Process Postage Due

Owned by Sara Yilmaz
Apr 08, 2022
3 min read

This process is to bill Postage Due invoices from USPS to the University departments the mail is for. It consists of mail sent to the University with insufficient postage affixed (happens very rarely) or for mail sent by the University that has “Address Service Requested” stamped on it (main source of Postage Due). The bundle of mail and the USPS invoice come to us via Campus Mail.

FASS Agent Step-by-step guide

  1. Check that the Postage Due invoice is for the University – will list Samantha Mulvaney as the Contact
  2. Check that the physical number of pieces of Postage Due matches the total number of pieces on the USPS invoice
    1. If the number of physical pieces & USPS invoice number of pieces do not match
      1. Determine the amount of the difference
        1. For differences of less than $3.00 or 5 pieces do not work on notifying the USPS of the error
          1. To spread the $ difference over the pieces take the total amount charged by USPS on the invoice and divide it by the total physical number of pieces to determine the per piece price to charge the UO Departments the items will be billed to


            e.g. USPS #20 @ $12.40 ($0.62 per piece) but physical is #22 ($13.64) take $12.40 divided by 22 to get $0.56 per piece (not the standard $0.62)

        2. If the difference is greater than $3.00 or #5 pieces then document the difference. Make a copy of the invoice with the notes of the difference and then send the copy in an envelope addressed to Erika Edmondson – USPS Postage Due Unit for correction. Send this envelope to Mail Services in a campus mail envelope addressed to Rebecca Lucas and email UO Mailing Services to let her know it needs to be handed off to the USPS carrier.
  3. Separate the pieces by UO Department they belong to – making note of how many pieces for each department
  4. Document on the USPS invoice the number of pieces for each UO department the pieces are for and what index to bill for those pieces
  5. Highlight in yellow a spot on each piece of postage due
  6. Write the index that is going to be billed in the yellow highlighted area
    1. List available in hard copy in Postage Due/Business Reply notebook or online in Mail Services folder on FASS shared drive H:\Shared\Budget\Conting1\FASS Mail Services\Postage Accounts\Billing Info and Tools\index list 1-28-2020.xlsx
  7. Input the postage due charges on the Postage Due 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\Postage Due Daily Log Form.xlsx
    1. Note any discrepancies made by USPS and document what was done to account for them on the log
  8. Print out a copy of the filled out form but do not save it
  9. Attach the Daily log form to the USPS invoice
  10. Open the Postage Due log in the shared folder H:\Shared\Budget\Conting1\FASS Mail Services\Postage Accounts\Postage Due\FY21\Postage Due FY21.xlsx
  11. Input the data from the Postage Due Daily Log Form just filled out
    1. The Total Postage from the USPS invoices 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 days 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
  12. File the paperwork in the Postage Due/Business Reply notebook
  13. At the end of each month send the reports for the month to Rebecca Lucas at Mail Services for storage