Incentive Programs Service
User Guide

April 30, 2014
Version: 4.0

Document Change History

Version (4.0) of the Incentive Programs Enrollment User Guide.

Section	Title	Description	
1.1	Finding Information	Updated links to online documents	
1.2	Additional Assistance	Updated email address	

Version (3.0) of the Incentive Programs Enrollment User Guide.

Section	Title	Description	
1	Finding Information	Updated links to online documents	
2, 3	Figures	Updated Figures: 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, and 9	
3	Post-Enrollment Changes explanation	Added text under the Locations tab subsection in Section 3. 	
5	Post-Enrollment Changes section	Added new section	
6	Troubleshooting	Updated to provide more details.	
7	FAQs	Added new questions and detailed answers.	

Version (2.0) of the Incentive Programs Enrollment User Guide.

Section	Title	Description	
1.1	Finding additional Information	Added new section	
1.2	Additional Assistance	Added new section	

This is the initial version (1.0) of the Incentive Programs Enrollment User Guide.

Section	Title	Description	
All	Incentive Programs Enrollment Guide	Initial Draft	
All	Incentive Programs Enrollment Guide	Initial Version	

Table of Contents
1	Introduction
1.1	Finding additional Information
1.2	Additional Assistance
1.3	Document Conventions
1.4	Key Terminology
2	New Business Customer Gateway (BCG) Users
Create Account
Follow steps for Existing BCG Users
3	Steps for Existing Business Customer Gateway (BCG) Users
Request Incentive Programs
Request Manage Mailing Activity (if needed) 
Identify Yourself
  Enroll  
4	Post-Enrollment Steps
Adding a Permit post-enrollment
Adding a Location post-enrollment
5	Incentive Program Activity Reporting
6	Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)  
7	Troubleshooting  

1	
Introduction
This guide will help you to enroll for an incentive program.  The initial enrollment takes several steps and expedites enrollment for subsequent incentive programs.  Begin your enrollment by completing the steps listed in this guide.
1.1	Finding additional Information
The following documentation may also useful and provide up to date information.

•	Promotions and Incentive Programs documentation on RIBBS
https://ribbs.usps.gov/index.cfm?page=mailingpromotions
•	April 2012 Release 31 Postal Service Technical Specifications
https://ribbs.usps.gov/intelligentmail_schedule/documents/tech_guides/april2012/techspecs.htm
•	April 2012 PostalOne! Release Notes
https://ribbs.usps.gov/intelligentmail_schedule/documents/tech_guides/april2012/releasenotes.htm

•	Incentive Programs Service User Guide (for Mail Owners)
https://ribbs.usps.gov/mailingpromotions/documents/tech_guides/IncentiveProgramsEnrollmentGuide.pdf

•	Business Customer Gateway User Access Guides
https://ribbs.usps.gov/intelligentmail_guides/documents/tech_guides/user_access/user_access.htm
1.2	Additional Assistance
For Business Customer Gateway enrollment assistance contact the PostalOne! Customer Care Center at (800) 522-9085 or postalone@email.usps.gov.
Promotion related questions about can be directed to USPS Program Office at: mailingpromotions@usps.gov. 
1.3	Document Conventions 
For further information, icons navigate you to the Troubleshooting and FAQ  sections of this guide by the Ctrl + click feature.
1.4	Key Terminology

Business Customer Gateway (BCG):  Web portal for USPS® business services http://gateway.usps.com

Customer Registration ID (CRID): A unique ID for a company name and location combination. The CRID is automatically assigned when you select a Business Account. 

Business Service Administrator (BSA):  An individual that can approve or deny a user’s access to participate in services on behalf of a company. The first person to request access to a service from your company will be prompted to become the BSA. In order to gain access to the service someone must assume the BSA role.  
2	New Business Customer Gateway (BCG) Users 
If you have never used the Business Customer Gateway, you must create a new business account.

Create Account

Complete Existing User section

  
  Create Account
1.1 Navigate to the BCG and click on ‘New User Registration’. The Business Customer Gateway URL is gateway.usps.com.

