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Start a Service for Energy & Utilities Customers
Start services for your Energy & Utilities customers, including new and existing customers, and start services when customers change to a new premises.
You can start a service for a customer in any one of these scenarios:
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A new customer moves into a property where the utility provides services.
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The existing customer adds another property or service to their existing account.
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The existing customer moves from one property to another.
In general, each of these scenarios require that you:
- Capture the account details. Depending upon the customer type and requirement, you may also need to create a new account or sub-account.
- Select a premises.
- Select the service type to be started.
- Start the service.
Now let's look at each of these scenarios in detail.
Start a Service for a New Energy & Utilities Customer
In this scenario, a new customer moves into a premises where the utility provides services. As part of the start service process, you must first set up a new contact and customer account followed by premises and services details.
- Use the Identity Verification feature to verify the identity of the caller and launch the customer's accounts page.
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On the customer accounts page, select Start
Service from the Actions menu.
Note The error "No service points can be located" may be displayed if the "Start Service" Omniscript is missing "Inventory Item" record. -
On the page, enter the required information:
-
Enter the customer details :
Fields
Description
What type of Account are you moving?
Select Consumer or Business.
Is this a New Customer?
Select No.
Does the customer need a New Account?
Select Yes.
Account Name
Enter the name of the account.
Move-in Date
Enter the date when the customer moves into the new premises.
Optional
(Optional )Search Parent Account
Type in the first few letters of the account name which you want to enter. Select from the displayed list.
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Enter the New Customer Details:
Field Name
Description
Required Fields
First Name and Last Name
Enter the first and last name of the customer.
Email
Enter the email address.
Phone Number
Enter the phone number.
Date of Birth
Enter the date of birth of the customer.
Identification Type
Select the type of identification provided by the customer:
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Driver's License
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SSN
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Tax ID
Enter the details of the identification, depending on the choice above.
Optional Fields
Customer Class
Select the class to which the customer belongs:
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Residential
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SMB
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C&I
Industry
Specify the primary business of the account. Select an appropriate industry type from the picklist.
Website
Enter the customer website URL.
Description
Provide a brief description of the customer.
-
-
(Optional) Enter the Billing Details:
Field Name
Description
Bill Cycle
Specify if the billing cycle is monthly, bimonthly, or quarterly.
Delivery Method
Select from Paper Billing, Electronic Statements Online, or Email.
Billing Format
Ask the customer if he wants a Detailed Bill or just a Summary. Select the appropriate option.
Email Address
Specify the email address to which the customer wants the electronic billing statement to be sent.
Billing Address Fields
Provide a complete billing address against which the bill will be generated and mailed.
-
(Optional) Enter the Tax Details:
Fields
Description
Tax Id
Enter the customer's Tax Id.
Tax Exemption
Specify if the customer is exempted from tax or not.
-
- Click Next.
- On the Premises Selection page, type in the first few letters of the service location and select premises from the displayed list. Click Next.
- On the Type of Service page, select the Product Type for at least one of the listed services. Click Next.
-
On the Notification Preferences page, enter the customer preference
for the following fields:
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Billing Notifications
-
Payment Notifications
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Outage Notifications
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Offer and Promotions
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Work Order Notifications
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(Optional) Do Not Contact Time
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Account Payment Type - Select Prepaid or Postpaid.
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Auto Pay
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- Click Next.
- Confirm the Move-In request.
- Click Next.
- Click Finish.
Start a Service for an Existing Energy & Utilities Customer
In this scenario, an existing Energy and Utilities customer adds a service to a new premise. For example, a customer already has electricity and wants to add gas service. Another example is when a customer has additional premises and they want to add an electricity service. They also want both premises to be attached to the same account.
As part of this process, capture the details of the new services to be supplied along with the start date. You also need to create new assets and select the service points to start service for the new assets. This information is then synced with the backend billing system to create a new contract account.
- Use the Identity Verification feature to verify the identity of the caller and launch the customer's accounts page.
