4 Ways Outsourcing Water Billing Helps Water Districts with Digital Transformation

More and more rural water districts are catching up to their municipal counterparts by implementing digital services. As you undergo your own digital transformation, outsourcing to an expert water billing provider can help. Here’s what you can expect from the right provider.

4 Ways an Outsourced Water Billing Provider Helps Digital Transformation

#1: An outsourced provider can help implement digital tools.

Your residents expect easy and convenient ways to pay their bill online and monitor their usage. The best way to begin to modernize your water district’s operations is to implement an online billing and payment system.

If your water district is still sending mail-only bills, a water billing expert can advise your team on how best to improve your digital presence. These improvements will go a long way to improving your internal operations as well as making it easier and more convenient for your residents to view usage metrics and pay their bills on time.

There are many ways water districts can begin to update and improve their digital capabilities. Here are a few to explore first:

• Online portals that let residents view usage and past bills, so they can plan their future water usage to meet their budget.
• Mobile apps that allow residents to access their water bill information no matter where they are.
• Online bill payment and autopay options, as well as the ability to accept multiple forms of payment.
• Customer service contact options, including email, text, or online messaging to make it easier for residents to get in touch and resolve any issues.
• Online resources and FAQs to address common customer inquiries without the need for customer service calls.

#2: The right provider can empower your team with rich water billing analytics.

As a result of implementing those digital tools, a water billing provider can then empower your water district with richer analytics. They can also break down those analytics and provide custom reports to meet your water district’s needs.

With that data and analysis, your water district can begin to better understand consumption patterns and forecast demand. This helps with optimizing water distribution, planning infrastructure upgrades, and ensuring resource efficiency.

#3: A water billing expert can consult on metering updates.

Many districts have gone decades without improving or investing in their water meters. If this is the case for your water district, updating your metering system is a great place to start modernizing your billing operations.

A water billing expert can help you through any needed metering updates. One of the first improvements they’ll look to make is implementing an Automated Meter Reading (AMR) system on your existing meters. AMR allows you to collect consumption data from your water meters remotely, reducing the need for manual readings.

AMR systems also go a step further to improve usage accuracy and reduce errors. AMR makes it possible for your water district to collect and analyze up-to-the-minute usage data. This allows you to catch spikes in usage that could indicate a leak much sooner, allowing you to rectify the problem before it impacts your customers.

#4: The right water billing provider increases recovery rate by improving the resident experience.

The right water billing provider will always ask how to make a bill as easy as possible to pay. On top of all the digital improvements we listed before, the answer to this question comes down to three best billing practices.

• Send fair and defensible bills with usage and rates itemized to reduce the chances of
• Send bills at a predictable cadence, so residents can properly budget and prepare for water bills.
• Offer multiple payment options to make bills as easy as possible to pay.

Nobody wants to pay a bill. However, these three best practices are ways your water district can increase the chances that a bill gets paid on time and in full.

Conclusion: Digital Transformation Is Easier with an Expert Water Billing Provider

Adding digital capabilities at your water district can be a daunting and disruptive proposition without the help of a water billing expert.

That’s why working with an expert water billing provider can lead to many benefits for your water district. They can work with your team to ensure implementations are done seamlessly, and then they can take on all water billing tasks for your team moving forward. This gives your team time back in the day to focus on critical tasks.

As your water district explores digital transformation efforts, it’s important to work with the right experts to ensure your success. Not all water billing firms are the same, and your water district won’t see all these benefits of digital transformation efforts unless you work with the right kind of provider. It’s important to go beyond the traditional read, bill, collect firms, and work with true utility billing experts who can help you at every step of the billing process.

A firm like Synergy can handle all aspects of your water billing system and consult with your team about how best to add digital capabilities to your water district.

Looking to enhance your water district’s cost recovery and water billing capabilities? Get in touch with Synergy. We’re experts in water billing, and we’re here to help your district succeed.