1.2 Follow the prompts by entering the required fields to create a new business account. You will receive an automatic email confirming that Your United States Postal Service Online Business Account has been activated. TIP: When initially establishing your username and password for a business account, you can enter an existing CRID in the CRID input field. Use this “known” CRID to ensure access the intended service for a particular location.

  Follow steps for Existing BCG Users
2.1 Go to the Existing BCG Users section and follow those same steps.

3	Steps for Existing Business Customer Gateway (BCG) Users

If you are already using the BCG, complete the four steps to enroll for an incentive program:

Identify Yourself

Request Manage Mailing Activity (if needed)

Enroll

Request Incentive Programs

    Request Incentive Programs 
1.1   Navigate to the BCG and sign in. 
1.2   Double click the Request Access link at the top of the page

1.3   Double click on Incentive Programs

1.4   Verify all your Business Locations 
Click on  button to additional locations if they are not displayed.

Note: When adding locations, enter the CRID if you know it. Otherwise enter the company and address information to get access to existing locations.

1.5   Select all your Business Locations
 Click the check box for all business locations for which you would like to enroll and then click the  button.

1.6   Confirm your selection 
Verify the accuracy of your locations and click the  button.

Note: It may save time to write down the CRIDs of any newly added locations

1.7   Become the Business Services Administrator (BSA) role for Incentive Programs 
There must be a BSA for Incentive Programs in order to complete the enrollment. The individual who assumes the role will approve or deny who can access the incentive program module on your company’s behalf.  To assume the BSA role, complete the following steps:

 Review the USPS Online Agreement.
 Select the checkbox to agree to the USPS Online Agreement.
 Select the checkbox of the location(s) for which you want to become BSA.
 Click on the  button.
Note: Write down the CRIDs of your business locations; you may need them for Step 2. You will receive an automatic email that the request for Incentive Programs and business location has been approved.

1.7.1   You are the BSA for Incentive Programs
If you see the message shown below (Figure 1), skip step 1.7.2 and go to           Select an Incentive Program.  

Figure 1 – BSA Access Granted

If you do not see the message from above (Figure 1), continue with step 1.7.2 to get access to the Manage Mailing Activity service. Go to Step 2  below to become the BSA for Manage Mailing Activity.

1.7.2   You need approval from the BSA for Manage Mailing Activity 
If you see the message shown below (Figure 2), go to step 2: Request Manage Mailing Activity and follow all the steps. If you would like more information about why this step may be necessary, see items (1) and (2) of the FAQ sheet. 

Figure 2 – BSA Certification Required

 
  Request Manage Mailing Activity (if needed) 

2.1  	If you do not already have access to the Manage Mailing Activity, double click the Request Access link at the top of the page. If you have access to Manage Mailing Activity, skip to Step 3.

2.2   Double click on Manage Mailing Activity (MMA)

2.3   Repeat Steps 1.4, 1.5 and 1.6 above to request access to MMA 
If you added new locations while at step 1.4 in   , enter all of them here as well. Use the  button to either enter the CRIDs of those existing locations or the exact company name and addresses as entered in 1.4.

  2.4   Become the BSA for Manage Mailing Activity
There must be a BSA in place before you can enroll your business locations to Manage Mailing Activity. To become the BSA, complete the following steps:

 Review the USPS Online Agreement.
 Select the checkbox to agree to the USPS Online Agreement.
 Select the checkbox of the location(s) for which you want to become BSA.
 Click on the  button.

You are now the Manage Mailing Activity BSA for the selected locations. The locations you have selected have been enrolled for the Manage Mailing Activity service. You will receive an automatic email that the request to become the BSA for Manage Mailing Activity and business location(s) has been approved.

Identify Yourself
From the BCG home page, select Incentive Programs under the Account Service category. 

1. Identify whether you are a Mail Owner or Mail Service Provider
Identify yourself by selecting the appropriate option.

Correctly identifying yourself is important for several reasons. Select Mail Owner if you plan to prepare and tender your own mail to the USPS. Select Mal Service Provider if you are a mailing agent for mail owners. Refer to Figure 3.

