Table of Contents

Create utility contracts

Important

Draft documentation
This content is a draft version of the SkyBill documentation and is subject to final review. Some information may be incomplete or inaccurate. Features, terminology, and procedures may change before the official release.

Utility contracts define the relationship between your customers and their supply addresses. In SkyBill, a utility contract is the central element that links who is billed (the customer) with what is billed (the supply address and its meter points). Without a utility contract, there is no billing connection between a customer and a supply address.

Each utility contract specifies the services provided, the applicable tariff, and the billing details for that customer. You can create utility contracts for property owners (landlords) and tenants, depending on how the utilities are billed. This structure helps utilities handle common scenarios such as rental properties, ownership changes, or vacant periods between tenants.

SkyBill supports two utility contract types: landlord and tenant. Landlord utility contracts apply to the property owner, while tenant utility contracts apply to the occupant who consumes the service. Both utility contract types can operate in parallel, ensuring continuous and accurate billing even when occupancy changes.

Important

Before you create a contract, make sure that the relevant supply address, meter point, and customer are created. You can create them manually or with the data upload tools provided by SkyBill.

The easiest and most error-proof way to create a utility contract is to use the Supply Address Card page, as the process is automated via a wizard.

Caution

You can create a utility contract manually from the Utility Contracts list page. This approach was commonly used in the older versions of SkyBill. However, it is not recommended as it can lead to errors. Wizards on the Supply Address Card page are the recommended way of creating contracts.

If the property at the supply address is owned by one person (the landlord) and occupied by another person (the tenant), you can create separate contracts for both. This way, you can bill both the landlord and the tenant separately, according to their respective contracts. You can set the landlord contract to be mandatory for each supply address. Learn more about how to enforce specifying a landlord while you move in a tenant.

To create a landlord contract for a supply address

  1. Select Search (Alt+Q) Lightbulb that opens the Tell Me feature. in the upper-right corner, enter Supply Address List, and then choose the related link.
  2. On the Supply Address List page, select the supply address you want to create a landlord contract for.
  3. On the Supply Address Card page, select the Ownership action, and then choose the Create Ownership action.
  4. On the Create Ownership wizard, follow the on-screen instructions until you create a new landlord contract.
  5. After creating the landlord contract, you can view and manage it by selecting the Landlord Contract No. field on the Supply Address Card page.

Create a tenant contract for a supply address

Each supply address can have only one tenant at a time. When a tenant moves out, you must update the supply address to link it to the new tenant. However, before you move in the new tenant, you must process the previous tenant's move-out. Otherwise, a special notification appears, preventing you from changing the tenant.

To move out the tenant

  1. Select Search (Alt+Q) Lightbulb that opens the Tell Me feature. in the upper-right corner, enter Supply Address List, and then choose the related link.
  2. On the Supply Address List page, select the supply address you want to update.
  3. On the Supply Address Card page, select the Tenancy action, and then choose Move Out.
  4. On the Change of Tenancy wizard, enter the Supply End Date and confirm by selecting Finish. This way, you are canceling the utility contract with the tenant.

To move in the new tenant

When the supply address is vacant, you can move in the new tenant.

  1. Select Search (Alt+Q) Lightbulb that opens the Tell Me feature. in the upper-right corner, enter Supply Address List, and then choose the related link.
  2. On the Supply Address List page, select the supply address you want to update.
  3. On the Supply Address Card page, select the Tenancy action, and then choose Move In.
  4. On the Change of Tenancy wizard, select the Tenant Customer No. from the drop-down list.
  5. Leave the Tenant Contract No. field blank to create a new contract, or select the existing utility contract from the list, to add the supply address to that contract.
  6. In the Tenant Contract Template Code field, you can select a utility contract template to pre-fill some of the utility contract details. This field is optional. To learn more, see To set up utility contract templates.
  7. Select Next to proceed to the next step.
  8. In the Utility Tariff Code field, select the tariff that is be applied to this contract.
  9. Select the Supply Start Date, Contract Signing Date and choose Next to proceed to the summary.
  10. Verify the summary of the new contract, and select Finish to complete the move-in process and create the new tenant contract.

To review existing utility contracts

  1. Select Search (Alt+Q) Lightbulb that opens the Tell Me feature. in the upper-right corner, enter Utility Contracts, and then choose the related link.

  2. Select the utility contract you want to review from the Utility Contracts list.

  3. On the Lines FastTab, SkyBill displays all the meter points linked to the contract. If you apply multiple tariffs to a meter point, a separate line appears for each tariff.

    Note

    If the tariff applied to the utility contract has multiple lines for different services (for example, electricity supply, distribution, and so on), SkyBill creates separate lines for each service on the contract. However, if a supply address lacks a meter point for a specific service, the system does not create a service line on the contract.

SkyBill automatically creates utility contract lines based on the tariff assigned to the contract. However, you can modify the utility contract lines manually if needed. For example, you can change the rates for this specific contract. SkyBill populates all the other contract details, such as billing cycle, based on the utility contract template assigned to the contract. You can modify these details if needed.

To set up utility contract templates

The contract template specifies the default values for the fields in the new contracts.

  1. Select Search (Alt+Q) Lightbulb that opens the Tell Me feature. in the upper-right corner, enter Utility Contract Templates, and then choose the related link.

  2. Select New to create a new contract template.

  3. Enter the relevant information on the Utility Contr. Templ. Card page. Pay special attention to the Contract Type field. There are four options available:

    • Quote
    • Contract: which represents the tenant
    • Template
    • Landlord

Landlords and tenants
Calculate, create, and send customer invoices
Create and manage supply addresses
Set up tariffs and pricing rules
Work with Business Central

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