Tuesday, September 1, 2015

Functions Of Utility Billing Systems In A Company

By Nancy Gardner


Utilities have basically the same aims which are to provide energy and water to their customers in a safe manner. In the process, such function revenue stream must be safeguarded and the customer satisfaction put first. Utility billing systems has increased customer satisfaction and also improved client management.

Manual gauge reading has been widely used but is being replaced by automated meter readers. The personnel employed by these service companies are exposed to risks where the meters are in dangerous locations. Moreover, not all meters are located in areas where they are readily accessible. The meter readers in some instances have to deal with hostile owners and restricted access of other areas. This makes the process of meter reading lengthy such that the bills are not mailed to the customers in time. It also results to increased costs.

Manual meter reading has been used for a long time in most countries. However, there are cases especially in the rural areas where it may be very difficult to access the meter in order to read. This makes manual meter reading time consuming.

service billing technology has various functions which include collecting data on usage of these services and products and based on this data prepare utility bills. For every individual customer, data must be gathered and translated into an amount that is then billed to their esteemed customers. This is a very time consuming process but the iteration enables this process to be automated. The utility can invest in automatic meter reading systems which quicken the process of data collection and avoid the costs which would have rather been incurred if employees were sent to read the meters.

The justification for the automatic meter reading systems are that some meters are located in hazardous areas which pose a risk to the workers of this service company who are sent to read them. Some meters are also located in areas which are hard to access such as behind locked gates or harsh terrain, this makes manual gauge reading time consuming and costly to this service firm. Inaccurate meter readers also cause disputes with customers which cost time and money to resolve.

Automated billing software specifically tailored for the function is a move towards improving the overall operations. To determine the potential benefits of automated billing software there needs to be a deep understanding of the operating characteristics of the utility. The utility provider should identify aspects of automation that will benefit them.

Collection of revenues and customer payments can be managed by a strong service billing software. After the invoices and bills have been delivered to their clients, the software will offer several options for managing how the user will pay for the services rendered. Utility invoicing software will track all customers with outstanding debts and automatically charge them the penalties for late payments and even print out emails issuing notices to them.

Each time there is a decrease in customer satisfaction, there is an increase in complaints by the customers. If the service has not embraced automated indicator reading and thus provides estimated costs the customers complain even more because they distrust the readings. The service should determine the type of customer calls it could avoid by automating the system.

Customers with multiple locations are also well catered for in this system. The software will enable the utility to setup the multiple locations of this customer as belonging to a single user. Therefore, the customer will receive a summary invoice for all the accounts.




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