Figure 3: Mail Owner or Mail Service Provider identification
2.  Verify your mailer identity
Select the double-arrow button  to expand a pop-up that displays your user’s profile information. Use it to verify that you have identified yourself correctly.  Refer to Figure 4.

Figure 4: The double-arrow button. When you click the button, a pop-up will display which provides User Profile Information. See Figure 4a.

Figure 4a: The User Profile Information pop-up.  Note that the user is identified as a Mail Owner. Click the double-arrow to close the pop-up window.

It is important that you verify that you have correctly identified yourself. To do this, look at the identity label displayed in the pop-up right above the Process Start Date. In the example from Figure 4b below, the user has identified himself as a “Mail Service Provider”.

Figure 4b: The User Profile Information pop-up. The pop-up window displays enrollment information and the identity of Mail Owner or Mail Service Provider.  Note that the user’s profile shows that the user is a Mail Service Provider. Click the double-arrow to close the pop-up window.

If you need to change your identity, use the link that is next to the identity label. In Figure 4b, the link reads “Not a MSP?” in parenthesis. Select this link and you will be directed back to the Identify Yourself screen where you can modify your selection. 

Modifying your identity after you are enrolling/enrolled in a program will reset the enrollment process and you will need to re-enroll if you wish to continue claiming the discount. Your status will revert back to “AVAILABLE”.  See Figure 4a of previous page.

  Enroll  
1.  Select an Incentive Program
Select the 2012 Holiday Mobile Shopping promotion by clicking on the program name. Refer to Figure 5.

Figure 5: Incentive Program Selection

2.  Select the Begin Enrollment button
To begin enrollment into the selected Incentive Program, select the  button located at the top right corner of the page.

3.	Follow the Enrollment Tasks.
Complete the Enrollment tasks by using the tabs located on the left-hand side of the page, or by clicking the links associated with each step. As you complete each task, the system will display the task as “Complete”. Some Enrollment tasks become available only after visible tasks have been completed. Refer to Figure 6.

Enrollment Tabs

Figure 6: Enrollment Status: In Progress. The center part of this screen was cropped to better fit the page.
Additional Contact Information Tab
The Additional Contact Information tab allows you to save contact information for an alternative primary contact and for a technical contact. You are required to enter information for the alternative primary contact to complete this task.
Locations Tab
The Locations tab allows you to review your participating mailing locations. You must verify the accuracy of the displayed locations and select the <I Agree> button to complete this task.
Post-Enrollment Changes
If you associate new locations to the Incentive Programs service after you have completed enrollment in a program, these locations will not be automatically enrolled in the program. To enroll these new locations in the programs for which you are already enrolled, you must select the Incentive Programs link as described in section 3.
You will want to enroll all CRIDs/locations for which there are eligible permits you plan to use for the promotion. If CRIDS are missing, the permits associated to these CRIDs will not be enrolled in the program and you will not receive the discount if you use them in the eDoc i.e., the permit holder field or entity paying for the mailing. The system will NOT recognize the permit as enrolled and will NOT apply the discount.
Permit Accounts Tab
The Permits Accounts tab allows you to verify the payment accounts associated with the participating business locations. You must visit this tab at least once to complete this task.

Based on the permit types allowed by the incentive program, your permits will be sorted by eligible or ineligible as shown in Figure 7 below. 

Figure 7: Permit Accounts in the Incentive Programs service

It is important to note that the incentive can only be applied when the Permit (paying for the mailing) is an eligible permit and the Mailing Date (postage statement finalization date) is within the incentive program effective period. For example, for the 2012 Holiday Mobile Shopping promotion, only Permit Imprint (PI), Precancelled Stamps (PC), Meter (MT) and Ghost (GH) permit types are eligible. Make sure that the permit associated to the eDoc claiming the promotion is populated with a permit that is one of the eligible permits types and that you are completely enrolled in the program. 

