CIS/Utility Billing
RosTech’s Utility Management Billing System (UMBS) is a purpose-built solution for the energy and water utility sector within the United States. UMBS introduces a new era in utility management by incorporating automated workflows and user-friendly functionalities, enhancing operational efficiency, and reducing costs for clients. This system is adept at minimizing errors, streamlining service expenses, and optimizing resource distribution.
Through UMBS, clients benefit from heightened customer satisfaction through its advanced omni-channel tools. These tools facilitate seamless interactions between utility companies and customers across diverse platforms, fostering robust relationships and elevating satisfaction levels.
UMBS is meticulously engineered for tomorrow, offering scalability to utility enterprises and the capacity to embrace forthcoming industry shifts. It equips organizations to manage expanding data volumes, adhere to evolving regulations, and capitalize on industry innovations. The UMBS solution affords utility users ample functionality that enables them to manage their day-to-day activities in a customer service focused business environment with modern and easy to use software capabilities.
Why Choose UMBS?
The UMBS application is designed with key principles:
- Flexibility: Customizable billing frequencies, rate structures, and more without custom coding.
- Intuitiveness: Facilitates quick establishment of new locations.
- Web-based: Accessible securely from any device via web browser.
- Scalable: Suits various entities from small authorities to large firms.
- User Supportive: Includes data mining capabilities and relieves IT department.
- Traceability: Tracks modifications to critical data elements.
- Auditability: Records transactions impacting customer accounts.
- Relational Database: Allows for data model modifications.
UMBS Modules:
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Billing and customer engagement
The primary Customer Service Representative (CSR) dashboard offers users a comprehensive array of tools to streamline customer service management. These tools encompass tasks such as account openings and closures, final bill issuance, charge adjustments, service order updates, customer statement generation, and more. User permissions determine the extent to which customer information and services can be modified, with closed account data securely maintained. Additionally, the system facilitates call logging with timestamps for efficient tracking.
Our intuitive and all-encompassing Customer Self-Service platform empowers your customers to oversee their account effortlessly from any location and at any time. By utilizing our portal, your customers can efficiently manage their utility services with just a few clicks, ensuring unparalleled convenience and effectiveness.
Moreover, our billing and customer engagement administration portals offer a personalized experience, allowing you to customize preferences and settings according to your business requirements. Whether you aim to reach more customers, update contact information, or seek assistance from our team, our portal serves as the ideal solution for all your utility management requirements. Embrace the simplicity and adaptability of account management through our billing and customer engagement solutions today. -
Meter inventory management
Meter inventory management is a crucial aspect for utilities to efficiently monitor and control their resources. It involves the systematic tracking and maintenance of meters used to measure consumption of water, wastewater, electric, gas, or other utilities. By implementing a robust inventory management system, utilities can ensure accurate billing, timely maintenance, and effective resource allocation.
UMBS loads billing data, conducting error checks and integrating field notes. It verifies usage by comparing the most recent reading with the previous reading in the UMBS service record. Additionally, the system is programmed to identify both high and low readings. Users have access to an online read history, which includes information on meter replacements and total consumption. Meters are linked to other services based on water usage. The meter inventory system monitors the primary meter along with all associated devices and equipment. Meters can be created or imported from Excel files. In UMBS, inactive meter records can be assigned to warehouse or alternative storage locations for monitoring and reporting purposes.
With UMBS, utilities can enhance efficiency, accuracy, and customer satisfaction while maximizing resource utilization and minimizing operational disruptions. -
Automated workflows
UMBS sets itself apart by revolutionizing utility management processes through its sophisticated automated workflows and useful wizards. By automating and streamlining routine tasks, UMBS significantly enhances operational efficiency, driving remarkable cost reductions for our valued clients. By eliminating manual labor and minimizing errors, utility companies employing UMBS experience a notable decrease in the cost to serve, allowing them to allocate resources optimally and redirect funds towards strategic initiatives or improving overall customer experiences.
