Section 179 IRS Tax Deductions

There is an important tax opportunity that is currently available that will be going away after December 31, 2010. This is an opportunity that all shippers may qualify for if they act now.

Normally all off-the-shelf software purchases, like Harvey Software’s CPS shipping software. must be depreciated over a 36-month period, but there are some important exceptions that end December 31, 2010. Off-the-shelf computer software purchased from January 1, 2003 to December 31, 2010 is eligible for an IRS Section 179 deduction, which means that 100% of the cost of software can be deducted in the year purchased. Starting in 2011, you will no longer be able to use Section 179 deductions for off-the-shelf software.

Most off-the-shelf shipping software meets all the basic requirements for this deduction as it is readily available for purchase by the general public, it is subject to a nonexclusive license, and it has not been substantially modified.

This means that you could purchase new shipping software now and then expense 100% of that cost this year. Naturally, as with any tax deduction, you will need to consult your tax advisors to know how it fits your company.

Below are some Q&A type details we understand about IRS Section 179 Deductions:

What is the Section 179 Deduction?

Essentially, Section 179 of the IRS tax code allows businesses to deduct the full purchase price of qualifying equipment purchased or financed during the tax year. That means that if you buy (or lease) a piece of qualifying equipment, you can deduct 100% of the purchase price from your gross income. It's an incentive created by the U.S. Government to encourage businesses to buy equipment and invest in their businesses.

What Software Qualifies?

For basic eligibility, the software must meet all of the following general specifications:

1. The software must be purchased outright by the company that uses it.
2. The software must be used in your business or income-producing activity.
3. The software must have a determinable useful life.
4. The software must be expected to last more than one year.

Off-the-shelf computer software placed in service during the tax year is qualifying property for purposes of the section 179 deduction.

To learn more about purchasing CPS visit http://www.HarveySoft.com or call 800-231-0296 today.

Using Free Shipping to Make More Sales

The world's largest retailer has just offered free shipping on almost 60,000 items through December 20th with no minimum order. This means free shipping offers are definitely on the mind of consumers for the holiday season. Rival companies offer free shipping with a minimum order or when ordering certain items, so let's look at the "free shipping" offer marketing strategy.

Use free shipping offers to gain business, not just give away the shipping cost. It's a profit and sales tool, not a giveaway. And there's more to it than just posting "FREE SHIPPING". Generally, the best return from a free shipping offer is when it's matched to consumer products and services such as current products that have caught consumers' interest. Overstock merchandise sales do not benefit as much with free shipping offers. Also, a constant free shipping offer can reduce its success. Offering free shipping for a limited time typically provides better results.

Many articles have been written about how shipping cost "sticker shock" directly causes abandoned shopping carts and lost orders. Even when the total of the items and the shipping represent a great value, some consumers lose sight of the quality of an offer and will not purchase if they consider the shipping cost to be too high.

If your company plans to jump onto the free shipping bandwagon, your shipping system may be able to help you decide when you can offer free shipping. Our CPS shipping software provides a report that shows your average cost to ship each package by each carrier and service. Since your company's shipping data is used for this, you have the data you need to determine if you can offer free shipping on every order, on orders over a certain amount, on orders for certain product types, etc.

Or, if a free shipping offer might not work for your company, consider a "flat rate" shipping offer. You can use this same report to establish your flat rate shipping cost "break even" price and use the report data to decide about your flat rate shipping offer.

Both of these strategies help fight lost orders due to a shipping cost surprise. Whichever you decide to use, make sure it's plainly offered at your web site. Make the process easy and help your customer click "Buy" instead of "Bye".

It's Not Too Late to Use the USPS As Part of This Year's Shipping Strategy

Not yet using the Post Office as part of your shipping strategy? It's still not too late to get started. Consider these points when you are looking at the savings you might realize shipping with the post office.

Immediate Discounts When Using On-line Postage

What's a quick way to get discounts on your Post Office shipping? That's easy. Make sure your shipping system uses Internet postage. When you ship with the Post Office and use Internet postage, you can save anywhere from 5% to 13% depending on the USPS service(s) you use. Save 5% off of retail Express Mail® rates and up to 13% off of retail rates on Priority Mail shipments. For International shipping, you save 5% on Priority Mail International shipments and 8% on Express Mail International. And you receive these savings along with the convenience of printing the postage directly on the shipping label. When the label is printed, you are done! What could be easier? A shipping system like our CPS shipping software can do this all automatically, including rate shopping between carriers, for you.

Free Packaging

The Post Office provides free packaging for their Priority and Express services. There are over 20 types of free packaging for Priority Mail shipping, divided into boxes and envelopes for their flat rate services, and boxes and envelopes for general shipping. For Express Mail, there are envelopes and a special Express box.

You can't use these boxes for every package, but when you can use it can add up to real savings! You can even order supplies on-line.

Then There Are the Items Where the Post Office Just Says "No!"

No fuel surcharge
No residential delivery surcharge
No remote/extended area delivery surcharge
No address correction fees

Use the Post Office, and you just say "No!" to these extra cost items, too.

Exclusive Delivery Options

Many carriers can deliver to domestic and international businesses and residences. The USPS is the only carrier that also delivers to Post Office boxes and to military (APO/FPO) addresses.

If the Post Office looks like it's good for your company, you can sign up immediately to start shipping with Internet postage. Shipping systems like CPS are compatible with Internet postage too, so you can get started fast! For more information about CPS, visit http://www.HarveySoft.com.

3 Details to Watch for Your Holiday Shipping

Let's take a quick look at some details to consider about a few aspects of operating your shipping department. Watching these shipping details can put more money on your bottom line and help you with better package delivery for your customers.

Box Size and Dimensional Weight

Your carrier invoice can be a real surprise if just a few packages are rated with dimensional weight instead of actual weight. It might not break the bank, but when your company closely watches expenses, it's good when there are no surprises. Lighter, larger boxes can be subject to dimensional weight charges, so "a big box full of feathers" can definitely cost more to ship than the actual weight of the package. Some shipping systems, such as Harvey Software's CPS(TM) Shipping Software, have a box type database to let you set up a box code for every size box you use. Getting accurate dimensions is as easy as entering the box code type. The "box types" feature easily makes dimensional weight shipping accurate.

Also to watch for - Carriers have already announced a change for next year in the dimensional weight calculation factor that could make this apply to even more of your packages. Even if all carriers do not do this in 2011, it's good to be ready for dimensional price checking now.

Another Billing Surprise

Another way to avoid surprise charges on your carrier invoice is to make sure residential packages use the residential delivery service when they are shipped. How to avoid the residential surcharge as an unexpected cost? You could use the post office for every package. Or, you could always ship with the residential service regardless of destination. But each of those might cost you more than you want. Solve this problem (with some additional benefits) by using address verification that also checks the commercial or residential address classification. This can be done in your order system or, in a shipping system like CPS, right at the shipping station. Use the right service cut unexpected carrier bills.

One more advantage of address verification is you can also cut address correction fees. One CPS user told us they eliminated $120 of weekly address correction fees when they added address verification to their CPS, and an accurate delivery address improves service for every customer - a real "Win-Win!" Use address verification and you can start these savings today.

The Fuel Surcharge Roller Coaster

Fuel surcharges are now a fact of life with most carriers except the post office. For example, CPS includes this surcharge, but make sure your shipping system is set to use the most current surcharge amount since it changes monthly. These surcharges are easily 5 per cent or more of your carrier bill, and that's a lot to lose track of on your bill and if you do rate shopping. Look for fuel surcharge amount changes around the first Monday of each month and avoid this billing surprise.

