# Start here: Author

Draft approved parcel inputs, presets and decision rules with meaningful independent cases.

Source: https://help.smartfact.ai/manuals/parceloffice/author

Review edition: 25 October 2026

Roles: author

You prepare parcel/service configuration and decision rules. Saving a draft or obtaining a successful proposal does not make it live. Reviewer owns the applicable approval and activation steps.

## Start with approved business inputs

Agree the actual carrier account, service, lane, parcel measurements/mapping and document output. In **Presets → Approved service and parcel inputs**, supply the complete supported configuration and choose **Submit inputs for review**.

A different Reviewer must check these inputs before Automation can use them. A carrier's maximum size is a service limit, not a measurement of the parcel in front of the operator.

## Draft the right configuration

- **Presets:** approved parcel and service choices used at a station.
- **Guided:** named groups of presets offered for an order.
- **Assisted rules:** rules that select a recommendation or hold a despatch.

Use the native structured JSON field shown by each editor or the connected Automation controls when available. Do not invent extra keys or treat a paragraph as a valid replacement for the required structure.

## Define expectations before verifying

Use fictional supported order inputs. State expected eligibility for each preset, offered profiles for Guided, or the selection/hold result for Assisted. Include missing data, ineligible services, overlapping rules and a meaningful boundary.

Save the draft, inspect validation issues and choose **Verify and create a candidate**. Check the complete proof against those independent expectations.

## Hand over the exact candidate

Give the Reviewer the requirement, saved revision, cases and candidate. Input approval and release activation have different independence rules. A self-approval reason offered for a native candidate does not permit the Author to approve their own service/parcel input set.

Read [presets and inputs](/manuals/parceloffice/presets-and-inputs) and [rule review](/manuals/parceloffice/rule-review).

## Stay within your role

Author does not book station work or investigate production shipments without the relevant additional role. Ask the Supervisor for a permitted case and the Owner for source/account/printer setup changes. Keep customer records and carrier credentials out of public examples.