sap isu billing

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5 Scope of Business Functions

Device ReadingDevice reading is performed either at regular intervals as part of periodic billing or atirregular intervals as, for example, in the case of control readings, and readings fordevice replacement, removal, or disconnection, or at the request of the customer.

The scheduled dates and the meter reading type are defined in Scheduling. How-ever, you can override this scheduling and create an order for a meter reader in-stead of a meter reading by the customer. In the case of irregular, or aperiodic,meter readings, you can manually prescribe the scheduled dates.

To prepare for a device reading, you first create a meter reading order. If the meterreading results are relevant to billing, you also create a billing order that containscontrol data for billing. You cannot perform billing without this billing order.

Depending on how it is entered, the meter reading order is either printed out inthe form of meter reading documents or downloaded to an external entry system.Similarly, the meter reading results are either entered manually or uploaded, val-idated, and corrected if necessary. Finally, they are passed on to Contract Billing.

Fig. 5-12: Execution of a Device Reading

Meter Reading Organization

Street Route You use meter reading organization to define the sequence in which the devicesare read. This allows you to optimize the route that the meter reader must cover.You can set up a combined street route for more than meter reading unit.

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Scope of Business Functions 5

A street route is defined within a meter reading unit on the basis of the followingcriteria:

❑ City

❑ Street

❑ House number (connection object)

❑ Device location

❑ Device

Fig. 5-13: Street Route

Period Consumption

Meter Reading OrdersA meter reading order contains register-specific data and information on theplanned meter reading, such as target reading date and meter reader. For eachregister, you create one meter reading order for a utility company meter reader,for an external meter reading company, or for a reading by the customer.

You can reverse meter reading orders. If meter reading results have already beenobtained when the order is reversed, you can either delete them or save them andthen use them with a new meter-reading order.

Order CreationYou can create meter-reading orders as

❑ Individual ordersIndividual orders are generally created for billings at irregular intervals, suchas for interim and control billings or if a meter reading unit is transferred toanother utility company. However, you can also create individual orders forperiodic billings, such as if a single order has to be created again due to anerror.

❑ Mass ordersIn the case of periodic meter readings, mass orders allow you to create ordersfor more than one meter reading unit simultaneously.

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You do not create a meter reading order for flat-rate installations, just a billingorder, because flat-rate installations do not contain meters counting consumption.

Entry Meter reading results are either entered manually or uploaded to IS-U/CCS froman external entry system. The upload is handled by direct input via an intermedi-ate document interface or IDoc. IDocs are used in electronic data interchange (EDI)between different computers and systems. A Business Application ProgrammingInterface (BAPI) is also available for importing meter reading results.

Manual entry can be subdivided as follows:

❑ Fast entryFast entry is used to enter the large volumes of data that occur with periodicmeter readings. Fast entry can also be subdivided as follows:

❍ Fast entry without immediate correctionFollow-up correction and release of implausible readings may be neces-sary.

❍ Fast entry with correctionIf implausible meter reading results are encountered, the clerk can callup a correction screen.

❑ Individual entryYou can enter meter reading results individually in such cases as:

❍ Control readings

❍ Interim readings

❍ Interim readings with billing

❍ Service territory transfers with billing

❍ Final readings (for move-out)

❍ Periodic readings

❍ Readings taken by customers

Order Output You can output the meter reading order in the following ways:

❑ Print the meter reading documents using the print workbench

❑ Make it available at a raw data interface (RDI)Using the raw data interface, you can transfer the meter reading order to ex-ternal entry systems, such as mobile data entry (MDE) devices and documentreaders (downloaded), or you can print it using external print systems.

Meter Reading Results

You can obtain the meter reading result by a variety of methods:

❑ A meter reader from the utility company or from an external meter readingcompany records the result on a meter reading order or enters it into the exter-nal entry system.

❑ The customer takes the reading and reports it to the utility company.❑ The system estimates the result.

Both the meter reading result and the method used to obtain the reading are stored.

