Backbilling
What is back billing?
A back bill is a catch up bill sent to the customer by their energy supplier for usage that has not previously been billed for
What information will you find on a bill?
Usage figures
Tariff information
Extra support
Fuel mix
What is the nickname for a consumption gap?
Vienna/ Sausage
How to identify a held bill?
Kraken is designed to provide clear indicators when a bill is being held:
Account Checks: You will see alerts in the account checks section at the top right-hand side of the screen as soon as you access a customer's account.
Statement View: Within the statements section, the specific reason for the hold will be highlighted in yellow.
How to add meter reads?
Click + reading
Enter the readings and the date taken (for all rates if applicable) (ensure validate is ticked if actual & estimate if an estimated reading)
Click submit
The account should bill automatically
If the account hasn’t billed automatically you will need to use re-bill readings
Why do we have a back billing process?
we have a back billing process to prevent customers being billed inaccurately. It also means that when this does happen, that customers will be compensated for when an Energy Supplier has failed to bill accurately
What is a provisional charge and how do we fix it ?
A provisional charge is Kraken saying I have sort of billed the account, but I am not releasing the bill the customer as I dont have the most up to date calorific value.
Fix:
As we showed you on the gas bill we convert the gas from m3 or ft3 into kwh by using a calorific value. The calorific value comes in daily as changes such as temperature and pressure change the calorific value.
All you need to do is reverse the gas charge ( or delete in in edit mode) (show them)
Highlight that unaddressed provisional charges can lead to unexpected, larger bills and potential debt.
Set a reminder for 24 hours and rebill the account.
The provisional charge should be gone and you can release the statement.
If the provisional charge is not gone after 24 hours please delete and rebill
Remember if it is in two separate statements and we can merge then using edit mode, then do so.
What is a consumption gap?
Appears when some billing data is missing - ususally missing a reading
What actions would you do in Kraken to release a Held Bill?
After checking the account , approve and send
Are we able to create estimates?
Yes
Why is it important to ensure back billing is applied correctly?
If a back billing adjustment is done wrong, or even missed when the customer is eligible for back billing, it can have an effect on the business, brand image, team demand and most importantly, the customer!
What do we need to bill a customer (3)?
Meter readings: To know how much the customer has used in this billing period
Tariff: To know how much to charge the customer for the billing period
Meter Technical Details (MTD’s): To know what meter type the customer has and how we should actually bill the customer for this period
How are Consumption Gaps Created?
Re-billing Errors: Most commonly caused when charges are reversed but the account is not re-billed for the entire period originally covered.
Meter Exchanges: Occur when billing starts from the initial reading of a new meter without first billing up to the final reading of the removed meter.
Quarantined Readings: Gaps can form when replacing quarantined reads if consumption is not billed precisely up to the new reading date.
System Issues: While Kraken may occasionally experience technical glitches, the majority of gaps result from manual processing errors.
When would you use re-bill readings?
If any charges need rewinding and re-billing
Any time Kraken does not bill the customer automatically
If the customer has a held bill.
How often do we need meter reads?
monthly
Where may Back Billing apply?
Estimated billing - The customer has been estimated for over 12 months and the customer’s behaviour hasn’t inhibited us from obtaining a reading
Customer has not received a bill in over 12 months - We have failed to bill the customer for over 12 months
Incorrectly billed - The customer has been billed incorrectly and we need to revise the charges eg incorrect meter details on the account, crossed metering etc
Direct Debit not reviewed - The customers Direct debit has not been reviewed in 12 months so the customer has built up a debt balance
Backdated move in - The customer has notified us that they took liability of a property but we failed to process the information.
Change of supply final bill - Where the COS final bill hasn’t been issued in over 12 months
Which system do you use for backbilling request and assessment requests?
Creatio only!
No longer using Slack for BackBilling
How do we bill a customer using the billing timeline?
Scroll to the timeline and click on the red consumption bubble
It will bring up a page filled with time period and bills, click submit.
This will bill the account up to the most recent reading in the consumption gap
We must always check the timeline before we close an account to ensure that we have billed the customer for all periods (any gap we should always address)
When reversing charges past the last billed to reading we must bill the charges back up to date and check for any gaps in the timeline.
If we leave a gap in the timeline there is a risk of Back Billing and customer complaints.
List 4 of the many reasons for a held bill
- First new tenancy charge is negative
- Non billable supply period
-Unusually high charge
Unusually low/negative charge
-Dispute
When should you not amend meter reads?
Do not amend:
Transfer , COS and Smart Reads
Where may Back Billing not apply?
Customer has a credit balance - We have corrected the billing and the customer has a credit balance OR We have billed the customer and their direct debit payments have covered their charges leaving a credit balance
Overestimated the customer - We receive an actual reading after a long period of time which is lower than our estimated reading and therefore lowered the customers charges
When a customer has behaved obstructively or unreasonably - The customer has prevented us from being able to complete our obligations as a supplier by acting unreasonably. This could include repeatedly refusing access to the meter on several occasions and/or not being available for pre agreed access
Backdated move in - Account name in “The Occupier” or previous occupiers name and there is no evidence of customer contact
Standing charge - If there is no usage charges and we have been sending regular statements for Standing charges back billing won’t apply however the customer might be eligible to have their Standing charges removed if they have not consumed any energy
Debt - Customer has built up a debt balance and has avoided making a payment
How can customers provide us with readings?
Online
App
Call in
App
Smart meters
How are Consumption Gaps filled?
Locate the Gap: Click the ‘consumption billing period gap’ link in account checks to open the billing history timeline.
Identify the Indicator: Gaps are represented visually by a red bubble in the timeline.
Execute the Bill: Click the red bubble to open the gap-filling screen.
Verify and Submit: Review the details for all registers and periods, then click ‘Submit’ to bill between the readings.
Note: If charges appear incorrect after these steps, you should reverse the charges and re-bill the account manually.
How to use re-bill readings?
How to use re-bill readings
Click “(re)bill readings” in the statements tab
a pop up will appear and you will be able to see all the customers readings for their meter (or previous meters if there has been a Meter Exchange)
If we have billed to a read previously this will automatically be selected as the reading we are billing from
Simply click bill to on the reading you have just submitted
The account will then bill.
To reverse a charge, click “bill from” on the reading you wish the for the bill to start on
Then click “bill to” on the reading you wish for the bill to end on
Kraken will then bill the customer to these readings and include the reversed charges in the bill
Ensure there are no consumption gaps or negative charges on the statements tab.
Name all the types of meter reads
Ops reading- A customer has provided a reading via email or phone and masquerade is not working, so an ES adds the reading to Kraken.
Customer read- The customer has logged into their app or online account and added a reading
Estimated read - We dont have a reading from the customer so Kraken produces an estimate
Transfer read - A opening reading for Migrated customers ONLY
COS read - An opening reading or closing reading for change of supply customers
COT read - An opening or closing reading for when a customer moves house. - A COT read can show as estimated, smart , Ops, or Customers
Meter reader - We send someone to read the meter ( a data collector) This comes through in form of a D0010 or RD1. Go to Kraken to show this
Smart meter - We have pulled a reading from the smart meter directly.