Water billing software for community projects, private suppliers and water schemes
Record meter readings, bill every connection, collect through M-Pesa and track arrears from one system.
One connected path
Meter → Bill → M-Pesa → Reconciliation → Arrears → Statement
- Readings captured in the field, even offline
- Bills raised from your tariff, not a spreadsheet
- Paybill deposits matched to the right connection
Who this is for
If you read meters, bill connections and chase paybill deposits every cycle, this page is for you.
- Community water projects
- Private water suppliers
- Borehole water schemes
- Gated-estate water operators
- Water users associations
- SACCO and community-operated schemes
- Small-scale water service providers
- Multi-property water operators
From meter book to reconciled balance
Most schemes lose time and money in the gap between the field and the paybill statement. Zana closes that loop in one system.
Typical today
Manual workflow
- 1 Meter book
- 2 Excel
- 3 Tariff calculation
- 4 Bill preparation
- 5 SMS or WhatsApp reminders
- 6 M-Pesa statement checking
- 7 Manual balance updates
With Zana
One connected system
- 1 Meter reading
- 2 Billing run
- 3 Bill sent
- 4 M-Pesa payment
- 5 Payment matching
- 6 Updated balance
- 7 Arrears and reporting
See it on your connections
Book a walkthrough with your billing cycle, or start free and import a sample route.
The complete water-billing lifecycle
Zana is not just invoicing software. It runs the operational path from connection setup through collection and reporting.
Customer and connection setup
Zones and routes
Meter reading
Reading validation
Tariff calculation
Bulk billing run
Bill delivery
M-Pesa payment
Payment reconciliation
Balance update
Arrears tracking
Statements and reports
Meter → Bill → M-Pesa → Reconciliation → Arrears → Statement → Reporting — one ledger behind every step.
No network? Keep reading meters.
Rural and peri-urban schemes lose days retyping notebook readings. Zana captures them once in the field - with or without signal.
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Installable field app
Readers open Zana on their phone from the home screen - no app store required.
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Offline meter reading
No signal at the far end of the line? Readings queue on the device and sync when connectivity returns.
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Connection identification
Walk structured routes by zone. Every stop shows account number, service address and meter details.
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Previous and current reading
The last approved reading is shown beside the new register. Consumption is calculated before anyone approves the bill.
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Meter photo capture
Photograph the register for dispute evidence. Optional recognition suggests the digits - the reader always confirms.
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Notes and exceptions
Flag anomalies, add notes, and hold readings for verification before they reach a billing run.
Tariffs, runs and bill delivery
Set your tariff once. Every billing cycle, Zana prices every connection the same way and surfaces exceptions before anything reaches a customer.
Tiered tariffs and standing charge
Configure stepped consumption bands, a standing charge, minimum charge floor and levies once. Zana applies them identically every cycle.
Billing runs with exceptions first
Calculate every connection, then review missing readings, unapproved readings and tariff gaps before anything is posted.
No double-billing a period
Posting locks the run and checks the ledger so the same connection cannot be billed twice for the same cycle.
Bill delivery
Posted bills reach customers by email, SMS and WhatsApp with a secure pay link and your payment instructions.
Keep your existing M-Pesa Paybill or Till
Customers keep paying the account they trust. Zana matches deposits to connections and updates balances - without replacing your paybill.
Paybill statement · April
Your existing Paybill · 186 deposits
TJ41K8QW2P
ACC 4471 STO ORDER
KES 1,585
ACC-4471
Grace Wanjiru
Matched on account ref
TJ39B2LM7X
WATER MAR APR
KES 3,200
ACC-1182
Peter Ochieng
Matched on account ref
TJ38Z0PQ5R
Cash deposit
KES 900
No account reference
Held for review
185 matched · balances updated
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Keep the Paybill or Till customers know
Your payment instructions stay on every bill. Customers keep paying the way they already do - nothing to re-learn.
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Upload M-Pesa statements
Import the CSV or Excel your paybill already gives you. Zana reads every deposit and proposes the connection it belongs to.
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Match by account reference
When a customer quotes their account number on the paybill, Zana matches the deposit to the right connection and clears the oldest bill first.
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Confirm, then post
Clear matches post in one go. Deposits with no reference or an ambiguous match stay on a short review list - never silently applied to the wrong account.
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STK push on the pay link
Customers who prefer paying from the bill can approve an M-Pesa prompt on their phone. Those payments reconcile automatically.
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See who is paid, part-paid or overdue
Balances, ageing buckets and a ranked debtor list update as payments land - by zone, route and category.
Reconcile your next paybill statement
Bring a real statement to a demo and we will show you what Zana matches automatically and what it leaves for review.
Arrears, statements and follow-up
Know who paid, who is part-paid and who needs a call - with customer statements ready when they ask.
Customer statements
Generate a statement for any date range - opening balance, every bill, every payment, closing balance. Export or send as PDF.
Arrears ageing
See balances bucketed at 30, 60 and 90 days, filtered by zone, route and category.
Disconnection candidates
Accounts overdue past your threshold surface as a list you can turn into disconnect orders in one action.
Payment reminders
Send reminder batches by SMS or WhatsApp to overdue connections - with delivery tracked per customer.
