Bill Management

1. Problem Statement

User Role Identified:

Utility Customer/Consumer - Individual or business account holder who receives utility services and needs to manage their billing and payments

Pain Points for Utility Customer:

Cannot easily view current and historical utility bills in one centralized location
Lacks ability to download bill copies for personal records or expense reporting
Unable to make payments conveniently online, forcing reliance on phone calls, mail, or in-person visits
No visibility into payment status and bill due dates leading to potential late fees
Difficulty tracking payment history and managing multiple utility service types (water, electric, gas)

Core Problem: Utility customers lack a comprehensive self-service digital platform to view, manage, and pay their utility bills, resulting in poor customer experience, increased customer service calls, and delayed payments affecting utility cash flow.

2. Who Are the Users Facing the Problem?

Primary User Role:

Utility Customer/Consumer: Individual residential customers, business account holders, and property managers who receive utility services and are responsible for bill payment. This role should have full access to the bill management and payment features.

3. Jobs To Be Done

For Utility Customer: When I need to review my current utility bill and payment status, But I have to call customer service or wait for paper bills to arrive by mail, Help me access all my bill information instantly online with clear visibility into amounts due and payment deadlines, So that I can make informed decisions about my utility usage and avoid late payment fees.

For Utility Customer: When I need to pay my utility bill quickly and securely, But I have limited payment options that require phone calls or trips to payment locations, Help me pay my bills online with multiple payment methods and instant confirmation, So that I can manage my payments conveniently on my schedule and ensure on-time payment.

For Utility Customer: When I need to access historical bills for tax preparation, insurance claims, or expense reporting, But I have to contact customer service or search through paper records, Help me view and download all my past bills in a searchable digital format, So that I can quickly retrieve the documentation I need for financial planning and record-keeping.

4. Solution

The Consumer Self-Service Portal provides a comprehensive digital platform for utility customers to manage their billing and payment experience independently.

Key Capability Areas:

Bill Overview Dashboard

Real-time bill summary cards showing total bills, unpaid amounts, and upcoming due dates
Visual indicators for bill status (paid, unpaid, due soon)

Bill Management Interface

Searchable bill history table with filtering capabilities
Detailed bill viewing with service type categorization (Electric, Water, Gas)
PDF download functionality for record-keeping

Payment Processing

Secure online payment system with multiple payment methods
Real-time payment confirmation and receipt generation
Payment scheduling and autopay enrollment options

Account Information

Service address and account details management
Payment history tracking with transaction details
Communication preferences and notification settings

User Experience Features

Intuitive search and filter functionality
Mobile-responsive design for multi-device access
Clear status indicators and action buttons

Security and Compliance

Secure authentication and session management
PCI-compliant payment processing
Data encryption and privacy protection

Customer Support Integration

Help documentation and FAQ access
Contact information and support request submission
Live chat or callback request functionality

5. Major Steps Involved

For Utility Customer - Viewing Bills:

Log into the consumer self-service portal using credentials
Land on dashboard showing bill summary cards (Total Bills: 6, Unpaid Bills: 1, Unpaid Amount: $78.45, Due Soon: 1)
Review bill overview cards to understand current payment status
Navigate to bill listing table showing all bills with columns: Bill #, Issue Date, Type, Amount, Due Date, Status, Actions
Use search functionality or filters to find specific bills if needed
Click on a specific bill row to view detailed bill information
Use the "view" action button (eye icon) to see bill details in expanded view
Use the "download" action button to save PDF copy of bill to device

For Utility Customer - Making Payments:

From the bill listing, identify unpaid bills (marked with "Unpaid" status in red)
Select the bill to be paid by clicking the payment action button
Review bill details and amount due ($78.45 for INV-001)
Choose payment method (credit card, bank transfer, etc.)
Enter payment information in secure payment form
Review payment details and confirm transaction
Receive payment confirmation with transaction ID
See updated bill status change from "Unpaid" to "Paid" in the listing
Download payment receipt for records