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Every meter reading result is subject to validation, regardless of whether it is en-tered manually or uploaded. There are two types of validation: fixed and variable.Fixed validation is mandatory and is performed automatically. Fixed validationchecks, for example, that the previous meter reading was plausible or that noconsumption is recorded for inactive installations. You can define your variablevalidation in Customizing. The system supports the following types of variablevalidation:

❑ Zero consumption

❑ Repeated readings by customers or estimatesThis allows you to limit the number of meter readings taken by customers andthe number of automated estimates.

❑ Absolute, relative, floating tolerance limitsThis allows you to compare current consumption with a comparison period.The consumption must fall within a specific interval.

❑ Usage hours compared with a previous period or a fixed value

❑ Maximum or minimum approved contract demand limit

❑ Meter overflowValidation checks whether the meter reading is less than the previous reading.

Validation

Fig. 5-14: Validation and Correction

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In some cases of validation, the meter reading or consumption result is comparedwith an extrapolated expected value. A meter reading result can be extrapolatedfor a predefined date based on the following information:

❑ Meter reading resultsMeter reading results are given the highest priority with regard to extrapola-tion because they best reflect the consumption pattern of customers. The peri-od for which the customer’s meter reading results exist must be representa-tive. You define the representative period in the rate in relation to the length ofthe period. The representative period can be as little as one month or as muchas one year.To calculate the degree to which meter readings are representative of a period,you consider the weighting portions valid for the time period (see below).They are determined by the weighting procedure, which is assigned to theregister operands of the rate.

❑ Period consumptionIf no previous meter readings exist or if the time period is not representative,the system extrapolates from the period consumption. You can store the peri-od consumption on device installation or customer move-in per register in adevice and, of course, make subsequent changes to it if, for example, there is achange in the consumption pattern of the customer.

❑ Reference valueIf neither meter reading results nor period consumption exist, the system ex-trapolates using the reference value stored in the rate.

Extrapolation of MeterReading Results

Weighting Procedures You may use any of the following common weighting procedures:

❑ Linear weighting

❑ Weighting of energy feeding

❑ Weighting of degree days

❑ General weighting

❑ Mixed weightingMixed weighting entails adding a total of fixed or percentage portions of lin-ear weightings to the current weighting procedure. This allows you to take aminimum consumption as a basis each month.

❑ Weighting with absolute linear portionsUnlike mixed weighting, this type of weighting allows you to define a timeperiod in addition to a fixed value.

Correction The result of validation determines the status of the individual meterreading re-sults. Depending on the outcome of validation, the meter reading result can beused in billing or submitted for correction. However, you can also correct plausi-ble results.

In some cases, meter reading results have to be checked on site. Where this is thecase, you create a new meter reading order, known as a rereading order, withupdated data.

Estimation If meter readings and consumption are either missing or implausible, you cancalculate the meter reading results using by means of automated mass estimation.

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Monitoring

You can monitor the status of meter reading, billing, and entry. This allows you tocheck the number of entered, implausible, or billable meter reading results. Youcan, of course, limit the display to specific business partners, meter reading units,time periods, and so on.

Outlook

The liberalization of the energy market as well as the development of new meter-ing technology have led to new requirements for the utilities industry. These newrequirements have been taken into account in the ongoing development of the IS-U/CCS System.

Utility companies today, especially industrial and service enterprises, are startingto meter consumption with electronic, programmable meters called interval meters.These meters measure different units (such as kW or kVAr) in time intervals. Aninterval is typically 5 minutes to 1 hour, but can be programmed for any period ina day. Interval meters are read by Automated Meter Reading (AMR) systems us-ing different transmission methods. AMR systems store the meter reading data as“interval data.” Such time series of energy consumption readings are also referredto as a load profile. Starting with large industrial customers, the traditional me-chanical meters or first-generation programmable meters are gradually being re-placed by interval meters.

Interval data must be supplied to systems that process the data further. Depend-ing on the company’s role, the interval data can be forwarded to other internalsystems (such as billing systems). Alternatively, the interval data can be transmit-ted to third parties via electronic data exchange.

Meter reading data is assigned a unique code within the company, a “deliverypoint ID,” to ensure correct allocation. The delivery point is usually the custom-er’s point of receipt or a power plant’s point of delivery for the grid. The deliverypoint can also be the interchange tie point between grids.

