Question 1

What is Utility Bill Management (UBM) on BillPortal?

Accepted Answer

BillPortal is one platform to collect, parse, validate, pay and analyse every utility bill. AI agents gather bills from portals, email and uploads; we parse them across every commodity, split the data by account and commodity for GL coding, flag exceptions for review, and give finance, operations and sustainability teams a single source of truth.

Question 2

Which utilities and commodities do you support?

Accepted Answer

Electricity, gas, water, sewer, waste, and other recurring utility-type services (e.g. telecom). Each commodity on each account is captured and coded separately so your data stays clean and auditable.

Question 3

How do bills get into BillPortal?

Accepted Answer

Three ways: (1) Portal Agents log into supplier portals with your saved credentials and collect bills automatically, (2) forwarding or capturing bills sent by email, and (3) manual upload/drag-and-drop. Postal bills can be routed in via the optional mail-capture add-on.

Question 4

How accurate is the AI parsing?

Accepted Answer

Our parsing is tuned for utility bills across commodities and is checked by exception-based validation — anything unusual (missing reads, big swings, new charges) is surfaced for a human to confirm rather than passing through silently.

Question 5

What is a “bill credit” and how is it counted?

Accepted Answer

One credit = one account, on one commodity, on a bill. A simple single-account electricity bill = 1 credit; a bill we split into several account/commodity lines uses 1 credit per line. This keeps pricing tied to the data you actually get back.

Question 6

Can I export the data to my accounting / ERP system?

Accepted Answer

Yes. Data is structured by account and commodity with GL/cost codes, so it exports cleanly for AP, ERP and reporting workflows.

Question 7

Can BillPortal pay my utility suppliers?

Accepted Answer

Yes. Once bills are validated, BillPortal can schedule and execute supplier payments via bulk ACH (NACHA CTX/CCD), so approved bills are paid on time without manual bank runs.

Question 8

How are payments approved before they go out?

Accepted Answer

Payments follow your approval rules — validated bills move to an approval queue, and only approved items are released for payment. Exceptions never pay automatically.

Question 9

How do I pay for BillPortal itself?

Accepted Answer

BillPortal uses prepaid bill credits. You buy credits up front (they roll over and never expire), and top up or enable auto-recharge so processing never pauses. Plans start at $250/month (125 credits) and scale with volume.

Question 10

What is auto-recharge?

Accepted Answer

An optional setting that automatically buys more credits when your balance drops below a threshold you choose, so bill processing never stops. It requires a saved card (available with a live payment key).

Question 11

Do unused credits expire?

Accepted Answer

No — prepaid credits roll over and never expire.

Question 12

What are BillPortal Managed Services?

Accepted Answer

A fully managed option where our team operates the platform for you — collecting bills, resolving exceptions, managing supplier relationships and payments, and delivering reporting — so your team gets the outcomes without running the day-to-day.

Question 13

Who is Managed Services best for?

Accepted Answer

Organisations with large or complex portfolios, limited internal bandwidth, or a need for guaranteed turnaround and audit-ready data without hiring a dedicated utilities team.

Question 14

How is Managed Services priced?

Accepted Answer

It builds on the standard credit model with a managed-service layer tailored to your volume and scope. We scope it with you on a call and set it out in the Order Form.

Question 15

Do I still get visibility if you manage it?

Accepted Answer

Yes — you keep full access to dashboards, data and KPIs. Managed Services handles the work; you keep the transparency and control.

Question 16

What is the BillPortal Partner Programme?

Accepted Answer

A programme for bill-validation providers, energy brokers, consultants and resellers to deliver utility bill management on a modern platform — with referral or reseller economics set out in your Order Form.

Question 17

What partner models do you support?

Accepted Answer

Referral partners (you introduce clients), reseller partners (you sell and manage on the platform), and technology/data partnerships. We tailor the model to how you work.

Question 18

Do partners get their own workspace and pricing?

Accepted Answer

Yes. Partners get access to manage their clients and benefit from partner pricing, margins and commissions as agreed in the Order Form.

Question 19

How do I become a partner?

Accepted Answer

Apply from the Partners page. Tell us your model, portfolio and interests and our team will follow up to scope the partnership.

Question 20

Who is Astrid?

Accepted Answer

Astrid is BillPortal’s AI assistant — the most unique and powerful part of the platform, built to take the heavy lifting off you wherever possible. Astrid helps you navigate BillPortal, answer questions and get work done faster, from explaining a charge to running multi-step tasks across your accounts, vendors and bills. Astrid is your always-on teammate, not a person — so there’s no “he” or “she”, just help whenever you need it.

Question 21

Can Astrid send and receive emails on my behalf?

Accepted Answer

Yes. Astrid can draft and send emails and read the replies that come back — always with your approval before anything goes out. For example, ask Astrid to “find every vendor with a missing bill and draft chase emails”, and Astrid generates a tailored email per vendor with the right account numbers and the specific bills that are missing, ready for you to review. You skim and approve, Astrid loops you in and sends them, then tracks the responses.

Question 22

What tasks can I hand to Astrid?

