Over the years, I’ve worked with a few utilities that still check the postmark on mail payments received after the due date. If the mail was postmarked by the due date, they would adjust off the late payment penalty.
Terribly inefficient
Checking postmarks is an extremely inefficient process. Doing so causes additional work in two ways:
- The person opening the mail must examine the postmark of every mail payment received after the late penalty has been charged.
- For any payments that were postmarked on or before the due date, an adjustment must be entered to remove the penalty.
Whenever I encounter a utility that still checks postmarks during a business review, I always recommend that they discontinue the practice. The best I can tell, most utilities that still check postmarks are local governments that also collect taxes. They may be required by law to verify postmarks for tax payments, so do the same for utility payments. Or it just may be a case of TTWWADI Syndrome.
USPS changes
Verifying postmarks may no longer be reliable due to a recent change by the USPS. Mail is no longer postmarked the day it is mailed, but rather when it is processed at a regional processing facility. Depending on when and where a payment is mailed, this could be a day or two later.
If you are still checking postmarks, this might be all the reason you need to discontinue the practice.
Is your business office outdated?
Is your office still following outdated practices? If it is, or if you’re not sure, please give me a call at 919-673-4050, or email me at gary@utilityinformationpipeline.com to find out how a business review could help you find out.
© 2026 Gary Sanders