Development Update - October 2022

Spookily October carried on in much the same way as September with much focus on multiple BILL VAL improvements. You'll see below that we've been working on some great new validation rules as well as a couple of useful administration tools.

Away from BILL VAL there's been much focus on the brand-new customer portal that's been nicely taking shape over these last few months. It's currently being used by selected partners to showcase BILL VAL reporting results to their customers but we'll be showing you exactly what it can do in all its glory, over the coming months.

Elsewhere the regular product updates and improvements that you're used to haven't slowed either. Just take a look below at the multitude of bumper updates we released during the month of October...

Bulk Pass/Fail Button

We've added a 'Bulk' button to enable bulk administration of BILL VAL batches. Within each batch, you now have the ability to "Mark All As Passed" or "Mark All As Failed". You can still review the original passed/failed status of each check when selecting each individual Validation Result.

Built for:
BILL VAL

Meter Lookup Available within Priced+

Meter Lookup has proved a powerful tool and we've had many requests to enable it within our other products outside of PRO CRM and API. We're happy to say that our PRICED+ subscribers can now utilise lookup functionality too. Please contact your account manager if you wish for this feature to be made available.

Built for: PRICED+

Other bits and bobs...

We've also added the following other bits and bobs...

New Validation Rule - Cost Tolerance

This new rule enables a percentage tolerance to be set to ensure the average monthly or yearly cost of a meter does not move outside of a preset level. This can be set on a month-on-month and year-on-year comparison. By default, this value is set to 10% meaning that a validation error is reported when the monthly (or yearly) cost for this meter exceeds the tolerance in place when compared to the previous comparative period.

Built for:
BILL VAL

New Validation Rule - De Minimus VAT Check

The ‘de minimis’ level states that if energy usage falls below a set level then a lower 5% VAT charge must be used. This is regardless of whether the premises is used for business or domestic purposes. We've added a new validation check to adhere to this and ensure that each invoice has been billed to the correct VAT rate based on the de minimis level.

Built for:
BILL VAL

UI Amendments to Invoice Validation pages

We've made a few UI improvements to the Validation pages. You can now see the 'Total kWh' and 'Invoice Date' when viewing the Invoices Overview screen. Cost and VAT rate are also now shown to two decimal places.

Built for:
BILL VAL

Optional Feature - Check against Live Start and End Dates

By default, BILL VAL will validate against the contract start and end date. When enabled, this optional feature will ensure validation against the contract live dates instead.

Built for:
BILL VAL

Bill VAL Export

The Supplier Account Number and Meter Serial Number have been added to the BILL VAL export file.

Built for:
BILL VAL

New Validation Rule - Check for duplicate invoices and credit notes

This new rule checks if any of the invoice numbers being imported already exist in the system for the meter in question.

Built for:
BILL VAL

Notes Added to Invoices

It's now possible to add and recall custom notes to any batch or individual invoice within the BILL VAL system. Simply click 'Go' and select 'Notes' to start composing.

Built for:
BILL VAL

Invoice Details Additions

When reviewing the details of a previous invoice within a site we can now present even more information than before. New information presented includes Invoice From and To dates, Rates, Standing Charge, Available Capacity, Available Capacity Cost and any Bespoke Charges.

Built for:
BILL VAL

Linked To field Added to Activities Export

The "Linked To" field is now exported when exporting Activities (within 'Analytics - Export Date - Activities').

Built for: PRO CRM

Monthly budget information included within automated contracts

If required, the system can now automatically present a monthly Direct Debit amount within a generated contract. Saving you time and unnecessary manual paperwork changes.

Built for: PRO CRM

Current Supplier Added To Gas Lookup Results

Now when you perform a gas lookup the current supplier is also displayed.

Built for: PRO CRM

Amendments to Invoice Details page

We've added a filter within Contract exports so you can now export contracts by Termination Status.

Built for: PRO CRM

Amend Site Name Within A Meter Lookup

We've amended the process when adding a new site via Meter Lookup. You can now choose to amend the Site Name directly from the result of any lookup.

