Capture Usage Data

Overview

Before bills can be calculated and generated, all billable usage must be captured within the term.

Usage data represents the services consumed by customers during the billing period. This information serves as the foundation for billing calculations and determines how much a customer will be charged.

The billing system supports multiple methods of usage collection, allowing organizations to bill both consumption-based and non-consumption-based services within the same term.

Once all required usage data has been captured, the term contains the information needed for bill processing and charge calculation.

Why Usage Data Matters

Usage data is one of the most important inputs in the billing lifecycle.

Without usage information, the system cannot determine:

• How much of a service was consumed
• Which customers should be charged
• How billing rules should be applied
• The final amount that should appear on customer bills

Accurate usage collection leads to accurate billing.

Types of Usage Data

The billing system supports three primary categories of billable inputs:

Each category serves a different purpose and may be used independently or together within the same billing term.

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Metered Usage

Metered usage is collected from physical meters and is typically used for consumption-based billing.

The customer’s charge depends on the amount of service consumed during the billing period.

Common Examples

Electricity

Customers are billed based on electricity units consumed.

Previous Reading	Current Reading	Consumption
12,500	13,250	750 Units

Water

Customers are billed based on water usage.

Previous Reading	Current Reading	Consumption
4,500	4,680	180 Units

Gas

Customers are billed according to gas consumption recorded by a meter.

Utility Services

Any service that uses a physical meter to record consumption falls into this category.

Benefits of Metered Usage

• Accurate consumption tracking
• Fair customer billing
• Detailed usage reporting
• Support for tiered pricing model

How Meter Usage is Recorded:

• Meter assignment to subscriptions or connections
• Meter reading uploads
• Consumption-based billing
• Active and inactive meter management
• Batch-based billing processing Lifecycle

Create Meter

1- Go to Billspree → Pricing Templates →Meters

2- Use the “New” action to open Add New Meter

3- Fill: Meter Number_, Brand, Meter Type (from dropdown), Purchase Date, _MF.

4- Click the Save buttonNew meters start as unassigned and InActive until you assign them to a connection.

Where do we assign meters?

1- Go on Subscription screen click new Button

2- Click on the settings tab Select pricing template, plan variant, and batch

4- Meter tab appears Select Meter from the dropdown

Upload Meter Readings

Before billing can be processed, meter readings must first be uploaded into the system.

These readings represent the customer’s actual utility consumption for a billing cycle.

1- Go to Billspree →Billing →Meter Readings

2- Select Reference type Meter Usage

3- Fill all fields and click on save button.

4-You can upload Meter Reading via CSV.

Unmetered Usage

Not all services have physical meters.

Some services require usage values to be recorded manually or generated through operational processes.

These values are known as unmetered usage.

Common Examples

Fixed Service Quantities

A customer receives a predefined service quantity every billing cycle.

Example:

Customer	Service	Quantity
ABC Company	Waste Collection	1 Collection

Subscription-Based Services

A customer subscribes to a recurring service.

Example:

Customer	Service
John Smith	Premium Maintenance Plan

Virtual Usage

Usage generated by systems rather than physical devices.

Examples:

• Cloud resources
• Virtual machines
• Digital service consumption

Benefits of Unmetered Usage

• Supports non-metered services
• Flexible billing models
• Easy service tracking
• Consistent billing workflows

Upload Unmetered Usage Data

Instead of uploading meter readings, the system accepts usage datasets that represent customer consumption or billable quantities.

These uploads become the source for billing calculations.

These readings represent the customer’s actual Usage of Billing cycle.

1- Go to Billspree →Billing →Meter Readings

2- Select Reference type UnMeter Usage

3- Fill all fields and click on save button.

Unmetered Billing Flow

Manual Components

Manual components are additional billable items entered directly into the billing term.

Unlike metered and unmetered usage, manual components usually represent adjustments, charges, or credits applied to specific customers.

These components are included during bill calculation.

Common Examples

Penalties

Late payment charges or policy violations.

Example:

Customer	Charge
John Smith	$25 Late Fee

Rebates

Credits provided to customers.

Example:

Customer	Credit
ABC Company	$50 Rebate

Service Adjustments

Corrections applied after usage review.

Example:

Customer	Adjustment
XYZ Ltd	-$15 Adjustment

Upload Manual Comps

1-If your Pricing Template has Manual Comps, then click on batch action, upload the manual comps file

Summary

Capture Usage Data is the process of collecting metered usage, unmetered usage, and manual billing components so that the system has all necessary inputs to calculate accurate customer bills.