Figure 8: Certification Tab
The Certification tab becomes available once the preceding steps have been completed. Refer to Figure 7. You must agree to the Certification Agreement by selecting the <I Agree> button to complete this final enrollment step. Upon agreeing, you are enrolled into the Incentive Program.

You will know that you are fully enrolled when you see the Enrollment Status change to “Enrolled”. To un-enroll, simply click on the <Unenroll> button. Refer to Figure 9.

Figure 9: Enrolled Status. The Enrollment Status shows “Enrolled”.
4	Post-Enrollment Steps
If you are completely enrolled in a program and later want to enroll a CRID or add a new permit to the Incentive Programs service in the Business Customer Gateway (BCG), you may need to take a manual step to activate them. Refer to the post-enrollment information below.
Adding a Permit post-enrollment
If a permit is added to one of your participating CRIDs after you have completely enrolled in a program and you plan to populate the Permit Holder’s Permit field of the eDoc with this permit, you have to wait 30 minutes before being able to claim the discount.
Adding a Location post-enrollment
If a new location is granted access to the Incentive Programs Service in the BCG and you plan to populate the Permit Holder’s Permit field of the eDoc with a permit linked to this location, you have to make sure that you refresh your list of enrolled CRIDs for the program. To do this, you must return to your homepage and select the Incentive Programs link as described in Section 3, item 1.3. 
5	Incentive Program Activity Reporting
Once completely enrolled, the Activity Report tab will display below the Certification tab. The Activity Report provides mailing activity.
Activity Report – Mail Owners
The top section of the Activity Report for Mail Owners, Activity Summary, displays a summary view of the aggregate Volume (Total Pieces), Discount Amount and Total Postage associated to the program in near real-time. Information is refreshed on an hourly basis.
As a Mail Owner, you can see the total discounts you have saved received. Refer to Figure 10.
Figure 10: Activity Summary Report
The bottom section, Detailed Activity, displays an aggregated view by day and permit. Each row represents the total mailing activity for each permit for that day. Additionally, the information is displayed separated into sections corresponding to mail classes (i.e., First-Class and Standard Mail). Each day of the promotion and for each permit in the Permit Holder field, the report aggregates the data and displays the Number of Postage Statements generated from that permit and the following permit information: Permit Number, Permit Type and Finance Number. Additionally, it displays the Volume (Pieces) and Discount Amount. Refer to Figure 11.
Read the content that follows for a more complete description of the information displayed in the Detailed Activity section.

Figure 11: Detailed Activity Report
Mailing Date: The mailing date corresponds to the day the mail acceptance clerk finalizes the postage statement. The date may or may not correspond with the date of electronic file submission (or Mailer’s mailing date).
Number of Postage Statements: The number of postage statements generated from that permit on that Mailing Date.
Permit Number and Permit Type: The permit number and permit type of the permit for that row corresponds to the permit in the Permit Holder field in the electronic file.
Volume (pieces): The total number of pieces includes non-discounted pieces in all postage statements for the permit for the mailing date. This number includes pieces that didn’t qualify for the discount.
Discount Amount: The aggregate amount discounted off of the total postage from all the postage statements generated from that permit on that mailing date. The discount amount is based solely on discounted pieces (i.e., pieces that qualify for the discount).

6	Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)  

1.	What is a BSA and why is it required?
A  Business Service Administrator (BSA) is the person authorized to control who can access a business service on behalf of your company.  A BSA has power over all service and location combinations for which they are the BSA. You should only become the BSA for a service and location combination if you are elected by your company to perform this role.

2.	What is a contingent BSA and when is it required?
Because Incentive Programs involve financial data, an extra approval layer has been added to protect your data.  If there is no BSA for Incentive Programs, the BSA for Manage Mailing Activity must approve whoever requests to become the BSA for Incentive Programs.  This approval must be provided for each of your company’s locations.  Once you become the BSA for Incentive Programs for a location you can approve or deny access to the service for that location. 