Built for: PRO CRM

Telephone & Email added to Activities Export

When exporting details of your Activities, the system will now include the primary contact's telephone and email, or if no primary contact exists, then the first available saved contact will be used instead.

Built for: PRO CRM

Improved Error Reporting on Bulk Contract Import

We've made error reporting improvements so that if an error does occur when bulk importing contract information, then a more accurate description of what line the error occurred on is reported.

Built for: PRO CRM

Ability To Add Custom Terms and Conditions When Generating Contracts

Users can now add their own custom Terms and Conditions (via PDF) for each product. If present the custom PDF will be used in place of any global T&Cs and will be appended to the supplier contract being generated.

Built for: PRO CRM

Ability To Add Notes To Users

Users with sufficient privileges can now access and compose notes (and view their history) of all users within the system. This can be found within the 'Admin - Users' section.

Built for: PRO CRM

Smarter "Contract End Date" For Customers and Leads

When enabled, this optional feature will find the first contract end date of all current and future contracts for a customer and show it as part of the Customer or Lead overview. This is great as a quick indication of when a Lead or Customer may be ready to be reworked.

Built for: PRO CRM

Ability To Add Custom Terms and Conditions When Generating Contracts

Users can now add their own custom Terms and Conditions (via PDF) for each product. If present the custom PDF will be used in place of any global T&Cs and will be appended to the contract being generated.

Built for: PRO CRM

Quick Add New Customer and Lead

This addition means it's now even quicker to add a new Lead or Customer. Simply select 'New Lead/Customer' and a popup will appear. As you start typing (either the company name, address or reg number) the results will be shown live, allowing you to select the company you require. Once selected, the details will be shown pre-populated within the new Lead/Customer screen.

Built for: PRO CRM

Smarter "Contract End Date" For Customers and Leads

When enabled, this optional feature will find the first contract end date of all current and future contracts for a customer and show it as part of the Customer or Lead overview. This is great as a quick indication of when a Lead or Customer will be ready to be reworked.

Built for: PRO CRM

That’s it for this month.

Our software evolves at such an exciting rate so please feel free to get in touch to discuss any of the functionality we’ve added since you last saw it. We’ll be more than happy to arrange a demo to show you around!


Development Update - September 2022

September 2022 was a big month on the dev team but it was particularly busy for those of us working on a multitude of BILL VAL enhancements.

The one that got William & Valerie particularly excited was PDF parsing and here's why:

Suppliers offer invoices in a variety of formats, with the most useful being CSV/XLS. However, some only offer flattened PDF files, unreadable by machine. With PDF parsing, you're able to upload flat PDF files where we then employ optical character recognition (OCR) to decipher each character, before converting it to digital format, ready to be validated. Exciting stuff!

As well as PDF parsing we've also developed three new validation checks to enhance the BILL VAL process. For this (and to see how we're saving you money on your gas & electric lookups), read our September update from the dev team...

PDF Parsing

This new feature will allow customers to upload PDF receipts directly into their account. We're working hard to increase the supplier list for PDF parsing and soon you'll be able to upload PDFs from a multitude of different suppliers.

Built for:
BILL VAL

BILL VAL Rule 01: Customer Read Usage

The system will now check if there is a customer meter read present within the system that matches the dates being validated. If it matches, it will check that the meter read has been included within the invoice.

Built for:
BILL VAL

BILL VAL Rule 02: Contract Rates Follow On

The system will now check if Unit Rates, Standing Charge, and Available Capacity Charge vary from the previous invoice. Our system was already checking rates against contract information but this handy validation rule will make it clear if rates have changed.

Built for:
BILL VAL

BILL VAL Rule 03: Zero Consuming Meter

The system will now check if a meter within the invoice has been billed to zero kWh. If detected, a failure is recorded.

Built for:
BILL VAL

Other bits and bobs...

We've also added the following other bits and bobs...