Summary

A shipping system with rate shopping is great, but it does not consider all of these items that can affect your shipping cost, it's easy for automatic rate shopping to automatically choose the wrong carrier. Remember, where it's expensive to use one carrier could be the best rate for your company with another carrier. Use good information for the most accurate rates and you take a giant step to "No Surprises."

These tips will help with your shipping all year, not just the holidays. Turn these processing steps into shipping habits and you will add another building block to a solid shipping operation.

Getting the Best Price for Package Delivery by a Specific Date

If your company ships products that must be delivered within a certain number of days, your shipping system should be able to expand your choices about how to ship the orders to get them delivered on time while saving your company in shipping costs. Here's an example. Let's say a package has to be delivered within 3 days. You just compare rates for the 3 day service for each of the carriers you use, then choose the carrier with the least expensive 3 day service - right? That will work, but it may not be the least expensive way to ship and still make delivery on time. Try this: check your carriers' guaranteed delivery time using their ground service. Anytime your package can meet its delivery commitment using guaranteed ground service instead of an express service, you come out ahead.

In the summer, candy, other food items, gifts and important business packages might need quick delivery. Closer to the holidays, if delivery of last minute gift orders or perishable food is not made on time, the event or the food can be ruined. On-time delivery is important, but why pay too much?

Making customers happy is just one reason to use "time shopping". Create a selling advantage to draw attention to your company and close more sales by promising delivery within 3 days for all of your orders. Fast delivery definitely encourages sales. Again in this case, there is no reason to pay too much to deliver these packages. So how can a shipping system help? One way is to make this "time shopping" process automatic. Here is how our CPS shipping software delivers these savings.

CPS Smart RateBots automatically shop carrier rates according to the delivery time. Staying with our 3 day example, depending on your location, ground service guarantees delivery in 3 days (or less) to a large part of the US. Use CPS Smart RateBots (or a feature like them in your shipping system) to minimize your shipping costs and maximize sales and customer satisfaction. You completely control the decisions made by Smart RateBots, so you control your shipping savings. You can use Smart RateBots for the best 2 day delivery, the best next day delivery - whatever you choose. Whether it's time sensitive documents, perishables or other packages that need to be delivered within a specific number of days, use Smart RateBots for the best priced delivery for all your packages.

And here's a bonus. Often, the least expensive shipping method is also the best Green shipping choice. Pleasing customers, saving money and saving the planet - it's a hard combination to beat!

For more information about a shipping system that helps make customers and shippers happy, visit www.HarveySoft.com.

3 Ways to Make Customers Happy - Especially in the Busiest Times!

Throughout the year, and especially for the holidays, you do all you can to please your customers. Even a one time order can create word of mouth referrals, so everyone is important. We always look at how the shipping system touches customers. It's obvious that the shipping system is the link in getting the package out the door and on the way. Let's go past the obvious and look at some other ways to put the shipping system to work making customers happy.

Do your customers prefer address verification or address correction? Whenever address correction comes into play, package delivery is probably taking longer that it should and it's likely additional costs are incurred. Here is what one company using the Address Verification Module for our CPS shipping software told us. Their address correction fees dropped from $120 per week to nothing after they started verifying "ship to" addresses in the shipping system. They take orders at their web site and (half) jokingly said "I never knew that so many people don't know where they live." Use the shipping system to verify that actual "ship to" address and you've done everything you can to make delivery as quick as possible (at the least cost to you), and that makes seller and buyer happy.

When your customers place their orders, I bet the next thing on their mind is "When is it on the way and when do I get it?" That's what I always want to know. Do you send customers an email to let them know about their package? Is the email sent by the shipping system? If you use one of the carriers' shipping systems and send the shipment notification from their system, look at the notification sometime. It's not from your company, it's from the carrier. Also, notice how far into the notification you have to go before it's clear the package is from your company. Use your own shipping system and, when it sends your customer their shipment notification, there is no doubt it's from your company and it’s information about their order with your company. That puts a peace-of-mind smile on their face.

Finally, they have to buy from you before you can make them happy. Studies show web site orders are lost when the shipping cost exceeds the customer's expectation. Decrease or eliminate shipping cost "sticker shock" and you decrease your site's abandoned shopping carts and build your market size. How? Used correctly, the data in your shipping system will help. If you analyze your shipping data to discover your average cost to ship a package, then break that down by the services used (Ground, 2 Day, etc.), you are on your way to building sales. With that analysis you can determine "Flat Rate" shipping charges to use on your web site instead of calculating shipping separately for every order. Your customers know their shipping cost right away, which is one way to reduce abandoned shopping carts. If you calculate shipping charges based on the delivery address for every order, people who are farther away pay more. This turns your company into a local or, best case, regional business. You created your web site to sell to a bigger market. Why kill your plan? Flat rate shipping charges establish your company as a national business. The exclusive Flat Rate Shipping Charge Analysis report in Harvey Software's CPS shipping system provides this invaluable shipping cost data. Your customers have a better shopping experience and you retain more sales. This time it's smiles for your customers AND you.

The CPS shipping software can help with each of these. For more information about a shipping system that helps make customers happy, visit www.HarveySoft.com.

Hazardous Materials Shippers - This Update is for You - Take 2

Let's keep going about the new October 1, 2010 hazardous materials shipping regulations. These regulations are far too complex to cover in a blog, but there is one special case that could affect a number of shippers, especially during the holidays - batteries, specifically lithium batteries. Batteries with lithium seem to be everywhere, from the "button" batteries in countless small electronic devices, to the larger batteries in digital cameras and the rechargeable batteries in portable computers, cell phones, cordless phones and more.

If you ship these, be sure to check how the new regulations apply to your products. There are quantity limits, weight limits, battery power limits, battery label requirements, shipper education requirements, type of transportation restrictions (especially air shipments) and documentation requirements for these, even with small batteries and small quantities. Even when the full hazardous materials process does not have to be observed, there are still some documents and labeling that you'll need to pay attention to.

Defective lithium batteries are a special case. Some of these cannot even be shipped. If you have any of these in your shipping, pay real close attention to the rules. There are fines, penalties, and even criminal penalties when hazardous material shipping rules are not followed.

Remember - the deadline is October 1, 2010 to meet the new hazardous regulations. So if you ship HazMat or batteries, take a look now to be sure your HazMat packages meet the new requirements. After you ship the package is not a great time to discover there is a problem with the new government regulations or with the carrier being able to deliver your package.

To read more about the Federal Regulations concerning lithium batteries click here...

For information at the UPS web site about shipping HazMat with UPS, click here...

For more information about the CPS shipping software, visit www.HarveySoft.com.

Hazardous Materials Shipping Changes Starting October 1, 2010

Hazardous Materials Shippers - This Update is for You.

For companies shipping hazardous materials with UPS, there are new regulations shippers must meet by October 1, 2010. The Department of Transportation now requires companies shipping Hazardous Materials (HazMat) to provide Emergency Contact and Emergency Telephone information.

What does this mean to shippers? It means that software producing Hazardous Materials documentation must require the entry of the Emergency Contact and Emergency Telephone information. If the existing HazMat document software does not already do this, look for an update to this software. There may also be an update for your shipping software for this, too. Here is how this will work with Harvey Software's Computerized Parcel System (CPS™) shipping software.

CPS works with LabelMaster's Masterform® software for HazMat documentation. Right now, updates are on the way to all current users of the Masterform software. There is also a new version of CPS to support this. Install Masterform, then install the CPS update and that's it. These updates can be installed anytime. After the Masterform and CPS updates are installed, the HazMat shipping process will meet the new regulations. If this change affects your company, contact your HazMat documentation company and/or shipping software company if you have specific questions about this.

