Reference · built on requestOperator by FibricProperty & tenants

Utility Chargeback

Allocates submeter readings and utility invoices across leases and proposes a tenant chargeback batch for approval before posting.

Request accessPricing ↗

About

Utility Chargeback is an operator job for properties that recover utility cost from tenants. It reads submeter values from meters polled over Modbus TCP or reporting over LoRaWAN, the utility bill as it lands in QuickBooks Online or Sage Intacct, and the leases and occupancies in Buildium or AppFolio, with the allocation term you record for each: by submeter, by share of area, or a flat fee.

At the close of each billing period it works out each occupancy's share, ties it to the invoice line it came from, and proposes a chargeback batch. The property accountant sees the allocation table meter by meter and approves the batch, edits a line, or holds a unit. Approved charges are written to the lease ledger once, and the receipt shows the reading, the share, and the invoice behind every line.

This is a reference listing. It documents what Fibric would read from Utility Chargeback and what it could propose, based on the vendor's published interfaces. Fibric builds it under a managed deployment when you request it; selecting it here installs nothing.

Inputs

  • Electric submeter registers over Modbus TCP: kWh and kW per meter on the polling schedule you set, from the register map you supply
  • Water, gas, and electric meter uplinks over LoRaWAN, with battery level and last-seen freshness per device
  • Utility bills in the ledger: QuickBooks Online Bill entities with their lines and vendor; Sage Intacct accounts-payable/bill and bill-line
  • Leases and occupancies: Buildium leases with rent schedules; AppFolio occupancies and units; the allocation term recorded per lease
  • Charges already on the ledger: Buildium lease transactions and outstanding balances; AppFolio open, delinquent, and recurring charges per occupancy
  • Meter-to-unit mapping, common-area meters, and the billing calendar, kept in the operator's configuration

Proposed actions

  • Target capability: propose a chargeback batch per period: one Buildium or AppFolio charge per occupancy, each tied to a reading and an invoice line
  • Target capability: propose the allocation table for the period, meter by meter and unit by unit, checked before any charge is written
  • Target capability: propose holding a unit's charge where a reading is missing, a meter went silent, or the shares do not sum to the invoice
  • Target capability: propose a recurring charge where the lease sets a flat utility fee, through AppFolio recurring charges or a Buildium lease charge

Proposed actions are target capabilities. Every action runs propose-first and needs a validated deployment and the appropriate permissions.

What you can build

  • Bill electric submeters from Modbus readings into Buildium

    Meters polled over Modbus TCP give a kWh delta per unit for the period. The operator matches the QuickBooks Online bill, splits it by delta, and proposes one Buildium lease charge per occupancy.

    With Modbus TCP, QuickBooks Online, Buildium

  • Split a water bill by LoRaWAN meters

    LoRaWAN water meters report per unit. The bill from Sage Intacct is allocated by consumption, common-area use is spread by the share you set, and an AppFolio charge is proposed per occupancy.

    With LoRaWAN Network, Sage Intacct, AppFolio Property Manager

  • Hold a unit when its meter goes quiet

    A LoRaWAN device with no uplink inside the period is flagged. The operator proposes the batch with that unit held and a note of the last reading, so nobody is billed on a guess.

    With LoRaWAN Network, Buildium

  • Check the batch against the invoice

    Before approval the allocation table shows each unit's share next to the QuickBooks Online bill total. A difference between the two blocks the batch until a person resolves it.

    With QuickBooks Online, AppFolio Property Manager

Requirements

  • Submeters reachable over Modbus TCP with a register map, or LoRaWAN meters on a network server Fibric can reach
  • A property connector that holds leases and can take a charge: Buildium, or AppFolio on a plan with write access
  • An allocation term per lease and a meter-to-unit map, entered in the configuration
  • Optional: QuickBooks Online or Sage Intacct, so each charge can be tied to the utility bill it recovers
Authentication
Reads meters, bills, and leases through the connectors you bind, each under its own credential, and writes nothing under a credential of its own.

Limits

  • Allocation follows the term you record per lease. The operator does not read allocation rules out of a lease document
  • A silent meter or a missed poll leaves a gap. The unit is held rather than estimated, unless you set an estimation rule
  • It proposes charges on the lease ledger. It does not pay the utility, move money, or post to the general ledger
  • AppFolio charges need a plan with read and write API access; on a read-only plan the batch stops at the allocation table

Access and pricing

Reference listing. Fibric builds the operator under a managed deployment when you request it. Your quote covers the build, capabilities, usage, and support.

Request Utility Chargeback ↗

Questions and answers

What does the property accountant approve?
The batch: one line per occupancy with the reading, the share, the invoice it recovers, and the amount. The accountant approves the whole batch, edits or holds a line, or declines. No charge reaches a ledger until then.
What does the receipt for a batch contain?
The readings used and when they were taken, the bill matched, the allocation term applied per lease, the table as approved, the approver's name and time, and each charge as the property system created it, with the way to reverse it.
Does it post to the ledger or pay the utility?
No. It proposes tenant charges on the lease ledger through Buildium or AppFolio. The utility bill stays in your accounting system, and payment runs stay with your accounts payable team.
Ask about Utility Chargeback

Ask about the capabilities and requirements in this listing.

For project-specific requirements, contact Fibric.

This operator is developed, published, and supported by Fibric. Third-party names and logos identify the systems an integration connects to; they are the property of their respective owners, who are not affiliated with Fibric and do not sponsor or endorse this listing. Trademark policy