Water billing for water districts, mutual domestic water associations and co-ops
Water districts, mutual domestic water associations, rural water associations, water co-ops and water supply corporations are organized differently, but the billing work is the same: read the meters, send clear bills, collect, and report to the board. WUBS handles all of it.
For water systems of 50 to 15,000 services.
What water districts, associations and co-ops have in common
A small office. Often one clerk or office manager, sometimes part-time. WUBS is hosted, so there’s no software on a PC in your office: nothing to install, update or back up. Everyone signs in with their own login. When any employee, volunteer, staff or board member steps down, the Office Manager turns off their login, and their work history stays with your system.
A board that answers for the money. Whether voters or members elect it, the board sets rates and policies and has to explain the numbers. WUBS gives the board a report it can read on its own, for any month or quarter.
Customers or members who expect clear bills. Each bill shows usage and every charge. People can see their bills, balance and payment history online, pay online or by auto-pay, or keep mailing checks.
There’s one version of WUBS, and every feature is included.
How WUBS fits each kind of water system
Water districts
Special districts, small towns’ municipal water systems and other public water systems answer to an elected board or council, and to the public they serve.
- A board report and PDF packet for any month or quarter, emailed to every board member, with your auditor copied if you like
- Past-due and disconnection notices you set up to follow your state’s requirements
- An audit trail on every account: who changed what and when, and a reason recorded for every cancelled bill
Mutual domestic water associations
The people on the water system are its members and owners. They elect a volunteer board, and the board answers for the association’s money at member meetings. You may know yours as a mutual domestic water consumers association (MDWCA), a rural water association, or by the name your state uses.
- The board packet for board meetings, and Revenue Summary and Consumption reports across years for the annual member meeting
- A Board Member login that opens the board report and nothing else
- Nothing depends on one employee, volunteer, staff or board member: when people change, logins change, and the records stay
Co-ops and water supply corporations
Member-owned cooperatives, run under their bylaws, with an elected board that sets rates and policies.
- Rate changes the board adopts, set up ahead of the date they take effect
- Interest, a late fee or both on late payments, per your board’s policies
- A member portal with bills, usage, balance, online payment and auto-pay
Monthly, quarterly or annual billing
Many small systems bill some accounts monthly and others quarterly or once a year. In WUBS each account has its own billing frequency, and one rate schedule can bill all three. Rates can have multiple usage tiers and multiple fixed charges, such as a base charge or a capital improvement fee. WUBS keeps past, current and future rate schedules, so a new rate can be set up ahead of the date it takes effect. Earlier rates are kept, so re-billing a past period uses the rates in effect at the time.
Board packets for board and member meetings
The board report covers billing, collections, delinquency, aging and water usage for the period, with year-to-date totals. Download it as a PDF packet, or email it to every board member before the meeting. Watch lists show account numbers, not names. See a sample board packet (PDF).
For an annual meeting of a mutual domestic water association or co-op, or a district’s budget season, the Revenue Summary and Consumption reports show billed, collected and water used across years.
Who sees what
Customers and members
Their own bills, balance, usage and payment history, with online payment and auto-pay. See the customer portal.
The board
A read-only board report for any quarter or month, and the PDF board packet. See board reports.
The clerk or office manager
Billing runs, payments, notices, payment plans, reports and settings.
Whoever reads the meters
The reading list, map and door notices on their own phone. See the meter reading app.
Collections
Past-due reminders and disconnection notices follow the schedule your board adopts, and staff can review each one before it goes out. Door notices can be posted by whoever reads the meters, and payment plans let a customer or member catch up in installments. See delinquency and shutoff notices.
Every payment goes to the oldest charges first, and cancelled or corrected bills stay in the account’s history. When someone asks about their account, the ledger shows which charges each payment paid.
Your data
Ledgers, payments, adjustments and reports export to CSV at any time, and a complete copy of your data is always available on request. Databases are backed up daily and kept for at least 30 days.
See pricing and terms.
Questions from districts, associations and co-ops
Is there a separate version for associations or co-ops?
No. Water districts, mutual domestic water associations and co-ops all use the same WUBS. It’s set up with your own rates, notice schedule and board policies, so it follows the way your system runs.
Is WUBS too much for a small system?
WUBS is built for systems of 50 to 15,000 services. Office staff see the work they do, board members see only the board report, and we set up the system and import your records for you.
Can our treasurer get the numbers without learning the billing system?
Yes. A Board Member login opens the board report and nothing else. Each month, office staff can also export the Journal Entry Summary for your books.
Can customers and members still pay by check?
Yes. The office records checks and cash, bills can still be printed and mailed, and anyone who wants to can pay online or use auto-pay.
How long does it take to switch?
We import your customers, meters and balances, set up your rates, and train your staff remotely. Most systems are billing from WUBS by their next billing cycle or the one after.
See how WUBS would fit your water system
Tell us a little about your system and we’ll set up a demo. We reply within one business day.