Commissions Disclosure

To aid with the changes directed by OFGEM on the UK energy industry, we've added an additional option when creating PDF quotes that will allow you to export a quote with the annual commission value included. Note that it is still possible to export quotes with the commission information omitted, should you plan to relay this information to your customers through other means.

Built for: PRO CRM

Caching Your Gas & Electric Lookups

Since launching gas and electric lookups we noticed that some users were looking up the same meters, multiple times a day. Essentially creating a new lookup each time, which would be chargeable. We didn't think this was very fair. So we've spent time coding a clever caching system to record lookups you've already completed and, if you've already looked them up within the last 24 hours, they'll be recalled, free of charge.

Built for: PRO CRM

Pozitive Energy compatible with BILL VAL

You can now upload receipts from Pozitive Energy directly in to the BILL VAL system for immediate validation.

Built for:
BILL VAL

Pozitive Energy compatible with BILL VAL

You can now upload receipts from Pozitive Energy directly in to the BILL VAL system for immediate validation.

Built for:
BILL VAL

Account ID Validation Improved

USA Account IDs are more varied from their UK counterparts. Because of this, we've made adjustments to the validation procedure to accept a larger variety of US MPAN formats.

Built for: PRO CRM
(USA ONLY)

"Total Commission" Added Contract exports

A "Total Commission" value is now included within the Contract export to quickly showcase the cumulative value of each contract over the reporting period.

Built for:
PRO CRM

Meter Serial Number added to Meter Readings

When recording a meter reading it is now possible to also add a serial number. This could be useful in case of a future meter exchange, where the history of reads can easily be linked to a respective meter.

Built for: PRO CRM

HH Data Via Siemens

We've now expanded our list of supported data providers for importing HH data. You can now utilise data provided by Siemens. This is in addition to the previously announced, Stark, Npower and EDF.

Add RESEND option for failed emails

Within the admin section of our software, users are able to review the sent status for past emails sent within the system. Now, if an email has a status of failed, a user can choose to resend.

Built for:
PRO CRMPORTAL

Allow Combined Commission Types

When generating pricing you could previously see a breakdown of quotes using either the calculated Unit Rate with commission or with a Standing Charge commission, but not with both applied. Now for instance, if you have a p/kWh commission value set and you opt to add a standing charge, you can see the results of both for all returned pricing. What's more (using the 'Tender Tools' dropdown), you can bulk update the standing charge rate for all supplier pricing that are marked as 'Accept SC Commissions'.

Built for: PRO CRM

USA Wording Changes

We've updated the language used within our software so the vernacular is more appropriate for users from North America (US accounts only).

Built for: PRO CRM

Quick Add Contract Date Accepted Update

Previously when using the Quick Add Contract feature, the Date Accepted field would default to the contract start date. This has been updated to take the date that the contract was created.

Built for: PRO CRM

That’s it for this month.

Our software evolves at such an exciting rate so please feel free to get in touch to discuss any of the functionality we’ve added since you last saw it. We’ll be more than happy to arrange a demo to show you around!


Development Update - August 2022

Welcome to our August update. If you're a regular reader then you'll know that we put a lot of emphasis on the energy management side of our software. Procurement is of course the bread and butter for energy brokers but it’s value-added services which will shape the market over the years to come.

With this in mind, you'll see (below) that it's been another very busy month of releases that will assist in adding this value on to your customers.

Of particular note, we've added what we believe to be a game-changing gas lookup tool to give greater insight into a contract/meter. Whilst we've also extended FTP connectivity to have more HH data automatically imported from your chosen source. Take a look at this and much more below, in our August dev update:

Gas Lookup

After adding lookup for electric last month, we've now added a similar feature for gas. Here's why we think you'll love it: Our new gas lookup functionality will allow you to search and return: 1) All meter details, 2) Current contract information, and 3) Current annual consumption. We think that's a pretty powerful tool to help our customers procure smarter.

Current customers, please contact your account manager to find out more.

Built for: PRO CRMAPI

Stark FTP Integration

We already have HH data imported automatically to our system for meters supplied by Npower and EDF. We've now expanded this to also import information through the data collector, Stark. If you already utilise the aggregation services offered via Stark then you can now have that information seamlessly linked through to UtilityClick and delivered directly to your customers.