For Utility Customer - Managing Account:

Access account settings from main navigation or user profile
Review and update contact information and service addresses
Set up payment preferences and autopay options
Configure notification preferences for bill reminders
Review payment history and download annual statements

6. Flow Diagram

flowchart TD
    A[User Login] --> B[Dashboard Landing]
    B --> C{User Action Choice}
    
    C -->|View Bills| D[Bill Listing Table]
    C -->|Quick Pay| E[Payment Process]
    C -->|Account Settings| F[Profile Management]
    
    D --> G[Search/Filter Bills]
    D --> H[View Bill Details]
    D --> I[Download Bill PDF]
    D --> J[Initiate Payment]
    
    H --> K{Bill Type Review}
    K -->|Electric| L[Electric Bill View]
    K -->|Water| M[Water Bill View]
    K -->|Gas| N[Gas Bill View]
    
    J --> O[Payment Method Selection]
    E --> O
    O --> P[Payment Information Entry]
    P --> Q[Payment Confirmation]
    Q --> R[Receipt Generation]
    R --> S[Updated Bill Status]
    
    G --> D
    I --> T[PDF Download]
    
    F --> U[Contact Info Update]
    F --> V[Payment Preferences]
    F --> W[Notification Settings]
    
    S --> B
    T --> B
    U --> B
    V --> B
    W --> B

7. Business Rules

General System Rules:

Users can only access bills and payment information for their authenticated account
Bill information must be displayed in real-time reflecting current payment status

Bill Display Rules:

Bills must be sorted by issue date in descending order (most recent first)
Status indicators must accurately reflect:
- Paid (green) - bill is paid
- Unpaid (red) - current bill not paid
- Carried Forward (Orange) - when bill is not paid and new bill is issued.
All monetary amounts must display with currency symbol and two decimal places
currency will come from the onboarding module.

Payment Processing Rules:

User can pay for the current generated billl only.
on clicking on the payment icon a modal should open with the below bill details
- bill number
- Service type - if more than 1 service then display muilti service
- issue date
- due date
payment method - by default only online payment is selected
on clicking on pay button user getes redirected to payment gateway.
After completing the payment user redirects back and a success message is shown
if the payment is canclled then a payment canclled message is shown
if the payment is failed then a payment failed message is shown

Listview

Listview fields given below
- bill number
  - issue date
  - utility service
  - amount
  - due date
  - Status
  - Action (View , pay (only for the current bill if not paid), download, reciept)
    - on clicking on download the bill is downloaded
    - on clicking on view the generated bill will be open in a dialog modal
    - on clicking on pay the payment moadal is open
    - On clicking on reciept icon open the reciept view
Add standard pagination to the listview

Filters

Filter by status

Search

Search by bill number

KPI cards

Total bills - display the count of total bills for the consumer
Unpaid bills - display the count of bill with the unpaid status
Unpaid amount - Display the unpaid bill amount
Carried forward bills - display the count of bill with the carried forward status

8. Sample Data

Dashboard Summary Cards:

Total Bills: 6

Unpaid Bills: 1

Unpaid Amount: $78.45

Due Soon: 1 (within 7 days

Bill Listing Data:

