Billing manager dashboard(BX02US01) -> WIP

Billing Dashboard User Story

1. Problem Statement

For Billing Manager

• Lacks a consolidated view of all billing data across cycles, zones, and time periods
• Has difficulty tracking billing exceptions and failures requiring attention
• Cannot easily monitor financial metrics and consumption patterns in one place
• Struggles to track performance trends across billing cycles
• Lacks quick access to action items for addressing billing issues

For Utility Administrator

• Cannot easily monitor overall billing performance and revenue metrics
• Lacks visibility into system-wide billing success rates and failures
• Has no central place to track consumption patterns across service areas
• Struggles to get insights into outstanding amounts and late payments

Core Problem

The billing operations team lacks a centralized, data-rich dashboard that provides real-time insights into billing performance, financial metrics, consumption patterns, and exceptions. This forces users to navigate between multiple screens and reports to gather necessary information, leading to inefficiency, delayed issue resolution, and potential revenue loss.

2. Who Are the Users Facing the Problem?

Billing Manager

Responsible for overseeing the entire billing cycle from meter data import to bill delivery, ensuring accurate implementation of rate structures and billing rules, managing exceptions/adjustments, and reporting on revenue performance.

Billing Specialist

Executes billing cycles according to established schedules, processes/resolves billing exceptions and errors, implements rate changes, and analyzes consumption data for billing anomalies.

Utility Administrator

Configures system settings to align with utility business processes, creates and maintains user roles, and develops custom reports and dashboards for executive leadership.

All three roles need access to the Billing Dashboard with appropriate permissions.

3. Jobs To Be Done

For Billing Manager:

When I need to monitor the overall health of billing operations across all zones, But I have to navigate through multiple screens and reports to gather this information, Help me access a comprehensive dashboard that consolidates all key billing metrics in one view, So that I can quickly identify issues, track performance, and make informed decisions.

For Billing Manager:

When I need to identify and resolve billing exceptions, But I lack visibility into which accounts failed to generate bills and why, Help me access a clear summary of exceptions with actionable details, So that I can prioritize and resolve issues before they impact revenue collection.

For Billing Specialist:

When I need to track the performance of specific billing cycles, But I cannot easily compare metrics across cycles or zones, Help me access detailed cycle-specific data with comparative analytics, So that I can ensure billing accuracy and completeness for each cycle.

For Billing Specialist:

When I need to analyze consumption patterns across customer segments, But I struggle to identify unusual trends or potential meter issues, Help me access consumption distribution metrics with clear visual indicators, So that I can detect anomalies and ensure accurate billing.

For Utility Administrator:

When I need to report on revenue performance to executive leadership, But I lack easy access to comprehensive financial summaries, Help me view consolidated financial metrics with trend analysis, So that I can provide accurate insights on billing performance and outstanding amounts.

4. Solution

Comprehensive Billing Dashboard

A centralized dashboard providing real-time visibility into billing operations with multiple views and drill-down capabilities.

Key Capability Areas:

1. Dashboard Overview
   • Monthly performance summary with key metrics (bills generated, success rate, revenue)
   • Trend indicators showing changes from previous cycles
   • Alert indicators for metrics requiring attention
   • Quick-access navigation to detailed sections
2. Billing Cycle Management
   • Active billing cycles status display
   • Cycle selection and filtering capabilities
   • Detailed metrics for selected billing cycle
   • Comparison with previous cycles' performance
3. Bill Generation Analytics
   • Total bills generated vs. failed generation
   • Success rate tracking with historical comparison
   • Breakdown of bill types (actual vs. estimated)
   • Drill-down capabilities to view specific failed bills
4. Consumption Analytics
   • Total consumption overview across service areas
   • Distribution of consumption categories (high, low, zero)
   • Consumption trend analysis with previous period comparisons
   • Anomaly highlighting for unusual consumption patterns
5. Financial Tracking
   • Total billed amount with trend indicators
   • Service charges breakdown
   • Outstanding amount tracking
   • Late payment revenue monitoring
   • Revenue trend visualization
6. Exception Management
   • Categorized exception tracking
   • Priority-based exception display
   • Quick-access to exception resolution workflows
   • Exception trend analysis
7. Quick Actions Panel
   • One-click access to common billing operations
   • Bulk bill generation capabilities
   • Single bill generation for specific customers
   • Print and distribution management
   • GL code configuration
8. Search and Filter
   • Global search function for bills across all cycles
   • Advanced filtering capabilities by multiple parameters
   • Saved search functionality for common queries
   • Batch processing of search results
9. Export and Reporting
   • One-click export of dashboard data
   • Scheduled report generation
   • Custom report creation
   • Multiple format support (PDF, Excel, CSV)
10. User Preferences
    • Customizable dashboard layouts
    • User-specific metric prioritization
    • Notification and alert settings
    • Saved views for quick access to common analyses

