I recently assisted a customer with the conversion process to new billing software. On the first day of on-site training, the trainer from the software vendor said, “I’m glad Gary’s here, but I hope things go smoothly enough that we don’t need him”. There were a couple of rough patches that first day that I helped them through. The next morning, that same trainer said, “I know what I said yesterday, but I’m glad Gary is here!”.
If you are considering a software transition, let me explain a few reasons why I firmly believe you should use a consultant.
Manage the process
Do you have someone on your staff who can devote their time to managing the transition to new software? This means not having other, normal day-to-day responsibilities and trying to manage the conversion on top of that.
This is where using a consultant really pays off. The consultant assumes responsibility for working with your vendor and coordinating with your staff to ensure all deadlines are met.
Extracting data
Are you familiar with the format of the data from the system you are transitioning away from? Do you have access to the data, or will you have to rely on the vendor you are leaving to provide it for you?
A skilled consultant should be able to assist you in determining the best way to extract the data from your old system and work with your new vendor to ensure the data being provided meets their requirements for a successful conversion.
Interface files
Are you knowledgeable about the format of any interface files you use, such as meter reading interface files and payment import files? Can you compare a current interface file to one provided by your new vendor to ensure it’s in the proper format without having to try the import, only to get an error?
A qualified consultant should be able to assist and coordinate with the vendor to ensure the file formats are correct.
Bill format and design
A seasoned consultant has seen bill formats and layouts from numerous utilities and is uniquely qualified to help you design a bill that is easy for your customers to understand.
If your bill includes bar codes or OCR scan lines, the consultant should be able to verify that these are in the correct format before you send your first live bills.
Billing reconciliation
When the time arrives to do your first parallel billing, do you have tools in place to facilitate a billing reconciliation to determine differences between the old and new systems? And I’m not talking about sitting across a table from another staff member and calling amounts back and forth!
A qualified consultant should be able to assist with importing billing data from both your old and new software and facilitate reconciling any differences between the two billings. As I alluded to above, in the old days, we did this by calling out amounts to each other. But with the ability to export data, this can now be accomplished digitally.
Are you about to embark on a conversion alone?
Do you have a billing software conversion on the horizon? If you do, and you’re planning to manage the process internally, please call me at 919-673-4050 or email me at gary@utilityinformationpipeline.com to learn how I could assist.
© 2025 Gary Sanders