-
On the customer accounts page, select Start
Service from the Actions menu.
Note The error "No service points can be located" may be displayed if the "Start Service" Omniscript is missing "Inventory Item" record.
-
On the Customer and Accounts Details page, enter the required
information:
Fields
Description
What type of Account are you moving?
Select Consumer or Business.
Is this a New Customer?
Select No.
Does the customer need a New Account?
Select No.
Search a Customer
Type in the first few letters of the customer which you want to move-in to a new premises. Select from the list displayed.
Search Existing Account
Type in the first few letters of an existing account that you want to link to the move-in. Select from the list displayed.
Move-in Date
Enter the date when the customer moves into the new premises.
- Click Next.
-
On the Premises Selection page, enter the following
information:
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Based on the customer input, select yes or no for the Do you want to add new Premises to the existing Account?
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If you select Yes, specify the Service Location which the customer wants to add to the account. Type in the first few letters of the premises name, and select from the list displays.
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If you select No, select the Premises Address from the list displayed where you want to move-in a new service.
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- Click Next.
- On the Type of Service page, select the Product for at least one listed service points and their corresponding service type.
- Click Next and confirm the request.
- Click Next and then click Finish.
Move-out and Start a Service for an Existing Energy & Utilities Customer from One Premises to Another
As part of starting the service for an existing customer moving to a new premises, the first step is to stop the service at the old premises.
For more information, see Stop a Service for Energy & Utilities Customers.
Before You Begin
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Ensure you first Stop a Service for Energy & Utilities Customers the existing customer from the old premises.
After the move-out is complete, you can start the move-in process by capturing the details of the new premises, services to be supplied, and move-in date. Set up a new account with the consumer or business account as its parent and link the new premises to the customer. You also need to create new assets for each service point. This information is then synced with the backend billing system to create a new contract account.
To start service for the customer:
- Use the Identity Verification feature to verify the identity of the caller and launch the customer's accounts page.
-
On the customer accounts page, select Start
Service from the Actions menu.
Note The error "No service points can be located" may be displayed if the "Start Service" Omniscript is missing "Inventory Item" record.
-
On the Customer and Accounts Details page, enter the required
information:
-
Enter the customer information :
Fields
Description
What type of Account are you moving?
Select between Consumer or Business.
Is this a New Customer?
Select No.
Does the customer need a New Account?
Select Yes.
Account Name
Enter the name of the account.
(Optional )Search Parent Account
Type in the first few letters of the account name which you want to enter. Select from the displayed list.
Search a Customer
Type in the first few letters of the customer name which you want to move-in to the new premises.
Move-in Date
Enter the date when the customer moves into the new premises.
-
(Optional) Enter the Billing Details:
Field Name
Description
Bill Cycle
Specify if the billing cycle is monthly, bimonthly, or quarterly.
Delivery Method
Select from Paper Billing, Electronic Statements Online, or Email.
Billing Format
Ask the customer if they want a Detailed Bill or just a Summary. Select the appropriate option.
Email Address
Specify the email address to which the customer wants the electronic billing statement to be sent.
Billing Address Fields
Provide a complete billing address against which the bill will be generated and mailed.
-
(Optional) Enter the Tax Details:
Tax Id
Enter the customer's Tax Id.
Tax Exemption
Specify if the customer is exempted from tax or not.
-
- Click Next.
- On the Premises Selection page, lookup for the service location and select from the displayed list. Click Next.
- On the Type of Service page, select the Product Type for at least one of the listed services. Click Next.
-
On the Notification Preferences page, enter the customer preference
for the following:
-
Billing Notifications
-
Payment Notifications
-
Outage Notifications
-
Offer and Promotions
-
Work Order Notifications
-
(Optional) Do Not Contact Time
-
Account Payment Type - Select Prepaid or Postpaid.
-
Auto Pay
-
- Click Next.
- Confirm the Move-In request.
- Click Next.
- Click Finish.