5. Major Steps Involved

For Billing Manager:

1. Accessing the Dashboard
   • Log into the SMART360 system
   • Navigate to the Billing module
   • Select "Billing Dashboard" from the main navigation menu
   • View the consolidated overview screen with all key metrics
2. Monitoring Billing Performance
   • Review the "Monthly Performance" section showing total bills generated, bills not generated, success rate, and average bill amount
   • Check trend indicators to compare with previous cycle and period
   • Click on any metric card to access detailed information and drill-down views
3. Analyzing Consumption Patterns
   • Scroll to the "Consumption Distribution" section
   • Review total consumption, high consumption accounts, low consumption accounts, and zero consumption accounts
   • Note percentage changes from previous periods
   • Click on any category to view a list of specific accounts for further investigation
4. Reviewing Financial Metrics
   • Navigate to the "Financial Summary" section
   • Review total billed amount, service charges, outstanding amount, and late payment revenue
   • Check trend indicators for each metric
   • Click on outstanding amount to view aging analysis and account details
5. Managing Exceptions
   • Click on "Exceptions" tab in the main navigation
   • View categorized list of billing exceptions with priority indicators
   • Select specific exceptions to view details and resolution options
   • Take action directly from the exception detail screen
6. Performing Quick Actions
   • Access the "Quick Actions" panel
   • Select desired action (Bulk Bill Generation, Single Bill Generation, Print & Distribute, GL Codes Management)
   • Complete the action workflow from the panel without navigating away from the dashboard

For Billing Specialist:

1. Analyzing Specific Billing Cycles
   • Navigate to "Billing Cycles" tab
   • Select desired cycle from the dropdown (e.g., "North Zone - May 2023")
   • View cycle-specific metrics including total bills, bills not generated, success rate, and average bill amount
   • Review breakdown of actual vs. estimated bills for the selected cycle
2. Processing Exceptions
   • Access exceptions for the current cycle
   • Sort by priority or exception type
   • Select exceptions to review details
   • Process and resolve exceptions using the built-in workflow tools
   • Mark exceptions as resolved or escalate as needed
3. Generating Bills
   • Use Quick Actions panel to access bill generation functions
   • Select "Bulk Bill Generation" for creating multiple bills
   • Follow the guided workflow to select parameters and customer segments
   • Review results summary after generation is complete
   • Handle any new exceptions that arise during generation
4. Searching for Specific Bills
   • Use the global search function at the top of the dashboard
   • Enter search criteria (bill ID, consumer name, address)
   • Review search results with key bill information
   • Select bills for detailed view or batch operations
   • Apply filters to narrow search results if needed

For Utility Administrator:

1. Reviewing System Performance
   • Access the Billing Dashboard with administrator view
   • Review overall system metrics and success rates
   • Identify any systemic issues affecting multiple billing cycles
   • Generate executive reports from the dashboard data
2. Configuring Dashboard Settings
   • Access administrator controls for the dashboard
   • Adjust metric thresholds for alerts and highlights
   • Configure default views for different user roles
   • Set up automated reporting schedules
3. Analyzing Revenue Trends
   • Review the "Revenue Trend" visualization
   • Analyze patterns across multiple billing periods
   • Identify potential areas for revenue optimization
   • Generate reports for executive review

6. Flow Diagram

Billing Dashboard Navigation Flow

flowchart TD
    A[Login to SMART360] --> B[Navigate to Billing Module]
    B --> C[Access Billing Dashboard]
    C --> D[View Overview]
    C --> E[Access Billing Cycles]
    C --> F[View Exceptions]
    C --> G[Run Simulations]
    
    D --> D1[Review Monthly Performance]
    D --> D2[Analyze Consumption Distribution]
    D --> D3[Check Financial Summary]
    
    E --> E1[Select Specific Billing Cycle]
    E1 --> E2[Review Cycle Metrics]
    E2 --> E3[Analyze Bill Types]
    E2 --> E4[Check Consumption Metrics]
    E2 --> E5[View Financial Summary]
    
