Black Mountain Software Utility Billing

The Utility Billing software developed by Black Mounting Software brings the highest level of automation to utilities your organization manages. Local governments and special utility districts know how important it is to provide accurate, timely service when billing for utilities like water, sewer, garbage, and more. Any Governmental entity that manages enterprise funds and the continuous cycle of billing for utilities will benefit from its use.

As with most Black Mountain products, integration is a key component. This product line includes:

• Cash Receipting
• Utility Billing
• Service Applications
• Service Orders

Used together, Utility Billing and Cash Receipting products automate and simplify your utility department's workflow. Adding modules like automatic bank drafting or online payments further increases your efficiency and ability to provide great customer service. Cash Receipting also centralizes collections and automatically integrates them with the General Ledger and applications such as Utility Billing, Business Licensing and Accounts Receivable.

Learn more about each product below!

Video Overview

Cash Receipting

Cash Receipting is a centralized receipting system designed to receipt into Utility Billing, other Black Mountain Software collection and licensing modules and Cemetery Management.

A few key features are:

• Query and retrieve payment related information from any of the applications you are receipting for in the same manner as accessing the systems directly
• Fully integrated with each software module so appropriate databases are updated in real time
• Allows users to define miscellaneous receipt types and map them to the appropriate Chart of Account numbers in Finance.
• Automatically spreads partial payments and overpayments between utility services (as pre-specified by the user) with manual override capability.
• Allows users to make use of the mouse, keyboard, or combination of the two to optimize data entry. Single keystroke entries are provided to maximize speed and convenience.
• Alerts users if any portion of the balance is 30 or more days overdue.
• Allows users to query outstanding balances by age.
• Alerts users when a partial payment or overpayment is entered.
• Allows users to cancel a mis-posted receipt and re-enter the payment.
• Resets an account balance to the exact status before the payment was entered whenever a receipt is cancelled.
• Allows users to perform compound receipt transactions so that a customer using a single check can pay for multiple transactions.
• Supports the use of a validating receipt printer and cash drawer.
• Prints endorsement, account, and reference information on the back of a validated check.
• Allows user-defined combinations of printing receipts, validating checks, and cash drawer controls.
• Prints uniquely numbered customer receipts displaying the name, transaction date & time, amount paid, method of payment, check number, balance due, and amount of change returned (if appropriate).
• Allows users to reprint receipts.
• Supports multiple cash drawers.
• Allows multiple batches per drawer that may all be open simultaneously.
• Notifies users whenever an attempt is made to open a new batch while an existing batch is open and not yet balanced.
• When closing a batch, requires users to enter a control total to assist in balancing
• Prints an itemized balancing report if a control total does not match the receipting total.
• Does not allow a batch to be closed until it is balanced
• Allows users to print any of the following reports:
  • Individual Receipting Journal by Drawer
  • Combined Total Journal for All Drawer
  • Detailed Reports by Drawer and Collection Type
  • Bank Deposit Slip by Individual Drawer or Combined
  • Journal Voucher Report for Accounting
• Allows users to export a print file in a variety of formats.
• Allows users to specify date range and transaction type when printing a report.

Service Applications

The Service Applications system controls all aspects of processing necessary to add new utility customers. It enables this processing to be performed at the time they apply for service, rather than having to wait until the actual month that billing will commence.

• Integrated with Service Orders and Cash Receipting
• Central point for:
  • Creating a new utility account
  • Completing a written application for new service
  • Generating service orders on the fly to activate the new account
  • Generating deposits and/or startup charges

Service Orders

Provides capability to manage service orders (work orders) generated as part of the utility billing, meter reading, and public works processes.

• Generates a unique identification number for each service order in a given year
• Enables users to monitor and control the status of each work order (e.g., active, completed, held, reopened, or cancelled)
• Maintains basic service order information, a service order form, and additional comments
• Specify a fee amount (if any), for selected services
• Enables users to monitor and control the status of each work order (e.g., active, completed, held, reopened, or cancelled)
• Relate a service order to a specific account in utility billing

Utility Billing

This highly integrated BMS utility billing solution delivers proven results:

• Metered Services-- Supports multiple types of, including metered water, sewer, gas, electricity, and steam
• Flat Rate Services-- Supports all types (e.g., garbage, solid waste, fees, surcharges, etc.). Rate Structure - Handles any type, including flat rates, single-step rates, multiple-step rates, percentages, etc.
• Rate Structure-- Handles any type, including flat rates, single-step rates, multiple-step rates, percentages, etc.
• Cycle or Section Billing-- Easily handle a large customer base by breaking it into sections to control your billing cycles and smooth billing workflow. Addresses - Maintains service address, as well as names and addresses of customers, owners, and residents.
• Addresses-- Maintains service address, as well as names and addresses of customers, owners, and residents.
• Legal Information Maintenance- related to each account, if desired (e.g., subdivision, block, lot, township, range, section, etc.)
• Accounts Access- Access account records via account number; route sequence; service address; customer, owner, resident name, resident address; legal information, and a host of other means
• Wizards and Special Functions-- optimize user processing for the most common types of activities (e.g., billing, creating and finalizing out accounts, applying penalties, estimating meter readings, meter change outs, etc.)
• Standard Reports-- Provides users with more than 200 reports that cover all aspects of utility billing operations.
• Report Generation-- reports may be previewed on the screen, sent to a printer, a file
• Report Wizard-- Organize and create lists of favorite reports. Print groups of reports all at once.
• Custom User Reports-- create and organize customized user reports
• Notices-- Provides integrated internal access to the mail-merge features of Microsoft Word for seamless production of past due notices, disconnection notices, etc.
• Laser Post-card or Full-Page Utility Bills-- Supports production in sorted order.
• Security Deposits-- provides security deposit support, interest on these deposits, and application of deposits to final bills.
• Full Integration-- Integrates with Black Mountain Software applications such as: Accounting, Service Applications, Service Orders, Cash Receipting, and various other modules.
• Budget Billing-- Allows for two types of budget billing.
• Rolling Averages-- may be used to bill based on an average that is updated on the fly each month.
• The Pay-up method-- Allows the utility to assign an estimated bill, then create a Pay-up month to 'catch up' based on over charge or under charge.
• Web Updates-- Allows customer to obtain updates for the software with one easy step using Internet access.
• Optional Modules-- Add muscle to Utility billing with AutoPhone, Handheld Interface, Rate Analysis, Refuse Management, Service Applications, Service Orders and Cash Receipting.

There are many optional features as well:

• Accommodates the use of CASS Certification and PostNet bar coding on utility bills to minimize mailing costs.
• Accommodates the use of account number bar coding on bills for easy access within Cash Receipting or Utility Billing.
• Allows users to print refund checks directly from within Utility Billing rather than having to print them from Accounting.
• Supports Automated Clearing House (ACH) to facilitate the automated collection of payments from customer bank accounts.
• Produces e-mail bills, thereby eliminating the need to print and mail bills for participating utility customers.
• Interfaces user selected utility billing data with standard GIS software for graphical display.
• Provides the ability to scan documents and photos and ýattachý them directly to accounts.
• Provides internal access to a report writer for use in producing user-defined custom reports.
• Electronic conversion to provide an easy transition from current system with minimal downtime.
• On-site installation and training are available.