Usage

What is metered billing?

Metered billing = billing based on meter readings, not a fixed price.

Flow in short:

1. Meters are created.
2. Meters are assigned to connections.
3. Readings are entered (e.g., Post Meter Readings – billspree/terms/post-meter-readings, or Update Meter Readings – billspree/meters/update-meter-readings).
4. Billing uses those readings (and the plan’s rate card and charging rules) to compute usage and amount (e.g., Estimate Metered Parameters – billspree/terms/estimate-metered-params).
5. Bills are created/processed for the term; the active meter on each connection is what’s used for that connection’s metered part.

What is a meter?

A meter is a record of a physical device (electricity, gas, or water) that measures how much a customer uses.

• Meter number – unique ID
• Brand – manufacturer
• Type – e.g., Electric (KWH), Gas (M³), Water (M³)
• Purchase date
• MF – multiplication factor used in billing

So, one meter = one device you can assign to a customer and use for billing.

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Why do we use meters?

• Metered billing – bill customers based on actual usage (readings from the meter), not a flat amount.
• Tracking – know which meter is on which connection and what was thier current readings and previous reading.
• History – We have a previous reading.

How do we create a meter?

1- Go to Billspree → Billing Setup

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 button

New meters start as unassigned and InActive until you assign them to a connection.

4- Upload the meter readings.

5- Then post meter reading from the term, before processing.

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Where do we assign meters?

1- Go on Subscription screen

2- Click on the settings tab

3-Select pricing template, plan variant, and batch

4- Meter tab appears

5- Select Meter from the dropdown

Ways to connect:

1. New connection

When creating a connection (e.g., New Connection flow), you can add meters in the “Meters” tab: choose Electric / Gas / Water and give the meter number + initial reading. Those are sent with the connection (and create/use the link between the connection and meter).

2. Existing connection

On Connection Details for a connection, you can “Show Active Meters” (or equivalent) and use the Assign Meter flow. That uses:

• API: POST billspree/meters/make-connection-meter
• Body: connection id, meter number, connection date, status.

Assign-meter component behavior:

It loads InActive (unassigned) meters filtered by type (Gas / Water / Electric) and lets you pick one to assign to the connection.

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Active or Inactive meters

1- Active meter

Currently linked to a connection and used for billing. Shown under “Active Meter Details” on the connection.

2- Inactive meter

Either not assigned to any connection (status InActive in the meter list)

What is Unmetered Billing

Unmetered billing means you charge the customer based on something you enter or choose, like coming from another system or uploading any file, not from a physical meter that measures actual use.

1- Unmetered (no meter reading)

• There is no meter reading used for the bill.
• You charge using other inputs, for example:

2- Upload Unmetered Usage Data

“Upload Unmetered Usage Data” simply means: you are giving the system the numbers that will be used for billing, instead of the system taking them from meter readings.