payment plan - set up

Setting up a payment plan allows you to create an agreed arrangement for a customer to pay an outstanding balance over time.

This is typically used when a customer is experiencing hardship or is unable to pay their account in full and requires a structured repayment schedule. A payment plan breaks the balance into manageable instalments, helping improve payment outcomes while maintaining a consistent collections approach.

Setting up a payment plan in Utilmate ensures the agreed terms—such as instalment amounts, frequency, and duration—are recorded and applied to the account. This helps keep billing, payments, and credit control aligned, while supporting better cash flow and customer management.

Click on the Accounts Receivable menu, then Payment Plans.  Click on the +button and select Create payment plan.

Enter the below information into "Add payment plan wizard" screens.

Payment Difficulties or financial hardship?

• Is the customer experiencing payment difficulties or financial hardship?

Type of Payment Plan

• Payment Plan - includes only the customers' total balance.
• Payment Plan Plus - includes the customers' total balance and estimates their energy usage while the payment plan is in place.

Add payment plan

• Instalment amount
• Start date
• Frequency

Total payment plan amount

• Amount - this is the total balance (over and current).

Payment plan confirmation

• Advise and confirm the details with the customer:
  • Where they can find the financial hardship policy.
  • Ways they may lower their future energy usage.
  • Energy concessions and utility relief grants that may be available to them.
  • Their rights to put the payment plan on hold for 6 months before making their initial payment.
  • All payment options are available to them.

Click on Save to add the payment plan.

Note: 

• Only customers meeting pre-configured criteria can enter into a payment plan. This is typically only residential customers with a minimum balance of $50.
• Payment plans have restrictions on minimum instalment amounts, a maximum number of instalments and grace periods before they are cancelled.
• Customers that fail to meet their payment plan obligations will have their payment plan automatically cancelled.
• Depending on the configuration, payment plan confirmation, missed instalment and cancellation notices will be automatically sent to customers.
• No credit control action will occur while the payment plan is active.