Office Practice · Lesson 9

Incoming and outgoing mail, mail-room equipment and delivery services

WAECNECO

What the syllabus asks

WAEC: types (personal, official, urgent, confidential); classification (incoming, outgoing); procedure for handling incoming and outgoing mail; methods of mail delivery (by post, by hand, by electronic media, by courier service). Extends cm9.2–9.3.

NECO: types (personal, official, urgent, confidential); classification (incoming, outgoing); procedure for handling incoming and outgoing mail; methods of mail delivery (by post, by hand, by electronic media, by courier service). Extends cm9.2–9.3.

What you will learn

Define mail and describe its types.
Classify mail as incoming or outgoing and describe the mail room.
Name mail-room equipment and its uses.
Describe the procedure for handling incoming mail, including special cases.
Describe the procedure for handling outgoing mail.
Explain the franking machine and postage control.
Compare methods of mail delivery and choose suitable ones.

Key points

Mail: personal, official, urgent, confidential.
Incoming and outgoing mail each follow a set procedure.
Centralised mail rooms bring control and specialisation.
Equipment: opener, date stamp, scales, franking machine, racks.
Incoming: collect, sort, open, check, stamp, record, distribute.
Do not open personal or confidential mail.
Record remittances and hand them to the cashier against signature.
Outgoing: check signature and enclosures before sealing.
Franking machines save time and control postage.
Choose post, hand, electronic or courier by urgency, cost, security, proof.

Start here: Meaning and types of mail

Mail refers to letters, parcels, packets and other documents sent or received by an organisation through the post, by hand, by courier or by electronic means. The section that handles it is the mail room (post room, mailing section or dispatch section), and the officers are mail clerks.

Mail is one of the main channels through which information enters and leaves an organisation: orders, invoices, cheques, complaints, applications, court papers and government circulars all arrive as mail. Delay or loss of a single item can cost money, customers or even a legal case.

Types of mail (WAEC)

Personal mail: addressed to a named officer and marked, or clearly intended as, private (for example “Personal: Mr A. Danjuma”). It is not opened by the mail room but delivered unopened to the addressee.
Official mail: concerns the business of the organisation and is addressed to the organisation or to an officer by title (“The Purchasing Manager”). It is opened by the mail room.
Urgent mail: needs immediate attention, such as court summons, tender deadlines, express or special-delivery items, and items marked URGENT. It is dealt with first and delivered at once.
Confidential mail: contains restricted information, such as staff discipline, medical reports, examination papers, tenders or salary matters. Marked CONFIDENTIAL or SECRET; delivered unopened to the addressee or opened only by an authorised officer.

Importance of an efficient mail system

Business is not delayed; officers act on information promptly.
Valuable items such as cheques and documents are not lost.
Confidentiality is protected.
Records show when items arrived and left, which can be important evidence.
Postage costs are controlled.
The organisation’s image is protected by prompt replies.

An item marked “Personal” or “Confidential” is not opened by the mail clerk, even if it is addressed through the organisation. This is a favourite examination point.

Mail in different organisations

A bank’s head office receives cheques, legal notices and regulatory circulars from the CBN; a hospital receives laboratory results and referral letters that are confidential by nature; a school receives WAEC and NECO correspondence, parents’ letters and circulars from the state ministry. The same four types and the same procedures apply, but the proportion of confidential and urgent mail differs. A mail clerk must learn which senders and subjects in his own organisation are always treated as confidential or urgent.

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Practice questions

1. A letter marked “Private and Confidential” should be

delivered unopened to the addressee
opened by the mail clerk
read aloud
returned to sender

Show answer

A: delivered unopened to the addressee
Confidential mail.

2. Cash and cheques found in incoming mail are recorded in the

bin card
minute book
visitors’ register
remittances book

Show answer

D: remittances book
Remittances book.

3. A machine that prints postage impressions on envelopes is the

perforator
scanner
franking machine
shredder

Show answer

C: franking machine
Franking.

4. Franking credit ₦50,000; used 180 × ₦150 + 25 × ₦400. The balance is

₦27,000
₦13,000
₦37,000
₦23,000

Show answer

B: ₦13,000
50,000 − 37,000.

5. EMS offered by NIPOST stands for

Express Mail Service
Electronic Mail System
Emergency Message Service
External Mail Sorting

Show answer

A: Express Mail Service
EMS Speedpost.

Key words

Mail: Letters and parcels sent or received.
Mail room: Section handling incoming and outgoing mail.
Personal mail: Private mail for a named officer; not opened.
Confidential mail: Restricted mail opened only by the addressee.
Date stamp: Stamp showing date of receipt.
Remittances book: Record of money received by post.
Incoming mail register: Record of mail received and its distribution.
Circulation slip: List of officers who must read a document.
Franking machine: Machine printing postage impressions.
Dispatch book: Book signed by receivers of hand-delivered mail.
Registered post: Recorded post signed for on delivery.
Courier: Private door-to-door tracked delivery service.

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