Patent ID: 7831524

Claim:
A method for recording an acceptance scan for a package shipped via the United States Postal Service (USPS), comprising: generating a unique header number to preface a record that includes one or more package transactions made over a time period for a specific non-manifesting shipper having a customer account with an online postage vendor, the unique header number being unique within the USPS and generated at a manifesting computer system provided by the online postage vendor, wherein the manifesting computer system generates the unique header number according to one or more guidelines specified by the USPS; generating one or more respective unique tracking identifiers for the one or more package transactions in the record, each of the respective unique tracking identifiers being unique within the USPS and generated at the manifesting computer system; building the record at the manifesting computer system, wherein the unique header number prefaces the record and the respective unique tracking identifiers for the one or more package transactions follow the unique header number in the record, and wherein the record built at the manifesting computer system comprises a plurality of elements required by a product tracking system provided at the USPS; electronically transmitting the unique header number that prefaces the record and the record that includes the one or more package transactions from the manifesting computer system to the product tracking system provided at the USPS; generating a scannable indicia representative of the unique header number that prefaces the record, wherein the non-manifesting shipper accesses the manifesting computer system to print the scannable indicia representative of the unique header number that prefaces the record on a hard copy acceptance scan form; and confirming that the USPS has accepted one or more packages carrying the respective unique tracking identifiers for the one or more package transactions in the record in response to determining that a representative of the USPS has scanned the scannable indicia printed on the hard copy acceptance scan form.