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Order Tracking & Cancellation

This guide explains how to monitor the status of your direct mail campaigns and individual mail pieces, and how to cancel orders if needed.

What is this feature?

PostGrid provides a dashboard to manage and track your direct mail, including:

  • Viewing campaigns and individual orders

  • Previewing mail pieces before mailing

  • Tracking each mail piece through its lifecycle

  • Cancelling eligible orders

  • Accessing raw data, including carrier tracking (IMB data for USPS)

Using the Dashboard

A. Viewing Campaigns and Orders

  • Campaigns: Go to Campaigns → Overview to see all campaigns and their statuses.

  • Individual Orders: Go to Orders → Letters (or Postcards, Cheques, Self Mailers). You’ll see:

    • Description

    • Recipient and address

    • Status (Ready, Printing, Processed, Completed, Cancelled)

    • Creation date/time

    • View PDF to preview the mail piece

B. Tracking Orders

  1. Click a mail piece to open Letter Details.

  2. Check the Progress Timeline:

    1. Ready: Created and queued for printing

    2. Printing: Being printed at PostGrid’s facility

    3. Processed: Printed and handed to the carrier (in transit)

    4. Completed: Delivered to the recipient

  3. PostGrid 2-Day SLA: PostGrid guarantees a 2-day service-level agreement (SLA) for printing, processing, and handing off mail to the postal service after your submission. The production and mailing process follows these steps:

    1. Day 0 (Order Placed): You submit your order via the API or platform.

    2. Day 1 (Next Business Day): The order is sent to the printer. You can cancel or modify your order until 12:00 AM ET (midnight) before production begins. After this cutoff, cancellation is not guaranteed.

    3. Day 2 (Next Business Day After Printing Completes): The mail is handed off to the postal carrier, such as USPS or Canada Post.

  4. Expand Raw Data for details like imbStatus (USPS IMB data)

Note: The Progress button is available only for test mode, letting you manually simulate stages. In live mode, progress is automatic.

C. Cancelling Orders

  • Only orders with Ready status can be cancelled.

  • Cut-off: 12:00 AM ET (midnight) on the scheduled send date. After this, orders move to Printing and cannot be cancelled.

How to cancel:

  • Individual: Open the order → click Cancel → confirm. Status changes to Cancelled.

  • Bulk: Orders → click Cancel Letters → filter by date or description → select orders → confirm.

FAQs

Q: What’s the difference between “Ready” and “Processed”?
​A: Ready = queued for printing; Processed = printed and handed to the carrier (in transit).

Q: When can I cancel a mail piece?
​A: Only when status is Ready, up to midnight on the send date.

Q: Can I track all mail pieces?
​A: Yes. Orders pages show statuses. For detailed USPS tracking, check Raw Data (IMB).

Q: What happens if I miss the cancellation window?
​A: Orders in Printing or Processed cannot be cancelled and will proceed to mailing.

Q: What is the “Progress” button?
​A: Test mode only. Lets you manually advance a mail piece through Ready → Printing → Processed → Completed. Live mode progresses automatically.

Q: How long until delivery? A: PostGrid typically processes orders within 2 days. Delivery time depends on the mail class and carrier:

  • First-Class Mail: Typically delivered within 5–7 business days.

  • Standard (Marketing/Class) Mail: Typically delivered within 10–15 business days.

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