Utility management module
Utility rebilling software that explains every charge
Read meters, record the supplier invoice, choose an allocation key, preview the result and issue in a batch. Every tenant charge remains traceable to its source.
- Meters and sub-meters for electricity, water, hot water, gas, heating, sanitation and internet
- Batch reading entry built for walking a building meter by meter
- Allocation by area, person, unit, consumption share or a custom expression
- A rebilling sheet PDF for each client, showing how every figure was derived
The full chain
From supply contract to meter
Reliable rebilling starts with an accurate supply model. Suppliers, contracts, price schedules, sites and meters remain separate because each changes on its own dates.
Suppliers and supply contracts
Record each utility supplier and supply contract. The contract holds the utility type, period and terms used throughout the module.
Utility price schedules
Keep unit rates and standing charges with their supply contract, so each period uses the correct schedule instead of a global tariff.
Consumption sites
A supply can serve a building, stair or courtyard connection. Its consumption site links the supply contract, meters and allocation formulas.
Meters and sub-meters
Record main meters, sub-meters and their hierarchy. Each meter belongs to the property, unit or common space it serves, in m³, litres, kWh or MWh.
Meter readings
Keep dated readings as read, estimated or linearly interpolated. If a period boundary moves, consumption between two dates can be recalculated.
Supplier invoices
Record supplier readings and invoices, including compound documents that must be split by utility, period or cost type before allocation.
The cycle
How a utility rebilling period runs
The same process handles a monthly pass-through or an annual ancillary cost statement. Only the period and document count change.
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Take the readings
Enter values meter by meter in installation order. Estimated and interpolated readings stay clearly marked.
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Book the supplier documents
Record supplier readings and invoices. Split a compound invoice into its utilities, periods or cost types.
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Generate rebilling entries
Group entries by utility and rebilling mode: real-time pass-through or periodic settlement. Heating, water and electricity remain separate.
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Set the allocation
Choose a key for each entry or write a formula over its consumption sites. The system validates it when saved, before invoicing.
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Preview before issuing
Preview each client's invoice and confirm that allocated amounts reconcile with the supplier document before issuing.
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Issue in a batch
Select the entries and issue the entire period under the correct legal entity. Invoices pass to the connected invoicing platform.
Measurement
Sub-metering built for the reading round
The batch screen follows the physical reading round: one field per meter at a consumption site, in the order the meters are visited.
Sub-meters remain linked to their main meter. The gap between the main reading and all sub-meter readings stays visible, including common-area consumption.
Read, estimated and interpolated values keep their label through to the tenant's rebilling sheet. Electricity meters can also store inductive and capacitive reactive energy.
The supplier side
Split compound invoices and standing charges
One supplier invoice may cover several utilities, months or corrections. Record the original compound invoice, then split it into parts that can be allocated separately.
Basic charges, meter rent and grid fees have no reading. Record them as unmetered positions with their own key, while consumption costs follow the meters.
Keeping both parts separate makes the reconciliation verifiable: tenants can distinguish metered consumption from charges taken directly from invoice lines.
Allocation keys
Choose an allocation key for each cost
The formula engine evaluates each allocation key across the entry's consumption sites. Configure common keys directly and express unusual rules as formulas.
| Allocation key | What it divides by | Typical use |
|---|---|---|
| Per square metre | Recorded area of the unit against the total allocable area | Heating, building insurance, general ancillary costs |
| Per person | Occupant count attached to the unit | Water, hot water, waste and sanitation |
| Per unit | Equal share across the units served by the site | Basic charges, meter rent, stair lighting |
| Per consumption share | The unit's sub-meter reading against total measured consumption | Electricity, individually metered water and heat |
| Custom expression | Arithmetic over any consumption sites in the entry, plus fixed coefficients | Mixed keys, partial pass-through, negotiated splits for a single commercial tenant |
Areas roll up from rooms to units and properties, so area-based allocation uses the portfolio record instead of a separate spreadsheet.
Worked example
Heating costs from supplier invoice to tenant charge
Consider a mixed-use building with six flats, one business space, one gas supply, one main heat meter and a sub-meter for the business.
Split the heating invoice into metered consumption and a standing charge for the connection and meter rent.
The supplier reading is 120,000 kWh. Dividing the consumption cost by this quantity gives the documented rate for the period.
Allocate the business's 18,000 kWh directly by consumption share. The remaining 102,000 kWh belongs to the flats.
