Utility Billing Module

Address Certification

 

Summary

 

Address certification allows you to verify that the addresses of the customers in a Final Billings, New Billings or Past Dues batch are correct before the statements are created. Address certification also prepares your billing for bulk mailing by generating all relevant documents and tray tags as well as calculating the postage amount.

 

If there is an alternative address attached to a UB customer account (UB> Maintenance> Account> People tab> Alternative Address sub-tab), that is the address that will be certified. If no alternative address is present, the process will certify the address attached to the customer account on the People tab of the Account Master Maintenance window (UB> Maintenance> Account).

 

The Export window (UB> Final Billing/New Billing/Past Dues> Export Addresses) is used to enter the mailing information (size, weight, etc. of the mailing). The Final Billing, New Billing or Past Dues batch should contain more than 500 pieces in order to qualify for bulk first-class mailing rates. After the mailing information has been entered, click the Export icon. This will send a file to Springbrook that contains the statement addresses and the mailing information of the batch. Springbrook will certify the addresses and generate postage reports based on the mailing information. The verified addresses and postage reports will then be sent to an email address entered on the Export Addresses window.

 

After the addresses have been certified at Springbrook, you will receive an email that contains three postage reports, tray tags, and a file containing the certified addresses. The subject line of the email that contains the certified addresses and postage reports will be similar to the following: Past Dues 001-06-2019 certified, sorted, and ready for download. Addresses that could not be certified will also be included in the file so that you can make modifications to those addresses and resubmit them. Certain address errors such as spelling errors will be corrected automatically.

 

Once you receive the email containing the postage reports and the certified addresses, open the addresses in the Import Addresses window. The Import Addresses window will display the certified addresses. Addresses that could not be certified will also display and can be modified and imported back into the batch. If you would like to certify the modified addresses, you can re-export the addresses using the Export Addresses window and them Import the addresses back into the batch.

 

After the addresses have been certified, you can print the statements. Use the information on the Qualification Report, and the tray tags to prepare and sort the bulk mailing.

 

When the Final Billing, New Billing or Past Dues batch is committed, the customer account addresses will be updated with the certified addresses. This will update the address on the customer record, not the address on the lot.

 

Step by Step

 

1     Export the addresses to be certified. 

 

  • The Export Addresses and Import Addresses steps on the Final Billing, New Billing and Past Dues palettes are used to verify the addresses on the process statements. The mailing information (size, weight, etc. of the mailing) is entered into the Export Address window.
  • When you click the Save icon on the window, a file will be sent to Springbrook that contains the statement addresses and the mailing information. Springbrook will then certify the addresses and then generate postage reports based on the mailing information. The verified addresses and postage reports will then be sent to an email address entered on the Export Addresses window.
  • Select Export Addresses from the Final Billing, New Billing or Past Dues palette to open the Export Addresses window.
  • Enter the email address where you would like the postal reports to be sent in the Email field. Enter the entire email address and verify it is correct. If the email address is incorrect, you may not get the postage reports.
  • The URL field displays the address of the server that will receive the addresses and mailing information. This field should contain: https://certify.springbrooksoftware.com
  • The Drop Date field is used by those users who would like to specify a mailing date that will populate the Mailer's Mailing Date field on the postage statement. If no date is specified, the field will default to the current date.
  • The Permit Number field is the bulk mailing permit number of your organization.
  • The POE field is the post office entry point of the mailing. This is generally a portion of the zip code where the post office distributes mail. For example, a POE of a post office in Portland, Oregon may be 970.
  • The POE Description is the description of the post office entry. For example, if the post office entry is in Portland, Oregon, the POE Description field would be Portland, Oregon.
  • The Pay By drop-down field is used to select the payment method of the mailing. This is generally the choice you made on the USPS FORM 3615 Mailing Permit that you submitted to the US Postal Service.
    • Select Stamps if you are using pre-canceled checked.
  • The Size drop-down menu is used to select the size of the mailing.
    • Select Postcard if you are sending cards. In order to be eligible for card or postcards postage rates, the mailing must be rectangular, and at least 3.5” in height, 5” in width, and .007” thick. A card/postcard may not be more than 4.25” in height, 6” in width, or .016” thick.
    • Select Letter if you are sending letters. In order to be eligible for letter postage rates, the mailing must be rectangular, at least 3.5” in height, 5” in width, and .007” thick. A letter may not be more than 6.125” in height, 11.5” in width, or .25” thick.
  • Enter the dimensions of the mailing in the Height, Weight, Width and Thickness fields.
    • The Weight field is the weight of a single piece of the mailing in ounces.
    • The Thickness field is important because it is used to determine how many pieces can fit in each tray and how many trays will be needed for the mailing.
  • The SSI Customer Number field is used to enter the customer number of your organization.
    • When your organization becomes a Springbrook Software customer, your organization is assigned a customer number. Please contact support if you do not know this number.
  • Check the Sort by Carrier Route toggle if you would like to sort the certified mail by carrier route.
    • Since sorting the bills by carrier route can be labor intensive, you can uncheck this toggle to sort the bills by zip code.
  • Click the Save icon when complete to send the addresses and mailing information to Springbrook. You will receive an email at the email addresses entered in the Email field when the addresses have been certified and the postal reports have been generated.

