^&(ing Post Office

[BHoffman]

I use the handy USPS "Click N Ship" to send out tax returns in the mail.

Ran low on labels.

Ordered labels 2 weeks ago. They are supposed to ship Priority. Never came. I'm now just about out.

Called last Wednesday to plead and complain. Was told they were on "back order". Not true. I had already talked to the PO's supplier and they said from now to order directly from them and this sort of thing won't happen.

Labels will be here tomorrow and it is pretty far outside my comfort zone to get this close and depend on the mail, although I send Priority Mail and it has been reliable.

I did reserve the labels I have for returns that have balances due. The refunds can be extended and I'll mail them ASAP. What a pain!

[veritas]

Probably

shipped by %4$3@g Amtrak.

[JohnH]

You can print the labels on plain paper and tape them to the envelope with clear tape. Just be sure not to tape over the bar coded part of the label. It's an extra step but it works in a pinch.

When tax season is over, be sure to mail a complaint to the postmaster. I'm sure it will get there in a timely manner.

[BHoffman]

Cussed cussing

Too late. I used up the last of the @#$ing labels today to mail out all returns that had balances due, and now I'm going to file extensions for the rest. They are all refunds for both Fed and St.

Do all accountants cuss? I've always considered the F-Bomb to be an accounting term that means "That does not balance."

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dgx1sSfriIA

[equinecpa]

FWIW I've never used the labels...I've always printed on plain paper and taped to the envelope I"m mailing.

[BHoffman]

equine - are you using "Click N Ship"?

[equinecpa]

Yup...print on plain paper...tape to envelope...very simple.

[BHoffman]

Pickin nits

What kind of tape? Do you cover the whole label except for the bar code?

I guess I'm afraid of goofing up. The thought of not being dependent on those #$%ing labels is almost too good to be true

[JohnH]

Maybe equinecpa does it differently, but here's my method. I use crystal clear packing tape from Office Max. It comes in rolls a little less than 2" wide. I cut the label out with a margin of about 1/2" outside the printed area all the way around. I lay the label on the envelope and run a strip down each side and across the top & bottom outside the printed area of the label. Then I put a piece of tape directly across the address part of the label to protect it from moisture damage. The width of this particular tape is sufficient to cover all the address and most of the return address. This leaves the bar code and other areas that require checkoffs available to the postal clerk. The whole process takes half a minute - took me longer to type this than it does to attach a label.

[BHoffman]

JohnH - you are awesome for taking the time to explain the mechanics of the thing to me.

There are certain can openers I do not know how to use.

[JohnH]

There are always little tweaks we can make in our procedures. Glad I could help out.

But what really intrigues me about this conversation is that nobody has jumped in to take us to task for paper filing in the first place. So I'll say it for them. If you & I would efling those returns, we wouldn't have to worry about how to trim the label & where to stick the tape.

[BP.]

no taking to task

I efile most, but there's still trimmin', tapin' & stickin' to be done to send stuff to out of town/state clients.

[BHoffman]

These are mailings of the tax returns to clients. The forms are efiled.

[JohnH]

Oh good.
So I'm still the lone holdout on eflinging.
I'm relieved to know that.

[Burke]

No, you're not. But it looks like next year......