Search By Company Reg

With any Customer Relationship Management tool, adding a new customer should be as easy as possible so we made it even easier. You've been able to search via 'Company Address' for some time but now you can use a 'Company Reg' number to add customers too.

Built for:
PRO CRM

Other bits and bobs...

We've also added the following other bits and bobs...

Track The History Of Users

Many components within our software has an inbuilt history state that allows users to review historical changes to an item, such as an Activity or Leads. We've now expanded this feature so admin users can review changes to Users too. This could be useful for checking when a user has changed a password or why they might have had their account locked (e.g. persistently entering an incorrect password).

Built for: PRO CRM

Extend SMTP/Office Email Template Functionality

Last month we brought you news that Super Admins can specify which email types are sent via a user's Office 365 email and which are sent via traditional SMTP. This month we've extended this functionality so you can now choose to route specific emails through Office 365 or SMTP. This can be configured under Admin > Email Settings.

Built for: PRO CRM

Bill Val UI Improvements

We've made some user interface improvements to BILL VAL. For instance: You can now view invoice details directly from each meter results screen, We've added the 'Start Read Date' and 'End Read Date' when viewing Site information within the Customer screen, and we've highlighted in red the 'Total Cost' and 'VAT' amounts when appearing as a negative value.

Built for:
BILL VAL

Invoice Frequency Displayed When Using "Customer Pays"

Within the Commission module, invoice tab you can now review the "Invoice Frequency" when a contract is set as "Customer Pays". Note that Customers Pays is an optional feature. Please contact your account manager for further information.

Built for: PRO CRM

Add Account Manager Filter to Customer Pays Overview Screens

When viewing monthly Commission data for contracts set as Customer Pays, you can now view and filter by Account Managers.

Built for: PRO CRM
(UK ONLY)

Red labelling colour Changed

It was reported to us that the shade of red used throughout our software to label important information can be difficult to read for people with certain visual impairments. We've adapted this value to be easier to read whilst still retaining the visual impact needed to make it stand out.

That’s it for this month.

Our software evolves at such an exciting rate so please feel free to get in touch to discuss any of the functionality we’ve added since you last saw it. We’ll be more than happy to arrange a demo to show you around!


Development Update - July 2022

It's staggering to see that with July gone, we're now well and truly into the third quarter of 2022. It seems as though it was only last month when we brought news of a brand new look to our software (when in fact it was January). You may have seen that we've now announced another new look, this time for our brand new customer portal.

This is considerably more than a facelift though and will incorporate much of the Efficiency and Carbon Reporting work that we've brought you news of previously. We'll let you know in a later update when it's ready for your customers.

Aside from the progress we've made with the customer portal, we've made good strides with the new API Endpoints module and rather excitingly, we've incorporated it with our new Meter Lookup functionality. Bringing meter lookup data to your own custom applications.

For this and other exciting additions, read on for more of our July Dev Update...

API Endpoint Expansion

We announced the arrival of our new API Endpoints in June and this month we've been expanding the feature to work with all modules. We're delighted to say you can now have your Customers, Leads, Sales, Portfolio, Contacts, Tenders, Contracts, Activities, Commissions and more pushed through to your favourite third-party application.

Built for: API

Meter Lookup With API Functionality

Our brand new meter lookup feature has now been expanded and can be used with our API product, meaning you can push results to your own custom-built application.

As a quick recap, our new meter lookup functionality can also be added to your PRO CRM account and allows you to search and return:
1) The Meter Point Administration Number (MPAN),
2) The meter credentials (profile etc.)
3) The current supplier information.

Please talk to your account manager about adding API to your subscription.

Built for: PRO CRMAPI

Other bits and bobs...

We've also added the following other bits and bobs...

