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3.4 Billing Systems

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Overview

Demonstrate and apply knowledge and

understanding of how utility bills areproduced from a batch processingsystem employing master and

transaction les.

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!amples of "tility Bills

• lectric bill

• #as bill

• $ater rates• %eating bills

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lectric meter

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%ow the bill is calculated

• very 3 months

• & person reads the present householdreadings by visiting and recording the

information on a special data captureform

• Back at the head o'ce the past reading issubtracted from this present reading andthe number of units used calculated

•  (he bill ) the number of units used * unitcharge

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Batch processing

• +ollecting batches of data to be processed

• ,rocessing a batch usually at a time whenthe processor is less in demand -at night

• /o human intervention is re0uired

• Suitable for applications that need a highvolume of data processed

• /ot suitable for applications re0uiringimmediate feedback

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Billing process 1owchart

 Meter readingforms

Error 

reportCards batched

Transaction

 file

Master file

Error

report

Customer 

bills

Sorted Transaction

file

Updated

 Master file

Cards sorted

Bill calculated

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Denitions

2aster le (he main le to store allthe data in a computersystem. (his is mergedwith the transaction le toupdate the information.

 (ransaction le & le which stores the newdata to be merged orupdated into the computersystem.

Batch processing system +ollecting data over aperiod of time and thenprocessing it all in a batchthat is convenient in termsof time and processingavailable.