Looking to invest in audit software and narrowed it down to PowerBill Pro and UtilityTracker. Both seem capable but pricing is quite different. PowerBill Pro is $2,400/year while UtilityTracker is $4,800. Anyone have experience with both? Working primarily with TVA accounts in the Chattanooga area, so need something that handles complex rate structures well.
PowerBill Pro vs UtilityTracker - which is better?
I've used both extensively. PowerBill Pro has better tariff management and their customer service is excellent. UtilityTracker has more advanced reporting features but the learning curve is steeper. For TVA work, I'd lean toward PowerBill Pro - their database already includes most TVA rate schedules and they update them regularly.
Been using UtilityTracker for three years now. The price is steep but the ROI is there if you're doing high-volume work. I process about 200 accounts monthly for CPS Energy and other Texas utilities. The batch processing feature alone saves me 10+ hours per week. However, if you're just starting out or have lower volume, PowerBill Pro might be more cost-effective.
Thanks for the input! Margaret, you mention tariff management - how current are PowerBill Pro's rate schedules? I've been burned before by software that lags months behind actual tariff changes. Jorge, 200 accounts monthly is impressive - what's your average time per audit with UtilityTracker?
PowerBill Pro updates their tariff database quarterly, but they'll do emergency updates for major rate changes. I've never had issues with Santee Cooper or SCE&G schedules being outdated. They also allow manual tariff entry if you need something custom. The interface for this is intuitive - much better than trying to build rate structures in Excel.
With UtilityTracker, I average about 45 minutes per audit including report generation. Simple accounts might take 20 minutes, complex industrial accounts with multiple rate schedules can take 90 minutes. The time-of-use analysis feature is particularly strong - caught a $23,000 error last month where a customer was on the wrong TOU schedule.
Another vote for PowerBill Pro here. I switched from manual Excel audits two years ago and haven't looked back. The demand charge analysis tools are excellent, especially for complex ratchet situations. Customer presentation reports look professional and clients appreciate the detailed breakdowns. Haven't tried UtilityTracker but PowerBill Pro meets all my needs.
Warren, how's their support when you run into issues? I'm pretty technical but prefer responsive support when I'm on tight deadlines. Also curious about data import capabilities - most of my clients can provide Excel exports but formats vary widely.
Support is solid - usually get responses within 4-6 hours during business hours. They have both phone and email support. Data import is flexible; accepts CSV, Excel, and even some PDF formats with OCR. I've imported everything from utility XML files to customer-generated spreadsheets. The mapping tool makes it easy to align different data formats.
One thing to consider - both platforms offer free trials. I'd recommend testing each with some of your actual TVA data before committing. UtilityTracker's trial is 30 days, PowerBill Pro gives you 14 days. That should give you enough time to evaluate which workflow fits better with your audit process.
Tamara, did you end up choosing one? I'm in a similar situation down in Shreveport, looking at audit software for SWEPCO accounts. Would love to hear what you decided and how the trial went if you did one.