30,000 of these Simputer-printed bills are given out every month in Gulbarga.

Screenshot of a spot-billing application currently in use: the Simputer's screen is large enough for the entire application front-end to be just one page. Of course, the simple front-end masks the rather complex logic running in the back-end.

The advantages of automated meter reading and spot billing are well recognized by the various electricity boards in the country today. Not only does spot billing lead to much greater demand, revenue-collection efficiency and better decision systems, it also brings intangibles like transparency and better customer service to the system. Though there exist various devices in the market that aid in spot-meter billing, none has become either an industry standard or widely prevalent. The reasons range from limited computing power and lack of customizability to high price and absence of local technical support.

Download a spot billing case study and other details as PDF

POWER AND EXTENSIBILITY OUT-OF-THE-BOX

The BEL-PicoPeta Simputer has many features that make it one of the most attractive platforms for developing turnkey spot billing solutions in the electricity metering industry.

1. It is a full-featured handheld computer and its hardware and software can easily customized to requirements.
 
2. With upto 64 MB of RAM and a 206 MHz processor, it is one of the most powerful handheld computers in the world. This power ensures that there are no compromises in terms of performance.
 
3. The Simputer has 32 MB of permanent storage space which can hold lakhs of customer records. Moreover, storage space can be extended to 1 GB by used a thumb-sized USB flash stick.
 
4. Its interfaces can be in any Indian language (or English), and as such can be used by even people who have no experience with technological devices.
 
5. The BEL-PicoPeta Simputer works well with mobile handheld printers, so that receipts/bills can be given to customers on the spot.
 
6. It has a built-in SmartCard reader/writer making a Simputer both secure, and shareable between many field personnel.
 
7. It has many modes of exchanging data with PCs and meters: USB, Serial, Infrared (Wireless), Bluetooth (Wireless) - the Simputer is future proof!
 
8. It can also be used to send and receive data over the Internet, with the help of a regular phone line and a thumb-sized modem. This eliminates the need for field executives to make repeated trips to the office.
 
9. While we believe that true quality is never cheap, Simputer-based solutions have a low Total Cost of Ownership (TCO). Please get in touch with us for a quotation
 
10. Last but not the least, local tech support can be made available though out India, by the public sector giant Bharat Electronics Limited (BEL).
 

USAGE SCENARIO

This is how a field executive would work with a BEL-PicoPeta Simputer:

• When he leaves office, the field executive collects (data transferred from a PC to a Simputer by an officer) addresses and details of all the households he should visit in the day
• He inserts his SmartCard into the Simputer to authenticate himself: this provides a high degree of security, as unauthorized persons cannot have access to the data
• On the field, he can get easily answers to queries like "Show me names and addresses of people who have defaulted payments for the last three months"
• Once he reaches a home and takes a reading, he can quickly enter it on to the Simputer using a soft key-board. He then prints out a receipt/bill for the home owner, and collects any money due
• Finally, when he is back in office, he puts all the collected data back into a PC/server using a cable, and simple 2- minute process. The data is used for archives, MIS reports etc.

PARTNER WITH US

We could work together in developing a customized spot-billing solution if you are any of the following:

• Electricity Board of any state in India
• Electricity Meter Manufaturer
• Service Providers / Equipment Suppliers / Contractors to Electricity Boards
• Software Developers for Electrcity Boards

Please get in touch with us at the details provided here. You could also read a description of actual on-field usage in our Showcase section.

Download a Spot billing case study and other details as PDF