Skip to content
Chapter 5

Chapter Sections:

The Basics of Business Pricing Postage Payment Methods Prepping for the Post Office

The Basics of Business Pricing

Once your piece is printed, it’s time to get ready to mail. Before we dive into different payment methods, let’s go over a few basics.

Since you’re going to be sending out bigger quantities of mail (whether as First-Class Mail® campaigns or USPS Marketing Mail® campaigns), you’ll be able to get business pricing, which is lower than regular mail—or “single-piece”—prices. When you put a regular stamp on an individual letter, you’re paying single-piece postage. With business mail, you pay less for sending out more at once.

Why? Because you—or your mail service provider (MSP)—will be doing some of the work we usually do, like presorting the mail by ZIP Code™ number or bringing it to a postal facility.

Some businesses still pay single-piece postage even though they have large mailings. Why? Because they don’t want to do the extra prep work, obtain a permit or use a special payment method.

Check out Figure 5.1 to see the steps you’ll typically need to take to get discounted business pricing.

Figure 5.1

  • Design a mailpiece that meets USPS size, shape and weight requirements.
  • Have accurate, up-to-date addresses.
  • Get a mailing permit and pay an annual fee for each class of mail you use.
  • Presort your mail (or work with an MSP who can do so), grouping it by ZIP Code number. All pieces going to the same place get put into the same tray.
  • Pay postage using precanceled stamps, a meter imprint or a permit imprint.
  • Send out at least 500 pieces for First-Class Mail campaigns, or 200 pieces (or 50 pounds) for USPS Marketing Mail campaigns, in a single mailing.

As we mentioned in Chapter 4, you may also qualify for lower prices if your pieces can be easily read by USPS automated mail processing machines.

Exercise

Spend some time weighing business mail versus single-piece mail to see which makes more sense for you. This will all depend on the campaign you’re envisioning, your budget and your time.

GETTING OUTSIDE HELP
If you don’t want to do all the work yourself, you can always work with a mail service provider that specializes in preparing business mailings. Some will do everything for you—from creating your mailpiece to presorting your pieces to dropping them off at the Post Office facility.

TURNING TO A SOFTWARE SOLUTION
Many companies sell presort software for business mail. This software helps you sort your addresses, figures out how many pieces will qualify for certain postage prices, and prints out a postage statement that shows how much you owe. If you’re starting to research software online, look for PAVE-certified software—that means it’s tested and approved by USPS.

If you’re working with a house list of fewer than 10,000 addresses, the Intelligent Mail® for Small Business Mailers (IMsb) Tool may be right for you. This free tool presorts your mailing list for you. (For more info on the IMsb, look back to Chapter 3.)

USING FULL-SERVICE MAIL
One last thing before we get into postage payment methods? Full-Service Mail.

Allowing you to get the best possible pricing on business mailings with letters and flats, this service offers some serious benefits, including:

  • Automation price discounts
  • No need to pay annual permit fees
  • Free Address Correction Service (ACS)
  • Detailed mail tracking
  • Ability to use the same permit at any business mail entry unit (BMEU) or Post Office location. This is called Mail Anywhere, and it means you don’t need to hold a separate permit at every location you do your mailings from.

Curious to know more? Head to PostalPro for more details on Full-Service Mail.

Lesson Learned

Getting a good grasp on business pricing—and all of the options available to help you along the way—will make everything easier once you’re ready to pay for postage.

Postage Payment Methods

Decided to send out your pieces as business mail? Then you have a few different ways to pay for postage, whether you’re using First-Class Mail campaigns or USPS Marketing Mail campaigns.

Let’s start exploring your options, beginning with precanceled stamps.

1. Precanceled Stamps

These special stamps are made specifically for campaigns using presorted First-Class Mail service or USPS Marketing Mail service.

Because precanceled stamps look like regular stamps, they can help give your campaign a personal, human touch. In fact, many industry experts say mail with stamps is usually opened more often than mail without stamps.[1]

Wondering why you should use precanceled stamps rather than regular ones? Because you can qualify for discounted rates, depending on how you prepare your mail.

With a minimum requirement of 200 pieces for Marketing Mail campaigns and 500 pieces for First-Class Mail campaigns, precanceled stamps are perfect for relatively low-volume campaigns where you’ll be applying stamps by hand. You can also work with a mail service provider to have them applied automatically using a machine. Keep in mind that a return address is required.

Precanceled stamps are available in rolls of 3,000 and 10,000, and come in different denominations for different classes of business mail.

  • Presorted First-Class Mail service — 25 cents
  • Presorted First-Class Mail postcards — 15 cents
  • USPS Marketing Mail service — 10 cents
  • Nonprofit Mail — 5 cents

Here’s how it works: You’ll start off by placing a precanceled stamp on each mailpiece. Then you’ll fill out a postage statement to bring to a BMEU; this will determine the total postage for your entire mailing. You’ll be credited for the postage on each piece, and will pay any difference owed. (This is why mailings with precanceled stamps can’t be dropped in a collection box or given to a carrier.)

You can buy precanceled stamps in bulk at the retail window of the Post Office location where you hold your business mail permit (we cover this toward the end of this chapter, so feel free to jump ahead). You can’t use a credit card to pay though, so plan ahead. You’ll also need a precanceled stamp permit.