Engage: An Internal CRM

We've built our own non-specialist, standard CRM! We've nicknamed it 'Engage' and although it won't directly impact our users it will allow us to assist customers better and keep on top of things like custom modules, feature requests and anything else that might help manage your account better. We plan to share more on our progress with a blog post soon, so watch this space.

Built for: INTERNAL

Specify Email Type (365 or SMTP)

If you utilise the Microsoft 365 login for your users then Super Admins can now specify which email type are sent via the user's Office 365 email and which are sent via traditional SMTP. This can be configured under Admin > Email Settings.

Built for: PRO CRM

AMR Data Upload for Gas and NHH

We've extended the functionality of our BILL VAL product so you can now upload consumption data for Gas and NHH meters. Note that you will need to set up the meter as an AMR meter within the system first.

Built for:
PRO CRMBILL VALPORTAL
(UK ONLY)

'Next Action Due' Column Added to Customer Overview

Within the Leads module, there is a column labelled ‘Next Action Due’ which shows the open activity against that lead with the oldest due date. With this update, that column is now also available on the Customer module.

Built for: PRO CRM

VAT Status Added to Customer Import & Export

It's possible to add a VAT status for each Customer that you hold information on (either at 0%, 5% or 20%). This extra piece of information can now also be included as part of a bulk import or exported within any relevant reports.

Built for: PRO CRM
(UK ONLY)

Quick Add Contract Date Accepted Update

Previously when using the Quick Add Contract feature, the Date Accepted field would default to the contract start date. This has been updated to take the date that the contract was created.

Built for: PRO CRM

Referral Commissions Export Updated

We've added the fields 'Invoice Number' & 'Invoice Date' to the Referral Commission export (found in Analytics).

Built for: PRO CRM

USA Wording Changes

We've updated the language used within our software so the vernacular is more appropriate for users from North America.

Built for: PRO CRM
(USA ONLY)

Contracts Export Refactoring

As part of the work for our new API Endpoints, we've restructured the code that made up our Contract Exports. With it completed, contracts now export significantly faster.

Built for: PRO CRM

Submit Contracts By FTP for Instant Quote (optional)

We previously released a feature that allowed the submission of contracts via FTP when pricing through our Procurement Module (this can be useful if your users/sub-brokers submit contracts through an aggregator). We've now expanded this optional feature to allow your users to submit contracts via FTP when using the Instant Quote module as well.

Built for: PRO CRM

USA Wording Changes

We've updated the language used within our software so the vernacular is more appropriate for users from North America (US accounts only).

Built for: PRO CRM

Quick Add Contract Date Accepted Update

Previously when using the Quick Add Contract feature, the Date Accepted field would default to the contract start date. This has been updated to take the date that the contract was created.

Built for: PRO CRM

That’s it for this month.

Our software evolves at such an exciting rate so please feel free to get in touch to discuss any of the functionality we’ve added since you last saw it. We’ll be more than happy to arrange a demo to show you around!


Development Update - June 2022

We're especially excited about our June Dev Update. You'll see below that this month definitely falls into the 'less is more' category as we bring news of four particularly powerful additions.

The flagship of which has to be (drumroll please), Meter lookup for electric! With it, users of our software can now directly query crucial information from the MPAS database. It's been a long-term goal with an application process that took many many months and has taken considerable resources; so we're very proud to be able to offer it as a vital customer management tool.

Read on to hear more about this and three other fantastic releases in our June dev update...

Meter Lookup For Electric

You can now use this new service to search for information about every commercial electricity meter in the UK. In particular, it can offer three vital pieces of information. The Meter Point Administration Number (MPAN), the meter credentials (profile etc.) and the current supplier information.

Please contact your account manager for pricing details and to have the service switched on within your account.

Built for: PRO CRMBILL VALPORTAL (UK ONLY)

API Endpoints For All Exports

Have you ever needed your data to be automatically exported into a third-party service or even a custom-built application? With this latest feature release, you can.

This could be game-changing if you use your own custom reporting system or if you want to have data fed directly into a third-party management service like Salesforce. No cumbersome spreadsheet download/upload, just your data where you need it.

