One of the time-worn traditions in Canada is the post office tango - getting gifts ready to ship to our friends and family across the country and overseas. We have all been through the packing, the packaging, and the standing in line at the post office while the person in front of you counts out exact change at a painfully slow pace, while complaining that stamps used to cost a nickel!.
Canada Post realizes that time is precious, so they’ve come up with a bunch of new web based tools that is redefining their business. And thankfully, we are the ones that benefit.
Case in point, Ship in a click. If you visit Canada Post’s web site, you will see a ton of new tools, and Ship in a click is designed for you and I, you will undoubtedly use it year round once you see how easy it is.

You can ship anywhere, you want, if you have to ship to the US or overseas the software takes you through all the paperwork that needs to be in place.

Each step of the way has good online helps screens. They help you do everything form determine the weight of your package to advice about proper packaging techniques.

One of the best features is you don’t have to sign up for any accounts. You just visit the site, and start filling out shipping information, at the end you choose your level of service, and pay by credit card. Then you print off your own mailing label.

If your package is small enough to fit into a post box you don’t even have to visit the post office to drop it off.

As far as time and stress savings Ship in a click is a home run. I personally always seem to end up in line behind the person who doesn’t know the postal code that they are shipping to, or doesn’t understand the classes of delivery service available to them. So I wait, and wait. I am not good at waiting. I get cranky, it is not good to be cranky as the holidays approach.

I am very impressed with how Canada Post has re-invented their business. There are small business solutions as well as enterprise solutions, but including the personal market is a pleasant surprise.

The Post Office has a small business offering, Venture One is designed for small businesses and has a wealth of shipping tools, that create an instant shipping department.

It is much more sophisticated than the Ship in a Click, allowing to keep customer data bases, or even integrate with desktop accounting software.

The new on-line services Canada Post is offering show that you can teach an old dog new tricks. They should go along way to keeping the post office viable in the Internet dominated future, and help individuals and small businesses along the way.