Utility billing software makes a complicated task easier for your municipality. You need to have the tools to bill and manage both metered and unmetered services. To illustrate, utilities you might oversee include: 

  • Water 
  • Electrical 
  • Sewer usage 
  • Garbage pick-up 
  • Cable services 
  • And more 

Certainly, utility billing software simplifies this process and enables you to automate repetitive processes and issue accurate bills.  

Analyzing current statistics alongside historical data will give you valuable insights and data. Keep payment records and automate late notices and fees for overdue accounts. 

Take some time to learn about some of the most important features and functions that software can simplify. We outline some of the most important considerations municipalities use to evaluate a utility management system.   

Why Software Customization Matters 

Some software systems on the market for utility billing are more flexible than others. While you might think everything about your billing processes is fairly standard, you might be surprised at how unique your billing actually is. 

Firstly, a good software system allows you to bill based on usage or any other format that you need. et your billing practices, calculation methods and much more.  

Also consider any custom reports you need to power your municipality. Government software should allow you to set up custom, recurring reports that provide valuable insights into utility usage.  

Set warning signs of a leak or other issue. Each municipality might have different usage statistics that they consider normal. So allowing for customization in this area will be greatly beneficial to you.  

Data Usage Measurement Methods 

Some software systems only allow for one specific measurement type. While others are more flexible and let you keep your existing processes. 

In any case, an expense that some municipalities forget to factor into their budgets for billing software is new consumption measurement devices. Even once you’ve acquired the new technology, you need to incorporate the time and lost productivity it takes to train employees on the new way of collecting usage data. 

BMSI allows you to use touch, phone and radio read devices to input consumption data. So you can keep your existing processes and set up the software to meet those needs. 

business team looking at computer

What Reports Are Helpful? 

Having the option to create custom reports is great, but so is having built-in reports. BMSI provides these reports for all customers, but you can also create reports that you need and schedule them to run on your required schedule.  

  • Pre-billing report 
  • Generalized user-created notifications/forms/mailing labels 
  • Customized or standard bill forms and statements 
  • Delinquency list and form letters 
  • Aged accounts receivables 
  • Cash receipts journal 
  • Balance report 
  • Customer listing 
  • Rate table listing 

Features to Look for in Utility Billing Software 

In conclusion, as you make your list of must-have features for your government software, consider these important features that BMSI offers for all customers. 

  • Monitor and control abnormal usage 
  • Add/deduct meters, meter change and turnover activity 
  • Simplified collection and receivables processing 
  • Customer complaint tracking 
  • Scan and print bar codes 
  • Work order system 
  • Cross connect (backflow) 
  • Seamless connectivity to an accounting system 

Ready to see how BMSI utility billing software can make an impact for your municipality? Schedule a demo with one of our experts to learn more.