If your company needs a HazMat compliant, multiple carrier shipping system, contact Harvey Software for information about the CPS shipping system.

Remember - the deadline is October 1, 2010 to meet the new HazMat regulations. This is definitely important since there are heavy fines and even criminal penalties when HazMat is not shipped correctly. We suggest you do not wait until the possible last day to update so you can be sure your HazMat packages meet the requirements to be delivered properly and without issues with the carrier or government regulations.

Click here for information found at the UPS web site about shipping HazMat with UPS...

For more information about the CPS shipping software, visit www.HarveySoft.com.

Dependability For Your Shipping System with 3 Easy Tips

It's getting to the "home stretch" for this year's business. Many companies look forward to the sales they make in the holiday quarter. For some, the holiday quarter is critical for their yearly business projections. For a few, successful holiday sales mean the company survives for another year. Whatever the situation, it's always important for products to be delivered as the customer expects, but at the best price for the shipper, too. As the final link in holiday success, your shipping system can be your best friend or can cause nightmares. Use these 3 tips to make your shipping system your BFF.

Apply Those Updates

It seems like the carriers are always changing something. Look for a shipping system that supports automatic updates or at least automatic update notifications. As an example, our CPS shipping software lets you choose how to handle updates, including applying them automatically whenever they are available. New routing codes, labels, services, rate classifications and other information that is required - all of these can change anytime and without much notice, if any.

For CPS users, we keep an email list just to let CPS users know whenever an update is available. Using your shipping software vendor's latest program and being up-to-date with the carrier requirements are steps you can take to keep your shipping system working great and help your packages get delivered on time.

Use A Battery Backup to Safeguard the Shipping Station

If you have a power loss and lose that day's shipping data, it's NOT a good thing. Other power line problems, like power spikes or voltage sags, can also damage the shipping computer or corrupt your shipping data and software. Here are some ways to solve this power problem as much as possible before it happens - use a battery backup and protect the network connection.

What to look for? Companies like APC, TrippLite, Belkin and others provide battery backup devices with surge/spike suppression in a variety of sizes. Make sure you get a device with the right capability for your computer's system, but even in the under $100 price range, you will find a battery backup that will at least provide protection from a power loss and the resulting mess it can make of your day. For additional protection, look for a connection to protect your network connection, too. Of course, a direct lightning strike can be devastating, but the idea is to do as much as you can for problems you can prevent.

Backup / Backup / Backup

Actually, just one backup each day should do. What is the wild card in even the best shipping system protection plan? It's a critical computer component (hard drive, motherboard, etc.) that that just stops working. Computer components do wear out and fail - but almost never at a convenient time. Our CPS shipping software can perform an automatic backup to protect your valuable shipping data every time the CPS program is closed. Set up the automatic backup to send your important shipping data to a server, and your shipping system safety net is in place. And if the worst happens, like data corruption or a computer failure, getting back to shipping will be much easier if you have a current backup.

Look for an automatic backup feature in your shipping system and be sure it's setup and working for you. This is smart and could make a key difference at a crucial time if something breaks.

So, keep your shipping system updated, backed up and plugged into a battery backup. That's doing what you can to help create a successful shipping season.

To find out more about CPS, visit our web site at www.HarveySoft.com.

Check Your Carrier Bill...Boost Your Sales!

When you check shipping invoices from the carriers, how do you know they are right? Do the reports from your shipping system let you easily check your carrier invoice? And is that all you need to do? You negotiated a good contract with your package carrier(s), then you got the first bill. Surprise! The bill doesn't seem to match what you were expecting. You tallied up your shipping system's daily shipping reports, but they show the carrier's published rates, not your contract rates. No help there. Next you try to apply your contract discounts to the published rates on your shipping reports, but since the discount percentage changes according to the service you use and how much the box weighs, this is not straightforward. This is hard… Your shipping system gets your boxes out the door quickly and it sends the carriers the data they need to bill you. So far, happy customer and happy carrier. Now, how about happy shipper?

Today, shippers want their shipping system to be fast, but accurate shipping cost information is needed to check carrier bills and to be sure enough is collected to cover shipping costs. When your shipping system has accurate shipping costs, your shipping system can help with checking the bills. Even more, it can even help make sales, too. With holiday promotions, ads with "Free Shipping" and "Flat Rate Shipping" offers are prominent. These offers encourage sales, combat abandoned shopping carts and expand your market.

This is where your shipping system can really help. Ask your shipping system provider to help you get your company's contracted rates into your shipping system. If you use a multiple carrier shipping system like Harvey Software's Computerized Parcel System (CPS™), when the shipping system uses your company's rates, you benefit with accurate rate shopping and accurate cost reporting, too. That's the foundation to really put the shipping system to work for you.

Now for the best part - when your shipping system helps you make sales. Find a report in your shipping system that summarizes your company's shipping history for shipping cost by service (Ground, Next Day, etc.), a date range and by carrier. A sample of this is the Flat Rate Shipping Charge Analysis report in CPS. This report displays a break down and average cost for each carrier service. Your company's actual shipping history and charges are used, so you know you have the best information for your company. You can run the report for a range of dates, for all carriers or just the carrier(s) you choose. This is the information you need to develop a strategy of how and how much to charge for shipping, including the "Flat Rate" and "Free Shipping" offers that drive more sales. That's a clear winner.

There is a lot of power in a multiple carrier shipping system that uses your company's rates. Look for these tools in your shipping system, or visit www.HarveySoft.com if you would like to know more about CPS.

It's Time To Get Ready for the Busy Shipping Season

We are seeing more and more companies getting ready for the upcoming busy shipping season. This is smart planning since now is the perfect time to get your shipping system and shipping procedures ready for the holidays. But, preparing your shipping department to do its best this holiday season is much more than making sure the shipping software and hardware work.

It's more than just getting the boxes out the door. It also includes checking out shipping systems advancements and how they can help your company. These advancements include: using "best rate" shopping or getting the best price for delivery by a certain date; implementing a strategy so that what you charge for shipping increases your sales; using address verification to eliminate non-delivery and address correction fees; telling your customers their order is on the way; and providing the data you need to make smart decisions about how you use your carriers.

Here are some areas to check:

Does your shipping system use your company's actual contracted rates with the carriers when you rate shop?

Does you rate shopping include the residential or commercial address status so you rate shop the right prices?

Does your shipping system provide reports to analyze your average "break even" shipping costs for Ground, 2Day, etc., so you can intelligently determine the correct flat-rate shipping charge or what you need to do to offer free shipping?

Use these ideas to help you get ready for a profitable shipping season.

The right shipping system, including our own CPS shipping software, will help with all of these. Your customers and your bottom line will both appreciate the effort.

Making the Smart Choice for Declared Value Coverage and Parcel Insurance

Let's say you've decided to insure the packages you ship, and you ship enough packages with value so that you want the best price for package insurance. First the basics - the major carriers include $100 of coverage for each package you ship. There are some limitations on this coverage, which the carrier can tell you about. You can also purchase additional coverage directly from the carrier. The Post Office does not include any coverage for your packages unless you purchase insurance for a specific package, plus there is a form that must be filled out.

Now there are two challenges. Challenge one is to find the best value for package coverage and the next is to be able to implement it easily, quickly and reliably. A shipping system, such as our CPS multi-carrier shipping software, can help with both of these. The carriers have a published charge for their package coverage, plus there is normally a minimum charge per package. Here is a little information on two established alternate package insurance companies that may provide considerable savings for package insurance. And there is still another solution for Post Office shippers.