The IS-U/CCS System is being continuously developed to cover the functionalscope outlined in the following. However, since development is ongoing, the de-scriptions below have been kept general. SAP AG reserves the right to change thefunctional scope at any time. IS-U development news and release notes containmore detailed information about release dates.

Meter Reading Warehouse (MRW)

The meter reading warehouse manages not only traditional meter readings butalso interval data. According to delivery point or period, different units and inter-vals can be defined and stored. The data is stored via the delivery point ID. Sincethis process creates a large volume of data, it is important to use a data manage-ment system that optimizes storage space.

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Categorized load profile data for relative periods (such as working days, week-days, or weekdays and months according to season) can be stored instead of real-time interval data. Load profiles with a certain error tolerance can also be storedfor a large number of customers using only a small amount of storage space. Thisis accomplished by assigning the load profile data category to the delivery pointID and by means of a usage factor. The usage factor is relative deviation of me-tered consumption from predefined consumption according to interval data cate-gory. In this way, load profiles can be used for residential customers as well.

The MRW not only stores the load profiles, it can also import and store data fromexternal systems or export the data to other systems.

MRW Import Function The import function allows meter readings to be transferred from other systems.It is currently possible to transfer meter readings from traditional meters (see thesection on Meter Reading). Automated meter reading systems retrieve the intervaldata from local interval meters. The AMR systems forward the interval data di-rectly to the MRW without making changes to the data. The MRW stores the inter-val data with the appropriate delivery point ID.

MRW Processing Function The MRW is used predominantly for data processing. Processed data can eitherbe sent to another component of IS-U/CCS or be exported to an external systemvia electronic data exchange (such as EDIFACT). If new interval data is createdduring processing, it can be stored in the MRW. The MRW offers the followingprocessing functions:

❑ Validation and, if necessary, correction of meter reading data

❑ Alteration of stored interval data, such as the addition of plausible data whendata is missing. The origin of the added data can be indicated.

❑ Conversion of meter readings into billable quantities (energy or demand) forelectricity and gas

❑ Creation of new interval data; in order to derive interval data for a futureperiod using metered interval data. The method used to create the new inter-val data can be indicated.

❑ Aggregation of metered interval data in different ways, such as addition, sub-traction, or averaging. For example, interval data added together may serveas a basis for billing a chain of branches of a major customer. Forecasted inter-val data can also be aggregated in order to forecast the total consumption of achain of branches, for example. The aggregation of interval data in differentways allows for statistical analyses or load profile forecasts of different types.These analyses and forecasts can be carried out dynamically and provided tothe requesting units or they can be stored in the MRW with an indicator ofcreation method.

❑ Analysis of interval data of all types according to typical criteria such as totalconsumption, maximum, minimum or average demand — according to thespecifications of the company requesting the analysis.

❑ Provision of interval data created as above or of interval data analyses in acertain format defined by the company requesting the data (export function ofthe MRW).

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❑ Check to ensure that the company has authorization to access the data re-quested. The check is carried out based on authorization criteria stored in theMRW for the particular company.

❑ Use of standard electronic data exchange formats (such as EDIFACT) for trans-mission of data as already described to the requesting unit.

Further Processing of Interval DataThe interval data managed in the MRW is processed further by other IS-U/CCScomponents or by external systems.

Interval data is processed predominantly by the IS-U billing component. The bill-ing component requests the billing-related consumption data in a certain formatfrom the MRW. The MRW provides the billing component with the requestedmeter reading or interval data via export functions.

The following additional functions use data from the MRW. However, at this timeSAP cannot confirm that these functions will been implemented as further IS-Ucomponents.

❑ Billing of RTP (real-time pricing) contracts. RTP contracts require interval-spe-cific evaluation of consumption values for the billing period. The conditionsof the evaluations may change from interval to interval. This especially ap-plies to prices that can be defined for each interval, such as those prices deter-mined manually or using the spot price defined by a power pool. When billingRTP contracts, entire sets of interval data are requested from the MRW. A set ofdata may contain metered interval data from one delivery point, aggregatedor derived data. Interval data may be used for describing billing conditions,which are then used during settlement. Such interval data might contain loadschedules or information about maximum or minimum consumption.

