Frequently asked questions

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Getting started

How do I start using the service?

First you'll need to create an account on the sign-up page. Once you've done this you'll be able to create keys to use and integrate the service. We'll set you up with some free credit so you can start straight away.

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What's included in the free trial?

When you create an account you'll get free credit that lasts for up to 30 days. This gives you full access to the AddressNow Capture service. In addition, the AddressNow Cleanse service provides you with a free data cleansing audit.

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I've forgotten my password, can I reset it?

If you've forgotten your login details simply click the "Forgot your password?" link on the login page. This will take you to a screen where you enter your email address and a password reminder will be automatically emailed to you.

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Billing & licensing

How can I pay?

You can pay by debit/credit card, or on account. Capture credit or Cleanse jobs will be added to your account once payment has been received.

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How do I ensure my account doesn't run out of credit?

You can review your credit balance at any time by logging into your account. Your credit balance is displayed in the 'Balance' section under the 'Remaining Balance' heading. However, we'll also send you emails when you have 25%, 10% and 5% of your plan remaining (unless you've selected the auto top-up option). So, you'll always know when your account is running low. You can also set your account to automatically top-up so you'll never need to worry about your account balance running low.

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Do I need to buy a licence for each employee who uses the service?

No you don't. AddressNow Capture generally works on a pay-per-click basis, so you buy credit that's shared by everyone who needs it. Alternatively, if you would prefer user licences, then we would be happy to advise you of the most cost effective option for your business. Please contact our sales team on 0345 6000 098.

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AddressNow Capture

What is a key?

A key is a string of letters and numbers in the form AA11-AA11-AA11-AA11 that AddressNow Capture requires to authenticate to the service. Keys are unique to an account and have various security options available to each. When you first set up Capture you create a key that will appear in the code you need to place in your website or application. During the setup it's useful to give your key a name that tells you where it's being used so you can easily find it again later.

You don't need to pay to add keys to your account, but for them to work you will need to have available credit on your account. You can buy credit at any time.

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Why would I need more than one key?

Each key has its own settings and security features. If you have various forms in which you're installing Capture, you might want to create new Capture keys for each to restrict the number of look-ups available, or restrict the URLs on which the keys can be used to stop people from being able to use your account.

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What datasets do you use?

AddressNow Capture uses the Royal Mail Postcode Address File (PAF®), as well as the Alias™ and Multiple Residence™ datasets as standard. The Not Yet Built™ dataset can also be added if required. Please contact our sales team on 0345 6000 098 if you need more information.

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How often is the data updated?

We take and apply daily updates to ensure the information you receive is as accurate as it is possible to be. There are more than 3,000 updates and changes to our address data every day!

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Why do I need address lookups?

Using an address lookup service like AddressNow Capture provides you with two main benefits, speed and accuracy. The customer experience will be better because less time is spent typing in addresses manually, and the accuracy of your database will be improved because you’ll be getting a correctly formatted postal address.

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AddressNow Data

What data can I buy?

You can currently buy data from any combination of the following datasets - PAF®, Alias™, Multiple Residence™, Not Yet Built™, National Change of Address, and CodePoint Open.

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How often is my data updated?

The data is updated and rebuilt each day, so you always have the most up-to-date copy of your data available. Updates are available on a daily, monthly or quarterly basis depending on your commercial arrangements.

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How can I use the data?

You can use the data within whatever licensing terms have been agreed during the purchase process. Using the data for anything outside of the agreed usage would require re-negotiation with our sales team.

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Technical & security

How do I control which fields the search is triggered from?

During the mapping stage of the setup you can select the form fields to which you'd like to map the address data returned from AddressNow Capture. As part of this process, you'll see an options button on the right hand side of each field, which allows you to select whether this field should be a search field or not.

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My key is visible in the source of my page, is it safe?

There are several security settings that you can take advantage of to ensure malicious users would not be able to take your installation and use it on their own site. Our valid URL setting allows you to limit requests to only be accepted when they are coming from our website domain and our IP limiter allows you to limit the total number of requests any individual IP address can perform in a day.

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How can I edit my key settings?

Under the 'Your Keys' section of the account dashboard you will see a list of all the keys currently on your account. Clicking any of these will take you through to the settings for that key.

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How do I prevent all of my credit being used up in one day?

Each key has a daily spend limit setting. This allows you to specify a total spend per key per day. For example, if you know your website is only ever going to do enough lookups to spend £1 from your account in a single day, you could apply a daily limit to prevent spending more than £1.50 against any given key. This protects your credit against fraudulent or accidental bursts in lookups.

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How do I know when something has gone wrong?

If there are any errors on your account you will be notified via email to the nominated email address. This will detail the error that has occurred, as well as typical actions you may want to take to resolve the issue. You can also call our support team on 08000 662 160 if you'd like to discuss further.

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