Any organization providing energy resources on a paid basis seeks to automate financial-related operations. This can be done through the deployment of specialized software that is capable of keeping records of consumed resources and issuing invoices. This approach allows these companies to minimize the need for maintaining paper documentation and reduce the number of human factor-related errors. It also encourages scaling by eliminating the need to hire new employees to capture data and process it for an ever-growing customer base. Below, we’ll reveal the advantages of energy billing solutions.
What Is an Energy Billing Software?
Energy billing software is a highly focused software that is used by organizations providing energy services to issue bills. However, modern software solutions of this type are often not limited to just one such function. They can also monitor meter readings and help consumers manage their expenses more effectively.
Using such software, consumers can view their historical data and tariff plans to optimize their expenses in the future; although ultimately, the list of available features for each such software solution may be different.
Does Your Organization Need Energy Billing Systems?
There are overhead costs associated with deploying any new software, so before purchasing it, you should understand whether your business needs it or not.
There is a special need for the implementation of energy billing systems for organizations that:
- Need increased operational efficiency;
- Strive to minimize the number of failures in connecting consumers;
- Want to position themselves in the energy market as those who use only advanced technological solutions;
- See the potential for themselves in smart energy solutions;
- Want to scale without attracting new human resources;
- Aimed at improving the quality of customer service;
- Strive to strengthen their competitiveness in the energy sector.
What Does an Energy Billing System Include?
As for average energy billing solutions, they typically contain the following components:
- Customer management. Such software solutions often serve as CRM systems, automating all processes related to data processing and customer communication. Thanks to the centralization they ensure, companies can gradually improve the customer experience and strengthen their competitive position in the market.
- Order management. Such software is capable of consolidating all order data, providing it in a structured and easy-to-read form.
- Metered reads management. With appropriate integrations, the capabilities of energy billing software go beyond in-office operations — now, the energy company’s employees no longer need to take on-site meter readings.
- Billing and product management. Managing payments and products (services), which some energy billing solutions can provide, allows energy companies to optimize and speed up their work processes, reduce errors, and free up human resources to solve non-trivial tasks.
- Revenue management. Deploying software with such functionality allows energy providers to improve processes related to accounting and optimize financial flows.
- Partnership management. This functionality is aimed at automating interaction with utility company partners. This increases the productivity of these collaborations and strengthens business relationships.
- Third-party integrations. Many modern systems support useful integrations with third-party solutions, like services for automating email newsletters, firmware for electric meters, ERP systems, etc.
Note that each of these features is presented in MaxBill energy billing software. Moreover, they are AI/ML-powered, which is ultimately aimed at either maximizing the personalization of services or providing valuable analytical and/or predictive insights.
What Are the Benefits of an Energy Billing Solution?
If we transform the functionality described above (we recall, it’s fully presented in the MaxBill energy billing solution and enriched with AI and ML capabilities) into specific business advantages, we’ll get the following list:
- Centralization and automation of energy business processes;
- Reducing overhead costs;
- Transparency of financial flows;
- Reducing paperwork and associated errors;
- More conscious management of the company’s budget;
- Strengthening partnerships;
- Reducing the cost of attracting new customers and retaining existing ones;
- Opening up new opportunities for scaling.
As for MaxBill, it can be used not only in traditional utility companies – due to customization capabilities, EV charge point operators, renewable providers, and DERs specializing in the production of gas, process water, or, for example, solar energy and other renewables can also get the most out of it
Integration with Old Meters and Smart Meters
Surely, now, you have already decided whether you need electric billing software or not, and the only thing left to do is to consider the possibilities of integrating the solution with old and smart meters (MaxBill provides energy companies with both these opportunities).
The dilemma may arise as follows: should you keep the old meters, or should you replace them with smart analogs? In the first case, you won’t have to invest in the new equipment purchase. However, this is where the advantages end: such meters don’t allow readings to be taken remotely and are usually less accurate. Smart meters are more convenient since they do not require on-site calculations of energy consumption and configuring them.
Ultimately, you need to understand whether your energy supply company has the resources to purchase a new batch of smart meters and, if so, take care of security measures to make the transfer of metered reads safe.
Why You Should Choose MaxBill Electric Billing Software
MaxBill is a top billing software provider developing software solutions that can be customized for various business verticals. As for MaxBill energy billing software, this solution goes beyond traditional energy billing solutions that calculate energy consumption only. It can be configured to monitor the consumption of several utilities at once, allowing both traditional and innovative energy suppliers providing distributed energy resources to offer a full range of services in the least resource-intensive and most convenient way.
MaxBill can also be adapted to any business model (B2B, B2C, or B2B2X), ensuring centralized control over operations and data on one platform. This creates optimal conditions for continuous growth with minimal costs and risks.
The advantages of MaxBill don’t end there – this software has strong analytical and predictive capabilities provided through the use of AI and ML algorithms. This can be a significant advantage for customers who want to reduce and plan their energy costs and for utility company employees who need to more accurately plan the inflow and outflow of customers and their payments over fixed periods.
Finally, unlike many other energy billing systems, MaxBill is compatible with both old and smart meters, which means your company won’t need to replace existing equipment to start using this system. Request a demo version of MaxBill right now to evaluate all the advantages of this software in practice.