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Working with the E-POSTBUSINESS API

The E-POSTBUSINESS API from Deutsche Post enables seamless automation of letter dispatch through the Document Dispatch platform. By integrating this API, the entire process—from digital document creation to physical letter delivery—is fully automated, requiring no manual effort.

The API handles the following steps:

  • Printing – Converts digital documents into physical letters
  • Enveloping – Automatically inserts documents into envelopes
  • Franking – Prepares letters for postal dispatch

Once the letter is ready, Deutsche Post takes care of the delivery, eliminating manual intervention. This automation saves businesses time and costs while ensuring a reliable and efficient mailing solution.

Info

Before you can successfully send letters, the E-POSTBUSINESS API must be set up. You can find detailed setup instructions here.

Creating and sending a document via E-POST

Using the E-POSTBUSINESS API, users can send documents directly from Business Central as letters.

Steps to create and send a letter via the API:

  1. Navigate to a document (e.g. posted sales invoice) in Business Central.
  2. Use the Send E-Post Action in the Document Dispatch factbox.
    • Make sure that you have a dispatch profile for the table from which a document is to be sent.

  3. Add the desired documents or attachments and select your specific desired dispatch setting. These settings include:

    • Registered Letter
      • Drop-Off Registered Mail (Einwurf-Einschreiben):
        • The letter is delivered directly to the recipient's mailbox without requiring any signature.
        • This option provides basic tracking and proof of delivery, confirming that the letter has been placed in the mailbox.
        • Ideal for important but non-critical documents where a signature is not necessary, such as notifications or general correspondence.
      • Registered Mail (Einschreiben):
        • The letter is handed over personally to the recipient or an authorized person in exchange for a signature.
        • The sender receives confirmation that the letter has been delivered, but no additional proof of who exactly received it.
        • Suitable for sensitive documents where direct handover is necessary, such as contracts or legal notices.
      • Registered Mail with Return Receipt (Einschreiben mit Rückschein):
        • In addition to the recipients signature, the sender receives a written delivery confirmation (return receipt).
        • The return receipt includes the recipients name and signature, serving as legally valid proof of receipt.
        • Recommended for highly important or legally binding documents, such as termination letters, legal notices, or official communications.
      • Coverletter
        • Adds a cover page to the mailing, which can include additional information or serve as a separator between different document sections.
      • Duplex
        • Enables double-sided (duplex) printing to save paper and make the mailing more environmentally friendly.
      • Color
        • Specifies whether the document should be printed in color or black and white. This is useful for documents containing images or important color-coded information.

  4. Select the OK action.

  5. After the confirmation in the dialog, the API automatically sends the document to Deutsche Post, where it is printed and dispatched.

Info

The combination of Duplex and Registered Letter is not possible. If you select Duplex, the Registered Letter option will be disabled. This function requires an active API connection to Deutsche Post.

Sending a Document via E-POST Abroad

The E-POSTBUSINESS API also supports international document shipping. To send a document abroad, the necessary configurations must first be completed.

Steps for International Shipping:

  1. Navigate to your recipient, for example a customer, designated for this setup.
  2. Select the recipient and open the recipients card.
  3. Set the country/region code of the recipient to ensure proper addressing for the dispatch.
  4. From the dropdown menu of the country/region code field, navigate to the complete country/region list.
    • If the country/region name is present in German in the full country/region list, but the selected environment language of Business Central is not German, proceed to the next step.
    • Otherwise, if both the name and environment are in German, simply verify the country name and if it matches with ISO 3166‑1, adjust it if necessary.
  5. If the environment language is not German, the German translations for the country/region names must be entered manually in accordance with Deutsche Post’s requirements.
    • These can be added via the Translations action on the same page.
    • The country name translations for language code DEU must comply with ISO 3166‑1 standards and be entered in the Name field to ensure proper dispatch.
  6. Once the translation is completed and the international address is configured, you can send the document as usual via the Send E-Post action in the Document Central FactBox.

Info

To perform a self-check of the setup, you can use the Send E-Post Dialog action in the Document Central FactBox. If the configuration is correct, the dialog will open and display the country name in uppercase in the Country field. Otherwise, if there is a misconfiguration regarding the international shipping setup, the dialog will not open and will throw an error.

If the shipment is carried out without specifying a country code (i.e., left literally empty), Deutsche Post treats it as domestic shipping. Therefore, it is necessary to complete the country code configuration before shipping abroad.

Display of the dispatch status in Business Central

All dispatches, including E-Post shipments, are listed and recorded in the Document Dispatch - Queue. Within this queue, there is a specific action for E-Post entries called "E-Post Information".

By selecting this action, a page opens displaying the following information:

General Information

  • Entry Number
  • Source Document
  • Test Mode Indicator
  • Date of Last Status Update

Letter Information

  • Letter ID
  • Selected Dispatch Options

Recipient Information

  • Recipient Name
  • Recipient Address

Status Tracking

A ListPart records all queried statuses, each associated with a Status ID and Status Code.

Status IDs and Explanations:

1 - Acceptance of Shipment - The shipment was successfully transmitted, and no schema or content violations were detected in the JSON. - Status Placement: Upon successful upload of the shipment.

2 - Processing of Shipment - The PDF has been checked for E-Post compliance and is approved for printing. - Note: Despite thorough checks, technical errors in the PDF may lead to processing failures at the print center, resulting in Status 99. - Status Placement: A few minutes after shipment acceptance.

