This month:
September 2022 was a big month on the dev team but it was particularly busy for those of us working on a multitude of BILL VAL enhancements.
The one that got William & Valerie particularly excited was PDF parsing and here's why:
Suppliers offer invoices in a variety of formats, with the most useful being CSV/XLS. However, some only offer flattened PDF files, unreadable by machine. With PDF parsing, you're able to upload flat PDF files where we then employ optical character recognition (OCR) to decipher each character, before converting it to digital format, ready to be validated. Exciting stuff!
As well as PDF parsing we've also developed three new validation checks to enhance the BILL VAL process. For this (and to see how we're saving you money on your gas & electric lookups), read our September update from the dev team...
PDF Parsing
This new feature will allow customers to upload PDF receipts directly into their account. We're working hard to increase the supplier list for PDF parsing and soon you'll be able to upload PDFs from a multitude of different suppliers.
Built for:
BILL VAL
BILL VAL Rule 01: Customer Read Usage
The system will now check if there is a customer meter read present within the system that matches the dates being validated. If it matches, it will check that the meter read has been included within the invoice.
Built for:
BILL VAL
BILL VAL Rule 02: Contract Rates Follow On
The system will now check if Unit Rates, Standing Charge, and Available Capacity Charge vary from the previous invoice. Our system was already checking rates against contract information but this handy validation rule will make it clear if rates have changed.
Built for:
BILL VAL
BILL VAL Rule 03: Zero Consuming Meter
The system will now check if a meter within the invoice has been billed to zero kWh. If detected, a failure is recorded.
Built for:
BILL VAL
Other bits and bobs...
We've also added the following other bits and bobs...
Commissions Disclosure
To aid with the changes directed by OFGEM on the UK energy industry, we've added an additional option when creating PDF quotes that will allow you to export a quote with the annual commission value included. Note that it is still possible to export quotes with the commission information omitted, should you plan to relay this information to your customers through other means.
Built for: PRO CRM
Caching Your Gas & Electric Lookups
Since launching gas and electric lookups we noticed that some users were looking up the same meters, multiple times a day. Essentially creating a new lookup each time, which would be chargeable. We didn't think this was very fair. So we've spent time coding a clever caching system to record lookups you've already completed and, if you've already looked them up within the last 24 hours, they'll be recalled, free of charge.
Built for: PRO CRM
Pozitive Energy compatible with BILL VAL
You can now upload receipts from Pozitive Energy directly in to the BILL VAL system for immediate validation.
Built for:
BILL VAL
Pozitive Energy compatible with BILL VAL
You can now upload receipts from Pozitive Energy directly in to the BILL VAL system for immediate validation.
Built for:
BILL VAL
Account ID Validation Improved
USA Account IDs are more varied from their UK counterparts. Because of this, we've made adjustments to the validation procedure to accept a larger variety of US MPAN formats.
Built for: PRO CRM
(USA ONLY)
"Total Commission" Added Contract exports
A "Total Commission" value is now included within the Contract export to quickly showcase the cumulative value of each contract over the reporting period.
Built for:
PRO CRM
Meter Serial Number added to Meter Readings
When recording a meter reading it is now possible to also add a serial number. This could be useful in case of a future meter exchange, where the history of reads can easily be linked to a respective meter.
Built for: PRO CRM
Allow Combined Commission Types
When generating pricing you could previously see a breakdown of quotes using either the calculated Unit Rate with commission or with a Standing Charge commission, but not with both applied. Now for instance, if you have a p/kWh commission value set and you opt to add a standing charge, you can see the results of both for all returned pricing. What's more (using the 'Tender Tools' dropdown), you can bulk update the standing charge rate for all supplier pricing that are marked as 'Accept SC Commissions'.
Built for: PRO CRM
USA Wording Changes
We've updated the language used within our software so the vernacular is more appropriate for users from North America (US accounts only).
Built for: PRO CRM
Quick Add Contract Date Accepted Update
Previously when using the Quick Add Contract feature, the Date Accepted field would default to the contract start date. This has been updated to take the date that the contract was created.
Built for: PRO CRM
That’s it for this month.
Our software evolves at such an exciting rate so please feel free to get in touch to discuss any of the functionality we’ve added since you last saw it. We’ll be more than happy to arrange a demo to show you around!