Process Business Reply

Owned by Sara Yilmaz
Apr 08, 2022

This process is to bill Business Reply invoices from USPS to the University departments that the mail is for. It consists of mail sent out by University departments that includes an envelope/reply card to be mailed back to the sender stating the sender will cover the postage. The bundle of mail and the USPS invoice come to us via Campus Mail.

FASS Agent Step-by-step guide

  1. Check that the Business Reply invoice is for the University – it will have Samantha Mulvaney listed as the contact. If the contact is Sandi Gussenhoven, send the mail and the invoice to her via Campus Mail as it is not for FASS to process.
  2. Check that the physical number of pieces matches the number of pieces listed on the USPS invoice
    1. Business Reply pieces are listed by weight and each weight is charged at a particular amount
  3. Separate the pieces based on the receiving department
    1. Within each department grouping make sure to keep track of each “weight” type of the pieces as each weight has a different charge
  4. Note on the USPS invoice the Index to be billed for the Departments
    1. The index to bill will be listed on the top left corner of the piece below the return address area
    2. Check that the index is valid – use the hard copy list in the Postage Due/Business Reply notebook to make sure the index is still valid
      1. Generally the only ones that change regularly are EC Cares or other departments using Grant Indexes to pay for their Business Reply
  5. Calculate the total charges for each department
  6. Highlight in yellow a spot on each piece of Business Reply
  7. Write the index to be billed in the yellow highlighted area
  8. Input the Business Reply charges on the Business Reply Daily Log Form found in the forms folder of the FASS Mail Services folder on the shared drive: H:\Shared\Budget\Conting1\FASS Mail Services\Forms
  9. Print out a copy of the filled out form but do not save it
  10. Attach the Daily log form to the USPS invoice
  11. Open the Business Reply log in the shared folder
  12. Input the data from the daily log form just filled out: H:\Shared\Budget\Conting1\FASS Mail Services\Postage Accounts\Business Reply\FY21
    1. The Total Postage from the USPS invoice goes in the column labeled “Post Office” – this is the amount that deducts from the Running Balance in Column E of the spreadsheet
    2. In the column labeled “Mail Services” list the charges on separate lines for each different index to be billed on that day’s invoice
    3. Fill in the rest of the columns (F-I) for each index line
    4. Column J auto populates based on formula entered already (this is the actual amount Mail Services charges the departments for this service including a $0.10 per piece markup
    5. Confirm that the amount in “Balance” Column (column E) matches the Closing Balance listed on the USPS invoice
    6. Make notes in Column K of any discrepancies for that day
    7. Save the spreadsheet and then close
  13. File the paperwork in the Postage Due/Business Reply notebook
  14. At the end of each month send the reports for the month to Rebecca Lucas at Mail Services for storage