Be prepared when electronic documentation fails

By Brad Hill
Excerpt from Be prepared when electronic documentation (eDoc) fails
Interlink Community Journal Newsletter June 2015

The contingency plan is fairly straightforward: Inform the post office anytime eDoc cannot be sent, log a few details for the postage statement missed and submit the actual postage statements electronically within three days of the system coming back online.

Hardcopy postage statements should not be entered when electronic documentation is unavailable, as might be assumed. This is to prevent duplicate postage statements from being entered into PostalOne! for the same mailing once electronic versions are eventually received.

Each mailing entered during the outage must be accompanied by a Customer Mailing Log. The following should be included for each postage statement that normally would have been sent, using one line per postage statement:

  • Permit Holder
  • Permit Number
  • Total Pieces
  • Total Postage
  • Mailer Job ID

That information can be found on the front page of hardcopy postage statements produced by Interlink Circulation, with the exception of the mailer job ID, which can be any number you choose for tracking purposes.

Failure to submit eDoc should not prevent your mail from being entered and processed. Understanding this plan and being ready to share it with your postmaster if necessary is the best way to ensure delivery of your paper isn’t affected.