2. Metered Mail

No postage stamps? No problem. You can always turn to a digital postage meter.

Meters are postage-printing machines that you can buy or lease to print postage right onto your mail (or onto meter tape) to attach as proof of payment. They have a built-in scale that can weigh everything from postcards to packages. This gets rid of the guesswork, so you can be sure you’re getting the best deal.

Digital meters can even help you pick the best class for every piece of mail, helping you save money—and time—at every turn. And if you’re looking to boost brand visibility, you have the ability to print a logo or message right onto the envelope.

Check out Figure 5.2 to get familiar with a few of the main benefits.

Figure 5.2

Digital connections are fast and flexible.

Digital meters use broadband internet (like you probably have at home), which means they can do jobs quickly, without competing with other devices for internet access. Need to move operations or work on the go? Meters make it easy, since they can be used anywhere with a Wi-Fi connection.

Rate changes and software updates are simple.

Digital meters are always connected to the internet, which means updated postage rates can be downloaded to the meter at any time, easily and accurately.

Accounting is easier than ever.

Digital meters allow you to track how much your business spends on postage, down to the last dime. You can also see what time of the year your spending goes up or down, allowing you to identify patterns and plan ahead.

Digital connections are really reliable.

Because these meters use broadband internet, their connections are extremely reliable. That means you won’t have to worry about them disconnecting during jobs.

Digital meters can save you money.

If you’re already paying for broadband, there’s no extra cost to get a digital meter connection. Plus, metered mail can be sent out at reduced rates, making it slightly less expensive than mail with precanceled stamps.

As with precanceled stamps, you can’t drop metered mail into a collection box or give it to a carrier; you must go to the Post Office location where you hold your permit. (This is because some mailers choose to meter all their pieces at the lowest possible price they qualify for, then pay the difference in person.)

3. Permit Imprint

Last but not least? Permit imprint. This is the most popular (and usually the most convenient) way to pay for higher-volume mailings containing at least 200 pieces or 50 pounds of mail.

Instead of using precanceled stamps or a postage meter, you can print postage info in a block on the upper right corner of your mailpiece. This postage block is called an “indicia,” and it’s printed at the same time the mailpiece itself is printed.

This can be a major time-saver: You don’t have to buy postage in advance or worry about putting the right amount of postage on each piece.

But you do have to make sure all of your mailpieces are the same weight. Why? Because you don’t apply postage in advance, so the Postal Service™ has to weigh individual pieces (as well as your entire mailing) to calculate what you owe.

To use a permit imprint, you’ll have to set up a postage account—called an “advance deposit account”—at the Post Office facility or business mail entry unit where you’ll be dropping off your mail.

Then when you bring in your mail, the total postage will be taken out of the account. You can think of your advance deposit account as a checking account for mailings. (And once again, you can’t drop your mail in a collection box or give it to a carrier, since the payment needs to be taken out of your account at the Post Office location.)

Mailing Permit

No matter what kind of business mail you’re sending, you’ll first need to get a permit.

If you’re using precanceled stamps or a postage meter, there’s no fee to apply for a permit. But if you’re going the permit imprint route, you’ll have to pay a one-time fee to set up your permit imprint account. And no matter what kind of permit you hold, you’ll need to pay an annual mailing fee unless you’re doing a Full-Service mailing.

Keep in mind that you must hold a permit and pay the annual mailing fee at every BMEU or Post Office location that you do your mailings from.

And remember: The experts at USPS can guide you through every step, whether you need help getting a permit or figuring out which type of postage is right for you.

Lesson Learned

When it comes time to pay for postage, you’ve got options. Getting a good grasp of the basics will help keep the process simple and stress-free.

Prepping for the Post Office

When it comes time to actually drop off your mail (you’re almost there!), you’ll want to make sure you have everything you need on hand.

WHAT TO BRING

  • All of the mailpieces you’ll be sending out. (Yep, that’s a big one.)
  • Signed and dated postage statements. (You can also send your statement electronically.)
  • Supporting documents, like any printouts from your presort software.
  • Payment to cover any extra postage or for your annual mailing fee (if you haven’t already paid it).

WHAT TO EXPECT

A clerk will make sure that you’ve prepped your mail the right way.

They will check your mail for:

  • Price eligibility (for USPS Marketing Mail campaigns, the clerk will actually open one of your mailpieces to make sure it qualifies for the price you’re claiming)
  • Markings and endorsements
  • Proper sorting
  • Any postage payments due

When you bring in your first mailing, the clerk will do a thorough presort review. Don’t be surprised if your first mailing needs a little fine-tuning. Eventually, it’ll all become second nature.

If your mail isn’t presorted correctly, the clerk will point out any problems and tell you how to fix them. (And pretty soon, you’ll be a pro.)

Lesson Learned

Coming to your Post Office facility prepared can deliver some serious cost and time savings—a little extra homework ahead of time can make all the difference.

Footnotes
  1. [1]Shaun Buck, “7 Rules to Foolproof Your Next Marketing Campaign,” Inc.

Need help? Reach out to the Mailing & Shipping Solutions Center at MSSC@usps.gov and a team member will be in touch.