Electricity billing from room meters
Record each room's meter reading, on the web or with a photo in the staff app. The units since the last reading are shared among the room's residents by days stayed. Free units per bed are taken off first, and each resident gets an Electricity charge on the next bill.
PLANSFrom Growth
The problem it solves
- The warden notes meter readings in a register and the desk splits the bill with a calculator.
- A resident who moved in on the 20th pays the same share as one who stayed the whole month.
- Residents dispute the reading, and there is no photo of the meter.
- The free units you promised in the rent are forgotten, or given twice.
How it works
- On the hostel's Billing tab, set the Electricity Rate per Unit and, if you give any, the Free Units per Bed per Month.
- Take each room's first reading. It is kept as the room's starting point and nothing is billed.
- At month end, the warden or the desk records the new reading. Do it on the web under Hostel > Billing > Meter Readings, or in the staff app with a photo.
- The units since the previous reading are worked out. On the web you click Bill; in the staff app it is billed as soon as it is saved.
- The units are shared among everyone who stayed in the room by the days each one stayed. Each person's free units for those days are taken off.
- Each resident gets an Electricity charge naming the room, the dates and the units, and it goes on their next invoice.
Everything it does
Readings
- Room, date, reading, an optional photo of the meter (kept at up to 1280 pixels) and who read it
- One reading per room and day
- Status: To Bill, First Reading or Billed
- The form shows the previous reading, the units and the charges it made
- A reading lower than the previous one is refused
- The room can hold its electricity meter number
How units are shared
- Everyone who held a bed in the room between the two readings shares, by days stayed
- Residents who left or moved room during the period pay for their days only
- Free units: the hostel's units per bed per month, counted as units per 30 days stayed
- A resident's share is never below zero; units under the free allowance are not charged
- Charged at the hostel's rate per unit, as units times rate on the invoice line
- When a parent or employer pays the electricity head, their share of the units goes on their invoice
Reports
- Hostel > Reporting > Money > Electricity by Room: units and charges as a pivot or a graph
- Hostel > Reporting > Money > Electricity by Resident
- Filters To Bill, First Reading, Billed and by date; group by status, hostel or entity
Who uses it
Warden / CaretakerTakes readings with a photo in the staff app.
Front Desk / AccountsRecords readings on the web and bills them.
Hostel ManagerSets the rate and free units and reads the electricity reports.
ResidentSees the Electricity charge with the room, dates and units on the invoice.
Where you use it
- Web: Hostel > Billing > Meter Readings; the hostel's Billing tab (Electricity group); Hostel > Reporting
- The staff app: Menu > Front Desk > Desk > Meter reading, with a photo. The app is built and in testing, not in the app stores yet
- Resident portal and the resident app: the charge on the resident's invoice
- Not built: a meter for the whole hostel shared by every resident, or readings read from a smart meter
What you control
Settings
- Electricity Rate per Unit: per hostel, empty to start with (nothing is charged until set)
- Free Units per Bed per Month: per hostel, 0 to start with
- Electricity Meter: the meter number on each room
Notifications
- No message of its own: the charge reaches the payer on the next Hostel Invoice message
Questions
Three residents shared a room, but one left halfway through the month. Who pays what?
The units are shared by days stayed. The one who left pays for their days only, and the two who stayed pay for theirs.We give 30 free units a bed every month. Is that handled?
Yes. Set Free Units per Bed per Month to 30. Each resident's free units for the days they stayed are taken off their share before it is charged.Can the warden send the reading from the phone?
Yes, in the staff app under Desk > Meter reading, with a photo of the meter. It is billed at once, and the app says how many units were billed. The app is built and in testing, not in the app stores yet.What if a reading was typed wrong?
A reading lower than the previous one is refused. A reading billed too high is corrected by waiving the charges it made and recording the right reading.Can we charge electricity in a hostel with one meter for the whole building?
Not yet. Readings are per room. For a building meter you can add the electricity as a charge by hand on each stay.Related features
BILLINGRent bills raised each periodEvery night the system adds the rent that has fallen due, puts the open charges on invoices and sends them to whoever pays. When a resident gives notice, moves room or leaves early, rent already billed is corrected with an adjustment or a credit note.PORTAL AND APPSThe staff app for wardens and the deskSmartMy Hostel Staff puts the warden's and the front desk's day on a phone. Wardens approve leave, mark residents out and back, and take the night roll call, even without signal. The desk searches residents, checks them in and out, takes payments and records inspections, incidents, late entries, visitors and meter readings. Any of them can press SOS to call the other staff for help.BILLINGSeveral payers and employer billingSay who pays what on each stay. A parent pays the rent and the resident the rest, or a company pays 70 % and the employee 30 %. Each payer gets their own invoices, and an employer that leases many beds gets one invoice for all its residents.REPORTSDues, collection and daily-life reportsReports for the money and the discipline of each hostel: unpaid invoices by age, and what was invoiced, collected, waived and still due. Also electricity by room and by resident, roll-call attendance, late entries and incidents.HOSTELS, ROOMS, BEDSHostels, blocks, floors, rooms and room typesSet up each hostel once with its address, amenities, staff, gate in-times and stay rules, then its blocks, floors, rooms and beds. Room types say how many share, AC and attached bath.
See it with your own blocks and classes.
Tell us how many hostels and students you have. We will show you an allotment, a leave request approved by a parent and a night roll call, set up the way your hostel works.