Ratio Utility Billing System (RUBS)

Increase your NOI with no capital investment

Zero Cost Solution to Recover Utility Costs

When a community wants to recover utility and ancillary costs without investing in a submetering system, we offer Ratio Utility Billing (RUBS). With a RUBS program, the master utility bill is allocated to the residents using industry-wide formulas that are based upon square footage and/or occupancy. RUBS can be implemented for utilities including water, sewer, electric, gas and trash. In most cases, our low monthly service fee is passed to the resident. Combined with vacant cost recovery (VCR), we are your partner in recovering utility costs.

Benefits of Using Ratio Utility Billing

Zero capital investment
Reduces operating costs
Encourages conservation

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Account Management

Our account management utility experts utilize real time reporting to monitor community performance and provide customized solutions.

Software Integration & Payment Processing

We integrate with most property management software programs for on-site utility collection and automated invoice processing and payments.

Payment Processing & Collections

Ikehu Utility Solutions offers bilingual customer service during extended business hours. In addition to resident payment processing, our internal collections team takes all possible measures to recover resident bills.

Conscious Energy Use

An obvious trend has emerged now that residents are responsible for their own utility bills. Before the days of submetering, it was not uncommon to see windows open or hear air conditioners running in the middle of winter with heaters going full blast. It was a way to cool down the apartment, but now that residents are responsible for their own bills, they tend to just turn down the heat.

Increased Property Value

Many other property owners have told me that they do not have the money to make the initial investment to install meters. But I recommend that they find a way to fund it because the payback is rapid — usually about one year to 18 months, and the revenue recovery is ongoing. For example, when we purchased a 169 apartment home community in Indianapolis, I asked our bank to add the cost of meter installation onto our loan, which they readily did after I demonstrated how the program significantly increases property value. It cost about $225 per apartment home to install the gas submeters at the property, for a total of $38,025, and our mortgage increased by only $500 per month. The gas bill for that property alone is $85,000 per year and we recover about 70 percent of those costs, after factoring out common area and vacant apartment home costs, a savings of $59,500 per year, which far surpasses the initial installation cost. Another benefit is that our property value has increased exponentially, which I calculated by taking the $59,500 at a 9.5 percent cap rate (rates can vary) which raised the property value by more than $500,000.

Recouped Cost

The results did not disappoint me. In December the bills declined after we began billing residents for their water consumption. In March 2003 and April 2003 bills were approximately $270 per day; May fell to $254. The difference between $462 in April 2001 and $270 in April 2003 is $192 per day – a payback of less than one year. The payback actually is much faster because we are collecting about $2000 each month from the billing program, an amount that should double by year-end as new leases are signed.

Adding to the Bottom Line

We have calculated the increase in property value that comes along with submetering. For instance, on a property with 285 apartment homes with an average water bill of $7,000 per month, we can add up to $6,000 or more per month to the bottom line. At a 9 percent capitalization rate, that equates to a property value increase of $800,000.

Seamless Transition

Ikehu Utility Solutions has done an excellent job with our properties. They are very professional and have seamlessly transitioned many of our apartment buildings to the Ratio Utility Billing program, as well as setting up online automated meter reading and billing with our newer properties. I would recommend them to small and large property owners alike.

Responsive and Professional

We have found Ikehu Utility Solutions to be an extremely professional company. Their representatives are always responsive and attentive to our questions, as well as being very knowledgeable of all state regulations regarding utility billing. They gave us suggestions for increasing our revenue and we have seen a marked increase in collections and revenue since we started using their services. We are very pleased with all aspects of their service and look forward to a long, continued relationship with Ikehu Utility Solutions.

Great Incentives

Accurately monitoring each apartment home’s electrical usage gives greater incentive for residents to conserve energy, since they are paying for exactly what they use. During a one-year period, an average of 17 percent less energy was consumed in the submetered residences.

Ratio Utility Billing System (RUBS)

Zero Cost Solution to Recover Utility Costs

Benefits of Using Ratio Utility Billing

Account Management

Software Integration & Payment Processing

Payment Processing & Collections

Ikehu Utility Solutions Customer Testimonials

Conscious Energy Use

Increased Property Value

Recouped Cost

Adding to the Bottom Line

Seamless Transition

Responsive and Professional

Great Incentives

Hawaii Utility Billing Services

Thinking green to keep our planet blue

Hawaii Headquarters

Account Management

Sales Team

Customer Service