Configuring Postcodes
Postcodes are used in several areas of the system, from setting up couriers to creating Invoice Rules. Postcodes can be triggered on partial matches.
- WARNING: Delivery rate systems are complex and, if set up incorrectly, can result in the incorrect postage being charged in Sales Orders. It is therefore recommended that a rigorous trialling phase is conducted in the test system both prior to initial use and when any changes to existing systems are required.
There are two different methods of matching postcodes in the system, default and original. The difference between the two is that the new (default) version allows the user to add wildcards (%) as well as more flexible postcode ranges.
Note: the Isle of Man is a separate country from the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland. As not everyone knows this, we recommend the use of a "UK" zone (comprising the countries of Guernsey, Isle of Man, Jersey and United Kingdom) for courier banding and delivery rates, rather than relying on country selection alone to identify addresses in the Channel Islands and Isle of Man.
Default Postcode Matching
This is available from version 8.187 and affects how the Postcodes field in [ System Data | Courier Banding ] matches to delivery address postcodes on sales orders.
- Only the first (outer) section of the postcode is compared, i.e. the NG31 part of NG31 7FZ.
- The Postcode field can use [A-Z] to represent an alpha character.
- Limited ranges can be used, e.g. [B-G] will match B and F but not A or Q.
- The Postcodes field can use [0-9] to represent a numeric digit.
- Limited ranges can be used, e.g. [3-6] will match 3 and 5 but not 7.
- You can put these after each other, e.g. [B-G][D-G][1-3] will match DF1 but NOT DF14 (and similar).
- You can use a % symbol as a wildcard, e.g. NG3% will match NG31, NG3C and NG3.
- For Jersey, Guernsey and Isle of Man the postcode should be GY%,JE%,IM%
Notes:
- Using the range [1-9] does not include 0, which can be valid in postcodes. [0-9] should be used instead, where appropriate.
- Postcodes when being matched are case-sensitive and [a-z] will not match 'A'. It is recommended that [A-Z] i.e. upper-case is used.
By default all systems will be on the default method of postcode matching. If you wish to revert to the original method, please email Support.
Original Postcode Matching
The following table details some examples of postcodes originally used in the system (do not rely on these examples when setting up your system — always check the exact postcodes required for example with your courier company):
Note: spaces are automatically removed by the system.
| Zone | Postcode(s) in this Zone | Typical Description |
|---|---|---|
| UK | GY, JE | Channel Islands |
| UK | TR21[1-9], TR22[1-9], TR23[1-9], TR24[1-9], TR25[1-9] | Isles of Scilly sometimes grouped with Scottish Highlands & Islands |
| UK | PO30[1-9], PO31[1-9], PO32[1-9], PO33[1-9], PO34[1-9], PO35[1-9], PO36[1-9], PO37[1-9], PO38[1-9], PO39[1-9], PO40[1-9], PO41[1-9] | Isle of Wight |
| UK | HS[1-9], IV[1-9], KA27[1-9], KA28[1-9], KW[1-9], PA20[1-9], PA21[1-9], PA22[1-9], PA23[1-9], PA24[1-9], PA25[1-9], PA26[1-9], PA27[1-9], PA28[1-9], PA29[1-9], PA30[1-9], PA31[1-9], PA32[1-9], PA33[1-9], PA34[1-9], PA35[1-9] PA36[1-9], PA37[1-9], PA38[1-9], PA39[1-9], PA49[1-9], PA60[1-9], PA61[1-9], PA62[1-9], PA63[1-9], PA64[1-9], PA65[1-9], PA66[1-9], PA67[1-9], PA68[1-9], PA69[1-9], PA70[1-9], PA71[1-9], PA72[1-9], PA73[1-9], PA74[1-9], PA75[1-9], PA76[1-9], PA77[1-9], PA78[1-9], PH17[1-9], PH18[1-9], PH19[1-9], PH20[1-9], PH21[1-9], PH22[1-9], PH23[1-9], PH24[1-9], PH25[1-9], PH26[1-9], PH30[1-9], PH31[1-9], PH31[1-9], PH32[1-9], PH33[1-9], PH34[1-9], PH35[1-9], PH36[1-9], PH37[1-9], PH38[1-9], PH39[1-9], PH40[1-9], PH41[1-9], PH42[1-9], PH43[1-9], PH44[1-9], PH49[1-9], PH50[1-9], ZE[1-9] | Scottish Highlands and Islands sometimes grouped with Isles of Scilly |
| UK | IM | Isle of Man sometimes grouped with Northern Ireland |
| UK | BT | Northern Ireland sometimes grouped with Isle of Man |
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Postcode ranges can't be entered as "NG1-NG22" or "NG1-22" but must be entered as either "NG" (which will pick up all postcodes beginning with "NG") or individually for example NG1, NG2, NG3, NG8, NG22 for all postcodes that start with those characters. A format of "NG[0-4]" can be used on the Courier Banding and Delivery Rates screens of System Data. When used in this way the value "NG[0-4]" will be interpreted to mean all Postcodes starting with "NG0", "NG1", "NG2", "NG3" and "NG4".Note: When choosing a specific postcode area such as NG31 6, the lone digit cannot be enclosed by square brackets (ie: NG31[6]). This invalidates the delivery rate altogether.
Postcode Search Gotchas
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When matching a postcode, the system will use the first match it finds. So, for example, if your London deliveries are made by motorcycle courier and all other towns are sent by post, then don't put "N" (North London) ahead of "NG" (Nottingham), otherwise deliveries to "NG31 7XY" will get sent by motorcycle courier!
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We suggest starting with a value of "100" and using increments of 5 or 10 (e.g. 100, 105, 110, 115, 120, etc.) as this allows you to add in further selections at some future date, without having to renumber the entire table.
Where a numeric priority is entered, the system will attempt to match each entry in ascending numeric order.