Let's focus on the money saving insurance choices you can make. Parcel Insurance Plan (PIP) and U-PIC provide discounted package insurance when shipping with UPS, FedEx and the US Post Office. In our CPS shipping software you simply enter the total coverage needed, then at the end of the day choose the alternate insurance processing step. In seconds CPS stores the correct information to report to your insurance company, so this is quick and easy. The process is the same no matter the carrier or the insurance company. If you use Endicia Internet postage when you ship with the Post Office, you can choose package insurance through Endicia. Use Endicia insurance and there are no additional steps to take, so this is very easy.

Next, for each company you might choose, take a look their claims' process. Insurance companies are almost invisible until you have a claim. Does their process look straightforward, are they easy to contact, do they ask for reasonable information (or do they ask for your family's history for two generations - this is a stretch but you know what I mean), and do their claims' rules make sense for your business? Paying premiums and maybe making a claim will likely be your primary contacts with one of the alternate insurance companies. Check out each of these until you are satisfied with the answers.

Finally, PIP, U-PIC, Endicia and the Post Office provide "insurance". Coverage purchased from the carriers may increase their limit of liability, but look at their tariffs to see if that coverage is insurance and, from what you find, consider how or if this affects your company. When you're shipping valuable packages, this information and a little research on your part should get you a great deal with a company you can live with.

Links for more information about parcel insurance:

PIP Insurance

U-PIC Insurance

What Do You Mean...It's Not OK to Ship That?

Almost everyone knows there are some items you are not allowed to ship. A couple of examples: Illegal things (obviously and which will not apply to this group); Gasoline (even in an approved container) or other hazardous items - and, well, you get the idea. For other items it can be much less obvious. For example, the PACT (Prevent All Cigarette Trafficking) Act means cigarettes, including roll-your-own tobacco and smokeless tobacco cannot be shipped using the Post Office, FedEx or UPS. Cigars? No problem. Cigarette shipments from authorized companies for testing, health or regulatory purposes? OK.

Let's look at other items. Chickens and snakes in the mail? That's OK. Hamsters? Not so much. Bees? Sure, but only a queen bee can go by air, even though she can be accompanied by up to 8 honeybees. And even though there are no federal restrictions against sending that nice bottle of wine to someone, the carriers do not accept those shipments, except in some situations involving licensed dealers. But there may still be state-to-state restrictions. Get the idea that shipping regulations can be complicated? Yes!

For shipments originating and delivered in the US, there are regulations that most shippers are aware of. If you have items you are not sure about, you should definitely ask about the carriers' rules as well as check federal and state law. Domestic restrictions are interesting enough, but the real adventure starts with international shipping.

Want to use the post office to send a package to someone in the United Kingdom with items in the box to be distributed to others? Not allowed. How about sending playing cards to Germany? Not unless they are brand new in the box, unopened with the wrapper intact. Or sending a feeding bottle to France? Nope. These are samples of items that are completely prohibited.

We would like to say that we made up these examples, but these are real. If you have any doubt about if it's OK to ship a particular item, be sure to check with the proper authorities to stay out of hot water. But playing cards to Germany? Maybe you better check anyway.

Good luck and good shipping!

Related Links

Summary of the US Government PACT Act - S. 1147: PACT Act

UPS Wine Shipping Guidelines

UPS Restricted and Prohibited International Items

USPS Shipping Restrictions

USPS Aviation Mail Security & Hazardous Materials

USPS Military Mailing Restrictions

Using Battery Backups - Why Take a Chance?

The lightning and power interruption season is definitely underway. And not just here in Florida, but everywhere. One of our techs just told me they helped with another reinstallation of CPS due to a computer that was plugged directly into the wall and failed when there was a nearby lightning strike. So it's time for a word about battery backups and spike/surge protectors.

If you are in the middle of your shipping day and there is a nearby lightning strike that causes a power spike or temporary power loss, it's easily possible to lose that day's shipping data. That is NOT a good thing. Or, maybe from some other cause, there is a power spike followed by a power loss and the damage is worse - the computer is dead. We've talked about the automatic tool in CPS to back up the data from your shipping computer. Here are some ways to solve this power problem as much as possible before it happens.

Our programmers try to make CPS as protected as possible against data loss if the power drops. A shipping record is only open when you are working with that particular record. Even with programming precautions, it's still possible that data corruption due to a power failure or voltage surge can interrupt your shipping day. Even a modest investment in a battery backup can more than pay for itself the very first time it takes over during a power loss.

What to look for? Here are some general guidelines. Companies like APC, TrippLite, Belkin and others provide battery backup devices with surge/spike suppression in a variety of sizes. Generally, the higher the rating, the longer the battery backup will supply power to the computer system. Also, in the higher rated devices the surge/spike protection may be better, including being able to handle voltage sags. A voltage sag occurs when the voltage drops to a point that doesn't engage the battery backup but might be low enough to damage the computer. This might not cause damage that day, but over time this, too, can kill a computer.

Make sure you get a device with the right capability for your computer's system, but even in the under $100 price range, you will find a battery backup that can provide protection from a power loss and the resulting mess it can make of your day. The power line is not the only source of potential trouble. For additional protection, look for a connection to protect your network connection, too. Of course, a direct lightning strike can be devastating, but the idea is to do as much as you can for problems you can prevent.

Backing up your computer goes hand-in-hand with using a battery backup, so consider both and solve this problem before it happens.

Getting Started with Internet Postage is Easy - Here's How

You know it's there; you can try it free, so now you've decided it's time to try out Internet postage for US Postal Service shipping. What's next and how do you choose the right plan to make this work for your company? The following explains how to take advantage of the special 60 day Endicia free trial using CPS. Keep in mind you can also try the Computerized Parcel System (CPS™) shipping software for just $19.95 a month for 60 days.

When you sign up with Endicia, you choose one of their service levels. The Endicia Premium service is their plan that works with CPS and is their next to least expensive plan. The Premium plan does everything you need for domestic and international USPS shipping, even if you are a high volume shipper. After you sign up, next you download and install Endicia's DAZzle software. After DAZzle is installed, you run CPS Setup to tell CPS that you want to use Endicia Internet postage, make your label choices for domestic and international shipments, and now you are ready to ship your domestic and international packages with the Post Office. That's it. Sign up, set it up, and start saving!

Last time we covered a number of reasons to use Endicia's Internet postage. The savings and convenience are great, and there is more. If you do not want to display the amount of the postage on your package, this stealth postage feature is just a setting you make. If you use package insurance, you have the choice to use Endicia's discounted package insurance. Plus, basic address verification is included and you can even choose to use this for every package you ship, not just Endicia Internet postage packages.

And don't forget to use that free 60 day trial. This limited time offer may end without notice, so try it today.

Use this Free Offer to Check Out USPS Shipping Savings

This note will fall under the "shameless self-promotion" category, so get ready. The bonus for you is you might really save a lot on your shipping.

Every day, Endicia.com offers a free 30 day trial of their Internet postage service to anyone. It's a great way to be introduced to the ways that Endicia and the US Postal Service might help your shipping. If you're using our multiple carrier Computerized Parcel System (CPS™) shipping software, you get one step better. Any company that signs up for Endicia.com Internet postage services through our web site gets double the offer - a free trial of Endicia.com services for 60 days. This is available to any CPS user trying Endicia for the first time. Internet postage with Endicia.com can really simplify shipping with the Post Office.

