The major entities that hold the key geographic, demographic, and financial information related to a customer who is financially responsible for a property are:
Account: An account represents the financial relationship between a customer and the utility. It contains information such as the account number, account type, account status, billing cycle, payment plan, and balance.
Customer Class: A customer class is a grouping of customers based on common characteristics, such as residential, commercial, or industrial. It determines the default values for various attributes, such as rate schedules, service agreements, and billing options.
Person: A person is an individual who is associated with an account, such as the account holder, a contact, or a guarantor. It contains information such as the name, address, phone number, email, and identification number of the person.
Premise: A premise is a physical location where a utility service is provided. It contains information such as the premise number, premise type, premise status, address, coordinates, and service point.
Service Agreement: A service agreement is a contract between a customer and the utility that defines the terms and conditions of the service, such as the service type, start date, end date, rate schedule, and billing frequency.
These entities are linked together in a hierarchical structure, as shown in the following diagram1:
