How to build a utility account inventory for 500+ sites
You cannot audit, accrue or report on accounts you do not know exist. At 500 or more sites, the real count of utility accounts is usually 2 to 4 times the number in the AP vendor file, because sites have several meters, services change hands, and closed locations keep billing. This guide walks through building one inventory that ties every account to a site, a service type, a meter and an accountable person. It works from three independent sources so that gaps in one are caught by the others.
For controllers, facilities directors and shared services leads · 8 min read
- 1
Define the record
Decide the fields before collecting anything: utility, account number, service address, service type (electric, gas, water, sewer, waste), meter number, rate schedule, site ID, account holder name, bill-to, status, and owner. One row per account and meter.
- 2
Pull the AP payment history
Export 24 months of payments to every vendor that looks like a utility. Group by vendor and remittance reference. This gives you every account that has been paid, including ones missing from any facilities list.
- 3
Pull the facilities and real estate list
Get the master site list with addresses, open and close dates, square footage and ownership type. Mark which sites are owned, leased with utilities in the rent, leased with utilities direct, or tenant-paid.
- 4
Match accounts to sites
Normalize addresses and match each AP account to a site ID. Expect a residue of unmatched accounts. Those are the first things to investigate: they are either closed sites still billing, accounts in a prior owner's name, or sites missing from the master list.
- 5
Find the accounts nobody pays
Compare the site list to the matched accounts. A site with no electric account is either paid by a landlord or missing from AP. Check leases and call the site. Sites with a service type absent from the inventory, such as water, deserve the same check.
- 6
Collect the utility's own account list
Large utilities can usually provide an account summary for a corporate customer on request or through a business portal. Compare it to your inventory. Differences show accounts under variations of your company name.
- 7
Capture meter and rate details
From a recent bill, record the meter number, billing demand where applicable, rate schedule code and service voltage. These are the fields an audit uses to check the bill, and they are rarely stored in AP.
- 8
Assign an owner and a status
Name one person per account or per site, and set a status: active, closed, pending closure, or disputed. Closed sites with active accounts should be routed to a closure workflow.
- 9
Set a refresh cycle
Re-run the AP match monthly and the utility account lists quarterly. New accounts that appear in AP without an inventory record should trigger an alert.
Why three sources are needed
Each source has blind spots. AP shows only what has been paid, so an account that is billing to an old address and never reaches AP is invisible. The facilities list shows sites, but not how many meters each has. The utility's list shows its own accounts, but cannot see accounts that were opened under a different legal name or a previous tenant.
Reconciling all three is what turns a list into an inventory. The accounts that appear in only one source are where most billing errors and orphaned charges are found.
Handling accounts you do not control
In leased space, utilities may be paid by the landlord and recharged through common area charges or a flat fee. Those charges are not utility bills, but they belong in the inventory as a recharge relationship, because the sustainability and cost reporting still need them.
Tenant-paid accounts for sites you sublease belong on a separate status. Keep them out of your spend, but keep the account on record so that a tenant that vacates does not leave a live account in your name.
Find out what your utilities owe you.
Connect bills for up to 50 meters. Get the findings report in about three weeks. Pay nothing unless money comes back.
- from bill access to first findings report
- 21 daysfrom bill access to first findings report
- of filed claims accepted by the utility in full or in part
- 94%of filed claims accepted by the utility in full or in part