Reconcile Postage Accounts

Owned by Sara Yilmaz
Last updated: Apr 08, 2022Version comment
7 min read

This process covers monthly reconciliation of Hasler Meters, Postage Due, Business Reply and Stamps accounts.  This should done in the 2nd or 3rd day of the monthly close process or at least by the end of Close (5th business day after month-end at 5:00 PM). Note that the Postage Due, Business Reply, and Stamp accounts also require JVs to bill transactions to departments before the end of Close as well as a COGS JV entry from prepaid postage accounts so you will want to leave time for JVs to be processed and to post.

FASS Agent Step-by-step guide

All postage accounts have tracking sheets in Excel.  These are stored at H:\Shared\Budget\Conting1\FASS Mail Services\Postage Accounts. Each type of postage has its own folder which is further broken down by the fiscal year.  There is then a tracking sheet for the monthly activities in that account within that fiscal year.

Hasler Meters

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  1. The Hasler meter accounts are the largest volume postage accounts and are associated with the daily USPS mail processing for the University. The tracking sheet may be reconciled once all postage is entered for all business days of that month in question.
  2. Go to the HaslerMeterAcctFYXX tracking file and open.
  3. Verify beginning and ending balances of the reserve account on the Quadient website. Take a screenshot of the reserve balance information and save it in the appropriate FY and month folder in H:\Shared\Budget\Conting1\FASS Mail Services\Postage Accounts\Hasler Meters\FY21\JV and Inventory Support.  You can find the login information for Quadient’s website at F:\Departments\Finance\KeePass\FASS_Finance_Database.  Go to the Mail Services area and you will find all information necessary to sign in. 
  4. Verify you have documentation for any reserve draw-downs or reserve replenishments and save digital copies to the appropriate FY and month folder in H:\Shared\Budget\Conting1\FASS Mail Services\Postage Accounts\Hasler Meters\FY21\JV and Inventory Support.
  5. Verify the month-end balance on the meters by viewing the last day of the month meter report. These are found at H:\Shared\Budget\Conting1\FASS Mail Services\Postage Accounts\USPS\YRXX\MOXX.
  6. Save the Hasler tracking sheet as a PDF and save it in the appropriate FY and month folder in H:\Shared\Budget\Conting1\FASS Mail Services\Postage Accounts\Hasler Meters\FY21\JV and Inventory Support.
  7. Open reconciliation sheet in H:\Shared\Budget\Conting1\FASS Mail Services\Forms. Enter the associated month and postage type at the top of the form.  Note that there are two meters so you will need to do one form for each.  Enter starting balance from the Hasler tracking sheet for the meter you are currently working on.  Enter the sales from the tracking sheet into the usage space on the reconciliation form.  Enter the ending balance from the tracking sheet into the ending balance space on the reconciliation form.  Note the reserve balance activity for the month within the notes section of the reconciliation form.  Save the reconciliation form as a PDF in the appropriate FY and month folder in H:\Shared\Budget\Conting1\FASS Mail Services\Postage Accounts\Hasler Meters\FY21\JV and Inventory Support. Sign the PDF form as the verifier. This can be done digitally or manually but we are storing the documents digitally so that is probably easier.
  8. Enter the usage information into the spreadsheet FYXX SMAILR A5029 saved at H:\Shared\Budget\Conting1\FASS Mail Services\Postage Accounts\Prepaid JVs\FYXX. This spreadsheet is later used to book month-end JVs moving the postage out of the prepaid postage inventory account to COGS. 
  9. Obtain the Associate Director of Business Operations signature as budget authority for the reconciliation. Again, this can be done digitally or manually but is probably best digitally.  Provide in the package for review reconciliation sheets, proof of reserve balance, and the PDF copy of the Hasler tracking sheet for the month. 
  10. There are no required billing JVs for the Hasler meters as those are done on a nearly daily basis by the Accountant responsible due to the volume.

