Track Outgoing and Incoming Mail with AccuTrace
Outgoing mail is mailed from the Mailer to the Recipient, while Incoming mail is mailed from the Recipient to the Mailer. The Incoming mail is typically Business Reply or Courtesy Reply mail pieces which the Mail Recipient uses to mail back a check for payment or completes a survey.
Exporting your Address List
When exporting your list, you will want to export once for printing the outgoing pieces, and then again for the reply pieces.
In that second export, you will want to change the barcode for the reply piece and the service type as in the example below.
Uploading to AccuTrace
The next thing to do would be the upload for AccuTRACE. When you print labels the job is uploaded to AccuTRACE, and that creates a zip file in the presort folder. Extract that zip file and make a copy of the text file within.
In the copied file you will want to edit the Job description ( this is not necessary but it helps avoid confusion), the 11-digit barcode, and the service type in this file. ( EX. "11-Digit Return ZIP+4 Barcode ","00052201109000239998","","","" )
Once that is done you will want to upload that new text file to AccuTRACE. To do that open your AccuTRACE portal and click Upload New Job, and select the copied file.
That will be it, once that is done you will just need to wait for the incoming scans!
To prepare the Outgoing Mail Piece:
The Mailer will print the IM Barcode with a valid tracking Service Type, like 311 for Standard Mail
To prepare the Incoming Mail Piece (Business Reply or Courtesy Reply envelope):
The Mailer will print the IM Barcode using the same first 20 digits that are on the mail piece WITH THE EXCEPTION OF THE SERVICE TYPE.
Mail Piece Barcode Digits:
00311201109000239998+11-Digit Mail Piece Barcode
Business Reply Mail Barcode Digits:
00052201109000239998+11-Digit Return ZIP+4 Barcode (This is the same for 100% of the Business Reply Pieces)
The Service Type will be one of the following
- 050=Courtesy Reply Mail
- 051=Permit Reply Mail (PRM)
- 052=Business Reply Mail/QBRM
- 701=Permit Reply Mail (PRM)
- 703=Courtesy Reply Mail (CRM) and Meter Reply Mail (MRM) without Confirm
- 708=Business Reply Mail/QBRM
The billing for Business Reply Mail is based on the Permit Number on the mailing statement, not the Mailer ID.
