Billing systems come in all shapes and sizes but where the customer base is huge it will need to be automated. If electricity bills, for example, were to be produced manually, there would need to be an vast army of data-entry clerks working 24 hours a day!! Customers changing electricity companies however or moving house will have to have their details input or updated. This may be a manual job, but once you’re “in the system” there’s no need to do anything else.
The development of the automated billing system grew out of the need to process such vast amounts of information relatively quickly. The amount of electricity you consume is determined by a meter reading which is transmitted directly to the company and held against your personal details. A bill is produced using specialist billing software which calculates how much you owe and as a result, is automatically dispatched at the right time. If you use a water meter, the method is basically the same.
Telephone charges are based on where you are calling, the duration of the call and when it was placed and using this information together with different billing software, your bill can be determined.
Online shopping is a god-send for companies that decide to trade this way, because payment is usually immediate via a debit or credit card. In these cases a receipt will be sent your ‘contact address’, or for speed and efficiency directly to your email address. Here there is software at work behind the scenes calculating how much you owe as soon as you press the button to purchase.
All billing systems are tailored to the needs of the type of organisation. The next section concentrates on the Hotel industry.
The development of the automated billing system grew out of the need to process such vast amounts of information relatively quickly. The amount of electricity you consume is determined by a meter reading which is transmitted directly to the company and held against your personal details. A bill is produced using specialist billing software which calculates how much you owe and as a result, is automatically dispatched at the right time. If you use a water meter, the method is basically the same.
Telephone charges are based on where you are calling, the duration of the call and when it was placed and using this information together with different billing software, your bill can be determined.
Online shopping is a god-send for companies that decide to trade this way, because payment is usually immediate via a debit or credit card. In these cases a receipt will be sent your ‘contact address’, or for speed and efficiency directly to your email address. Here there is software at work behind the scenes calculating how much you owe as soon as you press the button to purchase.
All billing systems are tailored to the needs of the type of organisation. The next section concentrates on the Hotel industry.