Like any business, a utility has two essential goals—to produce and provide safe and reliable service while bringing in a steady revenue stream.
Although this may sound simple, it is more difficult than one might think. Inaccurate meter usage readings, late payments, and billing errors can easily lead to lost revenue or dissatisfied customers.
The meter-to-cash process is a daily process carried out by utilities to measure user consumption, generate and distribute accurate bills, collect monthly customer payments, and achieve reliable revenue recognition.
Revenue generation and growth are top goals for water and energy utilities, but they are unlikely to be achieved without integrating innovative technology into processes, such as smart water meters or a customer information system (CIS). Water and energy providers across the country are experiencing massive infrastructure overhauls to accommodate newly developing technology, and those that refuse to adapt to the ever-changing needs of modern customers and communities will eventually become obsolete.
Growth and development of utility technology like smart metering and customer information systems (CIS) have provided new, efficient ways to handle processes and pain points. Billing issues and questions are the top reasons customers contact their utility service providers. When problems arise, response time matters, so customer support specialists must have quick access to user data when answering time-sensitive billing questions. An effective meter-to-cash solution not only helps customers better understand their bills, but also makes them more likely to submit payments on time.
Bill generation through the meter-to-cash process should possess the following qualities:
An effective meter-to-cash process must be configured according to flow demand and the size of areas served. The accompanying CIS is a crucial aspect of an effective meter-to-cash process, so it must be convenient, easy to learn, and accessible to customers, with the ability to handle complex rate structures and payment programs.
Some utilities are still using meter-to-cash processes that aren’t automated. A lack of automation can waste valuable time and resources, lead to easily preventable errors, and drain revenue from utilities.
Modern CIS billing solutions should be able to:
An effective meter-to-cash process allows utilities to accurately measure user consumption, generate and distribute bills, collect timely customer payments, and achieve reliable revenue recognition. With many different components, a meter-to-cash process relies heavily on the integration of modern CIS billing systems and strong customer support.
To learn more about how an effective meter-to-cash process can benefit water utilities, watch our webinar here: VertexOne ACE21 Virtual Session: Optimizing the Meter-to-Cash Process.