ACS Module

OneCode ACS® and Traditional ACS

AccuZIP6 5.04.38 or above with the ACS Module supports both the "Traditional ACS" and "OneCode ACS" record formats.  

Resource Guides:

Traditional ACS Guide

http://www.usps.com/cpim/ftp/pubs/pub8a.pdf

Page 9 - Participation Requirements shows how to properly format your address block.

OneCode ACS Guide

http://ribbs.usps.gov/acs/documents/tech_guides/PUB8B.pdf

Page 4 - What is OneCode ACS shows you the difference between the address block for Traditional ACS and OneCode ACS.

Traditional ACS vs. OneCode ACS

• OneCode ACS requires that you print the Intelligent Mail barcode on your mail piece vs. Traditional ACS, which does not have this requirement.

• Traditional ACS requires that you add the ACS Participation Code (and ACS Keyline) to the address block, along with the Endorsement which describes how the mail piece will be handled for non-delivery.

• OneCode ACS does not require the ACS Participation Codes in the address block.  For Standard Mail®, you must continue to print the Endorsement information describing the service type, e.g., Address Service Requested.  See Page 10 in the OneCode ACS Guide.

• OneCode ACS uses a Mailer ID (MID) code assigned by the USPS® and a unique mail piece identifier (Serial Number), all embedded in the Intelligent Mail Barcode and printed on the mail piece.

• Traditional ACS uses an all-alpha address change service (ACS) participation code assigned by the USPS and a unique mail piece identifier (ACS Keyline), and these are printed on the mail piece.

Getting Started

OneCode ACS Requirements:

• You must have a Mailer Identifier (MID)

• Mailers must apply for a new Mailer Identifier or utilize an existing Mailer Identifier assigned by Confirm or PostalOne!. The Postal Service assigns a Mailer ID or utilizes an existing Mailer ID during the application process. More information on other services that can be utilized in conjunction with OneCode ACS and the Intelligent Mail barcode can be found at http://ribbs.usps.gov/onecodesolution. The Mailer ID consists of either 6 or 9 numeric characters and will be placed in the Mailer identifier field of the Intelligent Mail barcode. The Mailer ID functions the same way as a traditional ACS Participant Code which also identifies the mailer.  

Traditional ACS Requirements:

• You must have an ACS Participation Code.

• To use ACS, you must add to your mail piece or address block the ACS participant code assigned by the Postal Service (see DMM 507.4.2 and 708.7.2.3 for details). This code can be provided only by the ACS Department at the NCSC. Participant codes are assigned for a specific class of mail and consist of seven alpha characters and must be printed in uppercase on the mail piece or first line of the address block (the optional endorsement line (OEL)), aligned left, preceded by a single pound sign (#) delimiter. If printed on the OEL, the participant code must be followed by at least one space before any further information (carrier route, presort, etc.) is printed on that line (see Exhibit 2, Page 10 in the Traditional ACS Guide).

Setting up the Address Block:

OneCode ACS

Intelligent Mail Barcode Setup

1. • Follow the steps in the link below to enter your Mailer ID and Service Type

Printing the Intelligent Mail Barcode

1. • You must print the IM® barcode instead of the Delivery Point Barcode by checking the "Intelligent Mail" box in the Print Settings window when printing from AccuZIP6.

   • No modifications to your current existing label templates are necessary

Traditional ACS

Label Template Designer

1. • The AccuZIP6 5.0 field named "acs_part" will hold the ACS Participation code value.

   • The AccuZIP6 5.0 field named "acs_key" will hold the ACS Keyline value.

   • Follow the steps in the link below to add the acs_part and acs_key fields to your Label Template.  (see Page 10 in the Traditional ACS Guide for layout format)

Adding and Combining Fields

Preparing the mailing list

See the "Introductory Tutorial" for helpful information on processing a mailing list using AccuZIP6 5.0:

Introductory Tutorial

Mandatory Steps

• Validate all address records in the database

• Check the NCOALink box in the Validate Records window so that all addresses are updated with the new change-of-address information occurring within the last 18-months.  By performing NCOALink on each list, you can save literally hundreds of dollars in fees associated with return mail.

• If the NCOALink option is disabled in the Validate Records window, please visit our website for more information.

http://www.accuzip.com/products/ncoalink

Traditional ACS - Creating a new ACS Keyline

With a mailing list opened:

• Click the Additions menu and choose ACS Module|Create Keyline

• Enter an ACS Keyline length

• This will uniquely identify each mail piece and is used to update the address list with the new address in the ACS Fulfillment File.