Accepted Answer

Astrid is great at repetitive, multi-vendor work, including: bulk vendor setup for payments; chasing missing bills; requesting due-date extensions when a payment is already in progress (especially cheques in transit); onboarding portal credentials; and translating and migrating data from your old systems and contracts during onboarding. You describe the outcome — Astrid prepares the work and waits for your approval.

Question 23

How does the approve-before-send flow work?

Accepted Answer

For anything that leaves BillPortal or changes data — emails, vendor setup, payment-related requests — Astrid prepares everything and holds it for your review. Nothing is sent or actioned until you approve. Once you approve, Astrid executes and keeps you in the loop with what was done and any replies received.

Question 24

Can Astrid help with onboarding and data migration?

Accepted Answer

Yes. During onboarding Astrid can translate and migrate data from spreadsheets and legacy systems, help set up contracts, load supplier portal credentials, and organise your accounts and vendors — turning a slow manual setup into a guided, mostly-automated process.

Question 25

What does AI do across BillPortal?

Accepted Answer

AI powers bill-collection agents, parsing across every commodity, exception detection during validation, drafting of communications, and insights and summaries — always with human review on anything that matters.

Question 26

Are Astrid’s AI credits separate from bill credits?

Accepted Answer

Yes. Astrid/AI-assistant usage is metered separately from bill credits, so your bill-processing budget and your AI-assistant budget stay distinct and clear.

Question 27

Is my data used to train external AI models?

Accepted Answer

No. Your bill and account data is used to operate the service for you; it is not sold or used to train third-party public models.

Question 28

Can Astrid make changes or payments without me?

Accepted Answer

No. Astrid assists and prepares the work, but actions that move money or change data always follow your approvals and permissions. AI never bypasses your controls — you stay in charge.

Question 29

What KPIs does BillPortal track?

Accepted Answer

Spend by commodity, account and site; cost trends and anomalies; exceptions caught and resolved; on-time payment rates; consumption and usage; and sustainability metrics for reporting (e.g. ENERGY STAR Portfolio Manager data).

Question 30

Can I see cost and consumption trends over time?

Accepted Answer

Yes — dashboards show spend and usage trends by account, commodity and portfolio so you can spot spikes, leaks and billing errors early.

Question 31

Does BillPortal help with sustainability reporting?

Accepted Answer

Yes. Clean, account-level consumption data feeds sustainability and compliance reporting, including ENERGY STAR Portfolio Manager data flows.

Question 32

Can I get reporting tailored to my portfolio?

Accepted Answer

Yes. Standard dashboards cover most needs, and reporting can be tailored for larger portfolios and managed-service clients.

Question 33

How do I get support?

Accepted Answer

Use the Support page to submit a support, billing or general request. Astrid can also help in-app for quick questions.

Question 34

Is onboarding support included?

Accepted Answer

Yes — the Free plan includes 2 hours of onboarding support to get you started, and paid plans include onboarding tailored to your setup.

Question 35

What are your support response times?

Accepted Answer

Response targets depend on your plan and request type; billing and platform issues are prioritised. Managed-service clients get dedicated support.

Question 36

Where can I raise a dispute or billing query?

Accepted Answer

Submit it through the Support page selecting the relevant category — disputes and billing queries route to the right team and are tracked to resolution.

Question 37

How does BillPortal manage utility vendors?

Accepted Answer

We hold your supplier accounts, portal credentials and account numbers in one place, collect bills from each vendor automatically, and keep account-level records so nothing slips through the cracks.

Question 38

Can you handle supplier portal logins for me?

Accepted Answer

Yes. Portal Agents securely use your saved credentials to log into supplier portals and collect bills on a schedule — no manual downloading.

Question 39

What happens when a new account or vendor is added?

Accepted Answer

Add the account and credentials and BillPortal starts collecting and coding its bills; the account then appears in your dashboards and billing data.

Question 40

How are vendor credentials kept secure?

Accepted Answer

Credentials are stored securely and used only to collect your bills. Access follows your permissions and the terms in your agreement.

Question 41

How long does onboarding take?

Accepted Answer

Most teams are up and running quickly. Timeline depends on the number of accounts, suppliers and credentials to load — we scope this with you and prioritise your highest-volume accounts first.

Question 42

What do I need to get started?

Accepted Answer

A list of your accounts and suppliers, portal credentials (where applicable), and how you want data coded (GL/cost codes). We handle the setup from there.

Question 43

Is there help during onboarding?

Accepted Answer

Yes — the Free plan includes 2 hours of onboarding support, and paid/managed plans include guided onboarding tailored to your portfolio.

Question 44

Can I import my existing accounts in bulk?

Accepted Answer

Yes. We support bulk import of accounts and suppliers so you don’t have to add them one by one.

Question 45

What happens after onboarding?

Accepted Answer

Bills start flowing in automatically, exceptions surface for review, payments follow your approvals, and your dashboards populate — you move from setup to day-to-day operations (or hand it to Managed Services).

Frequently asked questions

UBM Product

Payments

Managed Services

Partners

Astrid & AI

KPIs

Support

Vendor Management

Onboarding

We’re happy to help