Mail File Requirements

BABER

 

1. Your list should include “fields” that can be easily sorted and manipulated.  E.g. you will want to have a listing of your customers in alphabetical order, so keep a separate field for first name and last name.  You’ll also want to sort your list for the best postage rates so maintain a separate field for city, state and zip code.

 

2. A sample of typical fields that are needed in a basic database are:

FIELD NAME	SIZE	TYPE (character, numeric, date)
FIRST	10	C
LAST	15	C
COMPANY	25	C
ADDRESS W/SUITE OR APT	25	C
CITY	15	C
STATE	2	C
ZIP	10	C  (not numeric)
Delivery Point Bar Code	2	C
Delivery Point Error Field	1	C
Source of List	3	C
Date entered into system	8	D
Phone	12	C
Email	30	C

 

3. If you’re developing a list from a POS (point of sale) terminal you may also include RFM (recency, frequency and monetary) data.  In this case if you wanted to select all of your customers in a certain zip code that spent over $100 within the last 6 months you could.

 

4. We will work with any list format.  The following formats are recommended.

 

.dbf                      Dbase compatible file used by FoxPro, Alpha, DBASE,  Act.

.asc, .csv, .txt  .dat     Text separated by commas or tabs

 

Files can have another extension name and still be accepted.  Call your BABER customer service representative at 800-850-2248 for details.

 

5. Larger files should be compressed with a compression program like PKZIP, WINZIP or the Microsoft XP compression unit.  These “zipped” files can then be uploaded or emailed to us.

 

6. Microsoft Word files can present a challenge if not formatted properly.  In order to achieve the lowest automated postage rates your label format must contain a certified USPS barcode.  Word can create this with the correct font.  However, you can only print your list out on pre-formatted labels.  In order for Drive Thru to work with your file you will need to simply “export” your comma separated word file into a straight text file like ASCII.

 

7. Text files should look like this on your screen.

John, Doe, John Doe, Inc., 1234 Main Street, Anycity, Anystate, ZipCode

 

Not like this

 

John Doe

John Doe, Inc.

1234 Main Street

Anycity, Anystate, Zip Code

 

To test this before sending it to BABER, simply open Word Pad on your computer and load in the text file.

 

         If you have any question about your data file, we’re here to help.

Simply call 800-847-7040.