You’re grappling with an unpredictable postal service, the rising tide of check fraud, and the uphill battle of getting customers to embrace digital payments. Every day feels like a new hurdle, and the constant pressure to deliver accurate, timely billing while keeping customers happy can be overwhelming!
We’ve seen it firsthand, and we know your struggles are real. And our experience comes from being in the trenches with you. We work with countless utility billing clerks, supervisors, managers, and finance directors who are on the front lines (because it can be a little like war sometimes...) every single day.
We recently held a live panel webinar called Strategies for Modern Utility Billing Directors. The panelists were experts in the utility field and saw the industry from different perspectives.
So we're sharing that expertise. This blog post is a distillation of practical wisdom shared during the webinar. We’ll walk you through the most pressing challenges facing utility billing offices today. And, more importantly, equip you with actionable strategies and quick wins to overcome them.
Gary Sanders is a Utility Billing Consultant with over 40 years of experience, offering broad industry perspective on efficiency, customer service, and software selection.
Kelly Hephner is a Customer Success Advocate at Software Solutions, bringing 33 years of experience as a Director of Finance managing utilities, now helping others succeed with utility billing technology.
Nikki Uribes is the current Director of Finance at the Village of Montpelier, OH, providing a current practitioner's view on managing finances, utilities, and income tax operations.
And Danielle Bergey, the webinar moderator and Senior Marketing Manager at Software Solutions, is an expert in communication. But she's also a utility customer of an SSI client.
For the webinar, we wanted perspectives from each angle. The finance, software, business, and customer aspects. That way, we could hash out how to solve the problems presented.
One of the most persistent frustrations we hear about is the unpredictable nature of mail delivery. As an attendee put it in our recent webinar, "The US Postal Service is struggling to process mail in a timely fashion." This is an inconvenience. But it’s also a fundamental threat to your billing cycle.
At some point, your customers have probably received their bill just days before it's due. Or even worse, after the due date. But there's another issue with the postal service...
Nikki Uribes shared a truly alarming example during our webinar: 26 utility payments, postmarked March 5th, arrived nearly five months later to their office! This kind of delay creates incredible stress for your customers and forces your staff to deal with frustrated inquiries and long customer lines.
You may wonder why local mail has to travel so far and wide. Because of centralized mail sorting, your local mail often takes a detour to a regional hub (like the Detroit Metroplex for Montpelier, Ohio) before returning for delivery. This adds days, or even weeks, to delivery times, making timely billing a constant uphill battle.
Beyond delays, there's a growing fear about the security of traditional mail. We’ve seen a significant uptick in check fraud and stolen mail, turning what was once a reliable payment method into a potential liability. This puts your utility at financial risk and leaves your customers vulnerable. It eventually erodes trust in the payment process. So, many utilities are actively seeking safer alternatives, and rightly so.
While electronic billing and payments offer clear advantages, getting everyone on board isn't always easy. We understand that in communities with a higher proportion of senior citizens, convincing them to switch from paper bills and mailed checks to email or auto-drafting can be a slow process. It requires patience, clear communication, and often, personalized support to help them feel comfortable with new technologies. But the long-term benefits are undeniable.
We’ve also observed that a lack of seamless communication between your office staff and field personnel (meter readers or water department crews) can lead to significant headaches. Incorrect meter readings, missed services, or incomplete data can result in billing inaccuracies. Or frustrated customers. It can even cost your utility time and money to correct. Everyone needs to be on the same page for your operations to run smoothly.
Identifying problems is one thing; solving them is another. During our webinar, the panelists shared actionable advice and practical "quick wins" that you can implement right away to address these challenges head-on.
This is becoming a necessity more and more. Embracing electronic billing and payment methods is arguably the biggest efficiency boost your utility can achieve.
It Cuts Costs: You'll save money on printing, paper, and postage. These savings add up, and will allow you to reallocate resources to other critical areas.
It Improves Timeliness: E-bills arrive instantly. This means customers get their statements on time, every time. And this reduces late payments and frantic last-minute calls.
It Boosts Security: Digital payments (whether through bank drafts, credit cards, or e-checks) are inherently more secure than mailing paper checks. Avoid the check washing and mitigate the fraud risks.