The six flats total 600 m². A 72 m² flat receives 12% of the remainder: 12,240 kWh at the same period rate.
Record the standing charge as an unmetered position and split it per unit across all seven units.
The tenant charge combines the flat's area-based consumption cost and its per-unit standing charge. The rebilling sheet shows each step and its source.
Figures are illustrative and describe how the calculation runs. They are not a customer result and not a price quotation.
Before it goes out
Check utility charges before issuing
A single rebilling error can reach every tenant at once. The dashboard catches discrepancies before invoices are created.
- Rebilling dashboard — view every period entry by utility and rebilling mode, with open and processed entries clearly separated
- Invoice preview per client — review each client's consumption lines before creating a document, with configurable invoice detail
- Formula validation — validate formulas when saved, catching unresolved references or division by zero before issuing
- Consumption reports — inspect reports and reading timelines by site and meter to spot leaks or incorrect sub-meter settings
The document tenants keep
A rebilling statement tenants can verify
Issue each client a branded PDF showing the supplier document, period, total cost, allocation key, meter readings and calculation behind the invoice.
Tenants can follow the path from their meter to their charge without requesting the supplier invoice.
The statement and invoice use the same records, so they stay aligned. Estimated or interpolated periods remain labelled.
Not a standalone tool
Data the utility module uses
Rebilling uses the same portfolio, contract and legal-entity records as the rest of the system, without re-entering data.
Portfolio and areas
Meters attach to properties, units and common spaces. Area-based keys use areas rolled up from rooms.
Contracts and clients
Contracts determine who is billed, for which unit and dates, including bailments and early terminations.
Invoicing and accounting
Rebilling invoices flow to the connected invoicing platform and the GraphQL accounting connector.
Who runs this cycle
Who uses utility rebilling software
The module supports utility billing providers and property managers closing the same period across many buildings.
Utility billing providers
Rebill utilities at scale with compound invoices, batch readings, custom formulas and invoice previews.
Property management companies
Run period-end across many buildings and legal entities, with a branded statement for each client.
Facility management
Keep heating systems, heat pumps and photovoltaic installations beside the meters that measure them.
Pricing
Utility rebilling module pricing
Add Utility Billing / Cost Reallocation to a Standard or Extended plan at the published flat monthly rate.
Rentals & Contracts
Rental contracts, bailment agreements, tenants and deadline reminders.
Utility Billing & Cost Reallocation
Meters, supplier invoices, allocation keys and rebilling invoices.
Accounting & Invoicing Integration
Issue documents on your invoicing platform and post them to the ledger.
Investment & Business Analyses
Revenue timelines, consumption analysis and investment calculations.
Facility Management
Technical asset register, asset connections and service partners.
All prices exclude VAT. Plan limits, overage rates for larger portfolios and a live cost estimator are on the pricing page.
Questions
Utility rebilling software FAQ
Is this heating cost allocation software, or general utility billing?
Both. Heating is one of eight utility types the module handles, alongside electricity, water, hot water, gas, sanitation, internet and a general category. Heating cost allocation typically combines a sub-metered share with an area-based residual and a standing charge, and all three are configured as separate rebilling entries against the same supplier invoice.
How does it handle one supplier invoice covering several utilities or periods?
Record it as a compound supplier invoice. The document is kept as it arrived, then split into the component parts that can be allocated: one part per utility, per period, or per cost type. Each part becomes its own rebilling entry with its own allocation key, and each part is traceable back to the original document.
What allocation keys are supported?
Per square metre, per person, per unit and per consumption share are configured directly. Anything else is written as an expression over the consumption sites in the entry and evaluated by a formula engine, which covers mixed keys, partial pass-through and negotiated splits. Expressions are parsed and validated when saved, not at issue time.
Can tenants see how their charge was calculated?
Yes. Each client can be issued a rebilling sheet as a branded PDF showing the supplier document, the period, the total cost, the allocation key, the meter readings used and the resulting figure. Readings that were estimated or interpolated rather than physically read are labelled as such on the sheet.
What does the utility billing module cost?
Utility Billing / Cost Reallocation is an optional module, charged per month at the published module rate on top of a Standard or Extended base plan. All prices exclude VAT. Full plan limits, module options and a cost estimator are on the pricing page.
Next step
See it run against a building you actually manage
Bring one supplier invoice and one building's meter list to a walkthrough, and we will model it live. That is usually enough to tell whether the allocation logic fits how you bill.