Improving Document Design

By Mark Brousseau

If you’re trying to eliminate payment exceptions, you may want to take a fresh look at the design of your remittance document, recommends Craig Bjork (cbjork@cds-global.com), director, account & business development, Data Capture Services, for CDS Global.

Bjork offers the following tips:

… Keep it simple for the customer. “Many exceptions come from customers not understanding how to properly return a document, not to mention the importance of doing so,” Bjork told me. “If information is requested of the customer, or there are options for returning the document, give customers clear instructions and ample room to respond.” Bjork also recommends providing constrained areas for customer responses.

… Make sure the remittance document fits properly in the envelope you provide. “If documents are too large, customers will fold them, creating processing inefficiencies and potential sorter jams. If the documents are too small, you will have mail delivery issues or play in the envelope that will trip up your processing equipment,” Bjork noted.

… If the front of your remittance document is too busy – and there isn’t enough clearance for accurately reading the scan-line – consider putting the customer account number/scan-line on the back. “This isn’t the best option, but it is an alternative,” Bjork said.

… Check your document paper stock. “Documents on light weight paper stock can create reflective issues during the scanning process, which can cause mis-reads or no-reads,” Bjork said. A minimum of 24 lb paper is usually recommended.

Bjork’s colleague, Lesa Brooks (lbrooks@cds-global.com), general manager, West Region, Data Capture Services, for CDS Global, told me that billers should also be sure that their document design is within the specifications for the processing equipment that they or their outsource provider use. Some areas to check: form size, font/printing, reply envelope construction, placement of folds, the strength of perforations, and the paper finish. Brooks said promotional attachments – such as stickers and slip-ins – are probably not a great idea.

Do you have any document design tips to share? E-mail me at m_brousseau@msn.com.