Utilities: ledger accounts, cost centers and leak adjustments
Utility Settings now name the receivable, cash, fee and leak-adjustment accounts and a utility cost center, and a rate plan its service-charge account and cost center, so a fund-accounting city posts out of the box; leak adjustments credit water lost to a repaired leak by the company’s policy, asked for on the bill and approved by a second person.
Ledger accounts and cost centers
CRM › Utilities › Utility Field Service › Utility Settings has new fields. Each left blank keeps the postings of 17 October.
| Campo | Blank means |
|---|---|
| Service (customer) charge account | The customer charge posts with the usage, to the revenue account. |
| Late fee account | The utility revenue account. |
| Connection and reconnection fee account | The utility revenue account. |
| Utility receivable account | The company’s accounts receivable. |
| Utility cash / lockbox account | The company’s cash account. Payments, deposits and refunds go here. |
| Leak adjustment account | The leak credit reduces the revenue account the use was billed to. |
| Utility cost center | What payments, deposits and fees post under, and any rate plan with none of its own — so a fund-accounting company derives the fund. |
Rate Plans add Service charge account and Cost center. Every bill, receipt, fee and credit line carries the cost center, and the receivable and cash follow the fund.
Leak policy
- Leak adjustments per account in 12 months: 0 means none are made.
- Leak credit method: excess_lowest_tier — the use above normal is billed at the lowest block rate; excess_waived — the use above normal is not billed.
- A second person approves each leak adjustment.
- Normal use: average of the last (bills).
Asking for and approving a leak adjustment
- On CRM › Utilities › Utility Billing › Utility Bills, choose Leak adjustment on a posted bill: the Service, What leaked and how it was repaired, and Normal use (blank: the average of the account’s earlier bills; fill it in for an account with no history).
- The request is listed on Leak Adjustments with what was billed, the normal use, the excess and the credit, who asked and who approved.
- Another person chooses Approve (with a note) or Refuse (with why) when the policy asks for a second approver.
- An approved adjustment is a credit memo against what is still open; the rest becomes a credit balance. It shows on Account 360 and on the next bill and its PDF, and is audited.
Leak adjustments need the Utility Billing or Utility Manager grants.