QuickBooks Shipping Manager USPS Service Details and Delivery Confirmation

QuickBooks Shipping Manager integrates with Stamps.com to offer several U.S. Postal Service shipping options directly from within the desktop environment, and users navigating those options frequently run into questions about which services include tracking, how dimensional pricing works, and why certain mailpieces cannot receive Delivery Confirmation at all.

Available USPS Services

Shipping Manager supports the following domestic parcel services through the Postal Service:

• USPS First Class Parcel
• USPS Priority Mail
• USPS Media Mail
• USPS Parcel Post
• USPS Express Mail

For domestic letter service, Shipping Manager supports USPS First Class Flats.

Postage Pricing Advantages

Postage processed through Shipping Manager generally runs lower than purchasing the same labels at a post office counter. Priority Mail and Express Mail shipments qualify for the electronic discount, which typically results in savings of roughly three to five percent compared to retail counter rates.

Delivery Confirmation Behavior

All parcels processed through Shipping Manager automatically include Delivery Confirmation. Priority Mail shipments receive it at no additional cost. For other parcel services, the add-on carries a nominal fee that is lower than what the Postal Service charges at the counter.

Signature Confirmation is also available at a reduced rate through Shipping Manager compared to walk-up retail pricing.

The Letter Mail Distinction

A common point of confusion involves First Class letter post. The Postal Service does not offer Delivery Confirmation on letters, postcards, or flats. While Shipping Manager does generate a mailpiece ID or tracking number for First Class letter mail, that identifier exists solely for the refund system — it lets you request a refund for postage you printed but never used. The mailpiece itself is not trackable in transit, and the Postal Service provides no scan events for it.

Additionally, First Class letter mailpieces are excluded from SCAN forms, which consolidate multiple shipments into a single barcode for carrier pickup.

Parcel Qualification Rules

The difference between First Class letter post and First Class parcel post matters because Delivery Confirmation is only available on parcels. To qualify as a parcel under Postal Service rules, at least one of the following general conditions should apply:

• The item is at least three-quarters of an inch thick
• The item is shipped in a box
• The item is rigid and does not bend if it is thinner than three-quarters of an inch

Placing a sheet of paper in a standard business envelope and shipping it as a First Class Parcel does not meet these requirements. For that type of shipment, Priority Mail is the appropriate service.

Dimensional Pricing Considerations

Services rated by dimensional weight — also referred to as cubic pricing — such as Priority Mail shipped in your own packaging, require accurate parcel dimensions. Users should enter length, width, and height in the Options and Size panel before generating the label so the rating engine can calculate postage correctly.