Bill Checking: Variance and Meter Comparison report

Edit online

Use the Bill Checking: Variance and Meter Comparison report to help you to identify cost and consumption variances for your utility account records.

Access the Bill Checking: Variance and Meter Comparison report from the main Report menu. When you run the report, you can choose to display it on screen, or output the report to an Excel file and have it emailed to you, which you can opt to schedule for later.

In the report, the DataSheet tab includes the underlying data shown in the main pivot table. You can use the underlying data for further analysis as needed.

I want to analyze records for a reporting period

Run the Bill Checking: Variance and Meter Comparison report and, in the dialog, select a period. You can also select a data type and account style.

I want to analyze records for a data file that has been recently uploaded

Run the Bill Checking: Variance and Meter Comparison report. In the dialog, select a file from the Filter by #2 list, which includes the 20 most recently uploaded files sorted chronologically. If a data file is selected, the period selection is ignored.

I want to analyze records with a significant total cost variance compared to the previous bill

In the Bill Checking: Variance and Meter Comparison report grid, focus on the rows where the Cost column is highlighted. In the analysis, consider the following points:
  • $ Variance to previous bill Threshold is used to highlight issues that exceed the threshold value. The variance calculation is adjusted for different billing periods to avoid the number of days impacting the results.
  • There is no firm rule for the most appropriate value to use for the threshold. This will be learned by the user over time and may vary based on the data type being analyzed, the amount of data in the report, the time available to run the analysis, and many other factors.
  • The other data fields are included for reference purposes.
  • This report will always return all records included in the report selection criteria. For example, if the data file selected contains 100 records, then this report will have 100 rows in it. In contrast, the Bill Checking: Missing and Overlapping report only includes exceptions. If no exceptions are found, then that report will return no results.

I want to analyze records with a significant cost per unit variance compared to other records

In the Bill Checking: Variance and Meter Comparison report grid, focus on the rows where the Effective Unit Cost column is highlighted. In the analysis, consider the following points:
  • % Variance to Median Threshold is used to highlight records with a significantly different effective unit cost to other records.
  • Effective unit cost is calculated as total cost divided by total consumption. Instances where one record varies significantly from others should be investigated.
  • There is no firm rule for the most appropriate value to use for the threshold. This will be learned by the user over time and may vary based on the data type being analyzed, the amount of data in the report, the time available to run the analysis, and many other factors.
  • The other data fields are included for reference purposes.

Analyzing exceptions

To analyze exceptions that you identify in the report, navigate back to IBM® ESG Suite, search for the account, and analyze the records.