The last two blog posts have focused on customer-friendly policies, including repayment plans and third-party notifications. Continuing the customer-friendly trend, let’s look at another option: customer-selected due dates.

This can be especially helpful for senior citizens who rely on Social Security to pay their utility bills each month.

Social Security payment dates

Back in the day, when Social Security checks were mailed, you probably received a lot of payments in the first few days of the month. Now that Social Security payments are automated, your customers are paid by direct deposit on one of three dates, depending on their birth day:

• Birth days from 1st to 10th: second Wednesday of the month, 8th to 14th
• Birth days from 11th to 20th: third Wednesday of the month, 15th to 21st
• Birth days from 21st to 31st: fourth Wednesday of the month, 22nd to 28th

Due date dilemma

Depending on your due date, Social Security payment dates could be problematic for your customers. For example, if your due date is the 15th, customers receiving their payment on the third Wednesday would receive it after the due date most months. Customers receiving their payment on the fourth Wednesday would always receive it after the due date.

The solution – customer-selected due dates

The solution is customer-selected due dates. If you have multiple billing cycles, the solution is relatively easy – allow your customers to choose a billing cycle with a more favorable due date. They can continue to be read in the same meter reading route, so there’s no confusion there. All that changes is the billing date, which results in a more advantageous due date.

What if we only have one billing cycle?

If you only bill once per month, as many smaller utilities do, the solution requires a bit more creativity. You would need to create an additional billing cycle (or cycles), so these customers have a due date that works for them. As with the scenario above, your meter reading process wouldn’t change.

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Do you need help with customer service options?

If you need help establishing customer-friendly due dates or have other customer service concerns, these are some of the things I can advise you on after completing a business review. Please give me a call at 919-673-4050 or email me at gary@utilityinformationpipeline.com if you would like more information.

© 2026 Gary Sanders