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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.

Updated over a week ago

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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