Stamps

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  1. First class stamps are inventoried for university use down in Mail Services and are locked up. The inventory needs to be verified at month-end for the reconciliation.  Email the Mail Services Coordinator at uomailing@uoregon.edu and request an inventory count. Save the inventory count email to H:\Shared\Budget\Conting1\FASS Mail Services\Postage Accounts\Stamps\JV and Inventory Support\FYXX\MMXX.
  2. If there were any sales of stamps during the month, you should have received sales slips with the associated information and entered into the tracking sheet as you got those slips. Save digital copies of the slips to H:\Shared\Budget\Conting1\FASS Mail Services\Postage Accounts\Stamps\JV and Inventory Support\FYXX\MMXX.
  3. Open stamps tracking sheet at H:\Shared\Budget\Conting1\FASS Mail Services\Postage Accounts\Stamps\Stamps First Class-Starting FY20. Verify that inventory count matches what you have in the tracking sheet for the month.  Save a PDF copy of the tracking sheet to H:\Shared\Budget\Conting1\FASS Mail Services\Postage Accounts\Stamps\JV and Inventory Support\FYXX\MMXX.
  4. Open reconciliation sheet in H:\Shared\Budget\Conting1\FASS Mail Services\Forms. Enter the associated month and postage type at the top of the form.  Enter starting balance from the Stamps tracking sheet for both dollar value and quantity.  Enter the sales from the tracking sheet into the usage space on the reconciliation form for both dollar amount and quantity.  Enter the ending balance from the tracking sheet into the ending balance space on the reconciliation form for both dollar amount and quantity.  Save the reconciliation form as a PDF in the appropriate FY and month folder in H:\Shared\Budget\Conting1\FASS Mail Services\Postage Accounts\Stamps\FY21\JV and Inventory Support.  Sign the PDF form as the verifier.  This can be done digitally or manually but we are storing the documents digitally so that is probably easier.
  5. Enter the usage information into the spreadsheet FYXX SMAILR A5029 saved at H:\Shared\Budget\Conting1\FASS Mail Services\Postage Accounts\Prepaid JVs\FYXX. This spreadsheet is later used to book month-end JVs moving the postage out of the prepaid postage inventory account to COGS. 
  6. Obtain the Associate Director of Business Operations signature as budget authority for the reconciliation. Again, this can be done digitally or manually but is probably best digitally.  Provide in the package for review the reconciliation sheet, PDF copy of the Stamps tracking sheet for the month, and the inventory count email. 
  7. Execute billing of any purchase transactions for the month in Banner. Save documentation of JV in H:\Shared\Budget\Conting1\FASS Mail Services\Postage Accounts\Stamps\JV and Inventory Support\FYXX.


Business Reply

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  1. Open business reply tracking sheet at H:\Shared\Budget\Conting1\FASS Mail Services\Postage Accounts\Business Reply\FYXX\BusinessReply. Save a PDF copy of the tracking sheet to H:\Shared\Budget\Conting1\FASS Mail Services\Postage Accounts\Business Reply\JV and Inventory Support\FYXX\MMXX.
  2. Verify beginning and ending balances of the business reply account on the USPS website match the tracking sheet in step 1 above. Use the mailing reports and view transactions.  Select Business Reply under account type and enter the date range for the month you are working on.  If the ending balance does not match, there may be transactions that haven’t yet made it through the system and you may have to wait another day.  Once the tracking and the report match, screenshot the detail report and save it in the appropriate FY and month folder in H:\Shared\Budget\Conting1\FASS Mail Services\Postage Accounts\Business reply\FY21\JV and Inventory Support.  You can find the login information for USPS website at F:\Departments\Finance\KeePass\FASS_Finance_Database.  Go to the Mail Services area and you will find all information necessary to sign in. 
  3. Open reconciliation sheet in H:\Shared\Budget\Conting1\FASS Mail Services\Forms. Enter the associated month and postage type at the top of the form.  Enter starting balance from the business reply tracking sheet (quantity is NA).  Enter the sales from the tracking sheet into the usage space on the reconciliation form (quantity is NA).  Enter the ending balance from the tracking sheet into the ending balance space on the reconciliation form (quantity is NA).  Save the reconciliation form as a PDF in the appropriate FY and month folder in H:\Shared\Budget\Conting1\FASS Mail Services\Postage Accounts\Business Reply\FY21\JV and Inventory Support.  Sign the PDF form as the verifier.  This can be done digitally or manually but we are storing the documents digitally so that is probably easier.
  4. Enter the usage information into the spreadsheet FYXX SMAILR A5029 saved at H:\Shared\Budget\Conting1\FASS Mail Services\Postage Accounts\Prepaid JVs\FYXX. This spreadsheet is later used to book month-end JVs moving the postage out of the prepaid postage inventory account to COGS. 
  5. Obtain the Associate Director of Business Operations signature as budget authority for the reconciliation. Again, this can be done digitally or manually but is probably best digitally.  Provide in the package for review the reconciliation sheet, PDF copy of the Business Reply tracking sheet for the month, and the account balance screenshot from the USPS website. 
  6. Execute billing of any purchase transactions for the month in Banner. From the Business Reply tracking sheet, use the index column L to determine who to bill and use the markup column O to determine how much to bill.  You can combine line items for the same index.  Save documentation of JV in H:\Shared\Budget\Conting1\FASS Mail Services\Postage Accounts\Business Reply\JV and Inventory Support\FYXX.

