NCOA
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Contents |
Overview
NCOA is the common acronym used for National Change of Address. This service is provided by companies licensed by the United States Postal Service (USPS) to provide address hygiene services. While NCOA is most commonly used, and is a requirement, for any bulk mail discounts, it a good service for everyone to use to ensure your mail list is clean and up to date. NewHaven Software has partnered with Peachtree Data, a USPS licensee, to provide NCOA services. You'll find Peachtree Data to be fast, friendly, and reasonably priced. This article will elaborate on the benefits and details of NCOA processing.
Benefits
NCOA processing with CMS and Peachtree Data will provide the following benefits:
- For anyone who has moved, NCOA will provide their current address (as filed with USPS)
- For all addresses submitted, even those that have not moved, CASS processing will be performed to update the address to USPS standards including appending the +4 to your zips
- Rural Routes will be converted to standard addresses (LACS)
- Missing Suite numbers will be appended to business addresses
- Addresses validated as deliverable
- Meets USPS requirements for list updates if performed within 95 days of any discounted bulk mailing
When you import the NCOA response file, you will have a chance to review reports indicating all of the matches and address updates Peachtree Data was able to provide. These results can be reviewed before applying the changes to your mail list. After you have reviewed and continue with the import, CMS will not only update your customer records with the new addresses but will also flag customers with flags to indicate:
- NCOA - Your customer has moved and their address has been updated
- Undeliverable - USPS cannot provide a deliverable address for this person
- No Zip+4 - USPS could not find a +4 for this address
- May Have Moved - Someone moved from this address but they cannot be sure if that person matched the name you passed (previously known as NIXIE)
The above flags can be found under the Flags & Financials tab in the Customers section of CMS. These flags are useful both for visual referencing as well as mail list filtering. For example, it is a common practice to reach out to your "May Have Moved" customers to verify their addresses. In a few seconds you can create a filter based on this flag, run the filter in Quick Count, and double click on each name to contact them and update their record as appropriate. You might also want to exclude customers with the Undeliverable flag from any mailing. See our article on Compound Mail List Filters for more information on creating include and exclude criteria in your mail filters.
Solution
Please note that CMS will only work with Peachtree Data and your export to Peachtree Data must be generated from the Address Correction section of CMS. While there are other companies that provide NCOA services, CMS relies on Peachtree Data's specific file format and response codes to ensure proper data updates. NewHaven Software cannot support files processed from other NCOA service providers.
To obtain NCOA service please contact Clint Farmer at Peachtree Data and identify yourself as a NewHaven Software customer. Make sure to request the following format: Peachtree Original Layout for CMS.
Clint Farmer
Peachtree Data, Inc.
2905 Premiere Pkwy Ste 200
Duluth, GA 30097-5240
cfarmer@peachtreedata.com
(800) 477-3224 x4670
www.peachtreedata.com
Additional Help
You can find step by step instructions for NCOA processing in CMS Help and typing in NCOA under the Index tab. Please contact NewHaven Technical Support if you require further assistance.
Troubleshooting
Imports
- Are your running CMS version 9.0.5.136 - 9.0.5.140? If so, you must update to a more current version before attempting any Peachtree import due to known problems in that span of CMS builds.
- Was the file sent to Peachtree generated from the Address Correction section of CMS? If not, a file must be resubmitted to Peachtree that was created from this section of CMS.
- Find the file called Layout Report.pdf that Peachtree includes in their response files. Scroll to the end of the document and the last field is either called Info or Notes. This field MUST be 22 bytes! If it is anything else, it needs to be pushed back to Peachtree for the proper output. (more info below)
- Look at the file from Peachtree that was included with the response file called Layout Report.pdf. The end of this PDF will tell you the length of each record.
- For CMS Versions 10.0.14.277 and below - Every record should be 587 bytes per the report. They also add two bytes (CRLF) onto each record which is not documented in the layout report so the total record length is 589. As such the entire file size should be a multiple of 589. If not, it is the wrong format and should be pushed back to Peachtree for the proper format (ask for Clint). For reference or coordination with Peachtree, this is what a properly formatted output should look like in their Layout Report - http://screencast.com/t/kuXqhoa8
- For CMS Versions 10.0.14.278 or later - Every record should be 588 bytes per the report. They also add two bytes (CRLF) onto each record which is not documented in the layout report so the total record length is 590. As such the entire file size should be a multiple of 590. If not, it is the wrong format and should be pushed back to Peachtree for the proper format (ask for Clint).
- Verify that the file sent is fixed length and not CSV
Exports
The export file from CMS is the Peachtree 180 format, so named because it is 180 characters per record. Like the above, a proper file should be an even multiple of 180. If not, it is a CMS bug.
It is imperative that the original file sent to Peachtree be generated from CMS's Address Correction section to ensure that each record is the right length. Also make sure the processing was done by PeachTree so we know the records are properly coded in a way that will allow CMS to match the response records properly to their customer records.