    F --> F1[View Exception Categories]
    F1 --> F2[Select Specific Exception]
    F2 --> F3[Review Exception Details]
    F3 --> F4[Resolve Exception]
    F3 --> F5[Escalate Exception]
    
    C --> H[Use Quick Actions]
    H --> H1[Generate Bulk Bills]
    H --> H2[Generate Single Bill]
    H --> H3[Print & Distribute]
    H --> H4[Manage GL Codes]
    
    C --> I[Search for Bills]
    I --> I1[Enter Search Criteria]
    I1 --> I2[View Search Results]
    I2 --> I3[Select Bill for Action]
    I3 --> I4[View Bill Details]
    I3 --> I5[Edit Bill]
    I3 --> I6[Print Bill]

Exception Handling Flow

flowchart TD
    A[Access Exceptions Tab] --> B[View All Exceptions]
    B --> C[Filter by Category/Priority]
    C --> D[Select Exception for Review]
    D --> E{Can be resolved immediately?}
    E -->|Yes| F[Apply Fix]
    E -->|No| G[Investigate Further]
    F --> H[Mark as Resolved]
    G --> I[Add Investigation Notes]
    G --> J[Assign to Specialist]
    I --> K[Schedule Follow-up]
    J --> L[Track Resolution Progress]
    H --> M[Update Dashboard Metrics]
    L --> M
    K --> N[Set Reminder for Follow-up]

7. Business Rules

General Rules

1. Dashboard metrics must refresh automatically every 15 minutes during business hours.
2. All financial figures must be displayed with appropriate currency symbol (₹) and thousand separators.
3. Success rate calculations must use the formula: (Total Bills Generated ÷ (Total Bills Generated + Bills Not Generated)) × 100.
4. All trend indicators must compare the current period with both the previous cycle and the same period last year.
5. The billing dashboard must be accessible only to users with Billing Manager, Billing Specialist, or Utility Administrator roles.
6. Any metric showing a negative trend exceeding 5% must be highlighted with a red indicator.
7. Any metric showing a positive trend exceeding 5% must be highlighted with a green indicator.
8. All time periods displayed must be configurable (daily, weekly, monthly, quarterly, yearly).

Billing Cycle Rules

1. Active billing cycles must be displayed in chronological order with the most recent at the top.
2. Billing cycles must be categorized by service area/zone and time period.
3. The system must display an alert indicator if a billing cycle is nearing its deadline (within 48 hours).
4. Completed billing cycles must remain accessible for review for at least 18 months.
5. Billing cycle performance metrics must be calculated only after the cycle is at least 80% complete.

Exception Management Rules

1. Billing exceptions must be categorized by severity (Critical, High, Medium, Low).
2. Critical exceptions must trigger an immediate notification to assigned Billing Manager.
3. The system must track the age of each exception and escalate if unresolved after predefined thresholds.
4. Exceptions must be linked to specific consumers and billing cycles for traceability.
5. The system must provide recommended resolution steps for common exception types.
6. All exception resolutions must be logged with user ID, timestamp, and action taken.

Consumption Analytics Rules

1. High consumption accounts must be defined as those exceeding 150% of their average consumption for the same period in previous years.
2. Low consumption accounts must be defined as those below 50% of their average consumption for the same period in previous years.
3. Zero consumption accounts must be flagged for investigation if they had non-zero consumption in the previous two billing cycles.
4. Consumption trends must be normalized for seasonal variations when calculating year-over-year comparisons.
5. The system must automatically flag statistically significant deviations in consumption patterns for review.

Financial Tracking Rules

1. Outstanding amounts must be categorized by aging buckets (0-30 days, 31-60 days, 61-90 days, >90 days).
2. Late payment revenue must only include penalty fees and interest charges, not the principal amount.
3. Revenue trend calculations must account for seasonal variations and billing cycle differences.
4. Financial metrics must be available at both aggregate and per-cycle levels.
5. The system must automatically reconcile financial totals across all displayed metrics.

Error Handling Rules

1. If billing data fails to load, the system must display the last successfully loaded data with a clear timestamp and warning message.
2. If user attempts to take action on stale data (>30 minutes old), a confirmation prompt must be displayed.
3. Failed bill generation attempts must be logged with detailed error information and suggested remediation steps.
4. All data export operations must validate complete data availability before initiating the export.
5. Users must receive clear error messages for any permission-related access limitations.

