FAQ

Frequently Asked Questions

What is ELLA?

ELLA FAQ

ELLA, the Business Portal of Austrian Post, is a free online platform. ELLA is a modern self-service tool that provides you with important information about your business relationship with Austrian Post around the clock. The functionalities of the portal are under constant development and new services are constantly being added.

You can use ELLA to see all your invoices, orders, contracts, and Business Post.Cards in one place anytime you want. You can easily edit your company data and manage users in ELLA. In addition, you can use the portal to conveniently access many other services such as Newspaper Authorization requests, Layoutcheck and Post Paid Indication. If you need personal assistance, you can send a request directly in ELLA.

Yes, ELLA is available to you free of charge.

Currently, it is not possible to place orders via the ELLA portal. However, we are working hard to make this service available to you soon.

Payments cannot be made directly via the portal. However, you have the option of seeing all pending invoices together or individually. In addition, every invoice includes information if the amount is pending, was paid, or a payment reminder has been sent.

You can find the language selection for German and English - DE / EN - in the left-hand side of the footer. All you have do to is click on the language of your choice. Already, most content on ELLA is available in both German and English. We are working hard to provide you with a complete English version soon.

We are looking forward to your feedback for the continuous development of the portal!

Registration & Master Data

ELLA FAQ

You can only register after having received an invitation for ELLA - please contact with us at ella@post.at (please provide your company name and your customer number, if available).

 

You will receive your invitation to ELLA with instructions for the mandatory identification via mail or email. After successful identification you will receive your personal activation code. The identification is necessary to protect your company data from access by unauthorized persons.

 

For your identification you need to provide data about your company and yourself, as well as upload the following 2 documents: 1. Proof of identity (ID, passport or driver's license); 2. Authorization signed on behalf of the company (you can find the document here). After your successfully confirmed identification by us (usually takes 24 hours) you can complete your registration.

 

If your identification is successful, you will receive your personal activation code and a link to the registration page. For the registration, you have to confirm your company data, before you can set your personal ELLA access data. You can complete the registration after confirming the Data Protection Policy and the Terms of Use. After that you can log in with your personal access data and use ELLA. If desired, you can activate your existing post.at business account for ELLA during the registration process.

By activating your post.at business account for ELLA, you can use both ELLA and post.at services with your account.

As a business client, you have access to certain services that are not available to private clients. Since the ELLA has been created solely for business clients, registration is not possible with a post.at private account. Please either register for ELLA with a business email address or delete your post.at private account and create a new business account with your email address.

If you would like to change your email address or password, you can do that directly in the portal. First, click on your initials in the upper right-hand corner of the header. Under "My Profile", you will find the section "Login & Settings" where you can change your email address and password.

If you would like to reset your password, you can do that by clicking here.

When logged into ELLA, click on your initials in the upper right-hand corner of the header. Under "My Profile", you will find your personal data. Under "My Company" you will find your company information. This is where you can change both your personal data and your company data, as well as edit your invoice options.

User Management

ELLA FAQ

When logged into ELLA, click on your initials in the upper right-hand corner of the header. If you are an Admin user, you can go to the "User Management" to invite other colleagues to use the portal with specific permissions.

Per company, a maximum of 35 persons can have access to the portal.

As an Admin user, when logged into ELLA, you can delete any invited users at any time in the "User Management", whether they have already registered or not.

As an Admin user, when logged into ELLA, you can manage your colleague's permissions at any time in the "User Management". You can give and withdraw permissions.

As an Admin user, when logged into ELLA, you have the option of deleting existing ELLA user accounts at any time in the "User Management".

As an Admin user, when logged into ELLA, you can manage your colleague's permission for Adress Check in ELLA at any time in the "User Management". Choose the respective user and give or withdraw the permission "Chargeable Services". With this permission, paid services can be used. Currently, this is the Adress Check in ELLA. We are constantly expanding available services.

If you cannot access a specific area of ELLA, you do not have the required permissions. Please contact your Admin user. When logged in, you can find an overview of your Admin users here.

Invoices, Orders & Contracts

ELLA FAQ

After logging in to ELLA, you will find your first three invoices and orders on the start page. Click on the button "All" to get an overview of all your invoices and orders. On the "My Invoices" page, you have the possibility to search for invoices by invoice number, delivery note number or other factors. If no invoices or orders are shown, you might not have received the required permissions from your Admin user.

If you want to find a specific invoice quickly, you might find our search function useful. Wen logged in, navigate to the "My Invoices" page and click on "Advanced Search".

 

Enter an invoice number, IMIS number, delivery note number, or order number and the desired invoice will be displayed. You can combine up to ten different search terms and divide them with commas. Entering just a few numbers will also yield a result. In that case, the system will display all invoices that include the numeric string in the invoice number, IMIS number, delivery note number, or order number. The date filter is another option that will help you narrow down your search results.

