A machine's meters are configured via the machine's Meter Setup tab. In the case of a simple colour machine, for example, there is one meter for black and one meter for colour. These are considered the unlinked meters.
Stock must be set up prior to adding meters, including macro descriptions on the Machines tab.
Example Macros
{{Project.Meter.Counter Name" "}}{{"Last Read - "Project.Meter.Job.Previous Job.Meter Read" "}}{{"Last Estimated Read - "Project.Meter.Job.Previous Job.Estimated Meter Read" "}}{{Project.Meter.Job.Previous Job.Date Due" "}}{{"Current Read - "Project.Meter.Job.Meter Read" "}}{{"Estimated Read - "Project.Meter.Job.Estimated Meter Read" "}}{{"Prints - "Project.Meter.Job.Qty" "}}{{"Estimated Prints - "Project.Meter.Job.Estimated Qty" "}}
The unlinked meter is always considered the Meter Count meter, ie. when billed it is the sum of the unlinked meter (invoiced standard plus overs plus start meter value minus returns) that is the current meter count.
Meters are divided into three billing groups:
1.Standard Billing
2.Unders Billing
3.Overs Billing
Standard Billing
The standard meter information is required. In the case of a machine of a normal cost per copy (CPC) where there are no minimums (volume or $), this is the only meter billing information required.
Unders Billing
Unders Billing is used when there is a minimum volume required for that meter (min black 1000, for example). It is billed at the same rate as Standard Billing, but can be billed with a different stock/card file/rate if required. A standard volume must be specified. This is the minimum amount of pages that must be billed per billing cycle. If no rate is specified, the Standard information will be used.
Overs Billing
Overs Billing is used when the minimum volume has been achieved. Again, it can be billed with a different stock/card file/rate, and if no rate is specified, the Standard information will be used.
General Meter Rules
▪All billing types must be billed with different stock codes.
▪All billing types can be hidden on invoices.
▪All billing types can be flagged as non billable, in which case they are invoiced at 100% discount. This is typically used to track dollars and volumes, but you are not billing the end user, eg. billed by finance company but you still wish to track finance.
All billing is bundled into a meter billing kit if required. A meter billing kit allows multiple stock codes to be billed against a meter, ie. split service and finance. These are typically hidden on the invoice with only the kit header displayed.
Linked Meters
An unlimited number of meters can be linked to the main (unlinked) meter to allow for split billing. For example, income going to finance and service, or part of the billing going to a finance company, and the balance (say, overs only) going to you.
You could possibly have all standard plus unders going to the finance company, and overs going to you, and be split by service and sales.
Additional Meter Types
There are a number of additional meter types available, including total meters, min charge meters, daily, base charge meters, etc. These are used for many of the various billing scenarios you may have. An example is the Total (Unlinked) meter.
The Total (Unlinked) is the value of all unlinked page volume meters (eg. black and colour). It can be used as a normal meter, along with its own standard/unders/overs setup. It is typically used to bill paper, but can be used for any billing based on total pages.
Basic Billing and Meter Types
The following is a simple example of how billing and meter types work:
Black Meter Setup
Standard |
BLK.UNDER |
.01 |
Unders |
BLK.MIN |
.01 |
Overs |
BLK.OVER |
.015 |
Minimum Volume = 1000
Meter Read – 1000
Standard 1000x |
BLK.UNDER |
@ .01 |
Unders 0x |
@ .01 |
|
Overs |
Not billed |
|
Billed $10.00 |
Meter Read – 700
Standard 700x |
BLK.UNDER |
@ .01 (standard rate) |
Unders |
300x @0.01 |
|
Overs |
Not billed |
|
Billed $10.00 |
Meter Read – 1500
Standard 1000x |
BLK.UNDER |
@ .01 |
Unders |
Not billed |
|
Overs 500x |
BLK.OVER |
@ .015 |
Billed $17.50 |
The Meter Reads tab will keep a running total of various meters (standard, unders, overs, etc.).
It's a simple matter to increase meter charge on machines, either individually or via the Machine List Bulk Updater (obtainable from support@happen.biz).
Further information:
Meter Read Entry Period and Exclude Meter Reads Older Explanation