Enrolling all of your business locations (CRIDs) for the Incentive Programs Service ensures that all of your permits are linked to the program and become enrolled.

When requesting access to Incentive Programs, the request will be pending until a BSA for Manage Mailing Activity approves your request for access.  If there is no BSA for Manage Mailing Activity, upon requesting access to Incentive Programs you can become the BSA for Manage Mailing Activity. Your request for Incentive Programs will be approved automatically. Otherwise if you opt not to assume the BSA role, you will have to wait until the forthcoming Incentive Programs BSA approves your request.

3.	For which locations should I become the BSA?
It is generally recommended that you become the BSA if no BSA exists for a service and location combination. You should become the BSA if you want to manage other user’s access to the service for a particular location.

If a service requires BSA approval, there must be a BSA established for your company’s mailing locations before members of your company can access the service for those locations. Otherwise the request for the service will remain in “pending”. After 25 days, if the BSA role is not filled, your request will automatically be purged, without notification.

4.	How can I add a new location to Incentive Programs after I’m done with the enrollment process? 
Complete section 1 of the enrollment guide: “Request Incentive Programs”, making sure that you select the <Add Location> button in step 1.4. 
If you are experiencing difficulties while adding a location, refer to section 2 (a) of the Troubleshooting document. 

5.	Where can I see the CRID of a location for which I requested a service?
Select the ‘Request Status >>’ link located at the top of the page. This displays a page that contains a table with a list of all the locations for which requests have been made. Find the location by identifying the exact address and then select the link under the ‘Business Location’ column for the corresponding row. This opens up a pop-up window that displays the CRID of the location.

6.	Where can I view my access to business services?
Sign in to the Business Customer Gateway and select the ‘Profile >>’ link located at the top of the page. This page lists all the locations and their associated services.

7.	Where can I see the status of my requests to access Incentive Programs?
To look up the status of the request for all your locations, select the ‘Request Status >>’ link located at the top of the page. This page lists all of your requests. Make sure that you are looking at locations for which the Service is “Incentive Programs”. 
8.	What is the difference between requesting access to incentive programs and requesting access to a specific incentive?
Requesting access to incentive programs from the BCG determines who can access an incentive program on behalf of your company. Once access has been granted for the Incentive Programs service, you can select the incentive program and begin enrollment.
9.	Why is it recommended to enter the CRID of a location when trying to add the location to my profile?
Entering the CRID in the CRID data input field ensures that you uniquely identify the business name and address combination for your company.  Even with an identical address, if you use variations of a company name, such as “My Company” and “My Company Global Services”, they may not be recognized as belonging to the same company by the address matching system.  Entering the CRID circumvents this potential issue (opposed to entering address information in the address input fields). 
7	
Troubleshooting  

1.	Step 1.1   Navigate to the BCG and sign in.

a.	What is the Business Customer Gateway web address?
https://gateway.usps.com

b.	I can’t sign in
If you’re unable to sign in, it is because you either don’t have an account or you’re entering the incorrect username/password combination.

If you have an account, click on the ‘I forgot my password’ link and follow the instructions to reset your password.
 
2.	Step 1.4   Add all your Business Locations

a.	I don’t know the CRID of the location that I want to add
There are two reasons why you might not know the CRID of a location you’re trying to add.
i.	New Location
Your location will be a new location in our system. CRIDs are assigned by the USPS. Locations which are not currently in our system means a CRID has not yet been assigned.

ii.	Existing Location
All existing locations have been assigned a CRID. In this case, you may simply not know the CRID. Note: To see if a CRID exists, you can call the PostalOne! Customer Care Center at (800) 522-9085 or postalone@email.usps.gov.

For a New Location, select the ‘Business Name and Address’ radio button and enter the exact address of the location you wish to add.

For an Existing Location, if you remember the exact name of the company and the exact address of the location as it was initially enrolled, you can select the ‘Business Name and Address’ radio button and enter the required information. It is recommended that you use the CRID of a location when it has one. If you don’t know how to find the CRIDs of locations refer to 7 (b) below.

