FAQ - Frequently Asked Questions

Free Statement of Accuracy
Data Quality Question
How much is it to get my data cleaned?
How do I go about getting my data cleaned?
How does the Web Portal work?

AddressWorks provides its Statement of Accuracy (SOA) software free of charge to help businesses monitor their address quality on the understanding that is used for customer’s own purposes and not for commercial resale or benefit.

To begin, go to the AddressWorks download page and follow the guided process.

How do I run AddressWorks after I have downloaded it?

Double-Click on the AddressWorks icon or choose AddressWorks from your Start menu programs list

1. Go to the Input box and either type the file name you want to use OR Use the ‘Browse’ button to find the file. In the details box it should show the number or records and fields of the database being used. If the application “hangs” you are using an incorrect file format.
2. Click the ‘Run’ button to process the file.
3. If you are happy with this result click the ‘Save’ button to save the SOA. The default name for this file is the unique SOA reference number assigned by the program.
4. Click the ‘Print’ button if you want a printed copy of the SOA. An SOA is valid for a period of 12 months
5. Click the ‘Start again’ button to select a new file to test.
6.You can rerun a file as many times as you wish by clicking the 'Run' button.
Each rerun will get a new unique reference number. You may save each result or rerun without saving.

What is the input file specification required for AddressWorks?

The input file for must be a tab-delimited text file (txt or csv) which contains the following fields in this order. The file must begin with a header line listing the field names. You do not need to have or assign customer numbers, but you must have a field for them.
Input Fields:
Customer Number
Address Line 1
Address Line 2
Address Line 3
Address Line 4
Address Line 5
Address Line 6

The format of this file is set by NZ Post and cannot be changed. An ongoing record of every processing run is maintained in a production log. This log file must be retained in case NZ Post needs to examine the processing details of a Statement of Accuracy.

Why have I got such a low SOA percentage? Is something wrong?

Yes, if you have achieved a low result then you may want to check these common issues.

You do not have a header line in your address file.
No or old postcodes in your data
"Corner of" addresses – addresses must have street numbers
Street number range in address - addresses must have a single street number
"Care of" addresses must be written as c/-
Street addresses with the wrong street type - should be Avenue but listed as Street PO Box and Private Bags with missing or incorrect Lobby Names and/or Cities
PO Box and Private Bags with spaces or dashes in the number
City addresses with missing or incorrect Suburb and/or City name
Rural addresses with missing or incorrect City name
Rural addresses with just a RD number, State Highway or farm name - rural addresses must have street numbers and street names

Data Quality questions | Back to top

1. What benefits will we get from these changes NZ Post are making

There are numerous benefits resulting from accurate addressing, including:
• Reduced ambiguity in postal addresses
• Reduced return to sender incidents
• More effective direct marketing and prospect selection
• Lower operating costs for data acquisition and management

Perhaps more importantly, NZ Post is changing the way bulk mail discounts are applied after July 1, 2008 and to achieve the full discount a level of 85% addressing accuracy is required.

An approximate cost benefit calculation for the bulk mail savings can be seen on our website.

2. What does it cost to get my data cleaned?

An immediate cost estimate can be obtained from any page on the website. By entering the number of records in your database, it will show the costs of cleaning through both the bureau and web portal services

3. How do I go about getting my data cleaned?

There are a two ways in which AddressWorks can assist with both services appending a Free Statement of Accuracy.

A cleaning process checks a file for errors and missing information. It corrects things like miss-spellings and poor formatting, introduce the right suburb/city relationships and append the correct postcode. 

Bureau Service - Data can be sent for cleaning via email or on disk and this type of service enables a greater degree of customisation and flexibility on file types/formats and reporting requirements. It also manages irregularities such as non-address elements (C/o’s, attn’s, etc) in the address fields better as an addressing expect will check over the file making any tweaks to get a better result.  Prepayment is required on cleaning jobs under 30,000 records.

If you would like to proceed with Bureau cleaning service click here


Web Portal - This is a fully automated, self-service process and enables organisations which are comfortable formatting their data correctly and have good address content. It requires a registration process and typically returns a file within 24 hours, subject to time of payment.

The Web Portal is easy to use through the following easy steps:

1) Cost Estimate
From the main AddressWorks home page you can obtain a cost estimate for the cleaning and certifying of your database. Just enter your customer code (if you don't have one ADW will be the default code). If you are happy with this cost then you will need to register and logon to the portal itself.

2) Registration & Login
Successfully entering your name and contact details will immediately generate an e-mail to you with confirmation of your password. Once you have your password you log on to the web portal and update your profile details at any time through the Update Profile link

3) Job Request
To upload a data extract file, login to the portal and click on the Job Request icon on the left-hand side of the page. Here you are asked to enter the number of file records and customer code. You will then be provided with a cost estimate. The input file must be tab, comma, or pipe-delimited text or csv file that contains the same fields as that for a SOA above. If you want to continue, click the Request Job button.

You will be asked to Browse for your data file and then click Upload. You will receive a confirmation e-mail along with an invoice for payment. Job will commence once payment has been received

4) Down Load File
You will receive e-mail advising that your job is ready for download together with your Free Statement of Accuracy. Under the Job Summary Tab, you then click on the Job Finished button and this will show your file ready for download. Click the download link to receive your file, which you can then use to update your database.

5) Check Status
You can check the status of any job at any time.

6) Job maintenance
Once you have cleaned your cleaned records, you should use Job Maintenance to remove your file.

If you would like to enter the web portal click here.

5. Cleaned File Output

A cleaned file would be returned the same as the original file, except that it has following extra columns appended to the right:

Status: Each record is classified into one of three category types and indicates if the address was either:

- Valid - this would be where a record got an exact match to the NZ Post PAF file.
- Invalid - a record that didn't get a PAF match, however was able to be improved
  upon and would get a match to Postcode level
- Unmatched - still possibly a deliverable address, however not enough recognisable
  data to either confidently be improved upon or cleaned and matched to PAF

Out_Add1, Etc refer to the cleaned version of the addresses that were cleaned.

In some instances where we were able to improve an invalid record, this has also been appended to the right.

Recipient/Unrecognised_Info_in_Address. This contains C/o or other elements that should not be part of an address, or do not exist in NZ Post database.

Further information on New Zealand’s addressing format and envelope layout standards can be found on the NZ Post website.

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