files are complicated and designed to handle mailing scenarios rarely used by small to medium volume mailers, and they're priced accordingly. There is no "light" version of Mail.dat or Mail.xml for smaller volume mailers.
Plus, for Mail.dat files, there's a steep royalty that software developers are required to pay to an industry group just for creating files in that format. That adds to the cost.
The only time you are required to submit a Mail.dat or Mail.xml file, instead of using the Postal Wizard, is if you are submitting a full-service mailing of 50,000 pieces or more, or a combined mailing of full-service barcoded pieces and nonbarcoded pieces.
USPS Postal Wizard – free, and believe it or not, pretty easy to use:
Fortunately, USPS has actually done something to make life easier for small and medium volume mailers. If your mailing is not full-service barcoded, or is full-service but has less than 50,000 pieces, you just have to give USPS to information it needs to calculate the postage you owe for the mailing.
You can do this by simply entering the information from the postage statement onto the Postal Wizard tool on the USPS business customer gateway web site.
If you use our Postage $aver Pro or Postage $aver Lite software to prepare your mailing, you'll automatically get line-by-line instructions telling you exactly what to enter into the Postal Wizard. Otherwise, here's our step-by-step Postal Wizard walkthrough.
We recently asked our users how easy the USPS Postal Wizard is to use. 60% said it is easy or very easy to use, with just 11% finding it difficult or very difficult. That's pretty great for a postal app. And with Postage $aver's new line-by-line instructions, it's even easier!
Mail.dat and Mail.xml – the expensive solution:
Instead of using the USPS Postal Wizard, you can submit special files, called Mail.dat or Mail.xml, that include piece-by-piece barcode information about your entire mailing, plus postage calculations and other information. These files are created by special software created for that purpose, usually as part of a larger presort software package.
Mail.dat and Mail.xml are designed for large volume mailers. The files are complicated and designed to handle mailing scenarios rarely used by small to medium volume mailers, and they're priced accordingly. There is no "light" version of Mail.dat or Mail.xml for smaller volume mailers.
Plus, for Mail.dat files, there's a steep royalty that software developers are required to pay to an industry group just for creating files in that format. That adds to the cost.
The only time you are required to submit a Mail.dat or Mail.xml file, instead of using the Postal Wizard, is if you are submitting a full-service mailing of 50,000 pieces or more, or a combined mailing of full-service barcoded pieces and nonbarcoded pieces.
Our recommendation - Use the USPS Postal Wizard whenever possible.
Unless your mailings don’t qualify to use the Postal Wizard, or you send bulk mailings so often that you'd spend a lot of time entering data, we recommend using the Postal Wizard. That's what we do.
Buying more expensive software just to create Mail.dat or Mail.xml would wipe out a lot of your postage savings. So unless you already need large volume mailing software because of the kinds of mailings you are doing, we recommend staying away from Mail.dat and Mail.xml.
Buying more expensive software just to create Mail.dat or Mail.xml would wipe out a lot of your postage savings. So unless you already need large volume mailing software because of the kinds of mailings you are doing, we recommend staying away from Mail.dat and Mail.xml.
How do I get started using the USPS Postal Wizard?
If you use our Postage $aver Pro or Postage $aver Lite software to prepare your mailing, you'll automatically get line-by-line instructions telling you exactly what to enter into the Postal Wizard.
Otherwise, here's our step-by-step Postal Wizard walkthrough. It takes you through getting started and explains all of the required information.
Otherwise, here's our step-by-step Postal Wizard walkthrough. It takes you through getting started and explains all of the required information.
What if I have questions?
Feel free to ask us a question if you get stuck. We'll do our best to help.
And, of course, you can always reach out to the USPS help desk.
And, of course, you can always reach out to the USPS help desk.
