Reconciliation settings
Reconciliation settles a metered charge's usage against its contracted minimum. Two settings on the contract control it, and they appear together in the contract's Billing Details panel.
| Setting | Values |
|---|---|
| Reconciliation type | None, Basic, Periodic, Actual |
| Reconciliation periods | The number of billing periods in a reconciliation cycle |
Where the type is Periodic or Actual, the two are shown combined — Periodic-3, Actual-12. Basic always uses a single period. None uses no period count.
Types
| Type | Behaviour |
|---|---|
| None | Usage above the minimum is billed as excess in the period it occurs. Usage below the minimum is not billed and is not carried forward. |
| Basic | Unused minimum units accrue as available credits. Excess is offset against the credit balance before anything is billed. |
| Periodic | Minimum and usage accumulate across the cycle. Excess is billed only in the period that closes the cycle, after which the accumulators reset. |
| Actual | Minimum and usage accumulate across the cycle. The shortfall is billed in the period that closes the cycle, where usage is under the accumulated minimum. |
Where each figure appears
The running totals are shown on the charge, not the contract. See Contract charges and rates for the meaning of each figure in the charge's Reconciliation panel.
Which periods reconcile
Only the period that closes a cycle reconciles. Intermediate periods accumulate their minimum and usage into carried balances and bill no excess. A billing period's Recon Period shows the range being settled; on a Basic or None contract it matches the usage period, and on a Periodic or Actual contract it spans the whole cycle.
Changing the settings
Changing either setting on an active contract applies from that point forward. It does not recalculate periods that have already been billed, and the balances the new setting inherits were accumulated under the old one.
There is a separate maintenance operation for changing a contract's reconciliation type retrospectively. It is not available from the contract form; a change of this kind on a live contract should be raised with your BMS administrator.
Warning
A contract's carried balances are the record of what the customer has already paid for and not yet used. Changing the reconciliation type without establishing that position first will produce charges that cannot be explained from the contract.
See About reconciliation for what each type is commercially, and how to choose between them.