❑ Analysis of interval data for:

❍ Calculating statistics

❍ Marketing; to determine consumption patters of certain customer groups(market segment analyses) or customer in certain grid areas, for example.

❍ Analyzing interval data for optimization of rates and prices or for costsanalyses.

❍ Load forecasting to aid energy procurement or simulation of grid load orcapacity

❍ Calculating transmission losses

❑ Forwarding of interval data to end customers for purposes of information ordemand side management

Support of the business processes in energy trading by managing and pro-cessing the various load profiles required during those trading processes

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Contract BillingContract billing is the core of IS-U/CCS. It allows you to perform billing for yourcompany’s utility services and other services. The functional scope and flexibilityof IS-U/CCS enable you to bill nonresidential and residential customer contractsin a single system. IS-U/CCS also provides a range of procedures with a variety ofselection and control options for billing contracts. Examples include:

❑ Annual consumption billing and periodic monthly billing cycles

❑ Billing for different divisions

❑ Numerous bill forms

❑ Simulation of billing

❑ Validation of billing documents and bills

Due to the complexity involved, the following section discusses only the basics ofbilling.

Billing Master Data

Billing master data controls contract billing. This master data stores the rate struc-tures that contain the your company’s billing rules and the contractual provisions.

The most important element of billing is the rate, which contains one or more ratesteps. The system processes a variant program for each rate step. Variant pro-grams define how billing-related quantities (such as measured consumption ordemand) are to be processed and valuated. When defining a rate, you select theappropriate variant programs and specify the sequence in which they are to run.Many predefined variant programs are available to you, including:

❑ Multiply or divide with factors

❑ Valuate demand or quantities with a price

❑ Discounts on prices

❑ IF conditions

❑ Flat-rate billing

❑ Rental price billing

In addition, you can create customized variant programs.

The input and output parameters for the variant programs are the operands. Val-ues, such as prices or demand, are assigned to the operands at billing programruntime.

The billing rate is obtained through rate determination and is a combination ofrate category and rate type. The rate category is stored in the installation. The ratetype is generally stored in the installation structure because it defines the rateallocation of the registers. However, the rate type can also be stored in the ratecategory or the installation in the case of flat-rate installations. You can also arriveat more than one rate by combining rate category and rate type in rate determina-tion. This allows you to run comparison bills. You can use those rates to executebest-rate billing or comparative billing.

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This method of indirect rate allocation using a rate type offers a number of advantages:

❑ When you want to access new rates using an installation’s rate types, youonly have to enter one new rate category for the installation. You do not haveto make time-consuming changes to the rate types for each individual regis-ter.

❑ In the case of mass changes, you only have to change the rate determination –not the rate data for the installations in question.

Rate steps are processed in a particular sequence. You define that sequence in thebilling schema. The results of a rate step can be passed through operands to thenext rate steps to be processed.

Benefits of Indirect RateAllocation

Fig. 5-15: Master Data in Contract Billing

You define the billing master data described above in Customizing under ratestructure.

Other types of billing master data include the following:

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❑ PricesPrices are allocated to the following four price categories:

❍ Quantity-based prices

❍ Time-based prices

❍ Rental prices, for example, for rental of devices and meters

❍ Flat rates

For any of the prices, you can specify special rounding rules and price adjust-ment clauses that control the price adjustment factor. This factor is multipliedby the basic price or added to the basic price to arrive at the current price. Youcan also define blocks or scales for quantity-based and time-based prices. In thecase of quantity-based prices, you can adapt the blocks to the billing period.

❑ RatesAmong other things, rates define:

❍ How meter reading results and consumption values are extrapolated andprorated

❍ Which reference values are billed

❍ Which prices are used

❍ Which constants, factors, and variables are included in the calculation

❍ The general ledger accounts to which the results of the calculations (billingline items) are posted

❍ How the billing line items are handled statistically

❍ How the time portions of the periods to be billed are calculated (to the dayor month-related)

❍ The divisions and billing classes to which the rate is allocated.

❑ Rate categoriesRate categories contain data that controls billing for multiple rates. Rate cate-gories:

❍ Define which billing schema is used

❍ Control period-end billing and floating backbilling

❍ Define the outsorting checks

❍ May contain additional data relevant to billing (such as quantities, demandvalues, prices, or flat rates agreed on between the utility company andcustomers).

