USPS is the globe’s largest postal system in the US delivering a huge percentage of the world’s mail. USPS operates more than 30 thousand post offices and locations and delivers millions of orders annually.
Whether you are a growing company or an established one, it is essential for you to have an accurate reconciliation process, especially when you are responsible for millions of deliveries like USPS expecting no mishaps, this is where Cointab steps in.
Cointabs automated software is designed to make your job easier by reconciling your data for you. It reconciles all the main reports like SKU report, ERP report, Pincode report and the Rate card with the invoice provided by USPS so there is no scope of any error and you can get a clear overview of what was expected. It makes the entire process smooth and accurate by saving manual time and effort.
Required reports for USPS invoice verification process
Pincode report
Pincode Zone Report consists of the origin pincode, destination pincode and the zone associated with these pincodes.
SKU report
Each product is assigned a SKU number that helps us denote the weight and dimension of the product.
Rate card
Rate card consists of the charges applicable for each invoice on the basis of its zone and weight of the product.
USPS Invoice
All the important records like order ID, Billing zone, SKU, Product type, weight, RTO, Billing pincode, applied weight slab and the amount charged is provided by USPS that helps us in proceeding further.
Invoice Verification
Here the software checks if the charges calculated by the shipping company are accurate or not. On the basis of the weight of the product, zone of the delivery, the calculations of the fee charged by USPS is made. The software also checks the accuracy of the weight and zone. Then the rate card is used to check if the rate for the particular zone and weight are accurate or not.
Let us take a deeper look into this-
SKU report
- The ERP report is taken into consideration as it gives us the SKU number which gives us the weight and dimension of the products.
- The weight given below the weight column is taken into consideration if the weight is not present in the ERP report.
- If the dimensions of the product are given then the volumetric weight is calculated with the help of this formula “Length x Width x Height”. In order to make the calculations work, the dimensions of the volumetric weight has to be in centimeters. The calculated value will be divided by the divisor given in the divisor card and if the divisor is not present in the card then it is to be divided by 5000.
- After the calculation of the weight, the values are moved to the ERP reports and the USPS invoice.
- Lastly, the final weight is rounded off to give us the final slab.
Pincode Master
- A zone is assigned to the combination of origin location and delivery location. The origin and delivery location is linked to the invoice to get the desired zone for each invoice.
- Each zone is categorized zone-wise i.e regional, local etc and they are further classified with their respective indicator like a,b,c etc.
Rate card
- The rates are given in the rate card on the basis of the weight of the product and the zone of the product. The charges might differ if the weight of the products increase, the rates given above are given according to an acceptable limit. The columns “courier”, “zone”, “fwd_wt_fixed” (the additional weight on which the fixed rate increases), and the “divisor” are checked with respective columns present in the USPSinvoice to verify if the right items are put in the invoice.
- It is essential for the delivery dates to fall under certain dates as the amount present in the rate card is applicable only for a-particular time period.
Charges
Expected forward charge
If the final slab calculated is lower or equal to the weight limit (“fwd_wt_fixed”) given in the rate card, that means that it is equal to the “fwd_wt_fixed” then the fees charged on it is “fwd_fixed” according to the zone. If it is not equal to the “fwd_wt_fixed” column then it means that the product has more weight. The fee charged for the extra weight is “fwd_add” according to the zone. So the formula for the expected charge is:
Expected_fwd_chg = fwd_fixed + (extra_weight) x fwd_add
Expected RTO charged
If the final slab calculated is lesser or equal to the weight limit (rto_wt_fixed”) given in the rate card, that means that it is equal to the “rto_fixed” and the fee charged on it is “rto_fixed” according to the zone. If it is not equal to the “rto_wt_fixed” column then that means that the product has extra weight. The fee charged for the excess weight is “rto_add” according to the zone . The formula for the expected charge is given as:
Expected_rto_chg = rto_fixed + (extra_weight) x rto_add
Expected final amount
The final amount is derived from the calculation of the forward charge, RTO charge and the GST percentage added.
RESULT
The expected amount is based on the calculations of zone and weight of the product and since we have that now, the software compares the ERP report, Pincode report and the Rate card with the USPS invoice and calculates the charges accordingly.
ERP
Found in ERP
In order for the reports to be verified and processed further, the order entries present in the invoice should also be present in the ERP reports. Since the entries are present in both the records, it can be verified and moved ahead.
Not found in ERP report.
In this case, the order entries are present only in the invoice and not in the ERP report and hence it can not be verified and moved ahead.
Pincode Master
Found in Pincode master
The deliveries are imposed zone wise like regionally, locally etc and hence it is important for these orders to be present in both, the invoice given by USPS as well as the pincode master. Since the order entries are present in both these records, the values can be verified.
Not found in Pincode master
In this case, the reports can not be verified as the order entries are present only in the invoice and not in the Pincode report.
Rate Card
Found in Rate card
The order entries present in the Rate card are also present in the statement given by USPS and hence it can be proceeded further and can be verified.
Not found in Rate card
In this case, the order entries present in the statement given by USPS are not found in the rate card and hence it can not be verified.
Fee verification using ERP- USPS
Correctly Charged
With the help of the rate card the calculated amount matches with the fee in the invoice correctly. The zone of the delivery and the weight of the product also match the ERP report as well as the invoice provided by USPS.
Zone Match, Weight Match – Overcharged
This shows that the zone of the delivery and weight of the product both match in the ERP reports and USPS invoice, however the fee charged is more than the expected amount, hence in this case the fee is overcharged.
Zone Match, Weight Match – Undercharged.
In this case, the zone and the weight match but the fee charged is still less compared to the invoice and ERP report, due to the fee not matching, the amount is undercharged here.
Zone Mismatch, Weight Match – Overcharged
This shows that the zone of the delivery and the fee do not match whereas the weight of the product matches in the ERP reports and USPS invoice, hence in this case the fee is overcharged.
Zone Mismatch, Weight Match – Undercharged.
The software compares the ERP report and the USPS report and shows that the zone of the product and fee charged do not match the report whereas the weight matches and hence the amount is under charged in this case compared to the calculated amount.
Zone Match, Weight Mismatch – Overcharged
This denotes that after comparing the ERP report and the USPS invoice report the weight of the product and fee do not match in both the reports, whereas the zone matches. Since the weight of the product and rate do not match, the amount is over charged in this case.
Zone Match, Weight Mismatch – Undercharged.
In this column, the software compares the ERP report and the USPS report and shows that the weight of the product and fee do not match whereas the zone matches and hence the amount is undercharged in this case compared to the expected amount.
Zone Mismatch, Weight Mismatch – Overcharged
The software here compares the ERP report and the USPS report and shows that the zone, fee and the weight of the product do not match. Hence the amount charged is higher than the calculated amount in this case and so it is overcharged.
Zone Mismatch, Weight Mismatch – Undercharged
In this case, the software compares the ERP report and the USPS invoice report and shows that the zone, fee and the weight of the product do not match. Hence the amount charged is lesser than the calculated amount in this case and so it is undercharged.
Cointabs reconciliation software streamlines the USPS fee verification process, empowering businesses to function more efficiently. This software’s automated process provides precise and dependable insights, enhancing the basis for informed business data driven decisions. Its advanced capabilities make it an indispensable tool for optimizing reconciliation processes. Use Cointab and make your entire reconciliation process quicker, error-free and more accurate. Get a detailed overview of all your transactional activities and simplify your workload with Cointab.
