Scope and Limitations
The Water Billing Information System of Purok Luwalhati Barangay Pagalungan,
Polomolok was designed for the use of Purok Luwalhati Water System Association. This
will store the current and previous readings of water consumers and as well as their bill
information. The system will include the history of the water consumers in terms of their
month’s paid and outstanding balances. Furthermore, the system will give notifications
for water consumers’ due date and date of disconnection.
Significance of the Study
The result and findings of the study may be beneficial to the following
perspectives:
To the Purok Luwalhati Water Association, the study will help them improve
their distribution of bills and sending notices on due dates and disconnection;
To the Purok Luwalhati Water Consumers, the study will help them be
updated with their current, pending, and past bill statuses. Furthermore, they will be
notified when will be the due date and disconnection dates with convenience;
To the Purok Luwalhati Water Association Officers, the study will help them
decrease the risk for collecting payments and distributing bills brought upon household
circumstances of the consumers;
To the institution, the study will help them provide similar system to other
proponents;
To the researchers, the study will help them develop a system that will provide
an online billing to water consumers.
Related Literature
According to Stiltner (2022) in his blog on Rapyd.net, Filipinos prefers to use
cash in making transactions for over a long period of time; however, as time passes, it is
already changing. Responsible Finance Forum said, as cited Stiltner, in a recent
research, it revealed that digital payments accounted for only one percent of the
country’s total transaction volume in 2013 but on 2018, it rose up to ten percent
corresponding to a twenty percent share in the country’s total transaction value.
Among the popular payment methods in the Philippines include retail bank
transfers, BSP National QR Code Standard, cash and over-the-counter payments, and
local payment methods. From these methods, the most common is the cash and over-
the-counter payment methods.
Cash and Over-the-Counter Payments prevails despite the rise of a range of
alternative payment methods, according to Stiltner, because the Philippines has more
than 7,000 dispersed islands and more than 50 million people are unbanked (Asian
Development Bank). Hence, merchants need to accept cash across every channel
because options such as cash-on-delivery (COD) and over-the-counter (OTC)
payments are highly popular. But the arrival of COVID-19 has forced a rethink on cash
usage, with more and more Filipinos beginning to turn to contactless payment methods.
These type of payment also prevails on water billing especially the small water
billing systems. According to Innetutor, water billing system is an online project which
allows the water district management to post the bill of each customer and any other
transactions related to water billing such as customer information, service record
module and statement of accounts. The online system can be accessed by the
administrators and other staff of the organization and as well as the customers of the
water district. The administrator can access all the modules of the project whereas the
customers can only view their payment history and billing records.
https://www.rapyd.net/blog/philippines-payment-methods/
According to an article published in Quickbooks, as a small business owner, one
must consider choosing the billing software for the business since getting paid is an
integral part of a business. The billing software you choose can automate back-office
tasks and reduce the number of late payments you receive. In turn, this lets the owner
prioritize business growth rather than spend hours manually tracking down late invoices
or inputting information line by line. Great accounting software streamlines the business
processes and keeps the books in order.
At its most basic definition, a billing system is the process by which a business
bills and invoices customers. Billing systems often include payment software that
automates the process of collecting payments, sending out recurring invoices, expense
tracking, and invoice tracking.
Quickblogs have mentioned that billing software helps ensure that your
customers have a streamlined way to pay for goods and services. Furthermore, these
are critical for small businesses because they offer administrative control and
supervision over payments and payment tracking; payment and payment-agreement
transparency between your small business and your customers; ability to manage your
company’s cash flow more easily than manual invoicing; billing process automation that
helps reduce errors automatically by compiling costs and estimates; and ability to
optimize business operations and reporting practices
Payment tracking, integrated payment processing, accounts receivable, accounts
payable, and many more capabilities are included in small business billing systems.
You'll need a spot to enter critical information such customer/client names, billing
addresses, and payment conditions. Having this information on hand can help you
manage your consumer relationships. Third-party payers, such as insurance
companies, must also be documented and verified. This type of data can be input and
verified using smart accounting systems. You'll also need a billing system that allows
you to keep track of product and service details. Prices, quantities, descriptions, and
discounts may be included, depending on your business. Because you don't want to
waste time working out an inefficient billing platform, the convenience of inputting this
information is critical. When comparing alternative billing solutions, usability should be a
primary consideration.
https://quickbooks.intuit.com/r/payments/billing-system/
Technology Tridens said that a billing system is a complicated piece of software
that allows service providers to send invoices, track payments, and handle payments for
various customers. This automated solution is especially beneficial for firms that serve a
big and diverse customer base and offer a variety of products/services, subscription, or
payment methods. For many businesses, the billing system is a sub-ledger where the
incoming revenues may be inspected in detail. A proper billing system includes
activation, control, rating, invoicing, dunning, and collections.
They have mentioned that the majority of invoices are still processed manually or
primarily manually in most businesses. Manual processing necessitates extensive
human interaction and various touch points. As a result, a modern and up-to-date billing
and invoicing software can assist you in meeting today's billing and accounting needs.
That's why, to save time and avoid mistakes, one should start using a billing system.
They added that businesses use billing systems to create, send, and receive invoices
from their customers or partners. By automating document preparation and other
common operations, the billing system helps businesses enhance performance and
eliminate errors. You have two choices if you want to use billing software. You have the
option of using a ready-made solution or designing and developing your own billing
system.
