EaaSi Simplifies Bill Validation

Disruptors are often described as people.  The entrepreneurs, outsiders, and idealists that effect big change, but more and more disruptors are the tech that will make the change happen.  Cloud computing and robotic process automation is the next wave of tech ripe for disruption particularly in the energy bill management and procurement sector.

Why is this? In a nutshell, it’s because too many good people are bogged down with data processing and reporting and money is being lost to inaccurate billing. And here’s why…

Sadly, many third party intermediaries (TPIs) and bill validation firms have not moved with the times. They are stuck in the past with their ways.  Tech and specifically, robotic process automation (RPA) will disrupt this marketplace now more than ever.  

However, RPA is the biggest thing that nobody has ever heard of! Soon they will. RPA enables automation of tasks in minutes, tasks that previously would take humans days or weeks to complete. Robotic Process Automation will change the face of utilities management.

RPA, harnessed correctly, enables transparent delivery of fully digitised end-to-end services across procurement and bill validation in minutes, not months, removing the risk of human error. But don’t be fooled, there is no replacement for human market intelligence, years of experience and planned strategy however there is a lot of wasted time and resource that can and should be automated.

There will become an evolutionary divide between the TPIs, those that can deliver faster, more accurately and across a broader range of services at lower cost – and those that cannot.

RPA is what sets Catalyst’s new EaaSi TPI platform apart and it’s the kind of technology that will shape the future make-up of the TPI sector. The system draws in energy data across all meter points and existing supply contracts. A direct API enables feeds on a half-hourly basis, keeping data up to date in close to real time – and removing the need for human data entry.

EaaSi is in effect an energy data hub and digital filing cabinet, enabling business to have a digital copy of a bill on the system and the platform:

• This online capability can programmatically pull in bills from multiple suppliers and normalise the data, such as meter read data, cost data, consumption, bill dates etc. and provide a framework for site comparison.
• It uses automation to log into suppliers’ portals and collect individual bills, rather than waiting for the supplier to send them. The platform then provides automated bill validation, comparing the bill against contractual rates and consumption, and contractual terms and conditions. Any anomalies are flagged as alerts and it pulls in around 120 different checks to ensure bill accuracy. The platform provides total visibility, with transparency through the life-cycle of the contract.
• The system is smart enough to tally aged accruals as well as ongoing forecasts, thereby enabling better budget forecasting. The platform can also harness user estate or portfolio data to deliver more accurate budget forecasts.