Utility Billing Overview and Features The complete utility billing package is menu driven to minimize operator training time.
At each step the operator is prompted as to what entry is needed. This feature reduces operator training time.
Each customer has a complete mailing address as well as meter (service) address.
The system stores all city and state names by zip code. Therefore user need only type the zip code to insert the city/state name. Also each customer may have up to two social security numbers stored which can be used as a means to lookup a customer.
Each customer can be billed for up to three different meters, eight other fixed amount or meter related charges, and two one time charges which are automatically cleared out after the statements are printed.
System allows 'times' meters (10X, 100X, etc).
Deposit amounts and dates of deposit are kept for each customer. A report can be generated, listing all customers who have made a deposit with the amount and date of the deposit. This report may be printed by range of dates which is helpful should you need a listing for a given year.
User may specify certain accounts to be exempted from penalty assessment. This is beneficial if you do not assess penalties against schools, churches, or government offices.
Each customer can have a demand charge (usually applicable to electric billing) added to one of his meter billings.
System tracks customer's balance by current, 30 days, 60 days, and 90 days and over.
An average consumption amount is automatically kept for each customer. This enables the computer to estimate the amount of consumption for a given period if for some reason the meter cannot be read.
During meter reading input, meter rollover is automatic. The meter reading is checked for rollover so the operator can enter meter readings directly from the meter books. The operator is warned if a meter reading indicates an unusually high or low consumption amount for a customer. This eliminates many of the errors which can occur in transferring the meter readings from the meter books to the customers' accounts. The software has several interfaces available for use with meter readings devices (radio frequency or hand-held devices). This allows current readings to be captured in the field and later merged automatically on to Customer Accounts. Users should contact GFC Data Systems for file format (interface) info before purchasing equipment so that a compatible interface is already in place.
After the meter readings are posted, a report can be generated showing the previous meter, current meter, amount of consumption, meter rollover, and flags customers with unusual consumption amounts. This gives the operator a hard-copy print out of all meter information to check against the meter books. A print out may also be made showing all customers whose current meter readings have not been entered.
Payments from customers can be posted at any time and then (after confirming the postings total) be transferred to the customers' accounts all at once. As payments are transferred to the customers' accounts, a report is printed showing the amount of the payments distributed to each revenue code, the total amount distributed, and any credit balances.
Post card size statements are used for billing customers, to take advantage of the lower postal rates but statements may also be printed on tri-fold, envelope enclosed forms. Since tri-fold statements can have a postal bar code, postal rate discounts may apply. "pdf" statements can also be created that will can be sent via email attachment. Statements may be printed in zip code/postal order if presorted mail rates are available. After the statements are printed several totals are printed, including:
a. The number of statements printed.
b. The total amount billed to each billing code (water, sewer, etc). This is available by book if desired.
The total amount consumed is also printed for each meter billing type.
c. Total balance forward, as printed on the statements.
d. Total fuel adjustment charges (if applicable).
e. Total taxes assessed (if applicable).
f. Total current charges.
g. Total balance due. An aging report can be printed showing all past due accounts.
Amounts are kept for current, thirty, sixty, and ninety day balances due. The user may specify which aging categories are to be included. This is useful if only a list of ninety day old balances are desired.
The system allows “average” billing. This amount prints on the bill as the amount due although actual charges and actual balance is also shown. There is a routine to automatically update the average bill amount as often as needed.
A penalty charge may be assessed to all or selected customers for past due amounts at any time during the billing period. Customers on average billing can be included or excluded from late charge calculations based on the customer's penalty status code. The penalty may be a percentage or flat amount.
Delinquent notices may be generated automatically. The user has the option of specifying which aging periods should be included. This way user could have the flexibility to include sixty and ninety day customers only if desired. Delinquent labels for door knockers can also be printed. Customers on average billing can be included on delinquent notices/labels but if included the amount due is the average bill amount and not the balance.
A "distribution" file is kept for each customer. The distribution file shows each unpaid charge owed by customer by date. This way if a customer has been delinquent or making only partial payments, the user has a simple way of seeing exactly what comprises a balance. The distribution file is automatically updated anytime a payment is made or a new billing occurs.
A "history" file is kept for each customer. The history file shows all amounts, dates, and types of billing for each customer as well as past meter readings and consumptions. It also contains all amounts and dates of payments made by each customer as well as penalties assessed. This record can be displayed or printed if a historical record is needed for a given customer. The history file may contain as many months history as the user has room to store. Software allows user to purge records from the history file whenever the need occurs.
Billing codes are set up and maintained by the operator. They include all the data necessary to calculate billing charges including a minimum or base charge, up to eight step rates, and any applicable sales tax rates. Two sets of rates are available should user have summer and winter rates. User may change rates at any time. Subtotal codes may be set up in order to generate subtotals where desired in billing and payment reports.
