Box Springs Case Study

Situation

Box Springs Mutual Water, a small utility serving a close-knit community, faced significant challenges with its legacy billing system. Frequent billing errors were costing the utility tens of thousands of dollars in lost revenue, and manual data synchronization was a constant burden on staff. To address these issues, Box Springs Mutual Water transitioned to Current, a modern, cloud-native customer management platform designed to simplify utility billing and enhance customer experience.

Challenges

While Box Spring’s old solution had worked at first, it had progressively fallen behind as technology advanced and the needs of the customer base increased. In particular, the legacy system suffered from:

• Billing Errors: Their legacy system was difficult to use, resulting in frequent billing errors. These inaccuracies not only frustrated customers but in some cases went undiscovered for months, leading to significant revenue losses.
• Manual Data Syncs: The old on-premise system required staff to manually sync data from various sources, which was time-consuming and prone to human error. 
• Limited Customer Insights: Customers lacked easy access to their own information, making it hard to manage their usage effectively.

Solution

Box Springs Mutual Water chose Current Software to address these challenges primarily due to its simplicity and ease of use for small systems. With Current, users have all the tools they need to serve a small utility, including:

• Semi-Automated Billing: A blend of automation and user control that flags critical issues for review while still allowing billing to take only minutes instead of days.
• Integrated Customer Portal: Both the utility and ratepayers see the same data. Box Springs shareholders gained new self-service options while utility admins no longer need to manually sync data.
• Proactive Delinquency Management: A command center view of delinquent accounts to give fuller visibility and control over late customers.

Results

Since switching to Current, Box Springs has wondered how they ever did without. “I couldn’t be happier with this transition,” said Mark Iversion, General Manager. “With Current, I know we’re on top of our bills and customers in a way we never were before.” This has a big impact on the other things the team can focus on. “It’s really amazing - we’re finally getting to other projects like redoing our rates which has been on my mind forever.”

In particular, Box Springs saw the following benefits:

1. Increased Revenue: The utility successfully recovered tens of thousands of dollars in revenue that were previously lost due to an overly complex and confusing system. 
2. Enhanced Customer Experience: Customers now have access to detailed usage insights and billing information through the integrated portal. 
3. Operational Efficiency: The elimination of manual data synchronization reduced errors and saved time, enabling staff to focus on more strategic initiatives.
4. Improved Financial Stability: With accurate billing and proactive delinquency management, Box Springs Mutual Water achieved greater financial stability and predictability, setting them up for success in other parts of the business.

Conclusion

The successful implementation of Current at Box Springs Mutual Water demonstrates the transformative power of a modern, cloud-native billing system. By modernizing its systems, the utility not only improved its operational efficiency but also enhanced customer experience and strengthened its financial health. Box Springs Mutual Water is now better positioned to serve its community with confidence and reliability.