Client only kept 12 months of bills. Utility says they can pull up to 24 months but charges $75 per account for "archived billing retrieval." Client has 18 accounts. Do I eat the $1,350 out of the contingency, bill it separately, or just work with 12?
Getting 24 months of historical data when client only has 12
I always get at least 24. The errors that show up in months 13-24 are frequently the biggest ones — meter changeouts, rate reclass events, seasonal true-ups. Eat the $1,350. You'll find it back 10x over.
Agree with Matthew. Also — some utilities waive the archive fee if you submit a FOIA/open-records request (works for municipal utilities especially). Worth asking before you pay.