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Flexible configuration
When it comes to utility billing software, having a flexible configuration is key to meeting the diverse needs of different businesses and organizations. A robust utility billing software should offer the ability to customize settings and parameters to align with specific requirements. This flexibility allows users to tailor the software to their unique billing processes, ensuring efficiency and accuracy in managing utility services.
One aspect of flexible configuration in our UMBS solution is the ability to adjust billing cycles and frequencies. Utilities are able to set up various billing cycles, such as monthly, quarterly, or annually, depending on the billing needs of their bylaws. Additionally, the software allows for the customization of billing rates, taxes, and fees to accurately reflect the costs associated with different utility services.
UMBS also offers configurable reporting features. Users have the flexibility to create custom reports based on specific criteria, such as customer usage data, billing history, or revenue analysis. This customization empowers users to generate insightful reports that help them make informed decisions and optimize their utility billing processes. -
Service order automation
UMBS service orders can either be manually input to designate the type, service technician, and appointment date or automatically assigned and scheduled based on predefined queues within the system. Billing personnel, with the necessary permissions, can generate service orders for re-reads through the billing grid, utilizing user-defined parameters for high or low usage scenarios. Authorized users can also manually create service orders for various tasks such as re-reading meters, finalizing accounts, or servicing meters. The system allows for the customization of service order types, with limitless options available.
Moreover, when setting up a service order type, utilities have the option to include triggers for automatic fee charges upon order completion, such as after-hours fees, turn-off for non-payment, or instances of meter tampering. Service orders can be configured to necessitate managerial review and can be automatically placed into service order queues. These queues sort service orders based on specific criteria and rules, ensuring efficient assignment, including directing all types of service orders to designated technicians.
Service orders can be conveniently displayed in a grid format or a calendar schedule, and customers' individual service orders are accessible on their respective account pages. The system supports recurring service order scheduling for added convenience.
All service order activities are subject to UMBS role-based security protocols, ensuring data integrity and confidentiality. Additionally, certain service order types can be set to mandate managerial approval for further quality control. -
Backflow management
Backflow management software is a vital tool that helps water and wastewater utilities to monitor, track, and manage backflow prevention devices efficiently. Our software plays a crucial role in ensuring the safety and quality of drinking water by preventing the contamination of the water supply. By using UMBS, utilities can maintain compliance with regulations, minimize risks, and streamline their operations.
One of the key features of backflow management software is its ability to maintain a database of backflow prevention devices, including their locations, types, and inspection history. This allows utilities to easily track the status of each device and schedule regular inspections to ensure they are functioning correctly. Additionally, the software can generate reports and alerts to notify utilities of any issues or upcoming maintenance tasks, helping them stay proactive in managing their backflow prevention program. -
Exception processing
Exception processing in utility billing software is a crucial feature that allows for the identification and handling of irregularities or anomalies in billing data. When normal billing processes encounter issues such as incorrect meter readings, billing address discrepancies, or payment errors, exception processing steps in to ensure that these issues are resolved accurately and efficiently.
In UMBS, exception processing typically involves flagging the problematic data for review, notifying appropriate personnel, and initiating corrective actions to rectify the errors. This may include verifying meter readings, updating customer information, recalculating bills, or adjusting payment records. By promptly addressing these exceptions, utility companies can maintain the integrity of their billing operations and provide accurate invoices to customers.
Utilizing UMBS workflow capabilities to streamline exception handling processes allows companies to decrease billing errors, cut operational costs, and elevate service quality provided to customers. -
Dynamic reporting
UMBS offers a comprehensive array of over 60 standard reports. Our innovative grid builder empowers users to customize reports by selecting fields from the database. Moreover, user-defined reporting groups allow for the segmentation or aggregation of customer accounts based on various criteria such as route, region, or division. Additionally, users can reprint reports from any historical period, all reports feature selectable date ranges, and information from the system database can be exported. Furthermore, the system provides the capability to create "what-if" scenarios, enabling the generation of reports based on actual consumption patterns with projected rate increases to assess their impact on revenue.