It Gives Customers Convenience: Danielle Bergey confirmed how user-friendly these systems are. "It is very user friendly. It's super easy to pay online. I've never had a problem with it," she shared. Offering easy, convenient ways to pay online significantly improves the customer experience.
While some customers might need a little extra hand-holding to transition, the long-term benefits for both your utility and your customers make this effort worthwhile.
Gary Sanders offered a candid perspective on billing practices that resonated strongly with our audience. He advocated for charging cutoff fees to all customers on the cutoff list, the moment that list leaves your office. Rather than waiting for an actual service disconnection.
Be Consistent: Gary's logic is clear: if your staff prepares for a disconnection trip, the administrative cost is incurred whether the customer pays at the last minute or the service is physically cut off. Applying the fee consistently to everyone on the list ensures fairness and discourages last-minute payments that still generate operational costs for your utility.
Find a Label: This topic sparked a lively discussion in the chat, with attendees suggesting alternative names for the charge, like "trip charge," "service discontinuance fee," "non-pay fee," "disconnect bill," and "administrative fee." This shows the industry's shared desire for terminology that accurately reflects the service provided (or avoided) and is easily understood by customers.
Effective communication is the bedrock of a smooth-running utility office. Really, any office, for that matter.
Talking to Your Customers: You need to meet your customers where they are. Utilize every available channel—your website, social media, email, and even the utility bills themselves. Use these to clearly communicate payment options, policy updates, and important announcements. Proactive communication reduces confusion and builds trust.
Talking to Each Other: Seamless communication between your office staff and field personnel is critical, too. Everyone, from the billing clerk to the meter reader, needs to understand their role in accurate data collection, proper billing, and consistent customer interaction. One chat question was about discussing delinquency procedures, customer notifications, field response timing, and setting disconnection fee policies. This highlights the need for clear internal procedures and shared understanding.
Your utility billing software is more than just a tool for sending bills; it’s a powerful engine for efficiency. Kelly Hephner shared invaluable tips on maximizing its potential.
Document Everything: Use your system's features to make comments on customer accounts, set up pop-ups for critical information, and create work orders. This ensures that every interaction and process (especially during disconnects or complex adjustments) is documented and accessible to all relevant staff.
Workflow for Accuracy: During the webinar, one attendee asked if the software could require Finance Director approval before any adjustment is posted. Kelly Hephner confirmed, "Yes, you can have a workflow for utility adjustments." This is a game-changer for improving financial accuracy and accountability.
Consistency is King: Establish clear, consistent rules and procedures that every staff member follows. As Gary Sanders pointed out, inconsistency leads to frustration and distrust among customers when they receive conflicting information. One commenter said, "our bills state that this is the only notice we send." This is a great example of clear messaging on important matters like delinquent notices. But it's also important to reach your customers in a variety of ways.
Cross-Train Your Team: Cross-training staff on different job functions creates needed redundancy (so operations don't grind to a halt if someone is out) but also keeps team members engaged and knowledgeable across the board.
Double-Check, Always: Implement a system of double-checking new account setups or any significant changes. A small error at the outset can snowball into major headaches down the line. In the webinar, there were a few examples of embezzlement brought to light in local governments simply because the lack of accountability.
Uphold Ethics: This is non-negotiable. Management and elected officials must uphold ethical practices and avoid making "favors" or exceptions for individuals. Doing so undermines established policies, creates resentment among other customers, and damages the utility's reputation for fairness.
The best utility professionals never stop learning. Our webinar was a testament to this, with attendees actively seeking resources to continue to keep learning. Here are some of the valuable resources shared during the session:
Utility Information Pipeline: A fantastic resource for industry insights, including survey results on utility fees and verbiage that avoids terms like "cut-off" or "reconnect."
Software Solutions' Blog: For company news, updates, and more industry-specific articles.
Industry Organization Resources: Great information on ethics, policy, and law.
These resources are designed to help you stay ahead of the curve and continuously refine your operations.
We believe that every challenge presents an opportunity for growth. Maybe it's tackling postal delays with electronic solutions or implementing consistent fee practices. Maybe it's leveraging your software's full potential. The insights shared in our webinar offer a clear roadmap to greater efficiency, enhanced customer satisfaction, and more robust financial management. These strategies are designed to deliver real results.
Your journey toward a more streamlined and resilient utility billing office starts now.
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