Method and system for franking, accounting, and billing of mail services

The invention is a method for franking, accounting, and billing of mail pieces and services. The method is based upon the ability of a data processing system to communicate with a postage meter through the use of a meter linking device. Additionally, an application program within the data processing system, in which a customer account can be established and/or altered, is initialized. Customer account data is then entered into the application. Once the customer account has been established or verified, a transaction is initiated. First, the mail pieces to be placed into the mail stream are weighed on a weighing scale. The weight is converted using an appropriate rate table so as to determine the amount of postage to be franked by the postage meter. The postage meter performs a franking of the mail piece and the system records the amount of postage applied; further, the system calculates any discounts or surcharges that are applicable to this customer's account. Both the value franked and the actual amount to be charged are posted to the customer account. Next, the system operator determines whether or not a service or a mail product is to be included in the transaction, and then enters a value in the appropriate field for the service or mail product. If the transaction data or values are incorrect, then a modification can be performed. Additionally, accounts can be corrected through several other methods which depend upon the timing and the extent of the correction required.