If you have not looked into using Internet postage, here are some points to consider. Internet postage takes the place of manifesting, postage meters and stamps for package shippers. After a package is processed and the shipping label is printed with postage printed on it, the shipping steps are complete and the package is ready to give to the post office for delivery. That's easy, but that's not all. Endicia.com supports both domestic and international US Postal Service shipping services, so shipping practically everywhere is now at your fingertips.

When you try this free 60 day offer you pay only for the postage and insurance you use. Right now, before the busiest shipping season, it's a perfect time to look at Internet postage, Endicia.com and how you might see real savings by adding this choice to your shipping.

One CPS user told us 'With CPS, we use Endicia to the best advantage for us every time. And CPS lets me easily use my data in real time and allows unlimited growth.' This extended free trial of Endicia makes this shipping power and savings available to every CPS user. This limited time offer may end without notice, so try it today.

Choosing the US Postal Service? Don't forget the free packaging!

When you're shipping, you already know that the cost of packaging adds a little to every order, and that the "little things" add up. Anytime you choose the USPS® Priority Mail service, you can always take advantage of their free packaging. Priority Mail is used for a lot of business shipping, especially for business to consumer shipping. And whenever you reduce the cost of packaging, that's money saved that is headed for your bottom line.

Visit the United States Postal Service® web site and you will find over 20 types of free packaging for Priority Mail shipping. These are divided into boxes and envelopes for their flat rate services, and boxes and envelopes for general shipping. For the flat rate services, put in as much as will fit without bending the box and pay just one price for shipping. If a flat rate service is not the best choice, over 50% of the free packaging is for general Priority Mail shipments, so you have a generous choice of packaging and services to choose from.

Most carriers will provide some type of packaging for their premium/express services. The Post Office is unique in providing packaging for more than just the express services. And, again, with over 20 choices, it's a wide range of free packaging. The Post Office is the only carrier that delivers to Post Office boxes and to military (APO/FPO) addresses, plus there is no dimensional weight to consider and no fuel surcharge to compute with their flat-rate boxes. You know how much it costs to ship right when you label the package.

Can you use these boxes for every package? Maybe not, but when you can use them and look at other factors in addition to the actual cost of the box, such as using a flat-rate service and avoiding a fuel surcharge, your smart use of these can add up to real savings! The important thing is to do the math and check the rates between all the carriers, including the flat-rate services, before you ship. And be sure to check out using Internet postage through Endicia®, which gives you immediate discounts on many Post Office services and makes it very easy to use the Post Office. Our CPS shipping software (and others) can do this all automatically for you.

More information about carrier supplied packaging materials click here. For additional information about CPS, visit http://www.HarveySoft.com.

Why should I ship with the Post Office?

We've heard the jokes and seen the shows about postal workers, we know the term "snail mail" (not complimentary, to say the least), and we understand the reputation about questionable delivery success. However, every postal carrier I've ever talked to is at least as dedicated to delivering their packages as their small package carrier counterpart, so why not put that commitment to work for your company?

Let's look at some facts and reasons to consider the post office as part of a company's shipping choices and strategy.

Excellent price for residential delivery and lighter packages

For lighter packages, especially those going to residences, this is a sweet spot for the post office. For the lightest shipments, those under 13 ounces, the prices for USPS First Class with Delivery Confirmation are hard to beat. When you study the prices, you'll see that for packages over 13 ounces and up to 5 pounds or so, Priority Mail service with Delivery Confirmation is extremely competitive. And if you upload your Delivery Confirmation data or use Internet postage from a company like Endicia, Delivery Confirmation for Priority Mail is free. Finally, use a shipping system like CPS that does automatic rate comparisons and you'll always get the best price. That's reason #1.

No address correction fees

Sure, you can give the post office a package with an address to which delivery cannot be done. But, free delivery to a forwarding address is part of their service with no additional charges. Sometimes (granted, not every time), they even deliver a package when the address is close but not 100% accurate. Both of these can put you dollars ahead of the additional charges for address correction you'll see from other carriers. Another good reason to look at the post office.

They deliver everywhere

Well, maybe not EVERYwhere, but they cover all US addresses and most of the rest of the world, too. When shipping internationally, be sure the delivery time for the service you choose matches the delivery time you need. No other carrier has a wider delivery area. Even other carriers now depend on the post office for the final delivery of the packages shipped with some of their services. The reasons are mounting.

Discount pricing available to almost everyone

Upload your Delivery Confirmation data for Priority Mail, and Delivery Confirmation is free. Use an Internet postage company like Endicia.com or use a postal manifest and you take advantage of Commercial Base price discounts. Internet postage users also enjoy discounts on some international services, too. If you ship insured packages, the online postage companies have great prices for package insurance. No haggling or negotiating needed for these prices - just get started and start shipping. So add easy money saving discounts as another good reason.

No fuel surcharge

None! That says it all.

It seems there are many levels of success stories about using the USPS, but when you combine these clear advantages and use a multiple carrier shipping system like our CPS(TM) shipping software, you get great shipping prices and your packages get out the door fast. For more information about online postage for CPS click here. For additional information about CPS, visit www.HarveySoft.com.

Easy Discounts for Post Office Shipping

What's a quick way to get discounts on your Post Office shipping? That's easy. Make sure your shipping system uses Internet postage. When you ship with the Post Office and use Internet postage, you can save anywhere from 5% to 13% depending on the USPS service(s) you use. Some post office services are not discounted, but many of the popular USPS services, such as Priority Mail, are. Save 5% off of retail Express Mail® rates and up to 13% off of retail rates on Priority Mail shipments, depending on the package weight and distance shipped. For International shipping, you save 5% on Priority Mail International shipments and 8% on Express Mail International. And you receive these savings along with the convenience of printing the postage directly on the shipping label. When the label is printed, you are done! What could be easier?

This can increase your company's sales, too. When your company carefully controls shipping costs, you can establish flat-rate or even free shipping offers. These are proven to both attract customers and to decrease abandoned shopping carts - a great situation where everybody wins.

When you intelligently use the Post Office in combination with your other package carriers, you can create a competitive advantage for your company to make more sales and save on shipping, too. We see Post Office services becoming more and more popular. With their offer of several "flat-rate" services, no extra charge for rural or residential delivery, plus package tracking through Delivery Confirmation, the Post Office can play a significant part in a company's shipping strategy.

If your current shipping system cannot ship with Internet postage now, ask about adding it. If it's just not available for your current system, our CPS(TM) multiple carrier shipping software includes this capability, using Endicia.com, in every package. CPS can solve the problem of using Internet postage, and the solution can win sales. See www.HarveySoft.com for details.

Evaluate your potential savings with CPS. Try the CPS Savings Calculator from our home page at www.HarveySoft.com.

Make Sure Your Shipping System Software Is Not Trapped By Your Anti-Virus Protection

People around the world are trying to stop your shipping computer, and your other computers, too, from working correctly. That's a fact. And if your shipping system computer gets hacked, it's a real problem for everyone. But sometimes, the cure can cause a problem.

When you update your computer anti-virus system, most of the time the update gives you the latest protection files with information about the viruses, Trojans, worms, spyware, rootkits, etc., so your anti-virus program knows what to look for. But sometimes the update includes new software for the anti-virus program itself, not just new protection files. It's that kind of update that can affect your shipping system. To work correctly with different carriers, a multiple carrier shipping system needs to connect to the outside world. Anti-virus programs carefully monitor these connections, and the conflict happens when the new anti-virus software no longer allows the shipping software to have the access it needs.

If your shipping system was working yesterday and suddenly doesn't work today and your Internet connection is still good, check to see if there was an anti-virus program update (or maybe a firewall change - see blog of May 13, 2010). If you call the shipping system company's tech support first, since the shipping software is not the source of the problem there is not much the technician can do to help. Of course, that does not stop packages from stacking up.

If you verify there was a change in the program, most shipping systems companies can provide the technical information needed so the updated anti-virus program can be set up to allow the shipping system computer to work properly again. For our CPS shipping software, our technicians are talented and know many of the signs that point to this kind of change that disables the shipping system, but you may need your IT or other computer staff to help solve this. One other suggestion to keep your shipping computer working its best - restart it everyday. This lets it start fresh every day so it can work as well as possible.

Certainly you want your shipping system to be fast, but you have to protect yourself against the threats that can affect your shipping and your business. So use the protection programs and if your shipping system stops working, check to see if your received an anti-virus program update or change. It's a lot easier to solve this type of issue compared to the real problems that a hacker halfway around the world (or just down the street) can cause.

For more information about how CPS can solve your shipping problems, see www.HarveySoft.com for details.

Evaluate your potential savings with CPS. Try the CPS Savings Calculator from our home page at www.HarveySoft.com.

Multiple Carrier Shipping Software Achieves MAC Certification Supporting a Long List of USPS Services

PRESS RELEASE - FORT MYERS, FL - June 14, 2010 - Harvey Software announced today that its Computerized Parcel System (CPS) shipping software has again successfully completed the latest US Postal Service MAC™ certification process. MAC certification from the US Postal Service® evaluates USPS® manifest mailing products and determines that the manifest system accurately lists and calculates postage according to USPS standards. The CPS shipping solution is MAC certified for a long list of domestic and international mailing and package services.

"Processing packages in volume with the post office presents problems for many shippers. We are determined to solve that problem," said Bob Sansone, Harvey Software's Director of Sales. "For companies shipping at least 200 pieces or 50 pounds every day with the post office, manifesting might be your fastest package processing choice, but a manifest system can be expensive. We are proud that our CPS shipping software has now qualified for MAC certification for 10 years so we can provide a really capable manifest system that everyone can afford," explained Mr. Bob Sansone. "The post office looks more and more attractive to small package shippers as an alterative to the other US carriers, especially for residential shipments since the USPS has no residential delivery surcharge. CPS lets shippers use both levels of post office Commercial price discounts, so shippers can compare rates using the lowest post office prices for which they qualify. Whether you use a manifest, apply stamps, use a meter or use Internet postage, CPS lets you choose how you ship with the post office. With fewer than 20 companies listed by the USPS with MAC certification, we are glad we can give shippers a great choice for their US Postal Service shipping," Mr. Sansone concluded.

About Harvey Software, Inc.

Harvey Software is an established, leading developer of globally ready, eco-friendly, multiple-carrier shipping software solutions, providing businesses with shipping solutions since 1983. Harvey Software's premium shipping solution, the Computerized Parcel System (CPS™) increases profits, boosts domestic and international shipping efficiency, reduces shipping expenses and eliminates the inefficiencies of single carrier software systems. CPS is a FedEx® Compatible Solution, is UPS Ready®, USPS® certified and works with Endicia® Internet Postage. CPS can be purchased, downloaded, installed, and supported all over the Internet.

For additional information, visit http://www.HarveySoft.com.

Shipping 101 – Basic Tips that Can Save You with Each Package You Ship

Research the best shipping options. Use Ground service when its delivery is guaranteed by the day you need it. A shipping system like CPS can help with its Smart RateBot automatic rate shopping for the best price when delivery is needed by a certain date. If you regularly ship more than one package at a time to a domestic address, you may qualify for the carrier's shipment rate instead of the per package rate.

If you ship to Canada, include looking at the carrier ground services going there, too, not just the express services. If you ship to other international destinations, compare services and the delivery time. Every carrier has its own selection of international services you can use. Be sure to check requirements, weight limits and what's needed for international shipment documentation. The CPS shipping system leads you through preparing the needed international shipping invoice forms.

Keep up with what causes the carriers to charge extra fees and be sure you use those services and options only when you really need them. Shipping systems like CPS let you use the alternate insurance companies that can save a bundle on packages with declared value. To minimize address correction fees, check the address to be sure it's correct or even exists. The CPS Address Verification Module (AVM) will automatically check every address which can really slash your address correction fees.

The carriers' guaranteed services are very reliable, but check the actual delivery time against the promised delivery and you might have packages that qualify for service refunds. There are restrictions and time limits, so follow up promptly if you do this.

Look for the best prices and negotiate. You get a discount on many post office services when you use Internet postage. When you start to ship in volume, you may be able to negotiate with your carrier(s) for rate discounts and other benefits. Then, use rate comparison tools like RateBots in the CPS shipping software to be sure you get the best rate for every package.

Boost your customer service by emailing shipping notifications. With CPS, the Ship eLert shipping email is sent directly from your shipping computer using an email account from your company. There is no doubt in the customer's mind about who is sending the package, so you're providing great customer service and getting brand recognition. A happy customer is a returning buyer.

Check with the carriers to see what kind of packaging, labels and other supplies or shipping equipment they will provide. When you receive free packaging or boxes, a discounted price on a shipping printer or scale, or maybe shipping labels, the savings go right to your bottom line.

Whenever you ship on your account number, check that you get your discounts, any benefits you are due from the carrier, etc. Normally you need to follow up on billing questions pretty fast. A shipping system like CPS will provide daily reports to help you easily check your carrier bills.

These sound almost elementary (it is, after all, Hints 101) and you can really save when you pay attention to these tips. Check out http://www.HarveySoft.com to see other ways CPS can solve your shipping problems.

How Green Shipping Make $$ for Your Business

More often than it's comfortable to say, when I hear "green" I always think I'm about to hear ideas that may be good for the environment, even great, but ideas that many companies just can't afford to implement today. Plus, a number of these do not pack any payback for the company. Where are some green ideas that can also create green ($$) for your company? Here are some green shipping ideas you can implement, and our CPS shipping software can help. These ideas can bring both types of "green" to your company, and that can be a real problem solver.

1. Use a carrier's Ground service whenever possible:

Studies tell us that Ground service is better for the environment than air service. It also costs less. To use Ground service whenever possible can take some planning and your shipping system can help. Let's say you promise delivery within 2 days (or next day or within 3 days), our CPS shipping software includes the Smart RateBot, which automatically chooses Ground service whenever Ground will meet the delivery commitment date. That's a double green payback for your company right there.

2. Use packaging that's appropriate for the item to be shipped:

This includes using the right size box, or maybe changing the packaging, such as refrigerated packaging for perishables, which means you don't need express delivery and your product stays fresh. Once again, if you can use Ground service, you are ahead. Using the right size box instead of a box that's too big gives you the best shot at avoiding additional dimensional weight charges. Good packaging is another smart green choice.

3. Send package tracking info by email:

Since every extra email and phone call takes resources, send your customers their tracking information when you ship their package. You'll really reduce the "back and forth" that happens when your customers have to contact you for package information, then you have to email them the information they requested or spend time on the phone. Every email and phone call you can save reduces your company's effect on the environment and solves both customer service and company resource issues.

4. Streamline your package processing steps:

Analyze each step needed to get an order packed and out the door, including the speed of the shipping system itself. These days, many workers wear multiple hats, so using a proven shipping system like CPS, which can process a package in seconds, can free up a shipping system operator for other duties, too. Fast shipping has other benefits. When packages can be shipped quickly, you can fill more orders, even those you receive later in the day. Fast shipping creates very satisfied customers, and they will remember and be back for more. Just like trees and oil, your employees are also a scarce resource so treat them accordingly.

