# Cleaning ship-to addresses before an ERP or 3PL migration

By Rotomal team · Updated 2026-11-07 · Part of [Ship-To Clean](https://rotomal.com/b2b-address-cleanup/)

**Short answer:** Export every customer and ship-to record, standardise the address fields to postal format, then deduplicate on the standardised address plus company name, keeping a map of which old IDs merge into which survivor. Verify the remaining unique US addresses with a commercial provider licensed to use USPS data, not the free USPS API, whose terms restrict it to shipping and mailing use. Send uncertain rows to a person for review, and only then load the clean file into the new system.

## The order that saves time

- Export everything, including inactive customers, so merges can see the full history.
- Move non-address content out of address lines first: attention names, phone numbers, dock hours, delivery notes.
- Standardise: suffixes (Street to St), directionals (North to N), unit designators (Suite, #, Ste), state codes and ZIP format.
- Deduplicate after standardising, on address plus company, and keep a merge map from every old ID to the surviving one.
- Verify unique US addresses with a licensed engine; deduplicating first means fewer paid lookups.
- Review what could not be verified or matched with confidence before import.

## Licensed data options

| Option | Published price | Note |
| --- | --- | --- |
| USPS APIs | Free | USPS limits them to facilitating its shipping or mailing transactions and bars creating address lists |
| Smarty | 42-day trial of 1,000 lookups; Professional from $552 a year | Terms bar bureau use without written authorisation |
| Melissa | $40 for 10,000 credits, 3 credits per US address | Pay as you go; free 1,000 credits a month after a $4.97 fee |
| Loqate | Not published on the pages we checked | Has a reseller program for partners |

Prices and terms as published on each provider's site, checked 7 November 2026. Read your provider's terms before running anyone else's data through your account.

## Checks specific to B2B

- Suite and floor numbers matter more than in consumer data: a missing suite in an office building is a failed delivery.
- Flag ship-tos that verify as residential; for a B2B account that may be an owner's home, or an error.
- Keep receiving hours and dock instructions, but in their own fields, so they reach the carrier without breaking the address.

## If you want it done for you

Ship-To Clean does this for a fixed price per file, from $39 for up to 1,000 rows, with a fixed quote before you pay, and delivers in your new system's import template.

## FAQ

### Should I delete old customers before migrating?

Archive rather than delete. Merge them into the surviving record and keep the merge map, so invoices and order history still link after the move.

### How long does it take?

For a file of a few thousand rows, the mechanical clean takes a day or two; the human review of uncertain rows is usually the longer part.

## Sources

- USPS: API terms and conditions (updated 22 January 2026) https://developers.usps.com/terms-and-conditions
- Smarty: Subscription agreement (revised 9 September 2026) https://www.smarty.com/legal/terms-of-service
- Melissa: Pricing and credit costs https://www.melissa.com/pricing
- Loqate: Reseller partner program https://www.loqate.com/en-us/partners/Reseller

[Ship-To Clean](https://rotomal.com/b2b-address-cleanup/) does this for you. Request it free, no card: https://rotomal.com/b2b-address-cleanup/request/
---
Rotomal · https://rotomal.com/b2b-address-cleanup/clean-customer-addresses-before-erp-migration/ · hello@rotomal.com