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Utility Billing

Opes Utility

Meter reading, billing and collection for water and waste operators

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A community water scheme or a waste collection service fails on collection long before it fails on service. Readings are taken on paper and copied wrongly, bills reach the wrong household, and the ones who do not pay carry on receiving the service because nobody is tracking who has and who has not.

Opes Utility runs the cycle end to end. Readings are captured on a phone with the meter photographed, bills are calculated on real consumption, payment comes in by Mobile Money, and non-payment is a visible list rather than an unspoken subsidy.

What Opes Utility does

Meter reading on a phone

Readers capture the reading and a photograph of the meter, with implausible values rejected at the point of capture.

Tariff and consumption billing

Block tariffs, fixed charges, standing fees and flat-rate waste billing calculated automatically per customer category.

Mobile Money collection

Customers pay over MTN MoMo or Orange Money against their account reference, credited automatically with a receipt.

Arrears and disconnection

Ageing per account with reminders, a documented disconnection list, and reconnection recorded when the account settles.

Loss and leak analysis

Water produced against water billed, by zone, so physical losses and unbilled connections are identified rather than absorbed.

Route and zone management

Reading routes by zone with completion tracking, so a missed street is visible the same day, not the next cycle.

Who it is for

Community water schemes and CDE-type operators, private water networks, waste collection and sanitation companies, municipal councils and estate managers billing for utilities.

How it works

1

Customers registered

Connection, meter number, category, tariff and location recorded, with the customer's Mobile Money or contact details.

2

Meters read

Readers work their route on a phone, capturing readings and meter photographs, offline where there is no coverage.

3

Bills produced

Consumption is calculated against the tariff, bills are issued by SMS or printed, and the billing register is closed for the period.

4

Payments collected

Customers pay by Mobile Money, at a pay point or in cash, each credited against the account with a receipt.

5

Arrears actioned

Reminders go out, the disconnection list is produced from account status, and reconnection is recorded on settlement.

Common questions

Do meter readers need internet in the field?

No. Readings and photographs are captured offline and sync when the reader returns to coverage, which is how most reading routes actually work.

Can customers pay by Mobile Money?

Yes. Each account has a payment reference, and payments over MTN MoMo or Orange Money are credited automatically with a receipt sent by SMS.

Does it help find unbilled connections?

Yes. Comparing water produced against water billed per zone highlights where losses concentrate, which is usually a mix of physical leaks and connections nobody is billing.

Can it handle flat-rate waste collection alongside metered water?

Yes. Metered and flat-rate services can bill on the same account, so a household receives one bill covering both rather than two unrelated demands.

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See Opes Utility with your own numbers

We will set it against your own workflow rather than a generic demonstration. Tell us how you operate and we will tailor it.

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