For utilities that want to keep a watchful eye on water usage at vacant properties, BEACON now lets you close the Service Agreement for an Account/Location while keeping the meter active and visible on the Monitor page.
Typically, when a customer stops service, a Data Exchange file is used to enter a SA_End_Date to mark the close of account service agreement. In the past, this action hid the Monitor page card for that particular service, even though the metering technology was still in place. Previously, to continue monitoring flow at that location you had to open a new SA_Service_Agreement and name the account holder “Vacant,” “Idle Meter” or another word that let you easily recognize and search for locations where little or no flow was expected.
While that workflow is still valid, when the Vacant Properties feature is enabled and a SA_End_Date for a given account is imported via Data Exchange, the card and any consumption recorded at that location remain visible–and discoverable–on the Monitor page as long as the meter is not removed.
When a Service Agreement has ended, its Card remains visible on the Monitor page, and the Service Agreement Start and End are displayed under the Account Name on the card.
In addition, Vacant Properties>Yes and No filters let you count and display cards for meters based on their Service Agreement status.
To toggle the Account>Vacant Properties filters on and off, go to Assets>Utility Settings and check/uncheck the Vacant Properties box.
TIP: Removing a meter by giving a Meter_Removal_Date via Data Exchange file for the service being closed via a SA_End_Date will hide the card from view. To remove the card from BEACON, use Assets>Service to permanently delete the card.
TIP: To remove personally identifiable information (PII) from cards for inactive services, use the _CLEAR_ command to empty data from any Data Exchange field containing PII.
Utilities that have been opening new Service Agreements and naming the Account “Vacant” or “Idle Meter” at locations where a tenant has moved out can continue to do so. That workflow is described here.
Utilities that wish to enable the new Vacant Properties feature should contact Badger Meter Tech Support.
For complete Vacant Properties instructions, click here.
