1. 3.4 Billing Systems

2. Overview Demonstrate and apply knowledge and understanding of how utility bills are produced from a batch processing system employing master and transaction files.

3. Examples of Utility Bills Electric bill Gas bill Water rates Heating bills

4. Electric meter

5. How the bill is calculated Every 3 months A person reads the present household readings by visiting and recording the information on a special data capture form Back at the head office the past reading is subtracted from this present reading and the number of units used calculated The bill = the number of units used * unit charge

6. Batch processing Collecting batches of data to be processed Processing a batch usually at a time when the processor is less in demand (at night) No human intervention is required Suitable for applications that need a high volume of data processed Not suitable for applications requiring immediate feedback

7. Billing process flowchart Meter reading forms Error report Cards batched Transaction file Master file Error report Customer bills Sorted Transaction file Updated Master file Cards sorted Bill calculated

8. Definitions Master fileThe main file to store all the data in a computer system. This is merged with the transaction file to update the information. Transaction fileA file which stores the new data to be merged or updated into the computer system. Batch processing systemCollecting data over a period of time and then processing it all in a batch that is convenient in terms of time and processing available.