In some cases, you can override data by making individual entries in the in-stallation.

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You can define discounts and surcharges as percentages or as absolute values.They can relate to a quantity, a price, a demand, or an amount. You have flexiblecontrol over the application of surcharges and the granting of discounts. Discountsand surcharges can apply to several contracts (for example, for one rate), or youcan structure them individually for individual contracts.

All discounts and surcharges appear as separate billing line items in the docu-ment and can therefore – given an appropriate bill form layout – appear separate-ly on the bill.

Discounts and Surcharges

Fig. 5-16: Discounts and Surcharges

Multiple-Contract Billing (Release 4.51 and Later)

Companies that have concluded several contracts with a utility company for in-stallations in their local branches are interested in conditions that account for thetotal quantity of demand sold and calculate the relevant discount. These calcula-tions can be made either as each individual contract is billed or as applied to allcontracts jointly (as a collective bill).

As a result of deregulation, provisions of this kind can also be agreed on a multi-ple-territory basis for the installations of a company in the service territories ofseveral energy distribution companies. For example, in these territories one ener-gy dealer meets the total energy requirements and concludes corresponding trans-mission service contracts with the distribution companies.

Various procedures are available for determining discounts:

❍ Combined blocking or scaling of consumption

❍ Analysis of the billing documents for the contracts in question with calcu-lation of the discount using a customer report

SAP is researching other requirements in this area, and they will be implementedbeginning with Release 4.51. Later releases will contain even more procedures forgranting discounts.

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Automatic Billing and Simulation

In standard cases, the system automatically executes billing as a background task.Manual, online billing is also possible with Release 4.51. However, a contract canonly be billed either automatically or manually within any given period.

You can reverse or change all forms of billing on the basis of manual credit memosor backbilling. In all cases, a billing document is created that, together with otherdocuments, is used in invoicing to produce the bill.

Basic Principle of Billing Automatic billing comprises the following stages:

1. Data collection and analysisAll data required for billing is collected and prepared for valuation.

2. ProrationIf changes are made during a billing period to duties, prices, or taxes, the quan-tities relevant to billing (such as consumption) must be prorated starting fromthe date on which the data was changed.

3. Quantity conversionBillable quantities are determined from the quantities read. Register factors,transformer factors and conversions for thermal gas billing, for example, aretaken into account.

4. Quantity valuationQuantity valuation is the actual contract billing. Rates with their variant pro-grams are processed based on the billing schema.

5. Validation of the billing resultsAfter valuation, the billing results are checked for plausibility.

Fig. 5-17: Basic Principle of Billing

Not only can you perform automatic billing for contracts, you can also simulateand test them. Specifically, you have the following options:

❑ BillingTo execute billing, you must have a billing order, which is deleted followingsuccessful billing. In the event of a reversal, you can regenerate the billingorder and bill it again.

❑ Billing simulationBilling simulation allows you to give customers information about the expect-ed amount of their bills. The prerequisites for a billing simulation are a billingorder and existing meter reading results.

❑ SimulationYou can run a simulation for any given period without a billing order. If nometer reading results exist for the period in question, the system extrapolatesthem.

Billing, Simulation,and Testing

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❑ Overall checkOverall checks examine billing in a way similar to simulation. Unlike the oth-er procedures, an overall check ignores minor errors. Those errors are collect-ed in a log to be used in a comprehensive status analysis. Serious errors, onthe other hand, result in premature termination of an overall check.

You can, of course, execute these functions not only for individual contracts butalso for a large number of contracts. You can run mass billing and mass overallchecks in the background overnight, for example. You select the contracts basedon a variety of criteria, such as:

❑ Contract accounts

❑ Portions

❑ Billing procedure (periodic billing, period-end billing, service territory trans-fer, and so on)

❑ Division

❑ Company code

With the individual bill function, you can not only execute billing for individualcontracts, you can also perform invoicing, and print or display the bill at the sametime. You can also simulate this individual bill.

