Monitor and Replenish Postage Accounts

Owned by
Sara Yilmaz
Apr 08, 2022
3 min read

This process covers monitoring and replenishing Hasler Meters, Postage Due, Business Reply and Stamps accounts.

FASS Agent Step-by-step guide

Monitoring Accounts

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 and period. Each associated postage tracking sheet contains the appropriate replenishment points and amounts that should be replenished when triggered. When entering billing or transactions for each type of postage, also keep an eye on monitoring these balances so that replenishment is ordered in a timely manner to avoid outages. There are notes below on each postage type to assist in this process. These replenishment points should be reviewed annually with the Associate Director of Business Operations to decide if adjustments are needed. 

Postage Type


Business Reply Account

This account is maintained by the United States Postal Service (USPS) with a small balance. The account is used when a department sends out a mailing that includes a business reply envelope to be returned.  The USPS deducts a fee for this services, returns the reply envelopes and includes an invoice for the daily transactions.  The usage is fairly low and the balance reduces slowly.  Leadtime to refill is about 1 week.

First Class Stamps

Mail Services maintains an inventory of first class stamps to be used by university departments. These are purchased in the form of forever stamps on a roll of 10,000.  Departments request the stamps from the Mail Services Coordinator and the Coordinator sends the slip for billing and documentation.  These are also used very slowly now.  The stamps must be picked up from the Post Office and a check must be used to pay for them at the time of the pickup.  Leadtime to do this involves getting a check cut, picking it up from Business Affairs and going to the Post Office to purchase.

Hasler MetersThe Hasler meters are what is used to process all the daily outgoing USPS for the university’s business and as such contains a reserve account held by Quadient as well as balances in each of the two meters.  When the balance in the two meters goes to zero, the Mail Services Coordinator draws down $20,000 from the reserve account to refill the meter and sends up the transaction documentation. The activity on these meters varies widely and sometimes large projects are done in Mail Services that may eat up postage quickly.  It is best to work closely with the Mail Services Coordinator so that these are known ahead of time.   Leadtime to refill the reserve account can be between 10 days and 2 weeks.
Postage Due AccountThis account is maintained by the United States Postal Service (USPS) with a relatively small balance.  The account is used for incoming mail to the university that the sender did not affix enough postage to or for mail that has “Address Service Requested” stamped on it.  The USPS deducts the missing postage amount from the university account, sends the mail piece(s) and an invoice for the daily transactions.  The usage is not terribly high and the balance reduces slowly.  Leadtime to refill is about

Replenishing Accounts

  1. Once a balance has triggered a need for replenishment, go to H:\Shared\Budget\Conting1\FASS Mail Services\Forms and select the check request form for that particular account.
  2. Fill out the form (all needed information is included). Sign the form and have the Associate Director of Business Operations sign the form. Digital signatures are acceptable.
  3. Ask for FASS Accounts Payable to enter into Banner and return the form with the Banner IDOC number.
  4. After the appropriate leadtime has passed, check the associated gateway to see if check has been deposited and balance updated. Gateways are USPS and Quadient. Login information is stored in Finance KeePass under Mail Services.
  5. Once confirmed deposit, go into the associated tracking Excel sheet and update the balance accordingly.
  6. Store all documentation at H:\Shared\Budget\Conting1\FASS Mail Services\Postage Accounts, in the appropriate account and fiscal year and period folder under JV and inventory support.