Patent ID: 8600907

Claim:
A computer-implemented method for generating a mailing label to be affixed to a mail item, the method comprising: requesting, by a computer, a tracking number for the mailing label, the mailing label being printable by a user on a single-sheet medium, wherein the mailing label comprises the tracking number, the tracking number including a prefix that distinguishes the single-sheet mailing label from any other type of mailing label and indicates that the single-sheet mailing label was printed by the user rather than by some other means; receiving, by the computer, a response to the request, the response including an image file of the mailing label, the mailing label including the tracking number provided by a tracking number source; receiving, by the computer, a request from the user to print the image file of the mailing label with the received tracking number on a single-sheet medium; sending, by the computer, a receipt to the user, wherein the receipt is presented to a mail carrier at the time of mailing of the mail item and postmarked as proof of the mailing of the mail item; and sending, by the computer, the receipt and the tracking number to a financial institution, the receipt to be associated with the tracking number in a financial database maintained by the financial institution.