A critical area of any mail house is the accurate estimating, management, and accounting for its client postage activity. From pre-project estimating to actual usage activity and final project reporting, postage management is critical to the financial success of a direct mail house, as well as to customer satisfaction. Streamline Solutions knows that even the smallest accounting error in any of these facets can result in significant profitability losses, and for that reason, has developed the Postage Accounting Module, a component of the Direct Mail Management System (DMMS).

Integrated Accounting

Developed to address the most complex direct mail postage environments, Postage Accounting includes the robust features required to satisfy even the largest projects. From pre-planning activities such as mail estimating, to post activity statements, the Postage Accounting Module focuses on the business-critical aspects of your needs. For example, a new project may require an estimate that includes postage requirements for both packages and drops. Streamline Solutions software enables you to accurately estimate the many variables within a single or multi-facet project. This pre-planning activity integrates directly with the List Counts and the Postal Statement creation, which, when verified, automatically creates postage usage records. This information then electronically transfers onto the customer's invoice, maximizing the re-use of information and ensuring data integrity throughout the process.

Postage Inventory and Reporting

To increase customer satisfaction, you may desire to create separate postage inventories that can be tracked for customer and house meters, permits, stamps and other items such as pre-sort. Postage Accounting enables you to design the requirements prior to project execution, ensuring the proper outcome for your customer and yourself. Furthermore, postage summaries can be printed and viewed on demand-monthly, quarterly and yearly with statements in summary and detail format.

Balances, Statements and Checks

For accurate balance maintenance, Streamlines Postage Module supports three types of postage balances-revolving, job specific and permanent-giving the client optimal choices without incurring extra management. The Postage Module manages the activity and then reports on the postage balances as required, either by current balance, historical balance (such as monthly, or year to date). Information can also be attained on usage, deposits and suspense for analysis. Postage statement types include several classes, standard regular A, B, enhanced, non-profit, periodicals, consolidated statements including 8125pv.
Postage statements can be created automatically from list counts and viewed on-screen prior to printing. Upon verification, real-time direct updates are made to the postage accounting group. The Postage Accounting Module also automates other time consuming features such as postage check requests, that can be made from within the Statements program, as well as automating the tabulation of multiple discounts on the same statement, which with other software programs, must be handled manually. And because postage balances can be required at any time throughout the job process, Postage Accounting easily provides postage balance reports by balance, usage reporting by job, customer, mail drop point, package, tier etc.

Features include: