DuoShare's Address Quality Integrator

Most QuickBooks users probably don’t give a second thought to the addresses of their customers, vendors and prospects, that is, until an invoice comes back with a yellow return mail sticker pasted on the lower right corner of the envelope. This means your customer never got the invoice. What do you do now? You probably need to get on the phone and track them down. Or, you could check out DuoShare’s Address Quality Integrator (DAQI) designed for QuickBooks. This simple add-on module integrates seamlessly with QuickBooks and validates addresses against the US Postal Service database right as they are entered into QuickBooks. There’s also a batch validation process to ensure your existing QuickBooks addresses are valid.

The Real Time Address Validation Process

DAQI runs in the background so QuickBooks users won’t notice anything different until after a new address is entered or an existing one is modified. After entering the address information, click OK and a small window pops up in the middle of the screen informing you that the validation is in process. After just a few seconds, the address you entered is either replaced with a perfectly clean, validated, Zip+4 coded USPS address or another window will pop up informing you that the address is bad. In the latter case, the reason the address is invalid appears at the top of the window while the data necessary to correct the address appears in the lower section of the window. DuoShare calls this data “hint data”. For example if the address you entered is missing a suite or apartment number, the pop-up window would inform you of this and provide a list of valid suite or apartment numbers pertaining to the address. You then select the proper information and click OK to validate the address again. You can leave off zip codes, street directions, suite or apartment numbers; you can misspell streets and cities, and you can even enter incorrect address numbers and zip codes, and DAQI will provide information necessary to help find the correct address

Since DuoShare is a Web based service, there’s no need to purchase new hardware or even maintain or upgrade the software. Because DAQI communicates with the DuoShare server via web service calls, the address validation process works regardless of your operating system and is always up-to-date.

One of the key features of working with DuoShare’s Web based service model is the accuracy of the address data. DuoShare receives postal data on a daily, weekly and monthly basis and uploads it upon receipt from the USPS so their customers have access to the latest, most up to date, data as soon as it is uploaded. Users of address validation services provided by traditional software vendors would have to wait until the vendor receives the postal data from the USPS, packages it, and then sends it to the customer. This time delay can mean some users are dealing with data up to 60 days old!

Batch Processing for Bulk Mailings

In addition to providing real time address validation within QuickBooks, DuoShare also validates addresses in batches. This batch validation is part of a larger process known as Mail prep. The Mail prep is the cleansing and sorting process your address list undergoes prior to a mailing. Even if you don’t consider yourself a “mailer”, a time is probably going to come when you want to use a direct mail campaign to introduce a new service offering or product.

Here’s a high level description of what’s involved in the mail prep process and some of its benefits. When you install the DAQI, a user account is created for you on the DuoShare web service. At that point, your QuickBooks addresses (customers and vendors) are uploaded to the server. You configure the software by setting a recurring time for automatic synchronization between your QuickBooks addresses and the DuoShare server. Before you do your mailing, use the mail prep feature to prepare your list. Just log in to the DuoShare site and you’ll see a list of your QuickBooks customers and vendors. You select the list(s) for your mailing, and then DuoShare guides you through the mail prep process. This process is designed to save money on postage, prevent postage waste associated with return mail, and to ensure the recipient actually receives your mail piece.

The first stage of the process is to validate the addresses. DuoShare validates addresses against the US Postal Database down to the delivery point using a process called DPV, or Delivery Point Validation. This process verifies that the address is an actual mail-receiving destination rather than simply verifying the address lies within an acceptable range. For example, an empty lot may lie within a valid address range, but a pass through a DPV test would reveal it is not a valid mail-receiving destination. Addresses that are not validated or not easily corrected are shown in a “Bad Address Report”. You can view the Bad Address Report on line, and even repair and validate the bad addresses in real time.

After the validation is complete, you have the option of running the change of address processing to see if anyone on your list has moved and filled out a change of address form at the post office within the last 18 months.

The big postage saver comes from the next step in the process; the sequencing and presorting. This is the process that actually sorts your list in delivery order the same way the USPS normally does with mail sorting machines. The difference here is that if your mail is already sorted by a certified vendor like DuoShare, there’s no need for the USPS to run it through their sorting machines. To reward you for alleviating their workload, the postal service offers postage discounts, which, depending on your mail volume, can be significant. For example, a mailing of 1000 pieces presorted by DuoShare could save you between $60 and $100 or even more depending on what you’re mailing.

After your list is sorted and ready for mailing, you can export and download the list and print the addresses on the mail piece yourself or take it to your printer/mail-house for printing and mailing. DuoShare even provides all the necessary documentation the postal service requires for bulk mailing.

The cost of DuoShare is $19.95 per year for DAQI and $24.95 per mail prep.