Lim Sei Kee @ cK
Introduction
 Think about the types of mail you receive. Mail can
refer to printed matter like letters, postcards, parcels
and packages, and even electronic mail. Think about
the differences between these types of mail.
 In an office, a large volume of mail is received every
day. All printed matter and electronic mail, as well as
parcels, received by the office are called incoming
mail.
 When incoming mail is received, it has to be sorted,
recorded and distributed quickly. Mail-handling is
very important or crucial because a piece of mail will
lose its function and importance if it does not reach
the person to whom it is addressed.
Procedures for Handling Incoming
Mail
 A piece of mail goes through several processes before
reaching the person or department it is addressed to.
An office uses the following procedures for handling
incoming mail:
 A) separating and opening
 B) date-stamping and recording
 C) sorting and distributing
A. Separating and Opening
 After separating mail marked ‘Private’, ‘Personal’ or
‘Confidential’, the rest of the mail needs opening. Mail
may be opened either with a paper knife or an electric
letter opener. If there is a large number of letters, an
electric letter opener will be able to open them very
quickly.
When opening mail,
 1. DO NOT open envelopes marked ‘Private’, ‘Personal’
or ‘Confidential’. If an envelope is opened by mistake,
write ‘Sorry, opened by mistake’ across it. Do not
remove the document from the envelope.
 2. Tap the envelope on the table before it is opened so
that the document drops to the bottom of the
envelope. In this way, the document will not be cut or
damaged by the letter opener.
 3. Open mail marked ‘Registered’ or ‘Urgent’ first and
send it quickly to the addressee(s). Registered mail
may be received at any time of the day. This type of
mail needs to be signed for in the postman’s receipt
book.
 4. Attach all enclosures to the document. An enclosure
may be a catalogue, cheque or card that is in the
envelope with the letter. These are usually indicated by
the abbreviation ‘enc’ if one copy is attached, or ‘encs’
if more than one copy is attached. This marking is
made at the bottom of the document.
 5. Sort all the printed matter before opening the
parcels. This is to prevent documents from being
misplaced or thrown away by mistake while you are
unwrapping parcels.
B. Date-stamping and Recording
 After separating and opening the mail, all printed
matter is stamped with the date for recording
purposes. The stamp should not cover any printed
words on the document, as the words may be
important information.
 When the volume of mail is large, a date-stamping
machine is used to stamp the date and time on each
item of mail. All incoming mail is recorded in the
INWARD MAIL REGISTER.
INWARD MAIL REGISTER
DATE
Received
from
Document
No.
ENCS
Routed
to
4th JUNE
ALI & Co.
Inv. 9120
-
Accoun
ts
4th JUNE
Excapade
Sushi
Letter
1
Human
Resourc
e
4th JUNE
Hua Ho.
Letter
2
Sales &
Marketi
ng
Sign & Date
 When a cheque or cash payment is received through
the post, it must be entered correctly into the
Remittances Book. ‘Remittance’ means the payment
of goods or services sent from the buyer to the seller by
post. The cheque or cash received is then given,
together with the Remittances Book, to the Accounts
Manager for signing.
 It is important to maintain up-to-date and accurate
records of incoming mail so that any item can be
traced easily. This helps to save both time and effort
later.
REMITTANCES BOOK
DATE
Remitter
Method of
payment
Inv or
A/C
No.
Amount
4th JUNE
Abu &
Co.
Cheque
01303
$200
5th JUNE
Azizi
Cash
0021
$500
5th JUNE
Azura
Cheque
291211
$150
Sign & Date
C. SORTING AND DISTRIBUTING
 After date-stamping and recording the mail, keep the
envelopes or wrappers for a few days before disposal.
In this way, if you receive any enquiries about the
incoming mail, you will be able to check the
information using the postmark.
 The postmarks on envelopes act as proof of the postal
date and time.
 Usually, mail is sorted by department and then
distributed. Another way to distribute mail is to sort it
directly into pigeon-holes or wire trays for staff
members.
 If mail is sorted and distributed by department, a
trolley may be used for delivery. When making
internal mail deliveries to departments, remember to:
 A) plan the delivery route
 b) attach a circulation list
Q
 1. Why is it important to follow the correct procedures
when handling incoming mail?
 2. What would you do if you accidentally damaged a
letter when opening it?
 3. Why should you stamp a letter with the date you
received it? Give at least 2 reasons.
 4. List 3 ways in which you might distribute incoming
mail to staff.
5. Read the following list of mail items and explain how
you would process them.
 (a) A parcel that looks as if it has been previously
opened
 (b) A letter marked ‘urgent’
 (c) A parcel with goods that have been damaged in the
mail
 (d) A fax that has come through to the office overnight
with ‘priority’ stamped on it
 (e) A personal letter to a staff member
 (f) A letter which states that a cheque is enclosed but
it is not with the letter
 (g) Thirty applications for a job vacancy in the
organization