How DocuSend Helps Businesses with High-Volume Mailings

Does your business send mail in bulk quantities or high volumes? Then you probably know what it's like to be drowning in envelopes and paper, dealing with endless metering and sorting. If you're looking for a way to streamline the entire process and finally cut the chaos of recurring high-volume mailing with modern cloud-based technologies, we’d be happy to help you along the way. Cloud-based technologies not only allow you to send high volumes of mail automatically, but they are also more economical, as they maximize savings. You can upload your batch of documents in PDF format to the platform provided by DocuSend and let the system take it from there and handle the entire process. You won't have to lift a finger. (Well, only to click a mouse.)

Let’s dive in and discover how it works, and why it’s more advantageous than outsourcing to a traditional mail house.

A Smart Strategy for Lower Mailing Rates

Postal rates for your First-Class Mail decrease significantly when mail pieces are sent in bulk volumes. That is because the bulk of the mail pieces are processed together for efficiency. How is this achieved? A discount is obtained when it gets presorted by a mailing provider or in-house in large volume. Presorting involves organizing mail based on ZIP codes to reduce work done by the USPS. While a company can handle Presorted First-Class manually, the process can be time-consuming and prone to error and requires buying and leasing equipment.

The DocuSend cloud-based mailroom simplifies this process by automating printing and mailing, sorting by Zip codes, and delivering and reporting your mail to the USPS. Our intelligent robotic inserting machines and agile software will do every step for you. By purchasing materials like paper and envelopes in bulk, DocuSend helps to ensure compliance with USPS regulations – eliminating the need for expertise on your side – and significantly reduces your overall mailing costs. Mailing via this platform also includes the CASS certification process. And it can reduce your overall First Class mailing costs even more, because we purchase paper and envelopes in bulk.

Understanding USPS rules

First-Class Mail Requirements

First-Class Mail includes individualized and often time-sensitive items (letters, invoices, statements, etc.). According to United States Postal Service regulations, personalized business documents are permitted to be sent using this class.

Previously, if you were outsourcing to a traditional mail house or handling correspondence internally, you needed to wait to gain a minimum quantity for a presorted mail discount, which is 500 pieces. Great news: DocuSend allows you to send less than that number anytime you need to. Later we will explain how this is possible.

First-Class Mail must meet the following criteria:

• Weight: up to 13 ounces.
• Dimensions: for letters, at least 3-1/2 inches high x 5 inches long and no more than 6-1/8 inches high x 11-1/2 inches long. For postcards, at least 3-1/2 inches high x 5 inches long, and no more than 4-1/4 inches high x 6 inches long.
• Shape: no odd-shaped items; it should not be too rigid or non-machinable.

Besides First Class, businesses can also send high volumes of Marketing Mail via DocuSend.

USPS Marketing Mail requirements

Marketing Mail refers to sending generic content that doesn't contain variable information (communications like renewal letters or marketing campaigns, with generic messages sent to large audiences).

Sending this type of correspondence as Marketing Mail allows you to save significantly due to reduced USPS rates.

Key criteria:

• Volume: A minimum of 200 pieces or 50 pounds of mail is needed to qualify. 
• Format: Items should be uniform in size, weight, and thickness. 

Instead of preparing and sorting the mail of this class according to USPS standards, you can delegate this task to DocuSend by uploading your template and a CSV file with mailing addresses to the cloud-based platform, and the system will automatically create a batch of communications to be printed and passed to the postal system, without the need for you to manage the details yourself.

The Ultimate Solution for Mailing High Volumes

Sending bulk postal volumes takes resources from other areas of your business as you manage all the steps. DocuSend provides on-demand solutions developed to lighten that burden for a company of any size.

Businesses simply upload documents to the cloud, select preferences, process an online payment for their order, and let the service do the rest. Here's what makes this method beneficial:

1. Quick and Easy Setup Without the Need for Extra Equipment

One of the primary pains is the infrastructure that goes with organizing the process in-house. You will usually need printers, materials, and people to handle all the associated tasks. And of course, you will also need space to store everything. For a business just starting out mailing in high volumes, or even a company looking to pinch pennies, investment in printing and mailing equipment may be utterly out of the question.

With DocuSend, you can skip all those hurdles. There's no need to invest in additional equipment.

2. Intuitive Cloud-Based Interface: Seamless Document Uploads

For the ultimate simplicity, even for someone who does not seem to be technically inclined, DocuSend is designed to be an easily usable mailing platform. There is no tricky software download involved, nor do you need to be a techie to get this service up and running. It's entirely cloud-based, so you can access it anywhere on just about any device.

3. Fast Turnaround and Timely Deliveries

Time-sensitive documents like invoices or statements need to get to customers when you expect them to. Delays translate to late payments or missed deadlines, not ideal for any type of business. DocuSend is fast and efficient – once you have uploaded your files, it has your documents printed and mailed within two business days. This is huge for businesses where every minute counts. Delivery times will be fast, and your billing cycle and customer communications won't be delayed.

4. Value and Transparency in Pricing Options

Mailing in bulk quantities gets expensive very quickly, especially when you are taking care of it in-house. DocuSend pricing is affordable and tailored to the needs of small and mid-sized businesses. In addition, you only pay for what you use – no monthly fees or minimums to worry about.

With DocuSend's pay-as-you-go model, businesses can keep costs in check. You know exactly what you pay for, and there are no hidden fees. You get the needed flexibility without making a big financial commitment.

5. Tracking and Reporting

There is a way to know where each of your documents is and predict the expected date of arrival, and with DocuSend, it requires no extra charge. You can check the status of your mailed documents in your personal portal. Knowing the date a document was mailed and when it arrived at the final post office on its route will help eliminate confusion and lessen the number of follow-up inquiries.

Besides tracking, DocuSend also allows you to view your mailing history through the mail reports it issues. With it, organizing and maintaining your records is a piece of cake. This is particularly useful for any business that has large mail send-outs at frequent intervals.

6. Better Security and Data Privacy

DocuSend makes data security a high priority and has put in place strict guidelines to ensure that whatever information a customer provides remains private. The platform is set up to adopt state-of-the-art standards for security, hence giving any business confidence that its clients' information remains secure during the mailing process, from the moment it gets uploaded until the time it reaches the recipient’s mail carrier.

7. Seamless Integration with Your Business Process

Another convenient feature is that it is easily integrated with your current process. You do not have to develop or buy new technology. From a small business to an established one with your own billing or CRM system, you can easily implement it to the process you currently have.

For example, you can integrate DocuSend with your accounting software or ERP. This will make it easy for you to upload your invoices or statements. DocuSend offers a REST-API integration that fits it into your software.

8. Scalability to Support Your Business Growth

As your business grows and your mailings multiply, DocuSend is designed to scale to meet the rising volume. Since it is a pay-as-you-go service, you pay for only what you send, and you are not locked into a contract. Whether you mail a few hundred documents this month or plan to send thousands next quarter, DocuSend will still fit your needs. This alone makes it a rational choice for businesses of any size, from a startup that wants to put operations into a workable form to a large enterprise.

Summary

Mailing in bulk quantities via USPS used to be tedious, but not anymore. You can take the headache out of it, using it only on demand and saving time and resources. Our cloud-based mailroom will enable you to upload and send your documents in just minutes. Why not give it a try and see for yourself how much time and effort you can save?