Empowering utilities to overcome debt through digital revenue transformation

The problem is especially acute in developing regions, where utilities often struggle to collect water fees on time, resulting in severe cash-flow shortages and rising arrears. According to the Department of Water and Sanitation (DWS) and multiple media reports, as of 2024, municipalities owed the country’s regional Water Boards around ZAR 21.4 billion (≈ US$1.2 billion) in unpaid bills.

Under South Africa’s three-tier water system, Water Boards supply bulk water to municipalities, which then distribute it to residents and collect payments. However, weak billing systems and delayed household payments have left many municipalities unable to pay their dues to Water Boards. In some areas, accounts receivable have exceeded 180 days, creating a debt chain that threatens service continuity and financial sustainability.

This challenge is echoed across many developing regions — highlighting the urgent need for digital transformation in revenue management.

LAISON LAPIS Revenue System: Empowering digital transformation for water utilities

To help utilities overcome these challenges, LAISON has developed LAPIS Revenue System, which combines billing, payment, and field management into one unified digital platform, ensuring utilities can strengthen cash recovery, minimize debt risk, and enhance customer satisfaction.

Key Functions:

• Flexible Billing and Policy Adaptability
  Supports customized water tariff, surcharge, and step tariff configurations. Utilities can easily adjust water tariff through a visual interface, ensuring rapid response to policy or market changes.
• Multi-channel Payment Experience
  Integrated with multiple payment channels, including service offices, bank ATM machine, and mobile payments (M-Pesa, MTN, bank cards, etc.), USSD, etc., and support multi-currency.
• Automated Debt Management
  Supports flexible repayment, such as installment and waiver policies to help utilities recover debts and minimize bad debt risk.
• Anomaly Detection and Alarm
  Combines smart meter data with AI algorithms to detect abnormal consumption and potential By-pass, protecting utility income and reducing NRW losses.
• Proactive Customer Notifications
  Real-time SMS, Email, and App alerts for account activation, arrears, anomalies, and service suspension, enabling proactive engagement and reducing complaints.
• Closed-loop Work Order Management
  Covers all operational workflows, including meter installation, replacement, and maintenance, with real-time tracking via mobile applications for efficient, traceable service.
• Accurate Financial and Reconciliation Management
  Provides transaction records and reconciliation reports to ensure data accuracy, reduce manual errors, and enhance transparency.
• Open API for flexible Integration
  Standardized interfaces enable easy integration with third-party systems, supporting collaboration across departments and systems.
• Enterprise-grade Security and Reliability
  Built with multi-layer protection and disaster recovery design, ensuring system availability even during payment peak periods.

Turning debt into digital strength

The path toward sustainable water management requires more than infrastructure investment — it depends on financial resilience.

Through smart, data-driven revenue systems like LAISON LAPIS Revenue System, utilities can accelerate digital transformation, strengthen cash flow, and deliver a more transparent, efficient, and customer-friendly service.

With technology at its core, LAISON is helping utilities turn debt into digital strength, ensuring that every drop, and every payment, truly counts.