How to Fill Out and Submit PS Form 1412: AICs, Balancing, and Submission

To fill out PS Form 1412, the Daily Financial Report, a retail closeout employee reconciles the day’s cash, checks, money orders, and stamp stock, posts each total to the correct Account Identifier Code (AIC), confirms that total receipts (AIC 400) equal total disbursements (AIC 800), then certifies and transmits the report to the Accounting Service Center in Eagan. Most units do this electronically through the e1412 web application or Retail Systems Software; units without electronic capability complete a paper form and deliver it to their host post office.1United States Postal Service. Postal Bulletin 22362 – Transmit PS Form 1412 Every Day

The work below assumes a standard business day at a retail unit. The specific AIC lines and thresholds come from Handbook F-101, Field Accounting Procedures.

Prep Work Before You Open the Form

Every number on PS Form 1412 traces back to a piece of paper, a tape, or a system reading. Get those organized first and the form fills itself.

  • Count all funds headed for deposit — cash, checks, and money orders. The total must equal the bank deposit ticket and posts to AIC 752.
  • Run a calculator tape on all checks accepted, and a separate tape on money orders sold, so you have clean subtotals for AIC 100 (money order face values) and AIC 101 (money order fees).2United States Postal Service. Handbook F-101 – Field Accounting Procedures
  • Gather the supporting documents: bank deposit ticket, money order vouchers, PS Form 3602-PO for meter readings, PS Forms 3533 for refunds, PS Forms 3544, and any other receipts that back up entries.
  • Have a supervisor verify and initial postage meter readings on PS Form 3602-PO. The calculated amount posts to AIC 110.

Posting the Day’s Numbers to AICs

AICs are the numbered categories that classify every dollar on the form. The full list is in Handbook F-101, Appendix A. On a typical day, the lines you will actually use include:

  • AIC 007, 084, 090 — postage sales by category.
  • AIC 100 — dollar value of domestic money orders sold.
  • AIC 101 — money order fees collected.
  • AIC 110 — postage collected through a post office meter.
  • AIC 247 — cash overages.
  • AIC 647 — cash shortages.
  • AIC 752 — total funds deposited.
  • AIC 840 — stamp accountability opening balance (equals the previous day’s AIC 853).
  • AIC 841 — stamp stock received, from PS Form 17.
  • AIC 848 — stamp stock returned, from PS Form 17.
  • AIC 852 — total postage sales.
  • AIC 853 — stamp accountability closing balance.2United States Postal Service. Handbook F-101 – Field Accounting Procedures

Post each subtotal from your prep work to its corresponding line. Voided postage entries need an RSS receipt attached that shows the dollar amount voided; a receipt missing that dollar figure is the single most common documentation gap flagged in audits.3United States Postal Service Office of Inspector General. Financial Controls and Safeguarding Assets at Selected Units

Money Order Lines

Money orders carry serial-number accountability on top of the dollar totals, so this section has extra fields:

Money order sales must be reported the same day they are issued. Units using Paymaster imprinters submit a hard-copy PS Form 8105-A (Funds Transaction Report) the same business day; units with NCR printers submit it electronically, and if the network is down a hard copy has to be mailed that day to the address on the form.5United States Postal Service. Handbook F-101 – Field Accounting Procedures

Stamp Stock Section

The stamp accountability portion of the form tracks the value of stamp stock from open to close. The math flows in one direction:

  • AIC 840 — carry forward yesterday’s AIC 853 as the opening balance.
  • AIC 841 — add stock received during the day, per PS Form 17.
  • AIC 848 — subtract stock returned during the day, per PS Form 17.
  • AIC 852 — subtract total postage sales for the day.
  • AIC 853 — the closing balance that results.

AIC 853 must equal the combined value of the unit reserve stock plus all individual clerk credits.6United States Postal Service. Postal Bulletin 22057 – Finance At Segmented Inventory Accountability offices, variance from total sales since the last physical count should stay within 0.1 percent; a wider gap is a signal to do a physical count before it grows.7United States Postal Service. Postal Bulletin 22209 – Finance

Making the Form Balance

The form is in balance when AIC 400 (total receipts) equals AIC 800 (total disbursements).2United States Postal Service. Handbook F-101 – Field Accounting Procedures If the two totals don’t match, a subtotal was posted to the wrong line or a supporting document is missing. Find the discrepancy before you submit.

A true cash difference goes on AIC 247 (overages) or AIC 647 (shortages). The reporting consequences scale with the dollar amount:

  • $25 or less: a transmitted 1412 out of balance by this amount is automatically expensed without notification.
  • Over $100: complete PS Form 571 (Discrepancy of $100 or More in Financial Responsibility), send it to the appropriate OIG field office, copy the district finance manager, and file a copy locally.
  • Over $500: an Enterprise Data Warehouse Narrowcast report is generated and emailed to the unit, district finance manager, area accounting manager, and area finance manager.
  • Over $10,000: Accounting Services at Headquarters is also notified.

Cash on hand at closeout also has to stay within the authorized limit for the unit’s Cost Ascertainment Group. Standard maximums range from $100 for CAG K and L offices up to $700 for CAG A and B. A postmaster can request more through the authorizing finance official, but the reserve caps at $3,000 for CAG A through C and at $200 for CAG K and L.5United States Postal Service. Handbook F-101 – Field Accounting Procedures

Certifying and Submitting

Electronic Submission

Most retail units enter the day’s transactions in the e1412 web application or Retail Systems Software (RSS), which transmits to the Standard Accounting for Retail (SAFR) system for posting to the General Ledger.8National Association of Postal Supervisors. Module 10 – Accountability Since 2010, field users certify accuracy by acknowledging an electronic certification statement rather than signing a hard copy; the user ID and certification date print on the daily report.9United States Postal Service. Handbook F-101 Revision – PS Form 1412 Daily Financial Report Certified Electronically in eMOVES

Manual and Contract Postal Unit Submission

Units without electronic capability complete a paper PS Form 1412 and physically deliver it, with all supporting documentation, to the assigned host post office, which enters the data into its electronic system.10United States Postal Service. Postal Bulletin 22081 – Finance Contract postal units follow the same workflow: the closeout employee signs and dates the form, bundles the supporting documents, and submits everything to the host office.

System Outage Fallback

When a power outage or system failure takes down POS ONE or the integrated retail terminal, the office falls back to a paper 1412 under its manual-operations contingency plan. If printed forms are not on hand, the version published in the Postal Bulletin can be reproduced locally. Printed copies can also be ordered from the Material Distribution Center at 800-273-1509 (TTOE Quick Pick Number 618), and the form is available on the Postal Service Intranet at blue.usps.gov under Essential Links, then Forms.11United States Postal Service. Postal Bulletin 22203 – Revised PS Form 1412 Daily Financial Report

Records to Keep After Submission

Retail units must keep copies of PS Form 1412 and all supporting documentation for two years plus the current fiscal year.12United States Postal Service. Postal Bulletin 22329 – Policies Procedures and Forms Updates The fiscal year runs through September, so at any given moment you should have the current year plus the two complete fiscal years before it. Organize the files so a specific day’s report and its backup can be pulled quickly — auditors and investigators ask for individual days, not stacks.