Preparing Your Software for the Rate Case
As the end of the year approaches, many people are preparing for the USPS® rate changes that will go into effect on January 27, 2019. Anything that mails before January 27 must be prepared with the old rates and anything that mails on or after January 27 must be prepared with the new rates. This can cause issues as to when to update your software to ensure you do not interrupt or hold up job processing. Some jobs may need to be prepared weeks in advance, while others might be prepared nearly same day. Since you can only have one price list loaded into BCC Mail Manager™ at a time, it’s important to have a strategy to address both types of jobs once the new Rate Case version of BCC Mail Manager is released.
This year, the Rate Case version of BCC Mail Manager will be in the form of a web update as the main changes are to price calculations and there are very few procedural changes. This is ideal as it means the updated Rate Case version will be available much quicker than if this was a full major update. You should be able to switch back to the “before” Rate Case version with relative ease.
There are several ways to manage these two disparate price lists. The simplest way is to have two installs of the program – however, this can present some issues. Firstly, you will need two licenses for BCC Mail Manager to do so. For some customers this will not be an issue, but for others it is not possible. If you have a network version, you can install a standalone client using one of your seats in order to fulfill this requirement for the month.
The second method would be to swap back and forth between versions as needed. For this, it’s important to create a road map for current jobs. Ideally, group “before” jobs together, run them, and then update the software and run all remaining jobs.
Keep in mind, it’s entirely possible to receive a rush job after the switch that would require you to swap back to the old software version. For this, you’ll need the latest disk image. You can simply run the December installer and skip the CASS™ install which will bring you back to the base December version with the pre-Rate Case prices. Then, when you are prepared to sort for the Rate Case prices again, you can just run the applicable web update. It’s possible and even simple, but please note that for cohesiveness, switching back and forth between versions is not ideal.
These is also an additional feature of the PostalOne!® submission system that can help. When you submit a job to PostalOne!, you do not need to submit definite price information. Instead, submit the rate categories of each piece. For example, you don’t need to claim to have 1,000 pieces at 27.4 cents each, but rather 1,000 AADC pieces with no destination discount. PostalOne! then gets the job and calculates the cost using the applicable pricing table for your mailing date. As long as producing paper statements from BCC Mail Manager is not a requirement for the job, you can update the software version as soon as the update is released, and then submit the information to PostalOne! with the correct mailing date. This will allow PostalOne! to calculate correct pricing. If the date is set prior to January 27, old rates will be used. If it’s set after this date, you will get new rates. You are then able to print the PostalOne! postage statement right off the gateway. This is the recommended option if you are not able to have two BCC Mail Manager installs.
There are several ways to manage the price rate changes and how to handle the various jobs you will receive surrounding the changeover date. If you have any questions regarding these methods, please contact Customer Support at 800-624-5234 or tech@bccsoftware.com.