 

2     The email notification. 

 

  • You will receive an email notification when the batch has been processed. The subject line of the email will be similar to this: UB Bills 001-06-2019 certified, sorted, and ready for download.
  • The email will contain the CASS report, Postage Statement, Qualification Report, tray tags and a zip code list file.
    • The CASS summary report will display the total pieces coded in the mailing.
      • The software that displays in Section A of the report will not be Springbrook software.
    • The Postage Statement report will print in two separate files. The first file will display the Total Postage and Net Postage Due on the mailing based on the dimensions you entered in the mailing setup. The Mailer information portion of the form will populate with the organization name and address set up in the Organization Information section of the System Setup window (SS> Utilities> System Setup> Organization> Name field). The second page of the Postage Statement will display a breakdown of the mailing.
    • The USPS Qualification Report will display how the mailing should be sorted and prepared.
    • The tray tags report is the printable tray tags for the trays that should be used based on the USPS Qualification Report.

 

3     Import the certified addresses. 

 

  • The Import Addresses step is used to import the verified addresses and postage reports after you have received the Notification email from Springbrook.
  • Open the Import Addresses window (UB> Final Billing/New Billing/Past Dues> Import Addresses).
  • The URL field should display: https://certify.springbrooksoftware.com.
  • The SSI Customer Number field should display the customer number of your organization.
    • When your organization becomes a Springbrook Software customer, your organization is assigned a customer number. Please contact support if you do not know this number.
  • Click the Preview icon to display the addresses that have been verified. This will populate the Completed Jobs section with the XML files that contain the verified addresses. The XML files will contain the type of batch and the batch number in the file name. For example, Past_Dues_00001-06-2019.xml.
  • Highlight the file that contains the verified addresses in the Completed Jobs section and click the Import and Display icon . This will populate the certified addresses in the Addresses section.
  • An error message will display in the Error Description field if the address could not be certified. By default, the addresses that could not be certified will display at the top of the Addresses section.

 

4     Review and correct the address errors. 

 

  • The address errors will display at the top of the Addresses section, and there will be an error message in the Error Desc column. You do not have to correct the address errors in order to import the certified addresses. This is an optional step.
  • Here is a list of some of the errors you might receive and their possible solutions.
    • No match found using input address - The address is incorrect or is not in the certification database.
    • Invalid input state abbreviation code - State field is either blank or incorrect. This error will also display if no address is entered.
  • Highlight a customer in the Addresses section and the Update section will populate with the address information attached to the highlighted customer account. You will only be able to modify the address fields of the customers whose addresses could not be certified.
  • After you have modified the address of customer accounts, click the Save icon to import the modified addresses into the billing batch.
  • If you want to certify the modified addresses, return to the Export Addresses window (Export Addresses step on the palette) and resend the addresses. When you receive a new email containing the modified shipping reports, return to the Import Addresses step to import the recertified mailing addresses. Click the Save icon to import the recertified addresses back into the billing batch.