Simulations allow you to perform the following extrapolations and forecasts:

❑ Extrapolation of billing with existing meter reading results

❑ Extrapolation of billing with the meter reading result estimated automatically

❑ Forecast of billing for a different rate structure (later release)

Extrapolations andForecasting

Billing ProceduresThe following billing procedures are supported:

❑ Periodic billingPeriodic billing is consumption billing that is performed on a regular basis;this can be every month, every two, three, four, or six months, or annually.

❑ Floating backbillingFloating backbilling is a form of monthly periodic billing. The past months ofa billing year are recalculated month for month and backbilled with a currentvalue.

❑ Period-end billingPeriod-end billing is performed separately following the end of a billing cy-cle. This cycle generally covers one year, but may also be for two, three, four,or six months. If necessary, the system recalculates periodic billings and per-forms backbilling.

❑ Interim billingInterim billing is not subject to the scheduling function. You can initiate it atany time in response to a customer inquiry. The subsequent periodic billingbegins at the time of the interim billing. Interim billing is not possible forfloating backbilling or period-end billing.

❑ Final billingFinal billing is initiated for a customer move-out, a service territory transfer,or manually when requested.

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Billing Periods The billing period for which the utility company bills the customer for a servicecan be calculated for an exact number of days or on a month-related basis. In thecase of month-based periods, the system distinguishes between the following pro-cedures:

❑ Month-based using a key date

❑ Month-based using an interval

In the case of a move-in or move-out, you can bill for an exact number of dayseven with month-related procedures. In addition, you can control whether leapdays are taken into account.

Functions of Billing

Multiple-DivisionBilling Functions

There are certain common aspects in billing regardless of the division concerned.You can therefore use the following approaches to billing – with some restrictions– in all divisions:

❑ Billing using energy prices

❑ Billing using demand prices

❑ Billing using basic and service prices

❑ Billing using rental prices

❑ Billing of usage hours

❑ Best-rate billing

❑ Billing using block prices, scale prices, or pricing quantities

❑ Billing using seasonal values

❑ Billing using seasonal variant programs

❑ Decision variants

Functions for IndividualDivisions

Billing supports the following divisions with special functions:

❑ Electricity

❑ Gas (see section on Special Functions)

❑ Water or waste water

❑ District heating

❑ Public lighting (electricity or gas)

The following functions apply to public lighting:

❍ Mass management or individual management of the lights

❍ Variable connection loads depending on operation type

❍ Billing using energy pricesYou can measure or calculate lighting consumption. You can use a burn-ing-hour calendar for calculation. The calendar contains the daily or month-ly lighting duration of the lights.

❍ Billing using demand pricesYou can calculate demand from the connection loads of the lights and thenuse it for valuation.

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IS-U/CCS supports the flat-rate procedure for billing household waste disposalcharges (Release 1.2 or 4.51). The basis for the calculation is the container, which isemptied by a waste disposal company either periodically or on request.

Flat-Rate ExampleFlat-rate charge for a given period: A flat rate is charged for a specific period re-gardless of the actual quantity of waste and the actual number of collections (forexample, x $/year per container).

Other requirements for calculations based on actual collections, weight, or fill lev-el are modeled in Service Management.

In addition to billing, the system supports the following functions:

❑ Service orders for the collection of containers to order

❑ Route planning with dispatching and scheduling systems

This area is described in greater detail in the section Waste Management.

Waste Management

Other ServicesIn addition to their standard services, many utility companies offer their custom-ers other services, for example:

❑ Installation of a service connection

❑ Maintenance and repair of technical equipment

❑ Sales

To process these additional services, IS-U/CCS uses the Materials Management,Sales and Distribution, and Service Management components of the standard R/3System. For more information, please refer to the sections on Work Managementand Business Processes. By including the billing documents, you can invoice theadditional services in IS-U/CCS together with the utility services (Release 4.51).

Other Billing FunctionsIS-U/CCS provides a number of additional billing functions:

❑ Consideration of register relationships

❑ Consideration of duties and charges in variant programs

❑ Employee billingEmployees can be billed on favorable conditions. These favorable conditionsmay apply, for example, to prices, flat rates, or free quantities.