Technology Tridens enumerated series of pros on both simple billing system and
advance billing system. Simple billing solutions with
some basic functionalities can automatically send out bills to customers and reduce
your wait time on getting paid. The simple billing solution’s basic features
include software that has the essential features for billing automation, including invoice
templates, reminders, and reporting tools. The software has easy-to-
use functionalities that anyone can understand. However, you may encounter a problem
once you need more unique features or a higher level of customization. Simple
billing solutions can only limit you if you work with different customer groups who need
to be treated differently depending on their billing models, languages, and compliance
regulations. It will not be helpful if you have a complex system of discounts, fees, or
department limits to navigate.
Advanced billing software, on the other hand according to Technology Tridens, is
developed by a professional team that designed the software to be configurable to
support any billing use case. This software can help you tackle all the current problems
and challenges your finance/accounting department faces.
This can be done by configuring the software for your specific business needs.
No matter how complex your billing process is,
configurable software will allow you to integrate not only the market leaders but
all services through existing out-of-the-box integrations and configurable
imports/exports. Its advanced functionality includes a software that allows you to set
up use-case-specific workflows, targeted analytics, and more to meet your requirements
fully. Moreover, modern software has a modular convergent architecture. It is scalable
to handle higher loads of traffic and has no downtimes, allowing you to expand without
worrying about limitations
file:///C:/Users/Careline/AppData/Local/Microsoft/Windows/INetCache/IE/ZYUNMQ5K/
Billing_System_101__All_the_Basics_You_Need_to_Know_-
_Tridens_Technology[1].html
Advanced billing software can be configured to fit the requirements
of different industries, not only specific clients like simple solutions. For
example, telecommunication service providers prefer more complex billing solutions due
to their customer type and pricing variations. On the other hand, energy & utility
companies typically have an advanced customer lifecycle and are dealing with industry
transformations, such as seamless integrations with smart meters – which in turn calls
for an advanced billing system. At Tridens, we combine the industry’s complete
functional footprint with superior real-time architecture. Our software is future-ready; it
supports any sector, service, or business.
https://www.inettutor.com/source-code/water-billing-system-in-php-and-mysql/
#:~:text=Water%20billing%20system%20is%20an,module%20and%20statement%20of
%20accounts.
According to Casiguran Water District, water consumers will also benefit from the
water billing system. They will receive the billing statement immediately after the meter
reading, thus giving more time to settle their bills, avoiding possible disconnection.
https://casiguranwd.gov.ph/read-and-bill-system-rolls-out/
Related Study
According to Ado and Pelandiana (2017), Web-Based Billing and Collection
System for a Municipal Water and Services Unit is a system that sought to
address the problem of a municipal water unit. Using the technology, meter
reading will be paperless. It can be accessible through the Internet; end-users
and water consumers/customers could connect and perform transactions
enabling them to become efficient on their daily tasks whether in the office or at
home. The head of the unit can make overall viewing of the status of daily
transactions and can be viewed using desktop, laptop computers and android
mobile devices connected to the internet. The water consumers/customers may
receive email and short messaging system showing their current water
consumption and water bill. Ado and Pelandiana’s study result showed that water
consumers are satisfied with the use of water billing system.
DOI: 10.18502/kss.v3i6.2371
Baclas, et.al, also added that a system will give agency access to billing with a
high level of system security. It provides storing of billing documents and data from a full
range of sources and in a variety of formats, and automatically calculates client’s bill.
The user doesn’t need to input data one by one to fill all the Text Field of the billing form
because the system has an ability to process the bill automatically. By automating
document processes instead of relying on manual methods, businesses reduce the
cost, increase the speed and improve the quality of information exchange with clients.
https://studylib.net/doc/9284799/2.1.1-computerized-water-billing-system
Furthermore, in a study conducted by Ambre (2016), she mentioned that water
billing plays a pivotal role to a water association as it is made to provide consistent and
accurate billing information to clients and service recipients. She also pointed out that,
computerized system and improved efficiency have been the focus of entrepreneurs. As
with many business scenarios, getting rid of paper improves efficiency, reduces human
error and allows information to flow to an infrastructure without a time-consuming data
input process. Ambre (2016) highlighted that there is also less chance of handwritten
orders being misread and a higher customer turnaround as customers will be served
faster with the use of such systems.
Scott (2011), as mentioned by Ambre (2016), concludes that automation
increases the accuracy of the data. Hence, human error is less likely to occur. The
completeness of the data is also improved as the automated systems will process all
the data in an efficient manner.
Neumann (2010), as stated by Ambre (2016), said that water billing system is a
necessary tool to assist small municipalities, utility providers, bookkeepers, operators,
managers, and auditors in unifying their water billing services, in order to provide
consistent and accurate billing information to clients and service recipients. It is
essentially software that processes data and produces invoices in a given format,
facilitating and unifying the billing process.
http://ijrmbs.com/vol3issue1/janelyn.pdf
In a study posted on Studymoose, it mentioned that a water billing system
is a complex, repetitive, and has a voluminous data computerization. The
computerization overcomes many of the defects in the manual system.
Furthermore, it is fast and gives a control on the system. Nonetheless, it will
assure the institution's development initiatives and faster billing transaction
processing among administration and their consumers.
https://studymoose.com/critical-analysis-of-billing-system-essay
In addition, Mundo and Aksanti said that consumers of water units and
services are more engaged and critical in the delivery of water services today. As
a result, management had to refocus on clients or consumers in order to achieve
current commercial success. The most crucial activities for every organization
are quality services. Customers are seriously protesting to the service provider
(NWSC) about inaccurate meter readings and calculations, resulting in the firm
overcharging customers, resulting in underpayment by customers to the
company. An internet-based web-based water billing system for checking bills
and paying them swiftly with credit cards, phone, or visa would assist in resolving
such issues.
https://ir.kiu.ac.ug/bitstream/20.500.12306/7449/1/img08621.pdf