ELLA stores invoice and order data for a period of 24 months.
When you download your invoices (PDF, XLS, XLSX or CSV format), the gross amounts are also displayed. 
You have recently activated your post.at business account for ELLA and no longer receive your invoices for e.g., the Parcel Stamps by email? In this case, it is possible that these invoices are now sent to the invoice email address for your company. You can check your company's "Invoice Options" by clicking on your initials at the top right of the header when you are logged into ELLA. Under "My Company" you can view and change your company data and your company's invoice options. Otherwise, you will receive your invoices for the Parcel Stamps as usual via your e-mail address specified in ELLA. However, this invoice is not visible in ELLA itself.

To get an overview of all your contracts, please click on the menu item "Contracts", when logged into ELLA. Contracts are shown in reverse chronological order. If you cannot access the contracts, you might not have received the required permissions from your Admin user.

Most contracts are available for download in PDF format by clicking on the printer symbol. Depending on the system where the contracts are stored, some may not be available for download in ELLA. Upon request, we will be more than happy to provide them manually for you. Please get in touch with us here.

The system of Austrian Post divides your contracts into individual product-related contracts. If your contract covers several products, ELLA will show several contract boxes. This allows you to see at a glance for which products you have signed contracts. You will notice that your 8-digit contract number might have been extended by two numbers, which are consecutive numbers. However, behind this information, you will always find your consolidated contract (with the 8-digit number) that you can download directly via ELLA in PDF format.

Adress Check

ELLA FAQ

The Adress Check is an online tool of Austrian Post for cleaning up and correcting the data of end customers. It checks the deliverability to addresses, their correctness and completeness, and whether your address data can be changed or complemented. Of course, Austrian Post also checks whether relocation information or possible entries of deceased persons are available for your data records.

 

During an Adress Check, we check in detail whether:

 

- A person is actively receiving mail at a certain address (Check Person) and is therefore known at this certain address.

- A person is on the Robinson list (Check Robinson). The Robinson list is a list of recipients of the Chamber of Commerce with contact data of persons who do not wish to receive personally addressed advertising mail from companies with which they do not have an active business relationship.

- The addresses are postally correct (Check Post). The postal code, street and house number are checked for accuracy. Incorrect addresses are corrected (e.g., with the new address) or marked. If an address is very incorrect or incomplete, so that delivery is not possible, it is marked as an address that cannot be corrected.

- Addresses exist more than once (Check Double). Duplicates are removed or provided in the form of a separate file.

 

We add:

 

- Missing stair and door numbers

- New addresses of people who have moved

 

We correct:

 

- Incorrectly written address components

- Historical addresses with the currently valid address

 

We tag:

 

- Persons who are on the Robinson list

- Persons for whom information about their demise is available

- Identical addresses (e.g., addresses of houses on street corners)

- Whether a person is known at the address or does not receive mail there

- Duplicates

Yes. The data transfer from and to the Adress Check runs via a secure connection (https, 256-bit encryption). The same encryption is e.g., also used for online banking. The data is processed by Austrian Post in secured and certified data centers. Only authorized personnel have access to the data.

After an Adress Check, you can transfer the data to your database and use it indefinitely. After a Mailing Check, you will receive a file that you may use for a one-time mailing. After that, the file must be deleted by you and may not be reused.

You will receive a free, detailed analysis report. This report will tell provide you e.g., with the number of relocated or deceased persons and the number of missing door numbers and the report will provide you with even more important information about the quality of your addresses. Based on this analysis report and the corresponding offer, you can decide whether and to what extent you would like to have your data corrected.

For legal reasons, the data will be stored for three months, e.g., to be able to provide you with the data again in case the data is lost, damaged or questions arise. After that, the data is deleted and cannot be recovered, not even by us.

Personal data is obtained from partner companies. The addresses served by post are taken from the central address database of Austrian Post, which is maintained on an ongoing basis.

All services of Adress Check may be used for marketing purposes according to §151 GewO. This includes in particular:

 

- Recipient Check

- Checking & Enrichment of Household-ID

- Robinson List Check

- Door Number Enrichment

- Relocation Hit

- Mortality Hit

- Hit Unknown

 

Adress Check services that process personal data may not be used for reference purposes. The following services may also be used for reference purposes:

 

- Postal Validity Check

- Duplicate Check

As part of the Adress Check, you may integrate the corrected data into your database and use it for the purposes mentioned above.

 

With the Mailing Check, you receive an address file ready for immediate use, which you may use for a one-time mailing. Afterwards, this file must be deleted.

Returns Management

ELLA FAQ

Not all physical mailings reach your customers? Poor data quality in your database could be the reason: ambiguous addresses, missing door numbers or more than 780,000 relocations per year. With the Returns Management, we provide you with the return reasons for your undeliverable letters, Info.Mail or newspapers securely and digitally. Use this information to keep your database up-to-date and make future mailings more efficient and sustainable.
Currently, only the one-time free Returns Management for Info.Mail mailings can be used on ELLA. Are you interested in the classic Returns Management? Please contact your customer advisor or retourenerfassung@post.at.