Already using Excel, notebooks or meter books?
Bring your existing customer records and continue billing without starting from zero.
- Customer accounts and connection numbers
- Meter numbers and serials
- Opening balances and previous readings
- Tariffs, standing charges and levies
- Zones and reader routes
- Phone numbers and account status
Import from CSV or work with us on assisted onboarding for larger schemes. Sample templates are available when you set up your workspace.
Before your demo
Help us prepare for your call
These questions give our team context before the walkthrough - mention them in your message or on WhatsApp.
- 01 How many active connections do you manage?
- 02 Do customers have individual meters?
- 03 How often do you bill?
- 04 How do customers currently pay?
- 05 Are you on Excel, notebooks or another system today?
- 06 Do you already have an M-Pesa Paybill or Till?
- 07 Which county are you operating in?
Ready to migrate?
Send a sample customer file and we will check the mapping before you load production data.
From a borehole scheme to thousands of connections
Plans scale by billable account count. One connection is usually one account - see pricing for current tiers.
Small borehole scheme
50–100 connectionsA growing private supplier billing a few dozen connections each month - routes, tariffs and paybill reconciliation in one workspace.
Typical fit: Starter · See pricing
Community water project
200–300 connectionsA water users association or SACCO scheme with multiple zones, field readers and a monthly billing cycle.
Typical fit: Pro · See pricing
Gated estate or multi-zone operator
500–1,000 connectionsHigher volume, more routes, heavier paybill traffic - still one billing run and one reconciliation queue.
Typical fit: Business · See pricing
Large water service provider
2,500+ connectionsMulti-zone operators that have outgrown spreadsheets and need assisted onboarding to migrate safely.
Typical fit: Scale · See pricing
Different roles, different reasons to buy
Multiple stakeholders should recognise their own problem on this page.
Water project manager
See collection performance, billing completion and arrears by zone - without waiting for someone to finish the spreadsheet.
Billing and admin officer
Run the cycle, review exceptions, generate bills and produce customer statements in minutes instead of days.
Meter reader
Structured routes, offline capture, meter photos and fewer transcription errors between the field and the office.
Treasurer or accountant
Reconcile paybill deposits, track balances, export reports and reduce payment disputes with a clear audit trail.
Customer proof
Real operator stories coming soon
We will publish factual case studies once customers approve them - connections managed, billing time saved, and paybill match rates. We do not invent these numbers.
Kenya-first workflows
Built around KES billing, Kenyan mobile money and the way community schemes actually operate.
M-Pesa built in
STK push on pay links plus paybill and till reconciliation from uploaded statements.
SMS, WhatsApp and email
Bill delivery and payment reminders on the channels your customers already use.
Role-based access
Separate permissions for readers, billing officers, managers and treasurers.
Audit trail
Every reading, bill, payment and adjustment is recorded - so disputes have a source of truth.
Exportable reports
Arrears, collection rate, tax and regulator reports export to CSV when you need them offline.
What you’ll need
Water billing runs on every paid plan from Starter - KES 2,000/month for up to 100 billable accounts. Larger operations move up the tiers to Utility (7,500 accounts), and beyond that to Enterprise.
See every tierWhat this doesn’t do
Water billing is the commercial and customer-operations layer. Zana does not currently replace:
- automatic meter telemetry
- prepaid vending
- hydraulic network or water-quality operations
- inventory
- a full customer portal
Meter → Bill → Collect → Reconcile → Follow up → Report. If you need SCADA, telemetry vending or full ERP accounting, tell us before you sign up.
Questions water operators ask first
01 Do we have to change our M-Pesa Paybill or Till number?
No. Keep the collection account your customers already use. Zana prints your paybill or till instructions on every bill, then matches deposits from the statement you upload. Customers can also pay through the secure link with an M-Pesa prompt if you want that option.
02 Can meter readers work with no mobile network?
Yes. The installable field app queues readings, photos and notes on the device when there is no signal, then syncs automatically when connectivity returns. Readings still require verification before they enter a billing run.
03 Can we migrate from Excel, notebooks or meter books?
Yes. Import customer accounts, meters, opening balances, previous readings, tariffs and routes from CSV. Bad rows are skipped with a reason - the whole file is not rejected. We can review a sample file with you before you load production data.
04 How does payment reconciliation actually work?
Payments through the bill pay link reconcile automatically. Deposits into your paybill or bank are read from an uploaded statement, matched to the account reference the customer quoted, and held for your confirmation if the match is unclear. Nothing posts to the wrong connection silently.
05 Is this only for large utilities?
No. Zana works for small borehole schemes with a few dozen connections through to multi-zone operators billing thousands. Plans scale by billable account count - see pricing for current tiers.
06 What does Zana not replace?
Zana is the commercial and customer-operations layer: meter, bill, collect, reconcile, follow up, report. It does not replace SCADA, hydraulic monitoring, prepaid vending, borehole telemetry, treatment-plant control or full ERP accounting.
Read meters. Bill every connection. Collect through M-Pesa. Know exactly who owes you.
Zana is billing and customer-operations software for community water projects, private water suppliers and small water service providers in Kenya. Start free - no card required - or book a walkthrough mapped to your billing cycle.