Key Concepts

Understand the UMS data model — the account hierarchy, core entities, invoice and brokerage workflows, utility types, and common terminology.

Understanding the UMS data model helps you get the most out of the platform.

The hierarchy

UMS organises energy data in a clear hierarchy:

Organisation (your company)
└── Account (customer / business entity)
    ├── Site (physical location)
    │   └── Connection (utility meter — NMI, MIRN)
    │       ├── Meter → Register → Reads (consumption data)
    │       └── Retail Account (retailer's account reference)
    ├── Agreement (energy contract with a supplier)
    │   ├── Agreement Connections (which meters are covered)
    │   └── Tariff Group → Tariff → Tariff Rates
    ├── Invoice (energy bill)
    │   └── Line Items (individual charges)
    └── Contact (people associated with the account)

Core entities

Account

A business or entity you manage energy for. Accounts can be hierarchical — a parent company with subsidiary child accounts.

Site

A physical location where energy is consumed. Each site has an address and can contain one or more connections. Sites appear on the dashboard map.

Connection

An individual utility meter point. For electricity, this is identified by a NMI (National Meter Identifier). For gas, it is a MIRN (Meter Installation Reference Number). Each connection is linked to a site and can have multiple meters and registers.

Agreement

An energy contract between an account and a supplier. Agreements have a type (electricity retail, gas retail, metering), start and end dates, and cover specific connections. They are the foundation for tariff rates and brokerage calculations.

Supplier

An energy retailer or metering provider. Suppliers are linked to agreements and invoices. Common types are RETAIL (energy retailer) and METER (metering provider).

Retail Account

The account reference that an energy retailer assigns to a connection. Retail accounts are the key link between your internal structure and the retailer’s billing system — they are how incoming invoices get matched to the correct account and connection.

Invoice

An energy bill from a supplier. Invoices contain line items (individual charges), are linked to connections via retail accounts, and can be processed automatically from email or uploaded manually.

Tariff

The rate structure that defines how energy is priced. Tariff groups contain tariffs (date-scoped) which contain tariff rates (individual charge components like peak usage, off-peak usage, supply charge).

Workflows

Invoice processing pipeline

Email arrives → Inbox → UtiliRead (OCR) → Invoice created → Validation → Review

1. Emails arrive in the Inbox

   Emails from energy retailers arrive in the Inbox.

2. UtiliRead extracts the data

   UtiliRead extracts data from PDF attachments using OCR.

3. An Invoice is created

   An Invoice record is created with line items.

4. Validation runs

   Validation checks the invoice against tariff rates and expected data.

5. Flagged invoices go to Review

   Flagged invoices appear in Review Items for manual attention.

Brokerage pipeline

Agreement → Brokerage Record → Calculation → Revenue

1. Brokerage Records are linked

   Brokerage Records are linked to agreements with commission rates.

2. Calculations run

   Calculations process records against tariff rates and consumption data.

3. Revenue is calculated

   Revenue records show the calculated commission per connection.

Validation pipeline

Invoice → Validation Rules → Pass / Fail / Review → Gap Detection

1. Invoices are validated

   Invoices are validated against tariff rates, connection data, and billing patterns.

2. Results are categorised

   Results are categorised as PASSED, FAILED, or FOR_REVIEW.

3. Review Items consolidate issues

   Review Items consolidate all issues for manual attention.

4. Gap Detection finds missing invoices

   Gap Detection identifies missing invoices across your portfolio.

Utility types

Type	Identifier	Unit	Description
Electricity	NMI	kWh	National Meter Identifier
Natural Gas	MIRN	MJ	Meter Installation Reference Number
Water	Meter ID	kL	Water meter reference

Common terminology

Term	Meaning
NMI	National Meter Identifier — unique ID for an electricity meter in Australia
MIRN	Meter Installation Reference Number — unique ID for a gas meter
ABN	Australian Business Number
ACN	Australian Company Number
GST	Goods and Services Tax (10% in Australia)
TOU	Time of Use — tariff structure with different rates for peak, off-peak, and shoulder periods
OCR	Optical Character Recognition — used by UtiliRead to extract data from PDF invoices