4-2 Submitting Manifests Electronically

Submitting manifests electronically is encouraged because it reduces paper and printer costs. It also saves production time when closing out the manifest for submission. Manifests may be submitted electronically using the procedures described in Option A or B below. An electronic manifest must be in the same format and contain the same elements, including page totals and cumulative page or line totals, as a hardcopy manifest (see chapters 5 and 6).

4-2.1 Option A — Electronic Manifest at Mailer’s Plant

To present mail for verification at your plant and use an electronic manifest, you must meet all the following conditions:

1. Be authorized by the Postal Service to have mail verified at your plant by a Postal Service acceptance clerk.
2. Make available to the Postal Service acceptance clerk a computer terminal or a personal computer (PC) and a printer to access the electronic manifest and print selected pages, if necessary.
3. Train the Postal Service acceptance clerk to access and use your electronic system on an as-needed basis and provide a simple user’s guide.

4-2.2 Option B — Electronic Manifest at Post Office

To present mail for verification at the accepting Post Office and use an electronic manifest, you must meet all the following conditions:

1. The Post Office where you will submit manifests in electronic form must already have the necessary computer hardware. If it does not, you will be responsible for providing the hardware compatible with your electronic manifests. The manifest file may be submitted on a CD or sent via e-mail.
2. If there is a computer available at the Post Office, your software must be compatible with the Post Office’s system.
3. Your software must be menu-driven and easy to use.
4. You must train Postal Service acceptance clerks to use your software and provide a simple user’s guide.

4-2.3 Software Requirements

In Options A and B, you must use software that allows the acceptance clerk to do the following:

1. Move from one screen (page) of the manifest to the next easily.
2. View each page entirely on the screen.
3. Locate individual identification numbers immediately.
4. Go directly to the summary, if required (or last page of the manifest if no summary is required).
5. Print any page of the manifest.