For more information on why you should add all of your business locations, see (3) of the  FAQ sheet.
For more information on why you should use the CRID of a location to add it, see (9) of the  FAQ sheet.

3.	Step 1.6   Confirm your Selection
a.	I don’t know the CRID of the location I just added
To look up the CRID of any location, sign in to the Business Customer Gateway and select the ‘Request Status >>’ link located at the top of the page to access the display a pop-up window that displays the CRID. 

4.	Step 1.7    Request to be the BSA for Incentive Programs

a.	Of which locations should I become the Business Service Administrator (BSA)?
Become the BSA of a location if you are elected by your company to perform this role. When requesting access to Incentive Programs, the request will be pending until a BSA for Manage Mailing Activity approves your request for access.  If there is no BSA for Manage Mailing Activity, when you are requesting access to Incentive Programs you can become the BSA for Manage Mailing Activity. Your request for Incentive Programs will be approved automatically. Otherwise if you opt not to assume the BSA role, you will have to wait until the Incentive Programs BSA approves your request.

5.	Step 1.7.2   Become the BSA for Manage Mailing Activity

a.	Why is this required?
The Manage Mailing Activity service is linked to the Incentive Program service. This step, requires contingent approval from the BSA of Manage Mailing Activity. The linkage helps prevent unauthorized users from accessing your mailing activity and permit information. For more information about Contingent BSA and Contingent BSA Approval, see number (2) on the FAQ sheet.

6.	Step 2.3    Repeat 1.4, 1.5 and 1.6 above

a.	I don’t remember which were the locations entered in 1.4 for which I requested to become the BSA for Incentive Programs
To look up the status of any location, sign in to the Business Customer Gateway and select the ‘Request Status >>’ link located at the top of the page. This page lists all of your requests.

Find the locations with a status of “Pending External BSA” and select their name to access the pop-up window that contains the CRID. 

b.	I don’t know the CRIDs of some locations
To look up the CRID of any location, sign in to the Business Customer Gateway and select the ‘Request Status >>’ link located at the top of the page. This displays a page with all of your requests. Find and select the location’s name to access the pop-up window that contains the CRID. 

c.	I don’t know if I’m entering the exact addresses that were entered in 1.4
Instead of entering addresses to add locations that were already entered in 1.4, it is recommended that you enter the CRIDs into the CRID input fields for existing locations. If you don’t know how to find the CRIDs of locations refer to (b) directly above.

7.	Step 3.1   Select Incentive Programs under the Account Service category. 

Incentive programs are published in advance of the program start date to enable you to register before the start of the promotion

8.	Step 4    Enroll

Program Registration Landing Page
a.	When I select an Incentive Program, the message “This program is not available for enrollment” is displayed. Why can’t I enroll?
Not all Incentive Programs are available for enrollment for all customers. This indicates one of two things:
		 
i.	The current date falls outside of the Incentive Program’s specified registration time period. 
or
ii.	You are not eligible to enroll for the Incentive Program because you do not have an eligible or pre-qualified permit. Refer to the requirements and parameters in the program description.

If you believe neither of these is your case, contact the Program Office by using the Program Assistance tab.

Locations Page
b.	I thought I had enrolled a location for Incentive Programs in the BCG, but I don’t see it in the ‘Locations’ tab.

The first step towards resolving this issue is to verify that you actually enrolled the location(s) to Incentive Programs. To do this, navigate to the Business Customer Gateway and sign in. To look up the status of any location, select the ‘Request Status >>’ link located at the top of the page. This displays a page with all of your requests. Make sure that your locations have a Status of “Approved” and that the Service is “Incentive Programs”. 

If your Location’s Service is different from “Incentive Programs” you need to complete section 1 of the Enrollment Guide.

If your Location’s Status is “Pending BSA”, this means that the BSA for Incentive Programs for your location needs to approve your request to have the location added to Incentive Programs.

If your Location’s Status is “Pending External BSA” you need to complete section 1.7.2 of the Enrollment Guide.