Process Bills

Process Bills is the core calculation stage of the billing lifecycle.

At this stage, the system takes all collected billing inputs—such as metered usage, unmetered usage, manual components, and adjustments—and applies business rules to generate final bill amounts for each customer.

This step transforms raw billing data into structured, calculated billing records ready for posting.

In simple terms:

Process Bills is where the system calculates “how much each customer owes” based on all available billing data.

Why Bill Processing Is Important

Billing data collected in earlier steps is not yet financially complete.

Before processing, the system only has:

• Usage values (metered and unmetered)
• Manual charges and credits
• Estimated readings (if any)
• Arrears and balances
• Service configurations

Bill processing converts this raw data into:

• Final charges
• Taxes
• Discounts
• Total payable amounts

Without this step, no invoice can be generated.

What Happens During Bill Processing

During bill processing, the system evaluates each customer’s billing data and applies configured pricing logic.

This includes:

• Service pricing rules
• Pricing Context or Pricing Module configuration
• Usage-based pricing
• Tiered billing logic
• Discounts and promotions
• Tax calculations
• Adjustments and surcharges

Core Activities

1. Apply Billing Rules

Billing rules define how services are priced.

The system evaluates rules such as:

• Flat rate pricing
• Per-unit pricing
• Tiered pricing (slabs)
• Minimum/maximum charges
• Pricing Context-based pricing

Example

Usage	Rate	Charge
500 Units	$0.50	$250

2. Calculate Service Charges

Each service is evaluated individually based on usage or fixed pricing.

Example

Service	Charge Type	Amount
Electricity	Usage-based	$250
Water	Usage-based	$80
Waste Collection	Fixed	$10

3. Calculate Taxes

Applicable taxes are applied based on jurisdiction and service configuration.

Common taxes:

• VAT
• Sales tax
• Service tax
• Government levies

Example

Subtotal = $340
Tax (10%) = $34
Total = $374

4. Apply Discounts

Discounts reduce the total bill amount based on rules or promotions.

Examples:

• Loyalty discount
• Early payment discount
• Promotional discounts
• Customer-specific discounts

Example

Subtotal	Discount	Final
$300	-$20	$280

5. Calculate Totals

After applying all charges, taxes, and discounts, the system calculates final payable amounts.

Final Calculation Structure

Total = (Service Charges + Manual Components + Adjustments + Taxes) - Discounts

Input Data Used in Processing

Bill processing uses multiple data sources:

1. Metered Usage

• Electricity
• Water
• Gas
• Utility consumption

2. Unmetered Usage

• Fixed services
• Subscription plans
• Virtual consumption

3. Manual Components

• Penalties
• Credits
• Adjustments
• One-time fees

4. Arrears

• Previous unpaid balances
• Partial payments
• Outstanding dues

5. Service Configuration

• Pricing rules
• Pricing Context definitions
• Meter parameters
• Tax rules

Example Billing Scenario

Customer: John Smith

Usage Data

Service	Usage	Rate	Charge
Electricity	600 Units	$0.50	$300
Water	200 Units	$0.40	$80

Manual Components

Type	Amount
Late Fee	$10

Subtotal Calculation

300 + 80 + 10 = 390

Taxes

Rate	Amount
10% VAT	$39

Final Bill

390 + 39 = 429

The customer’s final bill is $429.

How to Process Bills

1-Go to BillSpree →Bill Runs →Term

2-Select Pricing Context of Term:

3-Click on Batch Action and Select Process Bills.

Summary

Process Bills is the core billing engine stage where usage, rules, taxes, discounts, and adjustments are applied to calculate final customer bills ready for posting.