Charging consumption
From linking a meter to a terrain to the automatic utility invoice, with Jonas Maes on terrain 12.
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Charging consumption in Tillor works through the terrain: a meter belongs to a terrain, a customer gets onto the terrain through an occupation, and the meter's consumption goes to that customer. This example follows the electricity meter on terrain 12 of Recreatiepark Het Meer, from the link to the invoice for Jonas Maes. At the end it explains how Tillor can also create and send that invoice by itself.
Before you start:
- The meter already exists under ParkMeters and is not yet linked to a terrain. A meter that is already on a terrain does not appear in the list.
- Jonas has an active occupation on terrain 12. See Bringing in a seasonal customer. Without an occupation Tillor does not know who the consumption belongs to.
- For the automatic invoice Jonas needs an email address or phone number, and for automatic collection an active mandate.
The route step by step
Link the meter to terrain 12
Go to ParkTerrains, open terrain 12 and scroll to the Meters card. Click Add meter, choose the meter and click Assign meter.
See Meter management and Terrains.
Record the starting reading
If Jonas is already registered on terrain 12, enter the starting reading on the occupation. If you are only creating the occupation now, fill in Start meter readings. If you leave it empty, Tillor takes the last known reading. This way the first consumption batch starts at the right reading straight away. See Occupations.
Follow the meter readings
Smart meters send their reading by themselves, usually daily or weekly. A manual meter you read and enter yourself. See Meter management.
You can see the consumption in two places. On the meter page under ParkMeters there is the Consumption card with, per customer, the outstanding and settled consumption. On Jonas's profile there is the Readings card, with all the meters on his terrains.
If someone enters a reading that is lower than the previous one, Tillor warns you. If the reading is correct after all (the meter has been replaced), Tillor closes the current period and starts a new one. See Consumption batches.
See what is outstanding
Go to CustomersOutstanding Consumption. You see per customer the total amount, the Last utility invoice and the number of meters. Jonas appears as soon as there is consumption that is not yet on an invoice.
Create the invoice
You have two ways.
At the end of Jonas's row, click the send icon. The Create invoice window shows the total amount, the breakdown per type and the number of meters. Tick the channels Tillor should use to send the invoice straight away and click Create invoice. Tillor creates the invoice, books it and sends it. If Jonas has a mandate for utility invoices, it is preselected under Collect with mandate.
Let Tillor do it by itself
Open Jonas's profile, go to CustomersJonas MaesInvoicing and open the Invoice Settings card. There you set:
- Automatic utility billing: a day of the month. If you choose 31 and the month does not have 31 days, the invoice goes out on the last day of the month.
- Mandate: the mandate Tillor uses to collect the utility invoice. See Collecting an invoice by direct debit.
- Minimum amount: a lower limit of its own for Jonas. If you leave it empty, the organisation's minimum under SupportSettingsInvoicing applies.
On the chosen day Tillor creates the invoice by itself and sends it. If the outstanding amount is below the minimum, Tillor waits until a later invoice day.
What happens next
- The invoiced consumption periods are completed. If the occupation continues, Tillor starts a new period at the end reading of the previous one, so there is no gap.
- Once the invoice is booked, it carries on like any other invoice: payment, reminder and payment report. See Bringing in a seasonal customer.
- When the occupation ends, Tillor closes the open periods. The consumption up to the end date is kept and you can still invoice it.
- If you delete a draft invoice with consumption, the consumption returns to Outstanding Consumption.
Consumption well above the usual
If the outstanding electricity or water consumption is at least double what Jonas normally uses, Tillor does not create the automatic invoice. You receive an email at the organisation's support address. Check the meter reading and invoice the consumption yourself if everything is correct.