5. Keep track of energy use inside the company:

That printer that stays on overnight when no one is in the office, the light that's not turned off, the computers that are constantly on, even over the weekend - add up the cost of this energy use and you can have a pretty impressive yearly number. When everyone pitches in to monitor just the items in their area, you can make some great green savings and maybe add some years of life to equipment, too.

And while you're at it, if you have your own delivery vehicles, check their tire pressure regularly. Some of these ideas can bring big savings right away. For others, it's the accumulated effect that pays off. So when you think green, think about the green you can save and green will start to make a lot of sense.

For more ideas visit Harvey Software's Green Shipping Resources by clicking here...

Shipping Software Return on Investment Calculator Included at Harvey Software's New Web Site

PRESS RELEASE - FORT MYERS, FL - May 25, 2010 - Today, Harvey Software Inc. introduced HarveySoft.com, its newly redesigned web site. The new web site presents more information about Harvey's flagship Computerized Parcel System (CPS™) multi-carrier shipping software in pages that are easier to understand and navigate. Using the latest web design ideas, the new site is built to make everything about solving shipping problems, from gathering facts to purchasing a CPS solution, quick and easy.

"We are excited and proud to announce our new and improved web site experience," said Bert Hamilton, Harvey Software's president and CEO. "One of the updated features and benefits you will find on the new site includes the CPS Savings Calculator to determine your potential savings using our CPS Shipping Software," Mr. Hamilton explained. "With the launch of the new HarveySoft.com, it's much easier to grasp the substantial amount of information we provide, such as the carriers and services available to a CPS user, how CPS can tie into a company's existing data, and ways that CPS can increase sales, boost customer satisfaction and loyalty, and solve a company's shipping problems. It's a lot to cover and the new web site makes the shipping system decision process substantially easier," Mr. Hamilton stated.

About Harvey Software, Inc.

Harvey Software is an established, leading developer of globally ready, eco-friendly, multiple-carrier shipping software solutions, providing businesses with shipping solutions since 1983. Harvey Software's premium shipping solution, the Computerized Parcel System (CPS™) increases profits, boosts domestic and international shipping efficiency, reduces shipping expenses and eliminates the inefficiencies of single carrier software systems. CPS is a FedEx® Compatible Solution, is UPS Ready®, USPS® certified and works with Endicia® Internet Postage. CPS can be purchased, downloaded, installed, and supported all over the Internet.

For additional information, visit http://www.HarveySoft.com.

Headed for the Bottom Line - Calculating a Shipping System's Return on Investment

Whatever your view of the current economy, it's fair to say these are challenging times. Today, there are events you cannot control that affect your business (what the Greek economy is doing to the world markets) and there are aspects that you do have power over, such as controlling your costs and making positive efforts to increase your market size and sales. That's a shipping problem that Harvey Software can help you solve.

But how do you evaluate tools to help you? As a shipping system developer for over 26 years, we have seen some great ideas, and we've seen others… When we look at new ideas for our CPS shipping software or we see new information to provide our customers and prospective customers, we want everything to relate to a company saving money and making more sales. The more we help, the more loyal our customers are - and we have many customers who have used our CPS shipping software for many years.

Recently, we developed a new tool to help companies determine their potential savings using CPS. To make this as accurate as possible, we use customer provided data and testimonials to calculate each before-and-after example. Here is what we looked at.

We evaluated the savings using the CPS Address Verification Module, CPS RateBots, and CPS Smart RateBots. Then we considered the mix of package destinations. The samples included mostly residential destinations, mostly commercial destinations, and an even split between commercial and residential. Finally, we presented the information in an easy-to-understand "savings per day" calculation. We were sure that our customers had some powerful tools in CPS, but the actual numbers surprised even us!

For a company shipping an average of 50 packages per day, the minimum was $18 per day using Address Verification by itself. The savings increased to $413 per day using Smart RateBots and the Address Verification Module together. WOW! Even using the minimum as an example, if a company ships 250 days per year, that's $4,500 in savings, straight to the bottom line. Add Smart RateBots and the savings is huge! And remember these amounts came from CPS users, so they are definitely "real world" numbers. Could savings like these help you through these times?

Want to see your potential savings? Try the CPS Savings Calculator from our home page at www.HarveySoft.com.

Make Sure Your Shipping System is Not on the Wrong Side of the Firewall

Even the fastest shipping system operators can be stopped in their tracks by something completely beyond their control. Loss of electricity? Storms? Floods? An overdue lunch hour (OK, I made that one up.)? Well, sure, but there is one thing we hear about very often that will bring shipping to a complete halt. It's the dreaded firewall update or, maybe worse, a new firewall.

We know two things. First, companies are updating their computer protection systems. Second, when a firewall is replaced or updated, the shipping system can definitely be affected. When there is a change that affects shipping, the shipping system operator may not know enough about the company's computer configuration to have any idea a system change has shut down shipping. But they do know they can no longer ship!

Often, the shipping system company's tech support gets the first call, asking why the shipping system no longer works. Since the shipping software is not the problem, these calls can sometimes be hard to diagnose. And hard to diagnose means the packages stack up.

So, if you hear the words "firewall" and "change" in the same sentence from an IT worker, right then might be the best time to remind them that the shipping department has connections to the outside world that must continue to work. Most shipping systems companies can provide the technical information needed so the new or updated firewall will allow the shipping system computer to work properly.

For our CPS shipping software, our technicians know many of the signs that show a computer equipment change has disabled the shipping system. Our techs are talented, but this type of issue will need to be solved by the shipper's IT or other computer staff.

Today, shippers want their shipping system to be fast. But, with the cyber bad guys out there, important computers like the shipping system must also be made as safe as possible. So if your shipping system just stops working, ask if there has been a firewall (or maybe anti-virus - but that's for another time) update or change. Not being able to ship is quite a shipping problem to solve and hopefully these notes will help you solve this one, too.

Use Your Shipping System Data to Make More Sales

You took the order on your web site. But after you ship the package, are you done with that order? What do you do with the information from that order and shipment to build your business? You might have your shipping system send a shipment notification email like the CPS SHIP eLERT. Customers like those and it saves you customer service costs when your customers don't have to call you for tracking information. You may follow up with your customer to be sure they got their order and are satisfied. In the future, you might also contact them by email or snail mail about specials, send them your catalogue, or send information about product you have they really like. All of these are great. What about the shipping data? Why not use your shipping data to build sales, too?

Used correctly, the data in your shipping system can definitely help. If you analyze your shipping data to discover your average cost to ship a package, then break that down by the service you use (Ground, 2 Day, etc.), you are on your way to building sales. How? Studies show a lot of web site orders are lost when the shipping cost exceeds the customer's expectation. If you can decrease or eliminate shipping cost "sticker shock", you will decrease your site's abandoned shopping carts and increase your market size.

Analyzing shipping data can be time consuming and maybe confusing. If you build a report that breaks down shipping cost, maybe by carrier and definitely by the service used, you can use these to determine average shipping costs for each service. Use "Flat Rate" shipping charges on your web site instead of calculating shipping separately for every order and you are on your way. If you calculate shipping charges based on the delivery address for every order, you charge people who are farther away more for shipping. This turns your company into a local or, best case, regional business. You created your web site to sell to a bigger market. Why kill your plan? Flat rate shipping charges establish you as a national business.

