The genesis of SimpleBills came from realizing the pain point for property managers across the country. Even though utilities have been handled the same way for years, properties ranging from tens to thousands of residents were experiencing difficulties in managing utilities. The single family market was in need of an innovative solution to utility management that created better operational efficiencies and a simplified residential experience. In comes SimpleBills.
The SimpleBills model of utility management is the first of its kind in the SFR space giving residents and properties a new perspective on how simple utilities can be. Seeing the overall benefit and success of the clients we service, we project the SimpleBills model will be the new standard for utility management.
What started as a simple model for billing and collecting has grown into a multi-faceted business. Ten years ago, we started as a 4-step process.
1.We retrieve utility bills from utility providers
2.Invoice the property and residents for their portion
3.Operators and Residents pay SimpleBills
4.SimpleBills pays utility providers
This process remains the foundation of who we are, and it’s a huge player in the satisfaction of the property managers we service. However, the added benefits of SimpleBills contribute greatly in our overall mission to simplify utilities. By saving properties money through the turn process, creating a better experience for residents, and providing industry leading support for residents and property staff, utilities have never been more manageable.
Our secret to making utilities simple is keeping utilities in the PMC’s name, which ensures utilities are always on. This allows us to give property managers back the hundreds of dollars per year per home they were losing through the turning on/off process. By eliminating this process altogether, the PMC and owners save time, headache and stress that can come with utilities. Not to mention you can turn over properties faster by getting in right after moveout, allowing residents to move in immediately after signing their lease, saving an average of $200 per vacancy.
Residents experience a seamless move-in, saving them money, time and paperwork. The best part: No more time wasted on a drawn-out setup process. Once approved, the resident can move in right away without having to wait for the utility setup process. Each resident can see PDF provider bills, cost breakdowns per utility, bills from previous months, and information on trends in their overall usage through their own resident portal. Every resident also has access to conservation tips for energy and money savings. With all this information at the residents’ fingertips, it’s easy to make decisions that will benefit their knowledge of usage, costs and overall utility management. If there are any specific questions pertaining to a residents’ utilities, our customer support team is open 7 days a week via phones, chat and email to address all inquiries.
In order to give properties ample means of support, SimpleBills offers each property a designated Account Manager for a more personalized insight. On a monthly basis, Account Managers work on the operator’s behalf to ensure their utilities are running smoothly, including a monthly bill review stocked with information on who owed what for that months’ payment on their properties. This information gives operators the freedom to run their property as they see fit and provide residents with a wonderful live-in experience. To provide more insight, SimpleBills designed a property portal that contains information on vacant units, month-to-month variances, and floorplan averages specific to the property and its residents. Having access to this information has proven helpful in promoting overall money savings.
SimpleBills gives property managers and residents power over their own utilities while helping them save money and time. For more information on our process, visit https://www.simplebills.com/blog/properties/.