All customer and billing information is easily maintained by the operator. Customers may be accessed by name, acct#, service address (number or street name), soc sec numbers, and one user defined value. Complete or limited access is given to users to maintain or print all utility billing information.
Program allows bank drafts. With the purchase of an additional program the bank drafts can be sent to your bank in ACH (Automated Clearing House) format for processing by your bank. This allows bank drafts to be for any bank in the USA. Bank draft customer’s payments are posted automatically by the program.
There is a special CASS program for creating a mailing address file to upload on-line to a CASS vendor for "cleaning" (i.e. remove punctuation, make addresses all caps, provide nine digit zip codes, etc). Address cleaning results in a CASS certificate which allows you to get the maximum discount from USPS. After addresses are cleaned and downloaded back to your PC the CASS "merge" routine updates your customer accounts with updated addresses, zip codes, and delivery points.
Most reports may be displayed to the screen as well as printed to paper. Some reports may also be written to a "csv" file for importing into a spreadsheet program such as Excel.
Budget Accounting Overview and Features
Program allows purchase orders to be entered and printed. Purchase Orders and expenditures are tied to specific budget accounts and departments.
All posting activity is grouped within specified accounting months. Entries for prior months can be examined, added, modified, or deleted after-the-fact, allowing complete flexibility. User may also start a new accounting year while keeping the prior year open for several months.
YTD amounts paid to each vendor are accumulated and saved for the past three years. Form 1099-Misc can be printed for vendors who qualify.
Financial (Budget) report formats are user defined.
Whether using purchase orders or going directly to a check, the vendor name, amount, description of item, and budget account number, need only be entered once. From the purchase order the information may be automatically printed on a check and from there it is automatically posted to the general ledger.
Accounts payable entries are dated so that checks can be printed for a specific date range, allowing for precise cash flow control.
Reports generated by the Budget Acctg software include:
1. Budget Detail Ledger, listing the budgeted amount, the year-to-date activity, and details of the selected period(s) activity. This is followed by the total year-to-date activity, account balance, and percentage. All outstanding purchase orders are then listed, and totaled, and a new balance and percentage listed. This report may list the details of any period or range of periods.
2. Vendor Detail Ledger, listing all purchases from each vendor during the specified period(s), followed by a total amount paid to the vendor for the year. All outstanding purchase orders are also listed.
3. Department Detail Ledger, listing all activity for each department during the specified period(s), followed by a total for the year. This report is structured similar to the Budget Detail Ledger Report.
4. Financial Report, showing account activity for the specified period, year-to-date, balance, and percent of budget used.
5. Financial Report has an option of printing a comparison of last year's YTD activity. This is handy should you want to compare YTD this year with YTD thru the same month last year.
6. Encumbrance Rept, showing amounts encumbered for the specified period, and the year-to-date activity for each acct. o Most reports may be displayed to the screen as well a printed to paper. Some reports may also be written to a "csv" file for importing to a spreadsheet program such as Excel.
The Budget Preparation routine allows next year's budget amounts to be entered and altered. When the budget has been approved, the new amounts can be transferred automatically to the regular budget accounts.
The length and format of the budget account numbers can be set up by the user. The numbers can be from 1 to 22 digits long, and can be divided into a maximum of 8 sub-divisions.
Payroll Overview and Features
The complete governmental payroll package is point and click driven to minimize operator training time.
At each step the operator is prompted as to what entry is needed. This feature reduces operator training time.
The payroll system provides the user the capability of storing personnel information for employees as well as non-employees. This data includes name, address, social security number, phone number, birth date, hire date, and sick and vacation days earned.
The payroll system provides the user the capability of storing all pertinent data needed to generate payroll checks and government reports for employees. This data includes YTD earnings and taxes, marital status, number of dependents, up to to four salary or hourly amounts per employee, up to 21 automatic deductions per employee, and taxes including federal, state, social security, and medicare withholding. The four salary or hourly amounts could each be in a different department. This way an employee can be paid out of POLICE and PARK depts on one check.
Employees may also be coded as on “Direct Deposit” and have their bank’s routing/transit and acct# entered.
Employees may be coded as being totally exempt from social security and medicare (such as firemen) or subject to medicare only.
System properly tracks total earnings, social security earnings, and medicare earnings depending upon the status of each employee.
System allows for annuity and cafeteria type deductions where a deduction can be subtracted from gross before taxes are calculated. A single employee may have up to 14 deductions (not including taxes).
Checks (or Direct Deposit Pay Notices) may be printed by fund. Each check/pay notice shows the employee all earnings and deductions in detail as well the YTD earnings and taxes as of that pay period. If any of your employees are on direct deposit, an ACH file may be sent to your bank (via a CD or on-line) containing the pay information.
