Overcharging by Utility Vendor based on “Estimated Meter Readings”

Overcharging by Utility Vendor based on “Estimated Meter Readings”

A very highly regarded client of mine, Roger, came to me shocked. The electric utility account bill for one of his Ohio Portfolio properties was astronomically high in Dec 2025. A direct jump from $51.19 to 272.39. The bill was a tenant chargeback and there were no occupancy changes in the past few months. We primarily use Buildium as the accounting software and the Utility expenses for Dec 2025 had gine haywire for the particular property due to this sudden spike.

Roger wanted me to quickly find a solution such that he would always be alerted if any utility bill was higher by 50% or more compared to the bill for the previous billing period. As an experienced rental property accounting service provider it is my duty to immediately resolve client requests.

The Solution: Utility Bill Variation Analysis

I was keen on avoiding any new expenses by way of subscriptions to try an analyze my utility bills. I am already subscribed to Buildium for self-managed properties, to Appfolio for third-party rentals, to Quickbooks Online for the self-managed properties' maangement company. A lot of elaborate accounting and bookkeeping systems already in place. I also did not want to add another cost and reach out to AI or a programmer to create a Script to flag bills that were substantially higher than the previous, make sure that the Script was fool proof and then embark on a debugging quest. I needed a quick and readable solution.

A Simple and Quick Spreadsheet Solution: Step 1

We already have a very sophisticated AP Schedule for each of our clients which is an aggregate visual list of all the Utility accounts in a single space. Beside the last bill amount column, I added a new column known as the current bill amount “Column K” which will place the bill amount of the most recent bill beside the bill for the previous period. Column K is conditionally formatted to light up in case the current bill is higher by 50% or more than the previous regardless of the reason.

A Simple and Quick Spreadsheet Solution: Step 2

Then we create a sub-list of all such accounts that light-up add a few more details and send to our client for his information or action. We add a little more information such as the last meter reading and the current meter reading and the reading basis (Actual/Estimated) from the bill. This gives us just enough information to decide if the rise is legit or needs to be investigated further. A bill will only be posted to Appfolio/Buildium if it has the client's go-ahead. Peace of mind for me. Peace of mind for the client.

Why This Matters for Rental Property Owners

Most owners do not have time to audit utility fluctuations manually. With this service:

• Every dollar is accounted for.

• You avoid surprise payments to utility vendors from your operating bank account.

• You gain clarity on property performance and tenant behavior.

• You stay compliant with budgeting best practices

Findings:

• Utility company had been charging that account based on estimates for the last 17 months.

• We were due refunds of $7930.52 for the estimated vs actual difference for the calendar year ended 12.31.2024.

•An immediate analysis into all the accounts with the same electric utility provider revealed 3 more accounts running on estimated meter reads for more than a year. We are in the process of requesting details of actual consumption and refunding any excess charge.

My Commitment

I bring deep property accounting experience across Buildium, AppFolio, and QuickBooks Online. My goal is to give owners data they can trust and decision support they can rely on. This analysis is one of the many ways I help rental property owners run financially sound operations with confidence and transparency.