• ACS Fulfillment File:  The ACS Keyline printed on an ACS-modified mail piece is returned as part of an ACS fulfillment record and is used to find the relocating customer on the address list.

• The ACS Keyline length was determined by you at the time the ACS Application (Traditional) was completed.  See Page 35 in the Traditional ACS Guide, specifically, ACS Participation Information.

•  Enter a character or characters into the "What characters, if any, would you like the Keyline to begin with?" box.

• If you signed up for an Alpha-Numeric ACS Keyline, enter the character(s) you would like your ACS Keyline to begin with.  The character or characters you enter are your choice and are the same for all records within a database.  Typically they are used to ensure the uniqueness of the ACS Keyline.  Using the first letter of each word in your company name or your clients company name is one suggestion, i.e., for the "The Alliance Company", you could enter TAC for the characters.  This box is optional.

Important Note - Traditional ACS Keyline values

• The ACS Keyline is only unique within a database.  If you manage multiple databases, you will want to enter one or more characters into the "What characters, if any, would you like the Keyline to begin with?" box located inside the "Create Keyline" window.  This will help keep the ACS Keyline unique across multiple databases and clients.

• OneCode ACS does not require user input to keep the Serial Number unique.  The Serial Number with OneCode ACS is similar to the ACS Keyline, with the exception that the Serial Number is always digits.  The Serial Number uniqueness is managed by AccuZIP6 5.0 locally or across a network and will remain unique for 95-days or until all of the numbers within the 6-digit or 9-digit range have been used.

Traditional ACS - Use an existing unique number as your ACS Keyline

• You must map the unique number that will be used in the ACS Keyline to the AccuZIP6 5.0 field named "acs_key".  The ACS Keyline can contain up to 16-characters and was determined at the time you completed the ACS Traditional Application.

• The ACS Keyline must contain a valid Check Digit in order to be used as an ACS Keyline on your mail piece.  If the unique number that you are providing does not have a Check Digit, refer to Page 12, USPS Standards for Check Digit Computation in the Traditional ACS Guide.

• AccuZIP6 5.0 can create and add the Check Digit to the end of a unique number by following these steps:

• • Choose the Additions Menu|ACS Module|Calculate Check Digit

  • Click All

  • DO NOT check Recalculate Check Digit unless there is already a Check Digit at the end of the unique number.  Checking this box will replace the last number in the "acs_key" field with the proper ACS Check Digit.

  • Click Calculate

Printing

OneCode ACS

• Always print the Intelligent Mail Barcode.

• Intelligent Mail Barcode:  

• Delivery Point Barcode:  

Traditional ACS

• Print the Delivery Point Barcode or the Intelligent Mail Barcode on your mail piece.

• You must format the Envelope and Address Block per the requirements.

• See Page 10 in the Traditional ACS Guide for the proper Address Block format.

OneCode ACS® or Traditional ACS Fulfillment Files

How to update your mailing list

• Manually Download the Fulfillment File

• See Page 30 in the OneCode ACS Guide:

http://ribbs.usps.gov/acs/documents/tech_guides/PUB8B.pdf

• Choose File|Open Database and open the database that you want to update with the new COA/Nixie information from the Fulfillment file.

• Choose Additions menu|ACS Module|Merge ACS Data

• Click the Browse button and select the Fulfillment file.

• Each Fulfillment file is uniquely named. The example notification file 80001008.508 consists of 800010, which is the Account#/User name, then two digits (08) representing the year, then 3 digits (508) representing the month and day.  The months of October, November and December are represented by the letters A, B, and C.  The fulfillment on December 10th, 2010 will have the file name 80001010.C10.

• After you open the Fulfillment file, the File Description and Content area of the ACS Setup window will populate with the Header information.

• Make your selections under "Do not update the record if" and Additional Options:

• Click Update

Converting the Fulfillment File to an AccuZIP6 5.0 Database

• Manually Download the Fulfillment File

• Choose Additions menu|ACS Module|Convert ASC File to dBase

• • Click the Browse button next to ACS File to convert

  • Select the Fulfillment file and click OK

  • Click the Disk button next to Save as:

  • Enter a new name for the database and click Save

  • Click Convert

You're now ready to use the AccuZIP6 5.0 ACS Module!