 |
Calculate Bills (Run an Update) |
|
Calculate just one Bill or a group of Bills. |
|
Mid-Cycle or other special Billing (for example, late charges only) |
|
Cancel a Billing (either individually or for a group or for all accounts) |
|
End a billing period. |
| BillMaster can handle any combination of billing periods (for example, monthly, semi-monthly, quarterly, semi-annual, annual). Individual groups of accounts, called Billing Groups, can use different billing periods. All ages are calculated on the fly, and may even be manipulated on-screen temporarily. (link to financial inquiry display) |
Processes - The real power of BillMaster.
Once you grasp the incredible flexibility and functionality available with Processes, you can do almost anything. Every process is logged for audit trail and operational purposes. See the Security section for more details. |
Calculation & Rates |
 |
Completely Customizable Calculations
|
Billing is seldom a completely straightforward process – and BillMaster contains the flexibility and adaptability to function perfectly in even the most complex billing scenarios |
|
Cash or Accrual Basis accounting may be mixed for different charges. |
|
Billing in Advance or in Arrears may be mixed for different charges. |
|
Using a feature called Basis Types, charges may be used as the “basis” for other charges. For example, one group of charges may be used as the basis for one tax calculation, while the same or a different group of charges may be used as the basis for another tax. Or, some late charges may be based on one set of charges, while other late charges may be based on a different set of charges. |
|
The consumption on one charge calculation may be used as the basis or as a factor in the calculation of another charge. For example, Demand (kW) charges commonly use the kWh consumption as a basis or factor in their calculation, or vice-versa. |
|
Late and other charges may have minimum or maximum amounts, or may use the lesser or greater of fixed or percentage calculations. |
|
Liens and Loans |
|
Interest on descending balance charges. (pay plans or tap fees) |
|
Seasonal or bill only on usage. (for snow-birds) |
|
Numerous pro-ration options for new accounts, final accounts or other criteria. |
|
Numerous rounding options at the consumption, calculation, rate and rate level. |
|
Rates can change one or multiple times mid-cycle, and be pro-rated accordingly, with all consumption analysis done. This is also useful when rates change at different seasons. (summer / winter) |
|
Calculations can be made based on conservation. For example, the rate may change levels uniquely for each customer based on their annual use versus annual allocation, or other customers’ use. |
|
Zero amount transactions permitted. |
|
Budget billing and true-up. |
|
Individual taxes may be calculated at the time of transaction entry, or calculated as part of the normal billing process. |
|
Highly customizable stepped or continuous pro-ration (for example, if the customer is there 0-10 days, bill 1/3, 11-20 bill 2/3, etc.) by charge calculation. |
|
The number of rates or versions of rates (when they change) is unlimited. |
|
Rounding techniques for any calculation or consumption are easily definable |
|
Portray complex rates / calculations on bills using advanced print layout / formatting tied to each charge calculation. |
|
Every calculation for every customer may be overridden with custom rates, factors, and charges. |
|
Calculations can easily handle special cases, such as Senior Citizen credits, charges that are partially taxable, other discounts, solar energy credits, or sewer based on water consumption over various periods. |
Data Import/Export & Integration |
|
Fast, Flexible Data Import/Export & Integration
|
Data Inegration is a completely straightforward process – and BillMaster contains the flexibility and adaptability to function perfectly in even the most complex migration scenario. |
|
General Ledger export / interface to accounting systems via standard Processes. |
|
Numerous other import and export capabilities mentioned elsewhere in this document, such as AMR, Lock-Box, ACH, Service Orders. |
|
Integration with remote devices for automatic service order update and generation. |
|
Integration with Bill and Form outsourcing, E-Bill / E-Pay, Credit Card processors. |
|
In addition to being able to export or query data from BillMaster, there is an entire module devoted to importing accounts. Many of our customers who bill for apartment complexes or subdivisions use the Account Import Module to import one or a thousand accounts at a time, using a spreadsheet as the source. We also use this module for data conversions, since it simplifies the process enormously. |
|
If you ever want to set up a separate test, rate study, or training database for ANY desired group of customers, you can simply ‘clone’ your database. We also use this feature to copy your parameters and selected data over our remote support link so that we can work on your database here. We can then turn around and ‘clone’ selected pieces back into your database. This is reliable and very useful when, for example, major General Ledger or other regulatory parameter changes need to be made while you continue to use your system. |