Harvey Software's CPS shipping system has an exclusive Flat Rate Shipping Charge Analysis report that provides this invaluable shipping cost data. When you charge "Flat Rate" shipping, your customers know the shipping cost immediately, which can reduce abandoned shopping carts. Your customers have a better shopping experience and you retain more sales. The CPS Flat Rate report runs in just seconds, displaying a break down and average cost for each carrier service. You can run the report for all carriers or select the carrier(s) to be included. Your company's actual shipping history and charges are used, so you know you have the best information for your company. Use Flat Rate Shipping costs to make it simpler for you and better for your customers - a combination for more sales and savings.

Which Updates Do I Install? Why, Only the Important Ones, of Course.

That's a headline that's only missing the "smiley" face, or the "LOL" comment at the end. But it's a light-hearted comment on one of today's serious computer issues.

It seems like not a day goes by that there is not some update for your computer. It seems like they are all "critical". Plus, they all need to be installed right away or your computer will not work right, or your computer will not be safe, or life as we know it will end, or worse. Well, maybe the "life as we know it" is a little strong, but after you read the warnings and suggestions it can be confusing.

Our CPS™ shipping software updates are always virus tested before they are delivered, so you can count on CPS and its updates as safe to install. But CPS is not the whole picture for software installed on your shipping computer. Your shipping computer has an Internet connection, a web browser, maybe a connection for on-line postage - so it's exposed to the world. To keep your shipping station safe and working, here is a short list of suggestions for updating your company's shipping computer and keeping it safe.

First, install all CPS updates. CPS updates provide the most up-to-date carrier rates, services and other programming to meet the carrier's specifications. CPS can be set to do this automatically, and CPS updates normally install pretty quickly. Next, be sure to keep your anti-virus software up-to-date. There are people all over the world who want to spy on your computer, or worse, disable it. Computer protection programs may not catch everything, but they will certainly give you a fighting chance against today's cyber bad guys. But only install one anti-virus program - not more. And while you are at it, be sure to install your operating system updates, too. There is little worse than having a major computer problem and discovering that an unapplied operating system update from 4 months ago fixed the problem.

One point to consider - be sure your anti-virus/firewall updates do not block CPS or any other important program you use.

Do these basics and you are helping to keep you computer running correctly and your packages going out the door.

Harvey Software Now Viewable on YouTube

If a picture is worth a thousand words, how much is a video worth? We think videos are also worth a lot, so Harvey Software now has a channel on YouTube called HarveySoft. Each short video on our new channel takes about 2 minutes to show how a feature in CPS works, so you can see how it can apply to your shipping. We are sure you will find ideas about how we solve your shipping problems.

Automatic carrier rate shopping is expected in a good shipping system, so our first two videos show how the CPS RateBot and CPS Smart RateBot work. Right now, today, companies are using these easy to implement RateBots to save on their shipping. So take a look at Harvey Software on YouTube and imagine how much your company can save in its shipping. It will be 2 minutes of your time well spent.

We're easy to find at: http://www.youtube.com/user/HarveySoft

Save $$$ and Frustration When You Check the Address Before You Ship

What is more frustrating to your customer (and you) than a package that never reaches its destination? And how annoying is it to you when you pay too much to ship a package? Whenever you avoid these situations, everyone wins. Checking the address at the time a package is shipped can reduce and even eliminate the unhappy customers that result from packages that cannot be delivered due to a bad address - even when the customer typed the address themselves. Address verification can also slash "address correction" fees. These mean you pay more (sometimes a lot more) for a good package delivery.

Many companies either price shop each package or want to price shop. The better address correction programs tell you if the destination is a commercial or residential address so the right type of delivery service is used for price comparisons. After all, who wants pages of unexpected residential delivery fees on the carrier bill? An additional layer to this problem is that address verification programs can cost in the thousands, so how can you make a solution for these problems cost effective?

The Address Verification Module (AVM) for Harvey Software's CPS shipping software uses the USPS CASS certified database and: 1) Makes rate shopping happen correctly between residential and commercial services; 2) Warns you if the residential/commercial choice is incorrect; 3) Tells you when an address doesn't exist; 4) Lets you know that the address exists but is missing some key information such as suite number apt #, etc.; and 5) Standardizes addresses to match the USPS CASS certified database. Some address correction programs cost thousands. For CPS, it's just $199.95 to add this great capability.

CPS is not the only shipping system that has this available, although the CPS AVM is definitely one of the least costly. Address checking in your shipping system is another way a good shipping system helps your company put money on the bottom line and solves the shipping problem of bad addresses.

Printing Labels for More Than One Company Name Using a Single Carrier Account

Shipping under more than one name is easy if you have a carrier account for each name. If you have one account with each carrier but want to use several different name identities, that can be more complicated.

Why do companies ship packages under 2 or more different names? Maybe there is retail and wholesale divisions, or a fulfillment situation with two or more businesses all shipping from the same warehouse with one shipping system for all of the shipping. Packages shipped from ACME RETAIL need the shipping label to show ACME RETAIL. When the package is from ACME WHOLESALE it needs to say ACME WHOLESALE. But the ACME COMPANY has a single account with each of its carriers so how can this work? Your shipping software program may provide the answer for this.

In our CPS shipping software, there is a "Sender" feature that lets the user put a Sender code into a CPS field, and then CPS prints a return address on the shipping label according the address used for that Sender code. Using the Sender feature, labels print correctly and cost center reports based on the Sender codes are available. Reports can contain daily shipping data or shipping history data. Cost center reports can be broken down even further by carrier, giving several ways to manage cost information about this shipping. The result is one system that uses a single account for each carrier, and this single system prints the return address needed on the shipping label and provides reports, too.

Of course, with multiple account support for UPS, FedEx and USPS shipping, CPS can solve the multiple company name situation regardless of the carrier used.

CPS has lots of tools to solve today's shipping problems, so check out our web site at http://www.HarveySoft.com/, or call us and we'll be glad to explain how we can make these problems go away.

Getting Your Shipping System Ready for the New Year

Starting off the year, I sure hope you're looking back on a reasonable or even successful 2009. A number of our customers reported they had good 4th quarter sales and are evaluating how to make 2010 work for them, too. Here are some areas our customers are discussing:

Carrier rate changes went into effect on January 4th. This means updating your shipping system to be sure you charge your customers correctly for shipping. We continue to believe that using one rate for shipping (what we call flat rate shipping charges) results in fewer abandoned shopping carts and more completed orders, giving you more sales. Our CPS shipping software has a report that averages your actual shipping costs to give you an accurate flat-rate amount to charge. Until you get a new baseline for the 2010 rates, you can take last year's flat rate and increase it by the average carrier rate increase (4.9% for one carrier, for example) and still have a flat rate to charge for shipping that is in the right ballpark. If you have negotiated your rates with a carrier, we can work with FedEx and UPS so that your CPS will show your company's contracted rates with the carrier. Just call our sales department to ask about that.

In the shipping system itself, the start of the year is a great time to test your battery backup and be sure it's still ready to save you if your power goes out. Also, if you have a shipping computer that might be giving clues it's about to give up, this relatively less busy time might be a great opportunity to replace that aging system before it causes real trouble. In the CPS shipping system, there is a backup and restore option that makes moving the shipping software from one computer to another much easier than performing a fresh installation "from scratch".

Finally, take a look at your overall shipping costs for the year. Maybe you sent out packages by a premium next day or second day service although the packages would have arrived on time using the less expensive ground service. Or you might have a lot of address correction charges (Wow! Those add up quickly, don’t they?) or you paid unexpected residential delivery surcharges although you did not get paid for this by your customers. Our CPS shipping software has great tools to help with all of these. Check out our web site at http://www.HarveySoft.com/, or call us and we'll be glad to explain how we can make these problems go away in 2010.

Happy New Year!