We'll be rolling this out upon request over the coming weeks. Don't yet have the API product enabled? Talk to your account manager about adding it to your subscription.

Built for: API

There's more...

We've also added the following two great features...

Individual User Settings

We've made some helpful modifications that will allow every user to change the way their account looks and functions (unless disabled by a Super Admin user). With it, users will be able to personalise settings such as pagination and optional features via the profile section. We'll be adding more options in the coming months!

Amend Quote Duration

Previously when pricing, our software only allowed the quote duration to be set whilst creating a brand new pricing request. We've now adapted the process so that within each matrix tender the user can select "Tender Tools > Update Tender Durations". Once the revised dates have been selected and saved, the resulting prices will reflect the newly-selected durations.

Built for: PRO CRMPRICED

Recycle Dead Leads By Campaign

We've added an option to our very useful 'Recycle Dead Leads' tool that will allow you to recycle any dead leads that are associated with a specific campaign.

Built for: PRO CRM

That’s it for this month.

Our software evolves at such an exciting rate so please feel free to get in touch to discuss any of the functionality we’ve added since you last saw it. We’ll be more than happy to arrange a demo to show you around!


Energy Reporting: 03 Carbon Reporting

  • Quickly and easily input a monthly snapshot of any company's carbon metric.
  • Present beautiful carbon reporting for each of your customers.
  • Show a quick snapshot of current carbon performance Vs. previous month.
  • Data is presented in a useful and actionable way.
  • Get month-on-month performance analysis
  • Smart metrics show normalised performance, no matter the growth of the company

More Reporting Drilldown

Goodbye Ugly Reporting

Hello Clarity! Welcome to reporting with a bit of “OH ME, OH MY!” Why are so many…

Read More


Development Update - May 2022

You'll have seen that over the last 6 years, here at UtilityClick we have added many and varied types of useful features to our software. However, this last month has seen what promises to be the most important from a social and ecological standpoint.

We're all very proud and energised to be focusing on a new Carbon Reporting module that we hope will allow you to offer your customers a service that's above and beyond anything they've experienced before. Whatever your thoughts on climate change, it's clear that being more focussed on our environmental footprint has to be good for everyone, so developing a tool that has the potential to make such a difference is a real privilege.

Read on to hear more about this and the other bits and bobs as we look at the dev releases from May...

Carbon Reporting Module

This new module will allow you to record all carbon emissions generated by your customers and their staff. Using a variety of different emissions criteria you can report on elements such as energy usage, travel and accommodation. You can then present the results using our beautiful reporting suite.

This is a stage one release and we have many improvements planned over the coming months (including releasing it into the customer portal so your customers can add and track results themselves). For now, we'd like to invite volunteers to try this new module and feedback on their progress. Please contact your account manager if you'd like further information.

Other bits and bobs...

We've also added the following other bits and bobs...

Restrict Access to Cloud Documents

When uploading associated documents to a customer within the PRO CRM you can now select which user level has access to view. Useful if the contents of the document are confidential.

Built for: PRO CRM

Inactive Date For A Site

Within a customer site, you can now elect to set it as "Inactive" and record a corresponding date. This is solely for administration purposes and will not affect any associated meters or contracts.

Built for: PRO CRM

Recycle Dead Leads By Campaign

We've added an option to our very useful 'Recycle Dead Leads' tool that will allow you to recycle any dead leads that are associated with a specific campaign.

Built for: PRO CRM

Commissions Export Optimisation

Requesting exports of a considerable size can take time and in some extreme instances could cause the request to time out completely. We've optimised the SQL code so that exports from our Commissions module are now completed up to 5 times quicker.

Built for: PRO CRM

Additional Value Types for Bespoke Water Charges

When managing a bespoke water charge within the Procurement module you can now select from an additional two value types - 'Per day' and 'Percentage of annual spend'.

Built for: PRO CRM

LOA Reporting Functionality Added to Dashboards

Using the Customer Rankings dashboard, you can now view and filter customers by any LOA expiry date (and within any given date range). Useful when reporting against any upcoming expiries.