8. Sample Data

Billing Summary Sample Data

MetricCurrent ValuePrevious Cycle% ChangeSame Period Last YearYoY % ChangeTotal Bills Generated26,41025,892+2%24,150+9.4%Bills Not Generated68103-34%125-45.6%Success Rate98.2%96.4%+1.8%95.8%+2.4%Average Bill Amount₹1,168₹1,142+2.3%₹1,050+11.2%

Consumption Distribution Sample Data

MetricCurrent ValuePrevious Cycle% ChangeSame Period Last YearYoY % ChangeTotal Consumption8,765,320 kWh8,530,420 kWh+2.8%8,120,500 kWh+7.9%High Consumption Accounts1,1871,120+6%980+21.1%Low Consumption Accounts711665+6.9%820-13.3%Zero Consumption Accounts150178-15.7%142+5.6%

Financial Summary Sample Data

MetricCurrent ValuePrevious Cycle% ChangeSame Period Last YearYoY % ChangeTotal Billed Amount₹12,650,000₹12,250,000+3.3%₹11,450,000+10.5%Service Charges₹1,897,500₹1,837,500+3.3%₹1,717,500+10.5%Outstanding Amount₹4,328,000₹4,532,000-4.7%₹3,892,000+11.2%Late Payment Revenue₹285,600₹265,300+7.7%₹245,000+16.6%

Billing Cycle Specific Sample Data (North Zone - May 2023)

MetricCurrent ValuePrevious Cycle% ChangeTotal Bills12,49712,251+2%Bills Not Generated352-94%Success Rate99.98%99.58%+0.4%Average Bill Amount₹1,215₹1,195+1.7%Actual Bills11,500 (92.0%)11,200 (91.4%)+2.7%Estimated Bills997 (8.0%)1,100 (8.6%)-9.4%

Exception Sample Data

Exception TypeCountPriorityAverage Age (days)TrendMissing Meter Readings32High2.3-15%Rate Calculation Errors12Critical1.1+20%Customer Data Discrepancies18Medium3.7-8%Payment Processing Failures6High0.8-33%Print Format Errors5Low5.2-10%

9. Acceptance Criteria

1. The system must display a comprehensive overview dashboard with Monthly Performance, Consumption Distribution, and Financial Summary sections.
2. The system must provide trend indicators for all metrics comparing current period with previous cycle and same period last year.
3. The system must allow users to navigate between Overview, Billing Cycles, Exceptions, and Simulations tabs.
4. The system must enable filtering of billing data by date range, service area, and customer segment.
5. The system must display all financial metrics with proper currency formatting and thousand separators.
6. The system must calculate and display billing success rates with at least two decimal places of precision.
7. The system must provide drill-down capability from summary metrics to detailed account listings.
8. The system must highlight metrics with significant changes (>5%) using color-coded indicators.
9. The system must allow users to select specific billing cycles for detailed analysis.
10. The system must display a breakdown of actual vs. estimated bills for each billing cycle.
11. The system must categorize consumption into High, Low, and Zero segments with count and trend data.
12. The system must provide a Quick Actions panel with access to Bulk Bill Generation, Single Bill Generation, Print & Distribute, and GL Codes Management.
13. The system must include a global search function that allows searching by bill ID, consumer name, and address.
14. The system must allow limiting search to current cycle or searching across all cycles.
15. The system must generate exportable reports of all dashboard data in multiple formats.
16. The system must refresh dashboard data automatically at configurable intervals.
17. The system must maintain performance with data loads of up to 100,000 bills per cycle.
18. The system must provide appropriate error handling and user notifications for data loading issues.
19. The system must restrict dashboard access based on user roles and permissions.
20. The system must maintain an audit log of all actions taken from the dashboard interface.

10. Process Changes

Current ProcessNew ProcessImpactBilling managers manually navigate between multiple screens to gather performance metricsBilling managers access all key metrics from a single, consolidated dashboard view60% reduction in time spent gathering operational data; enables more time for analysis and issue resolutionBilling specialists manually identify and track exceptions through various reportsBilling specialists view categorized exceptions with priority indicators in a dedicated dashboard section40% faster exception identification and resolution; improved tracking of systemic issuesFinancial metric analysis requires extracting and combining data from multiple sourcesFinancial metrics are automatically calculated and displayed with trend analysis in the dashboard70% reduction in report preparation time; more accurate and timely financial insightsConsumption pattern analysis requires complex manual calculationsConsumption patterns automatically categorized and displayed with trend indicators50% improvement in identifying consumption anomalies; better detection of potential meter issuesBilling cycle performance tracking requires creating custom reportsBilling cycle performance metrics available in real-time with comparative analysis45% better visibility into cycle-specific performance; faster identification of cycle-specific issuesBill generation requires navigating to separate moduleBill generation accessible directly from dashboard via Quick Actions panel30% reduction in time to initiate bill generation; improved operational efficiencyBill search requires navigating through menu hierarchyGlobal search function available directly from dashboard55% faster access to specific bill information; improved customer service response timeTrend analysis requires manual comparison of historical dataAutomated trend indicators with visual cues for significant changes65% improvement in trend identification; enables proactive management of potential issues

