MAILING SERVICES — GIVING POSTAGE ITS DUE

In even just a cursory investigation of mailing and U.S. Postal Service (USPS) regulations, one can quickly be overwhelmed by acronyms. Here are just a few of the more prominent ones it helps to know when evaluating mailing solutions.

CASS—Coding Accuracy Support System is a process designed to improve the accuracy of postal codes that appear on mail pieces, such as carrier route, 5-digit ZIP, ZIP+4 and DPC (Delivery Point Code). It is a software certification program that provides a common measure with which to test the quality of address-matching software. The USPS publishes a list (http://ribbs.usps.gov/files/vendors) of software companies that provide CASS-certified mailing solutions.