Postage Due

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  1. Open postage due tracking sheet at H:\Shared\Budget\Conting1\FASS Mail Services\Postage Accounts\Postage Due\FYXX\Postage Due. Save a PDF copy of the tracking sheet to H:\Shared\Budget\Conting1\FASS Mail Services\Postage Accounts\Postage Due\JV and Inventory Support\FYXX\MMXX.
  2. Verify beginning and ending balances of the postage due account on the USPS website match the tracking sheet in step 1 above. Use the mailing reports and view transactions.  Select Postage Due under account type and enter the date range for the month you are working on.  If the ending balance does not match, there may be transactions that haven’t yet made it through the system and you may have to wait another day.  Once the tracking and the report match, screenshot the detail report and save it in the appropriate FY and month folder in H:\Shared\Budget\Conting1\FASS Mail Services\Postage Accounts\Postage Due\FY21\JV and Inventory Support. You can find the login information for USPS website at F:\Departments\Finance\KeePass\FASS_Finance_Database.  Go to the Mail Services area and you will find all information necessary to sign in. 
  3. Open reconciliation sheet in H:\Shared\Budget\Conting1\FASS Mail Services\Forms. Enter the associated month and postage type at the top of the form.  Enter starting balance from the postage due tracking sheet (quantity is NA).  Enter the sales from the tracking sheet into the usage space on the reconciliation form (quantity is NA). Enter the ending balance from the tracking sheet into the ending balance space on the reconciliation form (quantity is NA). Save the reconciliation form as a PDF in the appropriate FY and month folder in H:\Shared\Budget\Conting1\FASS Mail Services\Postage Accounts\Postage Due\FY21\JV and Inventory Support. Sign the PDF form as the verifier. This can be done digitally or manually but we are storing the documents digitally so that is probably easier.
  4. Enter the usage information into the spreadsheet FYXX SMAILR A5029 saved at H:\Shared\Budget\Conting1\FASS Mail Services\Postage Accounts\Prepaid JVs\FYXX. This spreadsheet is later used to book month-end JVs moving the postage out of the prepaid postage inventory account to COGS. 
  5. Obtain the Associate Director of Business Operations signature as budget authority for the reconciliation. Again, this can be done digitally or manually but is probably best digitally.  Provide in the package for review the reconciliation sheet, PDF copy of the postage due tracking sheet for the month, and the account balance screenshot from the USPS website. 
  6. Execute billing of any purchase transactions for the month in Banner. From the postage due tracking sheet, use the index column F to determine who to bill and use and the markup column J to determine how much to bill.  You can combine line items for the same index.  Save documentation of JV in H:\Shared\Budget\Conting1\FASS Mail Services\Postage Accounts\Postage Due\JV and Inventory Support\FYXX.