3 - Submission to Print Center - The shipment has been transferred to the print center for production. - Note: If technical errors cause a processing failure, Status 99 will be issued instead of Status 4. - Status Placement: Within hours after processing.

4 - Processing in Print Center - The shipment has been marked as "sent" by the print center. - Status Placement: 1-2 business days after submission to the print center.

99 - Processing Error - See error list for details.

Queue Entry Status

The status of a queue entry is updated according to the process steps. Once the status "4" (Processing in Print Center) is reached, the entry is marked as "sent".

After a successful E-Post dispatch, the queue entry is assigned the status "Shipment Started". This status indicates the initialization of the shipping process. It will be automatically updated with all subsequent E-Post process statuses, provided that the job queue "Document Dispatch Automatic E-Post Letter Status Update" is running.

Status Codes and Explanations:

Errors: Require action, processing aborted

  • E001 - Invalid credentials – Check login details
  • E002 - Invalid credentials – VendorSubID incorrect
  • E003 - Too many SMS requests – Blocked for 15 minutes
  • E004 - EKP blocked by Deutsche Post
  • E101 - Invalid token – Expired
  • E201 - Invalid status query – No shipment found
  • E203 - Address metadata deviation detected
  • E301 - No PDF format recognized
  • E302 - Violation of DVF restricted area
  • E303 - Maximum file size of 20 MB exceeded
  • E304 - Maximum page count of 94 exceeded
  • E305 - Invalid country code
  • E306 - Invalid recipient address format
  • E307 - First page in landscape format
  • E308 - Non-DIN A4 format detected
  • E309 - Duplicate filename detected
  • E311 - Invalid combination: Registered Letter and international shipping
  • E312 - Invalid combination: Duplex + Registered Letter
  • E313 - Letter schema violation
  • E314 - Cover page file size exceeds 1 MB
  • E315 - Processing error in shipment
  • E316 - Upload error
  • E317 - Invalid registered letter format
  • E318 - Rejection at print center
  • E319 - EKP not approved for print center – Live dispatch not possible
  • E320 - Maximum number of test shipments per day reached
  • E322 - Status request frequency too high – Minimum 5 seconds between requests
  • E323 - No content detected in recipient area (blank page)
  • E333 - Sender address not present on document.
  • E399 - General error
  • E501 - API status: Inactive
  • E601 - Plugin error
  • E900 - Unspecified error

Warnings: May require action, but processing continues

  • W101 - PDF/A conversion warnings
  • W201 - Address area exceeded
  • W202 - Left restricted area exceeded (will be whitened)
  • W203 - Address metadata deviations
  • W220 - As of 01.10.2022, return receipt address details are automatically extracted from the letter’s visible sender area
  • W301 - Sender address missing (from 01.07.2025, the absence of a sender address on submitted documents will be considered an error (“E333”)).
  • W501 - API status: Maintenance notice
  • W601 - Plugin warning

Informational Messages: No action required

  • I101 - Additional option: PDF to PDF/A conversion
  • I501 - API status: OK
  • I601 - Plugin info
  • I701 - Track and trace status update
  • I751 - Status message for destination region

E-Post API Health Check

Document Dispatch provides an integrated way to monitor the status of your E‑POSTBUSINESS API connection.

Follow the steps below to check the EPOST Business API Status:

  1. We start in the Document Dispatch - Administrator role.
  2. Open Module Setup from the Setup menu in the ribbon bar.
  3. Click E-Post in the Document Dispatch Module Setup menu.
  4. Execute the E-Post API Health Check action.

You will receive information directly from the Deutsche Post E‑POSTBUSINESS API.

Queue Log for E-Post Entries

The Document Dispatch - Queue Log track events related to every type of dispatch, but for E-Post entries the log provides a detailed history of dispatch actions and include entries such as:

  • When an E-Post letter was successfully sent.
  • If a letter was sent in test mode.
  • Any system errors or failures that occurred during the dispatch process.

Users can review queue logs within the Document Dispatch - Queue with the Action View Log, allowing them to monitor dispatch activities and diagnose potential issues.

E-Post Log

The E-Post Log provides a detailed audit of system actions related to E-Post, including:

  • Login Attempts: Successful and failed authentication attempts.
  • Password Changes: Records when a password was changed for the E-POSTBUSINESS API user.
  • SMS Code Request Attempts: When a new SMS code was successful and failed requested for authentication.

The E-Post Log enables administrators to track changes and ensure the security of the E-POSTBUSINESS API.

Working with the Automatic Address Setter

The Automatic Address Setter helps ensure that recipient addresses are positioned correctly for E-Post letter dispatch.

Steps to Use the Automatic Address Setter:

  1. Move to for example a posted sales invoice in Business Central.
  2. Choose a record and select the Send E-Post action in the Document Dispatch factbox.
  3. Ensure that an address overlay configuration has been set up and activated (configured in Dispatch Profile Attachment for a Report, which if it should be used correctly and as interpret, the first Attachment in the listpart. Also the Overlay should be set up for the report layout, which is in use right now).
  4. When generating a e.g. invoice for a dispatch through E-Post, the system will automatically apply the preset address overlay.
  5. Review the document preview in the dialog to verify that the address overlay was correctly applied.
    • The automatically added address will not be displayed in the preview. It gets applied after getting send towards the E-POSTBUSINESS API.
  6. Proceed with sending the document through confirming the dialog with the Ok action.

By utilizing the automatic address setter, users can ensure compliance with Deutsche Post's format requirements, reducing errors and optimizing dispatch efficiency.

See also