Built for: PRO CRM

Restrict Access to Activities

We've amended restrictions around the Activities module so that a non-super admin user can only see activities for which they are either the owner or had the activity assigned to them. E.g. They cannot see activities just because they are the Account Manager of the Customer.

Built for: PRO CRM

Days At Deal Status

We've added a new piece of information to the "Deal Status / Last Deal Status Change" column within the Pipeline module. You can now see how many days a deal has been sitting in its current stage. What's more, you can check the 'History' of any deal to review deal status changes, the date it was changed and who changed it.

Built for: PRO CRM

New "PAY ON RECEIPT - SPLITS" Payment Profile Added

We've developed a new payment profile for when you need to show forecast and actual commission information based on team splits. This is useful when you need the commission applied to the split amount, not the total contract amount.

Built for: PRO CRM

That’s it for this month.

Our software evolves at such an exciting rate so please feel free to get in touch to discuss any of the functionality we’ve added since you last saw it. We’ll be more than happy to arrange a demo to show you around!


Learning From Napster & Metallica

Further reading...

The Christmas Energy Pylon

It’s Christmas, so forgive us for going a little gooey and wanting to share the love…

Read More

Development Update – November 2023

You'll know that we make improvements to our software every single week and with even…

Read More


Development Update - April 2022

Easter came and went for the dev team and despite the on/off/on again nature of work over this period, the team still managed to maintain the rapid development pace that seems to be a theme for 2022.

Over the coming months and throughout this year, you'll see we'll be making many changes to the customer portal, both in terms of looks and functionality. We're already well into the design phase that will see a better UX experience for your customers and this month we've embarked on improving how your customers submit meter reads.

Elsewhere and on a more general level across all our systems, we've been continuing our focus on ensuring absolute security for you and your colleagues. To find out more about these and other bits and bobs, read on below:

Meter Reads Improvement

We've enhanced the Meters section of both the Customer Portal and PRO CRM. This recent update allows customers to add their own meter reads. This data is then visible within PRO CRM and can be validated through the BILL VAL product.

Built for: PRO CRMBILL VAL

Security Improvement: Restrict User Sessions

At UtilityClick we take your security extremely seriously and we're constantly pursuing areas where any potential improvements can be made to protect your data. We're adding yet another layer of security that restricts an account to one location at a time, so you can be certain that if you are logged in to UtilityClick, then no one else can be.

Other bits and bobs...

We've also added the following other bits and bobs...

Ability to manage supplier matrix pricing at user level

Previously it was possible to enable or disable a particular supplier's products to control which matrix pricing was returned when quoting. We've enhanced this feature so you can now enable/disable on a per-user basis. E.g. You could allow sub-broker access to your pricing and enable alternate products to which you use internally.

Built for: PRO CRM

Improved Search Functionality Within Activities

A few months back we made significant improvements to the search feature found within the Leads module. We've now developed a similar improvement within the Activities module. You can now search Activities by Meter Number, Site Address, Site Postcode as well as Customer Name.

Built for: PRO CRM

Support for Multiple Commission Rates

This is an optional feature that allows for different commission levels to be set for different meter rates. E.g. If you require a different commission set for meters with a varying day and night rate. This optional feature is only available when adding manual bespoke quotes and is available upon request.

Built for: PRO CRM

Re-assign tasks when changing lead generator or account manager

When amending a Customer/Lead's "Account Manager" or "Lead Generator" the system now displays a checkbox asking if you'd like to also transfer all open tasks to the new lead generator/account manager.

Built for: PRO CRM

Add Customer References to Vendor Agreements Export

When exporting Vendor Agreements to Excel, the Customer Reference is now included as an additional column.

Built for: PRO CRM

USA System Language Update For Dashboards

We've adapted our new dashboard suite so that it better reflects the region it's being accessed from. Specifically, when accessing from the USA, all general terminology has been updated so as to use a more familiar vernacular.

Built for: PRO CRM

That’s it for this month.

