How Settl Reduced Billing Time from 45 Days to 1 Day Using Qube Smart Meters

Settl operates 70+ co-living buildings across India. As the brand scaled, energy billing depended on manual readings, spreadsheets, and inconsistent DG logs—stretching the reconciliation cycle to 45 days. Qube delivered a unified prepaid platform that automated billing across every city.

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Executive Summary

With Qube’s automated energy billing, Settl achieved:

Billing time reduced from 45 days to 1 day across 70+ buildings
10% lower energy consumption through transparent monitoring
Real-time DG detection with instant tariff switching
Consolidated cash flow visibility for operations and finance teams

Background & Challenges

Settl offers private rooms, shared amenities, and common-area experiences backed by DG infrastructure. Manual processes could not keep pace with growth.

1. Lengthy 45-day billing cycle

Collecting readings and reconciling shared costs across multiple cities delayed cash flow and made it hard to identify anomalies.

2. DG tariff confusion

Tenants disputed DG surcharges because manual logs were inconsistent and updated after the fact.

3. Common-area charge allocation

Hallways, gyms, kitchens, elevators, and lobbies consumed significant power without a transparent method to distribute costs.

4. Fragmented collections

Operations needed a single dashboard to monitor recharges, dues, and collections across thousands of tenants.

5. Limited tenant transparency

Residents lacked visibility into consumption patterns, leading to queries and trust issues.

The Qube Solution

Settl deployed Qube smart meters and prepaid workflows across every building, eliminating manual spreadsheets.

Key capabilities unlocked:

Automated readings and prepaid billing that collect revenue before consumption
Instant DG detection switching tariffs within 10 seconds of an outage
Common-area auto-deductions based on real usage
Portfolio-wide dashboards showing collections, dues, and load trends
Tenant-facing portals with live usage, DG breakdown, and recharge history

Why Settl Chose Qube

✓ Fully Automated Energy Collection

Qube eliminated manual readings, manual bills, and manual reconciliation.

✓ Real-Time DG Sensor Integration

DG usage is detected instantly — ensuring accurate, higher-tariff billing.

✓ Prepaid Billing for Predictable Cash Flow

Tenants recharge before consuming energy.

✓ Consolidated Dashboard Across All Buildings

Settl’s operations team sees:

Total collections
Outstanding dues
Building-level consumption
Daily settlement updates

✓ Automated Common Area Charge Allocation

Qube computes and deducts CAM charges directly from all meters.

✓ Energy Efficiency Improvement

With visible usage, Settl tenants naturally reduced consumption — leading to 10% lower energy usage.

Implementation Timeline

Phase 1: Deployment Across India

Qube meters were installed across 70+ Settl buildings. Because installation requires no major wiring, Settl onboarded properties quickly.

Phase 2: Enabling Prepaid Billing

Each meter was configured to:

Accept QR-based recharges
Send live data every 5 seconds
Track individual consumption
Automate billing

Tenants began scanning their QR codes to recharge instantly.

Phase 3: DG Sensor Integration

Qube’s DG sensing technology was deployed to:

Detect generator usage
Switch tariff slabs immediately
Maintain separate DG/discom logs

This removed the need for manual DG monitoring.

Phase 4: CAM Automation

Common areas were mapped and allocated across tenants using Qube’s automated distribution engine.

Phase 5: Dashboard Setup

Settl’s finance & operations teams received:

Consolidated billing dashboard
Daily settlement visibility
Property-wise revenue reports

Results

1. Billing Cycle Reduced from 45 Days → 1 Day

Settl moved from a 1.5-month billing cycle to instant automatic billing.

This improved:

Cash flow stability
Revenue predictability
Tenant communication
Accounting accuracy

2. 10% Reduction in Energy Consumption

Real-time visibility led tenants to reduce wastage.

Usage insights delivered through Qube helped identify:

High-load times
Overconsumption patterns
Unattended appliances
Inefficient equipment

3. Transparent, Trustworthy Billing

Tenants got:

Real-time usage
Recharge history
DG consumption logs

This significantly reduced disputes.

4. Consolidated Billing Across 70+ Buildings

Settl’s finance team now sees everything from one dashboard:

Total energy revenue
Outstanding dues
Settlement details
Property-level breakdowns

No manual reporting. No third-party errors.

5. Automated Common Area Charge Deductions

Qube ensures:

Accurate CAM split
Zero manual intervention
Consistent monthly structure

Common-area disputes dropped to zero.

Key Learnings

Automation transforms multi-building operations Co-living operators must automate metering and billing to maintain accuracy across large portfolios.
DG detection must be built-in Manual DG billing leads to revenue leakage — automation is essential.
Tenant transparency drives satisfaction Real-time usage eliminates conflicts and improves trust.
Consolidated dashboards simplify finances With 70+ buildings, a single control center is essential.
Energy visibility reduces consumption Tenants adjust behavior when they know what they’re consuming.

Explore More Solutions

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Conclusion

Settl transformed its utility billing workflow using Qube’s fully automated smart metering system. With billing time reduced from 45 days to 1 day, consolidated reconciliation, accurate DG billing, and automated CAM allocation — Qube provided the infrastructure required to scale co-living energy management across India.

Qube enables modern co-living operators like Settl to operate efficiently, transparently, and at national scale.

How Settl Reduced Billing Time from 45 Days to 1 Day Using Qube’s Automatic Energy Bill Collection System