In order to take advantage of the free Returns Management once per calendar year, you need an ELLA account as well as a deferral agreement with Österreichische Post AG.

 

Your Info.Mail qualifies for the free Returns Managment if:

 

- it is sent as part of an Info.Mail agreement, regardless of whether you have concluded such an agreement yourself or use the agreement of your consolidator

- your Info.Mail does not exceed 100,000 individual mailings

- the appropriate return label and a data matrix with your individual one-time code are printed on your mailings. You will receive the required information when you request your free Returns Management on ELLA

With the Returns Management you will receive weekly result files, which contain the following information about your returns:

 

- Which individual mailings could not be delivered?

- When did the return occur?

- Why did the return occur?

 

You have the option of supplementing your classic Returns Management with the Check Return. This not only tells you which returns were recorded and why, but will provide you with correct addresses for your returns. This service is not available as part of the free Returns Management.

Yes. The results files of your Returns Management are transferred via a secure connection (https, 256-bit encryption). The same encryption is e.g., also used for online banking. The data is processed by Austrian Post in secured and certified data centers. Only authorized personnel have access to the data.

 

Your results files are available for download for 90 days, after which they are deleted in compliance with GDPR.

No, a Check Return cannot be used as part of the free Returns Management. If you would like to have your undeliverable addresses corrected, please ask your customer advisor or contact retourenerfassung@post.at for the classic Returns Management.
Please feel free to contact us at retourenerfassung@post.at or get in touch with your customer advisor.

Business Post.Card

ELLA FAQ

Click on your initials in the upper right corner, when logged into ELLA. You will find your Business Post.Cards under "My Company". This section includes information about those products of Austrian Post for which your Business Post.Cards are valid. If you cannot access the Business Post.Cards section, you do not have the required permissions. Please contact your Admin user. You can find an overview of your Admin users here.

Yes, in the ELLA portal, you have the option of ordering new Business Post.Cards, disabling existing cards, or changing validity for specific products at any time. Click on your initials in the upper right corner, when logged into ELLA. You will find your Business Post.Cards under "My Company". If you cannot access the Business Post.Cards section, you do not have the required permissions. Please contact your Admin user. You can find an overview of your Admin users here.

Bonus

ELLA FAQ

You are able to view your Bonus-relevant revenue on ELLA if you have entered into one or more Bonus agreements. Click on "Bonus", when you're logged into ELLA. If you cannot see the main menu entry "Bonus", you do not have the required permissions. Please contact your Admin user. You can find an overview of your Admin users here.

The data displayed is for your information only, is subject to revenue or credit not yet taken into account and is not legally binding. The values that are displayed represent the current state.
If you are part of a customer group, the actual amount of Bonus scale is determined by the joint Bonus scale. On ELLA you can see your proportionate, self-generated Bonus-relevant revenue. The scale is calculated from the joint turnover of the customer group and thus the jointly achieved Bonus rate is applied. 

Depending on the Bonus model (details can be found in your contract - My Contracts), either a "from" or a "from to" scale applies.

 

The "from" scale shows the fixed Bonus percentage that you will be credited with once you have reached a specific revenue threshold.

 

The "from-to" scale lists Bonus percentages which only apply to a defined revenue range. For example, the revenue that falls within the revenue range of level 1 will be credited with the corresponding Bonus percentage for level 1. Revenue beyond the revenue range of level 1 will fall within the revenue range of level 2 and will be credited with the corresponding Bonus percentage for level 2.

All requirements, your product-specific conditions, immediate discounts due to advance payments as well as details on the payout can be found in your contracts - My Contracts

Newspaper Authorization

ELLA FAQ

To request a Newspaper Authorization, please use the corresponding online form. You will be able to access this form even if you are not a registered user of the ELLA portal. Signed in to the portal, most of your information will be pre-filled, facilitating and accelerating the Newspaper Authorization process.

Contact Form & Complaints

ELLA FAQ

If you have any questions, inquiries, or concerns, you can get in touch with us using the ELLA Contact Form. Just click on the contact icon next to your initials in the upper right-hand corner of the header.

If you have questions about the entire invoice, please click on "Submit an invoice request" in the "Invoice Details" section of a specific invoice. If you have a question about a specific item of an invoice, please click on the question mark icon in the table next to the invoice item in question.

On the Contact Form, when logged into ELLA, please choose the "Shipment Complaint" category. You can now choose between "Shipment Complaint" and "Bulk Shipment Complaint".

In the "Letter-/Advertising-/Newspaper-Mailings" category of the Contact Form, choose the option "Layoutcheck & Postage Paid Impression". Depending on the selected product, either a Layoutcheck, a Postage Paid Impression check or both are possible. Please upload a copy of your item and make sure the address field is legible.