Water Utility Payment Solution

The Vendor is required to provide online water utility payment solution that includes a web-based electronic bill payment and presentation system that seamlessly integrates with the city’s core financial system and provides city staff with a clean and intuitive backend to view and manage resident payments.
- Features:
1. System integration and ERP compatibility
• Fully integrate with the city’s existing enterprise resource planning (ERP) and utility billing system, including:
o Real-time (preferred), near real-time data synchronization, or file transfer
o Support industry-standard integration methods (API, web services, secure file transfer, etc.)
o Accommodate current and future ERP upgrades without requiring full system replacement
o Provide testing, validation, and certification of integration prior to go-live
o Ability to add additional payment solutions for non-utility payments
2. Customer online portal – required features
• Secure, user-friendly web-based portal accessible via desktop and mobile devices
• Ability for customers to:
o View current and historical bills and balances
o Make one-time payments as a guest or enroll in recurring and auto-pay
o View confirmation of payment
o Store multiple payment methods securely
o View payment history and receipts
o Enroll in paperless billing and electronic notifications
o Update contact information and manage account preferences
• Support for multiple accounts per user login
• Ada-compliant design and accessibility standards
• Multilingual support (or ability to add languages in the future)
• Encourage customers to sign up for paperless and e-billing and autopay.
3. Cashiering and point-of-sale (POS) functionality
• Accept multiple payment types, including:
o Credit cards
o Debit cards
o ACH and e-checks
o Other desirable payment types (PayPal, apple pay, Venmo)
• Enable real-time posting of payments to customer accounts
• Support payment reversals, refunds, voids, and adjustments with proper audit trails
• Accept and integrate payments for general invoices and non-invoiced payments
• Allow role-based access for cashier staff and supervisors
4. Transaction security and compliance
• Comply with all applicable security standards and regulations, including:
o PCI-DSS compliance for payment card processing
o Data encryption in transit and at rest
• Utilize secure authentication and authorization protocols
• Implement fraud detection and prevention measures
• Maintain detailed audit logs of all transactions and system activity
• Ensure customer payment data is never stored on city servers unless explicitly authorized
5. Payment transaction processing
• Process payments in real time or near real time
• Support configurable payment rules (fees, convenience fees, partial payments, thresholds)
• Provide clear transaction status indicators (pending, completed, failed, refunded)
• Minimize payment posting delays and reconciliation issues
• Offer high system availability and uptime with redundancy and disaster recovery capabilities
6. Financial processing and reconciliation
• Provide automated daily settlement and reconciliation reports
• Support general ledger (GL) posting and export compatible with the city’s chart of accounts
• Clearly identify and separate fees, revenues, chargebacks, and refunds
• Support fund, department, and account-level reporting
• Facilitate end-of-month and year-end financial close processes
7. Reporting and administrative tools
• Provide a robust administrative dashboard for city staff
• Standard reports to include:
o Payment activity by date, method, and channel
o Revenue summaries
o Failed or returned payments
o Customer usage and adoption metrics
• Ability to generate ad hoc and custom reports
• Export reports in common formats (csv, excel, pdf)
• Support role-based permissions and configurable user access
• Maintain full audit trails for administrative actions
8. Customer service and vendor support
• Provide customer service support for residents regarding online payments and portal issues
• Offer defined service levels (SLA) for response and resolution times
• Provide city staff with a dedicated account manager or support contact
• Supply training for city staff, including:
o Initial implementation training
o Ongoing training resources and documentation
• Provide regular system updates, enhancements, and security patches
• Offer implementation support, including project management and go-live assistance.