11. Impact from Solving This Problem

MetricImpactOperational Efficiency40-50% reduction in time spent gathering and analyzing billing data; streamlined workflow for managing exceptions and generating billsRevenue Collection15-20% improvement in timely identification and resolution of billing issues leading to faster revenue collectionException Resolution Time30-35% reduction in time to identify, assign, and resolve billing exceptionsData-Driven Decision Making60% increase in availability of actionable insights for billing operations managementCustomer Satisfaction25% reduction in billing-related customer complaints due to improved accuracy and timelinessStaff Productivity45% reduction in manual reporting effort, allowing staff to focus on value-added activitiesSystem Adoption30% increase in system usage by billing team members due to improved interface and functionalityCompliance and Audit50% improvement in ability to document and demonstrate regulatory complianceFinancial Visibility70% increase in transparency of revenue metrics and outstanding amountsManagement ConfidenceSignificant qualitative improvement in management's trust in billing data and performance metrics

12. User Behavior Tracking

Billing Manager

MetricEvents to TrackPropertiesInsights ProvidedDashboard UsageDashboard_View, Tab_Navigation, Metric_DrilldownUser ID, Time spent, Tabs viewed, Metrics clickedHow often and deeply managers engage with the dashboard; which metrics receive most attentionException ManagementException_View, Exception_Action, Exception_ResolutionException type, Priority, Time to resolution, Action takenEffectiveness of exception management process; common resolution patternsFinancial AnalysisFinancial_Metric_View, Revenue_Trend_AnalysisMetrics viewed, Time spent, Export actionsHow managers use financial data; which metrics drive decision makingQuick Actions UsageQuick_Action_Initiated, Quick_Action_CompletedAction type, Completion time, Error rateWhich actions are most commonly used; potential friction points in workflows

Questions Answered:

• How do billing managers prioritize their monitoring activities?
• Which exception types require the most management attention?
• Are financial trends being adequately analyzed before decisions?
• How effective is the Quick Actions functionality in streamlining operations?

Billing Specialist

MetricEvents to TrackPropertiesInsights ProvidedCycle AnalysisCycle_Selection, Cycle_Metric_View, Cycle_ComparisonCycle ID, Metrics viewed, Comparison periodsHow specialists analyze cycle performance; which metrics drive investigationsBill GenerationBill_Generation_Started, Bill_Generation_CompletedGeneration type (bulk/single), Volume, Success rateEffectiveness of the bill generation process; common failure pointsConsumption AnalysisConsumption_Category_View, Consumption_Account_DrilldownCategory type, Number of accounts, Actions takenHow specialists monitor consumption patterns; investigation triggersSearch BehaviorSearch_Initiated, Search_Results_View, Search_Filter_AppliedSearch terms, Filters used, Results count, Action takenHow specialists locate specific bills; common search patterns

Questions Answered:

• Which billing cycles require the most specialist attention?
• How effective is the bill generation process?
• What consumption patterns trigger specialist investigation?
• How do specialists locate and manage specific customer accounts?

Utility Administrator

MetricEvents to TrackPropertiesInsights ProvidedSystem PerformanceDashboard_Load_Time, Data_Refresh, Error_OccurrenceLoad duration, Data volume, Error typeTechnical performance of the dashboard; potential optimization needsReport GenerationReport_Creation, Report_Export, Report_SchedulingReport type, Format, Frequency, DistributionHow administrators leverage reporting capabilities; information distribution patternsConfiguration ActionsSettings_Modification, User_Permission_ChangeSetting type, Permission changes, User affectedHow administrators manage system configuration; permission management patternsExecutive MetricsExecutive_View_Access, High_Level_Metric_ViewMetrics viewed, Time spent, Export actionsWhich high-level metrics receive executive attention; reporting needs

Questions Answered:

• Is the dashboard performing adequately under actual usage conditions?
• How are reports being utilized for management communication?
• What configuration changes occur most frequently?
• Which metrics are most valuable for executive reporting?

Wireframe

Wireframe: Link

Reference: Link, Link2