COMPUTERISED WATER BILLING SYSTEM FUNCTIONAL REQUIREMENT

COMPUTERISED WATER BILLING SYSTEM   FUNCTIONAL REQUIREMENT 

COMPUTERISED WATER BILLING SYSTEM 

FUNCTIONAL REQUIREMENT 

The project topic chosen by our group is “COMPUTERIZED WATER BILLING SYSTEM”. However, before going into details describing the functional requirements of the system we will like to highlight briefly what we mean by Functional and Non-functional requirements. 

Non-functional requirements describe how the system works thereby describing its process, while functional requirements describes what the system should do. In order words describing its components, input, behaviours and outputs. 

In a computerized water billing system they can be of two types: 

1. Metered system 

2. Non-metered system 

In the case of meter system like the name of a meter is used. This meter is placed and connected in the homes of the users and it helps to read the actual or exact water usage or consumption. Also, in this system there is minimum fixed charge, whereby the user will pay nothing less than the fixed charge in the given duration. 

While in the case of non-metered system, no meter is used for any reading in given duration no matter the user usage of water or water consumption a fixed amount is paid. This payment, as earlier stated could be done in duration which could be daily, weekly, monthly, annually etc. per tap or water passage, per family or number of persons consuming the water. 

The objective of the computerized water billing system is to produce accurate and reliable water bills for consumers. 

With the above stated and properly understood, we will further discuss the functional requirement of the topic COMPUTER WATER BILLING SYSTEM below; 

The billing operation can fall into three (3) processing groups namely: - 

• Daily Processing: - This process handles the daily consumption and gives a detailed account of it for every customer daily. 

• Weekly Processing: - just as the name implies “Weekly”, here the process handles the weekly consumption and gives account of it for every customer per week. 

• Monthly End Processing: - finally, here the process handles the monthly consumption and gives a detailed account of it for every customer at the end of every month. 

Behaviour of the System 

The computerized water billing system has to do with the process of eradicating the manual ways of recording or processing water bills. Its operation is characterised into two (2) namely:- 

• Supply Services: - Here it is responsible for the co-ordination of all available destinations in which water is supplied. 

• Marketing & Sales: - Here at this branch the marketing and sales of water and sales of water and processing of bills are carried out. 

Some of the Inputs and Outputs include: 

• Meter Readings 
•  Cash Receipts 
• Maintenance documents 

METER READING PROCESSING 

The activities for the meter reading are executed in the following sequence: 

• Meter reading inserted on meter folios or reading sheets. 
•  Checking for meter books or reading sheets. 
•  Dispatch to data control. 
•  Data preparation. (i.e. Keying by data entry operation) 
•  Initial computer edit run. 
• Correction process by data control or commercial officers. 
•  Final edit runs (i.e. corrected records listing). 
• Dispatch meter books or reading sheets to commercial. 

The consumption of the month is calculated by subtracting the previous readings from the present readings. 

CASH RECEIPTS 

The districts batch all balanced sets of consumer stubs by cashier daily intake and send to the data control section for preparation and for keying. Attached to each set is a “batch control ship” containing cash totals that are very useful controls in the system. The processing of cash receipts takes the following orders:- 

•  Balancing and dispatching of receipts. 
• Dispatch of data control. 
•  Data preparation (i.e. keying). 
•  Initial editing. 
•  Correction processing. 
•  Final edit dispatch. 
•  Dispatch of cash stubs to district accounts. 

THE BILL PRODUCTION PROCESS 

The bill processes takes place towards the end of each run. The preferable sequence of activities is as follows:- 

• Updating the consumers records maintenance document (CRMD) 
• Updating payments (cash receipts) 
• Calculate bills 
• Print bills 
•  Dispatch bills to commercial sections 

The system resorts to estimation of bills in absence of meter readings. 

THE BILLS 

The bills gives complete information of the consumers accounts to the months of accounts of the bills each consumer is billed monthly in any of the runs. The consumer uses the bill for payment:- 

The relevant information that appears on the bill monthly are as follows:- 

• Account number. 
• Month of account
• Name and schedule number.
•  Address lines. 
•  Meter information (under which we have)

                I. Number of meter reading. 

                II. Meter number. 

                III. Date of reading (date meter was read or estimated). 

                IV. Present reading and “E’’ (estimation if applicable). 

                V. Previous reading and ‘’E’’ (estimation if applicable). 

                VI. Quantity used (litres) and ‘’E’’ (estimation if applicable). 

                VII. Average monthly consumption.