To keep up with the evolution of mailing, Bend Mailing Services is going global with online billing.

“It used to be the Pony Express, then it went to trains,” said Sam Di Spaltro, co-owner of the family-owned mailing business. “Now it’s going from the post office to online.”

In 1997, Bend Mailing Services was a small company whose business was centered around sending out bulk mail. When Sam Di Spaltro’s son, Nick Di Spaltro, joined the team five years later, he developed software enabling the company to perform paper billing services across the nation. Now, the company, located on Southeast Paiute Way, is taking its services a step further, using online billing technology to reach an overseas marketplace.

“A lot of what we do is from a standpoint of quantities,” Nick Di Spaltro said. “If you’re in an area and you’ve already gotten most of the people, you’ve got to branch out.”

Nick, 31, said the company went to online billing two years ago, which has allowed the company to expand internationally with only minor adjustments.

“The only real big difference was currency,” he said. “The core system is the same for both local and international.”

Along with system modifications, Nick and Web developer Nickolas Meyers worked on developing online billing sites for companies.

He said the company’s first international customer out of the United Kingdom went live two months ago, but he added that the process to develop product had been under way for about a year.

Sam Di Spaltro, 64, said Bend Mailing is working with several companies in the United Kingdom, including a recycling and waste company called Veolia Environmental Services, and one company in Ireland. He said he has already been in contact with other countries in Europe that are interested in Bend Mailing’s services.

“Eighty percent of the company is paper and the other 20 percent is online, but we’re growing,” Sam said.

Nick estimates that 50,000 online users are registered and 20,000 online payments are received each month.

In addition to gaining clientele, Sam said the online option has saved Bend Mailing Services and its clients money.

He said the paperless online option eliminates postage, envelope and printing costs. Payments are also received faster, which means their clients get paid faster, he noted.

Even in a down economy, Sam said, his business has been able to grow. Businesses still need to send out their bills, he said.

Bend Mailing has gone from sending out 24,000 statements a month in 2003 to now approximately 700,000 a month. Sam is hopeful that overseas clients and the online billing option will help the company reach 1 million statements a month in the near future.