❑ Plant and company consumption (Release 4.51 at earliest)The utility service consumed by a utility can be divided into plant consump-tion and company consumption. Both types of consumption can be billed,and the amounts can be assigned to cost centers for company-internal costallocation.

❑ Small power producers or cogeneratorsAlongside the large utility service providers, there exist a number of smallerproviders, such as water, wind, or solar plants. Those producers are subsumedunder the name of small power producers. Energy purchases by a utility com-pany are billed according to criteria similar to those that apply to energy sup-ply. You create bills for energy purchases the same way as you create bills forenergy supply.

Convergent BillingIS-U/CCS allows you to perform convergent billing and intercompany billing.For a more detailed description, please see the section on Contract Accounts Receiv-able and Payable.

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Special Functions

Gas Billing In gas billing, the measured operating volume of a gas is assessed to determinethe actual billing quantity. This is done by allocating to every register of an in-stalled gas meter a procedure defining how the assessment is made. The follow-ing gas billing types are supported:

❑ Standard cubic metersThe measured operating cubic meters are converted to standard cubic metersusing the gas volume correction factor.

❑ ThermalThe measured operating cubic meters are converted to a heat quantity usingthe gas volume correction factor and the calorific value.

❑ VolumetricThe measured operating cubic meters are billed directly.

Note With these gas billing types, IS-U/CCS supports the major standard procedures, asdefined in national standards, for billing gases in specific states (for example, as spec-ified in DVWG sheet G 685 for Germany and the AGA standards for the US).

The system calculates the gas volume correction factor with a volume correctionfactor procedure, and it calculates the calorific value with a calorific value procedure.

The volume correction factor procedure takes into account the following factors:

❑ Temperature

❍ Fixed temperature

mArithmetic annual average

mWeighted annual average

mArithmetic average for the billing period

mWeighted average for the billing period

❑ Air pressure

❍ Annual air pressure

❍ Air pressure recorded monthly

mArithmetic average air pressure for the billing period

mWeighted average air pressure for the billing period

❑ Gas law deviation factorThe gas law deviation factor is the quotient of the real gas factors in operatingconditions and in normal conditions. It can be predetermined for a device orcalculated using pressure and temperature. This procedure is similar to thesupercompressibility factor used in North America.

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The calorific value can be calculated using the following averaging types:

❑ Weighted monthly average

❑ Arithmetic monthly average

❑ Weighted annual average

❑ Arithmetic annual average

❑ Arithmetic average for the billing period

❑ Weighted average for the billing period.

The calorific value to be billed for a specific calorific value procedure is main-tained manually for billing.

Disconnection PeriodsIn billing, you can suppress the calculation of time-based quantities for periods ofdisconnection relevant to billing.

Franchise ContractA franchise contract specifies the fees that a utility company must pay to a polit-ical entity. In exchange, the utility company is given the right to supply customersin the area of that municipality directly and, in the process, to use public trafficroutes for laying and operating power lines. Billing uses the franchise contract tocalculate the franchise fee to be paid.

Manual Billing (Release 4.51)

Manual billing is an alternative option to automatic billing if, for example, youwant to override automatic rate determination.

Manual billing is supported by automatic price determination, consideration offranchise fees or prorations as a result of tax, fee, and price changes.

Credit Memo and Backbilling

Manual credit memos and backbillings are carried out as additions to automaticor manual billing. They allow you to correct billings in cases where a reversal isnot possible or where no bill exists. Examples include backbilling as a result of anincorrect meter reading or a credit memo because of a water pipe break. You canenter as many credit memos and backbillings as you want for any given contract.

You can either include credit memos or backbilling in the next consumption bill-ing – in which case the amount is included in the amount of the bill – or you cancreate a distinct, separate bill.

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Outsorting

Fig. 5-18: Automatic Outsorting and Manual Release

You can outsort billing documents and print orders as a result of the followingvalidations:

❑ Amount check for the net amount

❑ Absolute deviation from the budget billing amount

❑ Percentage deviation from the budget billing amount

❑ Estimation

❑ Existing billing line items

❑ User-defined validations

Billing Reversal

You can reverse any form of billing with the billing reversal function. Reasons forusing billing reversal include an incorrect meter reading or a defective meter. Youcan select the documents you want to reverse based on a number of different cri-teria.