The payroll system provides a wide variety of payroll totals. Totals which may be generated include earnings, taxes, and other deductions by department and by fund.
The system stores each check for each employee for the year. This way the user may print a detail payroll history by employee any time of the year.
Reports include: Payroll Totals, Check Register, Deduction Report, Retirement Report (in OMRF format and OPERS format), Benefits Report, Qtrly Federal 941, Qtrly Okla Unemployment Report (OESC), and W2s. The program has the capability of e-filing W2s thereby eliminating the need to print W2 copy A.
A routine is available to automatically create an OMRF contribution file. This file is then uploaded using the OMRF website. This eliminates the need to manually enter this data.
A new calendar year may be started without printing W2 forms. The information to print W2s are saved in a Year-End file which is later used to print the forms.
The W2 routine allows the Social Security Admin copy of W2s may be e-filed instead of printed and mailed.
User may maintain federal and state tax rates or GFC Data can send you a new tax file via email or CD each year. If under an annual support plan, there is no charge for this.
Court Software Features
Allows setting up of officer and violation codes which are later used when entering citations.
The citation screen allows user to enter all information currently found on Oklahoma traffic tickets. Each record is assigned a “docket” number (case number). If you do not use docket or case numbers, then the citation no. can be used as the docket no.
Citations may be retrieved by searching by any of the following: Citation No., Docket No., Name, Driver License No, Tag No.
The citation is stored permanently and is updated as events occur.... Court, Payment, Summons, Warrant, etc.
Automatic Court Docket Preparation including six different formats. Past Court Dockets may be printed as well as current ones.
Numerous Reports/Inquiries Including:
Receipts journal showing breakout of fines, cost, and cleet which can be run for any
range of dates Citation Status Report
Summons Letter
Past Due Letter
Bench Warrant Preparation
Master Name Report (i.e. all citations by person)
Notice of Failure to Comply Notices
Notice of Failure to Pay Notices
Label Preparation
Provides for selecting citation abstracts to send to DPS via the third-party vendor option in their special format via the "OK.Gov" website.
Has a routine to automatically enter citations from a file. For example the system allows adding citations from vendors like digiTicket and Scenedoc. These are systems that allow officers in the field to read and store citation info into an electronic device and later upload the info the GFC Court software.
Provides for building external files should user need to import citations to other programs or other organizations such as collection agencies.
Cemetery Features
Each record contains:
Section number (optional - up to 2 char)
Block number (up to 4 char)
Lot number (up to 4 char)
Space number (up to 4 char)(section/block/lot/space number must be unique)
Status code (S=sold, U=unsold, H=hold)
Deedholder Name
Deed Number (up to 10 char)
Purchase Amount
Date of Purchase (allows 4 digit year)
Maintenance Fee (if any)
Occupied Code (Y=yes, N=no)
Occupant's Name
Date Occupied (Burial Date)
Birthdate of occupant
Veteran Code (Y or N)
Marker Type Code (Sold or Donated)
Miscellaneous comments (180 char)
Reports and Inquiries Include:
All spaces
Spaces sold
Spaces unsold
Spaces on hold
Spaces occupied (buried) by date if needed
Spaces unoccupied
All reports and inquiries may be done in block/lot/space order or purchaser name or occupant name.
Receipting Overview
Receipting is an add-on package which can interface with Utility Billing and Budget Acctg.
The program is used to enter all receipts and optionally print a receipt.
Up to ten categories of revenue can be specified on a single receipt. Also user can specify whether the payment was made by cash, check, or cr card as well as the name and address of the person making the payment. If the payment is a utility payment the name and address of person is displayed automatically.
At day's end user can print a receipt journal and list of totals by revenue category (and by user if needed).
Receipts can then be transferred to Budget and Utility Billing programs for permanent update.
Receipts are stored permanently and can be removed daily, monthly, or yearly.
Work Orders Overview
Work Orders is add-on package which can interface with Utility Billing.
The program is used to enter tasks such as meter re-reads, turn-offs, street repair, or animal control.
The work order screen allows user to enter the date and time and name of employee taking the request as well as the dept the work order is assigned to. If the task is utility-related then the name and address of the person making the request is displayed automatically. Codes are entered on the work order screen to define which tasks apply to the work order. Note: "Task" codes are set up in advance to define these tasks
When the work order is completed the work order is accessed and the date and time of completion is entered as well as the name(s) of the employees completing the task. If the work order involved getting a new reading for a utility customer, the utility record can be updated automatically.
Work Orders are stored permanently in the system for reporting purposes. At any time user can print a report by range of dates, by task, by status (completed vs uncompleted), by address, by employee and any combination thereof.
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