Accounting

SMR’s Utility Manager™ (UM) software and service solutions benefit accounting personnel by improving the efficiency and cost effectiveness of utility bill processing and payment. By outsourcing this function to our UM Service Bureau, accounting departments can significantly reduce transaction costs by:

• Eliminating late fees completely
• Recovering overcharges with our bill review and rate audits
• Maximizing cash flow with our just-in-time payment methods

In addition, our UM software solution captures key cost and usage data and easily downloads it into existing accounting software programs for General Ledger and Accounts Payable functions. The software also features flexible calculation methods for:

• Cost Allocation
  This feature enables accurate and efficient distribution of cost and usage across multiple facilities or across multiple customers within a single facility. Allocation can take place across multiple general ledger accounts with invoice data being exported to A/P systems.
• Cost Accrual
  This feature generates and tracks accruals at the account level of detail then rolls this information up to the General Ledger level enabling accounting personnel to record accurate period expenses. SMR can generate an accrual entry using a number of factors including estimates of not yet billed utilities, payments issued, payments settled, and payments awaiting disbursement.
• Forecasting & Budgeting
  The software enables users to easily create, update, and manage forecasts based on current and historical costs and usage. Forecasts can be automatically adjusted as needed to incorporate any future rate changes. Budgets can be created that mirror the respective forecasts. Users can then compare their actual costs against their forecasts.

With our UM Online application, accounting personnel can create customized and detailed reports and analyses to meet their specific needs.