You can use adjustment reversal to bill invoiced billing documents again withoutcanceling the invoicing. This is useful if more than one billing document is includ-ed in the invoicing document and only one of those billing documents needs to bereversed. The adjustment reversal thereby allows you to create a type of correc-tion bill for a bill that already exists.

Following billing and invoicing, you can outsort billing documents or orders forbill printout from automatic processing. Outsorted billing documents and printautomatically initiates outsorting.

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InvoicingInvoicing links contract billing with the Contract Accounts Receivable and Payablecomponent. Invoicing:

❑ Creates accounting documents for bill receivables or credit memos from bill-ing documents

❑ Settles accounting documents against down payments received, in particularbudget billing payments

❑ Formats the data for bill printout

❑ Creates new budget billing plans

❑ Supports the calculation of taxes

Billing sends billing documents, credit memos, backbillings, and the basis for bud-get billing plans to invoicing. You can also use documents from billing in the Salesand Distribution application component as of Release 1.2 and from non-SAP bill-ing systems as of Release 4.51. Invoicing then sends accounting documents andbudget billing plans to the Contract Accounts Receivable and Payable component,which reports open items back to invoicing.

Fig. 5-19: Interaction of Billing, Invoicing, and Contract Accounts Receivable and Payable

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Invoicing Execution

Invoicing Units In invoicing execution, you create bills for the contracts of a contract account. Youeither invoice the billing documents of selected contracts or create bills for budgetbilling amounts (debit entries). You can combine the contracts that belong to acontract account to form invoicing units according to the following criteria:

❑ Contracts whose documents must be invoiced together. (They share a com-mon budget billing plan.)The billings for these contracts should always appear together on a single bill(for example, the contracts of a residential customer for electricity, gas andwater).

❑ Contracts whose documents can be invoiced together and for which budgetbilling payments can be requested together.

❑ Contracts whose documents must be invoiced individually or for which bud-get billing payments are requested on separate bills.

The goal is to create a bill that includes as many of the customer’s contracts aspossible.

Fig. 5-20: Joint Invoicing

Budget Billing

When budget billing payments are requested, you can create debit entries inContract Accounts Receivable and Payable, or you can process budget billing pay-ments that have no effect in the general ledger (statistical postings).

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When billing documents are invoiced, budget billing payments that have beenmade or budget billing requests are taken into account for each contract and set-tled against the receivables from the billing documents. The bill items can be set-tled during invoicing against other line items in the customer account and cleared.If the customer still has a credit after settlement, you can either pay out that creditor settle it against other receivables.

Bill Creation and Printout

You can select bills for printout according to a number of different criteria. Duringbill creation, the billing line items are transferred to the layout, which you candesign yourself. You can control the following:

❑ The formation of logical bill blocks (for example, forming blocks for eachcontract)

❑ The sequence of the bill items and how they are to be represented

❑ The calculation of taxes and fees

In addition, you can use other data (such as business partner, contract, installa-tion, and budget billing plan) in bill creation. The actual printout, or the transferof the data for external print systems to a raw data interface is handled by thePrint Workbench (FI-CA-BF-PW) component.

Calculation of TaxesThe system calculates legally mandated taxes during billing. If, however, thereare changes during the course of a billing period, the system takes those changesinto account in invoicing and includes them in the bill.

IS-U/CCS supports the calculation and levying of the following taxes:

❑ Value-added tax

❑ Consumption and sales taxThis type of tax is applicable in the US, for example. For North America, youcan also specify those taxes with jurisdiction codes. The system also supportsthird-party tax modules that are authorized by SAP.

❑ Municipal tax

❑ Other taxes (for example, dog tax)

Billing documents that qualify for joint invoicing are transferred in an accountingdocument to the Contract Accounts Receivable and Payable component, where datafrom the individual billing documents is summarized according to fixed criteriafor that component and other controls defined by the company (such as accountdetermination, transaction determination).

SimulationYou can initiate a bill simulation (simulation of invoicing) on the basis of a postedbilling or a simulated billing.

Transfer to Contract AccountsReceivable and Payable

ReversalFull reversal – of both billing and invoicing – is possible.

sap isu billing

Documents