INV-001 | 3/10/2025 | Electric | $78.45 | 4/15/2025 | Unpaid

INV-002 | 3/8/2025 | Water | $42.30 | 4/13/2025 | Paid

INV-003 | 2/10/2025 | Electric | $105.75| 3/15/2025 | Paid

INV-004 | 2/8/2025 | Water | $38.20 | 3/13/2025 | Paid

INV-005 | 1/10/2025 | Gas | $92.65 | 2/15/2025 | Paid

INV-006 | 1/8/2025 | Water | $45.10 | 2/13/2025 | Paid

9. Acceptance Criteria

The system must display a dashboard with summary cards showing total bills count, unpaid bills count, unpaid amount, and carried forward bills
The system should allow users to access bills and payment information only for their authenticated account.
The system should display bill information in real-time reflecting current payment status.
The system should sort bills by issue date in descending order with most recent first.
The system should display status indicators with accurate colors: Paid (green), Unpaid (red), Carried Forward (orange).
The system should display all monetary amounts with currency symbol and two decimal places.
The system should retrieve currency information from the onboarding module.
The system should allow users to pay only for the current generated bill.
The system should open a payment modal when clicking on the payment icon.
The system should display bill details in payment modal: bill number, service type, issue date, due date.
The system should display "multi service" when more than one service exists for the bill.
The system should select online payment as default payment method.
The system should redirect user to payment gateway when clicking pay button.
The system should redirect user back after payment completion and show success message.
The system should show payment cancelled message when payment is cancelled.
The system should show payment failed message when payment fails.
The system should display listview with fields: bill number, issue date, utility service, amount, due date, status, action.
The system should provide action options: View, Pay (only for current unpaid bill), Download.
The system should download bill when clicking download action.
The system should open generated bill in dialog modal when clicking view action.
The system should open payment modal when clicking pay action.
The system should implement standard pagination for the listview.
The system should provide filter option by status.
The system should provide search functionality by bill number.

10. Process Changes

Process Area	From	To	Impact
Bill Viewing	Customers wait for paper bills or call customer service to request bill information	Customers access real-time bill information online 24/7 through self-service portal	75% reduction in customer service calls for bill inquiries
Payment Processing	Customers pay via phone, mail, or in-person visits during business hours	Customers pay online instantly with immediate confirmation and receipt	60% increase in on-time payments due to convenience
Bill Record Management	Customers manually file paper bills or request copies from utility	Customers download PDF bills instantly for digital record-keeping	85% reduction in requests for duplicate bills
Payment Status Inquiry	Customers call customer service to confirm payment status	Real-time payment status visible immediately after transaction	90% reduction in payment confirmation calls
Late Payment Prevention	Customers rely on memory or manual tracking of due dates	Automated due date visibility and notification system	40% reduction in late payment fees

11. Impact from Solving This Problem

Metric Category	Metric	How It Improves
Customer Service Efficiency	Call center volume	70% reduction in billing and payment inquiry calls
Payment Performance	On-time payment rate	35% improvement due to 24/7 payment accessibility
Customer Satisfaction	Customer experience score	25% increase due to self-service convenience
Operational Cost	Customer service costs	50% reduction in manual payment processing costs
Revenue Management	Days sales outstanding	15% improvement in cash flow timing
Digital Adoption	Online payment adoption	80% of customers migrate to digital payment methods
Administrative Efficiency	Paper bill printing costs	60% reduction as customers adopt digital bills
Customer Retention	Account satisfaction	20% improvement in customer loyalty metrics

12. User Behavior Tracking

For Utility Customer Role:

Event	Properties	Questions Answered
Portal Login	timestamp, user_id, session_id	How frequently do customers access the portal?
Dashboard View	bills_total, bills_unpaid, amount_due	What billing situations drive portal usage?
Bill Search	search_term, filter_criteria, results_count	What information do customers seek most often?
Bill Detail View	bill_id, service_type, amount, status	Which bills generate the most customer interest?
PDF Download	bill_id, download_timestamp	Do customers prefer digital records over paper?
Payment Initiation	bill_id, amount, payment_method_selected	What triggers payment behavior?
Payment Completion	transaction_id, amount, payment_method, success_status	How successful is the payment process?
Filter Usage	filter_type, criteria_applied, results_filtered	How do customers prefer to organize their bill information?
Session Duration	login_time, logout_time, pages_visited	How engaged are customers with the self-service platform?
Error Encounters	error_type, page_location, user_action	Where do customers experience difficulties?

Key Questions These Events Answer:

Are customers successfully finding and paying their bills online?
Which features drive the highest engagement and satisfaction?
Where do customers encounter friction in the payment process?
How does digital adoption impact customer service call volume?
What bill management behaviors indicate customer satisfaction?
Which service types generate the most customer activity?