Our software evolves at such an exciting rate so please feel free to get in touch to discuss any of the functionality we’ve added since you last saw it. We’ll be more than happy to arrange a demo to show you around!


Development Update - March 2022

It's funny how certain themes seem to develop around a particular month. The theme for March has most certainly been one of security. It helps that one of our founding directors has been compulsively security-obsessed since day dot and it's something that is heavily ingrained into everyone within the team.

We've made great strides this month with our progress in offering 2-factor authentication on all accounts. Separate from this, we've continued our integration with Microsoft authentication services. Not only can you now force your users to ONLY use Microsoft credentials to access UtilityClick, but you'll also be able to use any associated Microsoft email account to send official system notifications.

Read on to hear more about this and the other bits and bobs as we look at the dev releases from March...

Multi-Factor Authentication

You'll soon be able to add an additional layer of security to your UtilityClick account (together with all user accounts) by switching on 2-Factor-Authentication. When applied, you will be sent a code to a preregistered mobile device that you will need to use along with your normal password. This feature will be rolled out over the coming weeks and we strongly recommend deploying it for added peace of mind.

Send System Emails With Your Microsoft Account

Email notifications sent from within the system can now be sent from a user's email address, instead of from your central company email address. When switched on, this feature will allow you to log in using your Microsoft credentials and then have notifications (such as tenders or LOAs) come directly from your email. Please contact your account manager to have this activated within your account.

Built for: PRO CRMPORTAL

Other bits and bobs...

We've also added the following other bits and bobs...

Force Microsoft Authentication On Your Account

We've been integrated with Microsoft authentication services for some time (allowing users to use their Microsoft 365 credentials as well as their UtilityClick one) but this recent update allows admin users to force ALL account users to only use their Microsoft credentials.

Built for: PRO CRMBILL VAL

The Ability To Edit Or Delete Activity Notes

We've overhauled the notes section within the Activities component. You can now edit or delete notes as you see fit. Note that only Super Admin users have the ability to edit or delete notes that were not created by them.

Built for: PRO CRM

Support for Multiple Commission Rates

This is an optional feature that allows for different commission levels to be set for different meter rates. E.g. If you require a different commission set for meters with a varying day and night rate. This optional feature is only available when adding manual bespoke quotes and is available upon request.

Built for: PRO CRM

Vendor Agreements Linked to Customer References

It was already possible for vendor agreements to be linked to Sites/Locations, Meters/Accounts, Contacts, and Contracts. This latest update now makes it possible to also link vendor agreements to Customer References.

Built for: PRO CRM

Quick Access to Supplier Products When Reviewing Quotes

We've added a handy link to quickly view supplier product details when reviewing quotes within the Procurement component. From the quote results screen, simply click "Go" and "View Product".

Built for: PRO CRM

Parent Company Added To Portfolio Export

Within the Analytics component, when exporting Portfolio data, we've added a new column where you can now see 'Parent Company' information.

Built for: PRO CRM

Multi-Select for Export Data

Previously, when exporting data through the Analytics module, you've been able to select precise singular criteria of which data to include. For example, you could export Accounts that were managed by one particular account manager but you were unable to select multiple managers (without exporting all the data at once). We've added multi-select fields to many of our data export screens, so you can now quickly select multiple configurations within each export.

Built for: PRO CRM

Total Cost and Total Annual Cost Added At Meter Level For Tender Export

When exporting tender information (via the Tenders - Export Data screen), the Total Cost and Total Annual Cost is now included within the export on a per meter basis.

Built for: PRO CRM

Checkbox Added To Skip Redirect After A Data Import

When importing data into the system, you're helpfully redirected to the upload results screen after each successful import. There are instances where it's preferable to stay within the data import screen post upload. As such, we've added a checkbox so you can choose whether to remain on the data import page or move on to review the results.

Built for: PRO CRM

That’s it for this month.

Our software evolves at such an exciting rate so please feel free to get in touch to discuss any of the functionality we’ve added since you last saw it. We’ll be more than happy to arrange a demo to show you around!