Torfaen streamlines its utility bill processing and payment process by using TEAM
Increasingly, organisations are turning to centralised billing and payment solutions to automate their utility invoice processing and reconciliation and to better track compliance with current energy management legislation.
Background
Torfaen County Borough Council (TCBC) in the former county of Gwent has an estates portfolio of over 475 buildings. This includes 300 industrial units, 36 schools, a Community Farm and a Ski Centre.
Prior to 2009 the council had no centralised process of recording utility billing data for their estates' portfolio. Council sites would be responsible for managing their own utility bills. They would receive utility bills in the post, and then submit paperwork to the Civic Centre, the council's main administrative offices, when payment needed to be made. Over 3,000 paper utility bills a year were being processed in this way.
When Energy Manager Allan Jones led a review of energy consumption at the council in 2009, he found
that only 55% of consumption data was being captured at the Civic Centre. This was in part due to the council's existing utility bill processing and payment process.
Identifying a better system
With incomplete and unqualified data it was hard for Energy Manager Allan Jones and his team to calculate the council's energy consumption and carbon emissions figures accurately. This lack of data meant it was also difficult for them to gather information for Display Energy Certificates (DECs), and meet other legislative requirements and local government directives required of the council.
Allan Jones comments, “The council needed a centralised system that captured all utility billing data and would enable a more efficient payments process. My team needed access to accurate and complete data in order to manage the council's energy consumption effectively.”
Energy Managers in local government across the UK use the strengths of TEAM Sigma software to
successfully support their energy management objectives. Allan Jones has been a TEAM software
user since 2000. He first started using an earlier version of TEAM's energy monitoring and targeting software, and then introduced TEAM Sigma software at Torfaen County Borough Council. Allan contacted TEAM to find out if they could provide a solution to his utility invoice processing problem.
TCBC partner with TEAM
TEAM met with Allan to learn more about his requirements. They recommended their Electronic Data Interchange (EDI) solutions - Sigma Bulk Bill Checker (BBC) and Accounts Link. These solutions would be compatible with the council's existing Sigma software, and create an automated utility bill processing and electronic payments system that the council could manage in-house.
Torfaen County Borough Council bought TEAM's EDI solutions in September 2009. TEAM was on hand to support the council at every stage of setting up and implementing their integrated EDI solutions to create their centralised system. This included training the Energy Management and Financial Creditor teams to ensure they could use their new system to its full potential.
The new system works
By using Sigma BBC software the council now has the ability to receive electronic communications from
its utility suppliers. Sigma BBC software reads suppliers' EDI utility bills directly into a central database. It is then designed to run a series of automated checks on a utility invoice to ensure its validity and accuracy. These include meter reading concurrency, contract rates and duration periods. The software also gives the council the flexibility to create bespoke validation criteria if required. The checks quickly flag any billing anomalies for query by the council's accounts team, and ensure the council only pays valid utility bills.
With their Accounts Link software validated utility billing data held in Sigma can be transferred to the council's own Accounts system. The software automatically sends a weekly batch report of validated invoices for payment to the council Accounts Payable system.
Allan Jones explains, “Being able to receive supplier EDI utility invoices has made things much easier for many staff involved in the processing and payments process. Our centralised system has solved many of the problems we've had in the past, particularly capturing and validating utility billing data. Now the council receives over 85% of its suppliers' utility invoices electronically. These are from our electricity and gas suppliers, but we hope to receive EDI invoices from our water suppliers soon.”
Automated processing pays off
Since adopting TEAM Sigma BBC software, the council has been better able to validate their utility billing data. Since 2009 the Accounts Team has made substantial cost recoveries from the council's utility suppliers.
The Welsh Audit Office (WAO) estimates that invoices processed manually have a £28 transactional cost. Torfaen County Borough Council has significantly reduced their transactional utility bill processing costs, as the new system minimises time spent by manually entering, checking, and processing utility invoices.
More accurate utility billing data has enabled Allan and his team to negotiate better supplier tariffs for some of its individual sites. Improved data quality also makes it easier for him and his Energy Team to gather information required for DECs, and comply with legislation like the Carbon Reduction Commitment Energy Efficiency Scheme (CRC) introduced in 2010.
Allan Jones comments, “We had a lot to learn about getting the most out of our new system, but it’s been worth it. TEAM's EDI solutions have streamlined and strengthened many processes for the better, and this has had a really positive impact on our work in the Energy Team.”
