This timeline is part of the utility billing disputes guide, which walks through one dispute from meter read to approved credit. Here the question is narrower: when does each piece of that chain stop being readable, and who decides whether it is kept?
Retention timeline: what disappears first after a utility vendor switch
Illustrative. A fictional 260-person property manager gives its utility billing vendor notice in month 0. The new vendor goes live in month 4, the old contract ends in month 6, and the contract allows three months of read-only access after that. Every date below is invented; the real ones come from the vendor contract and the company's own retention schedule.
| Month | Event | Record classes at risk | What survives elsewhere |
|---|---|---|---|
| 0 | Notice given to the outgoing vendor | None yet; the inventory starts here | Everything is still readable |
| 2 | New vendor loads current meters and active rules | Old rule versions, retired meters | Current meter list in the new platform |
| 4 | New vendor goes live; tickets open in the new queue | Closed dispute tickets stay in the old queue | Credit memos in the ERP |
| 6 | Old contract ends; user licenses removed | Dispute notes, dated meter-to-space maps, rule history | Invoices and credits in the ERP, without links |
| 9 | Read-only access ends | Meter read history held only by the vendor | Usage that utilities can resend, if authorized |
The pattern is that context goes before totals. The ERP keeps what was billed and credited, because accounting needs it. The vendor platform keeps why: which spaces a meter served on a given date, which split applied, and what the occupant argued. Those are the records most often left behind, because nobody in accounts payable needs them to close the month.
How long each utility record class tends to be kept
There is no single retention rule for utility billing history. Tax rules set a floor for some records, contracts and lenders can set longer periods, and vendor platforms keep whatever their contract says. The IRS, for example, describes a general three-year period for tax records, longer in listed cases such as seven years for a bad debt deduction, and notes that insurers or creditors may require records to be kept longer than the IRS does.
| Record class | Usual home | How long it tends to last | Disappears when |
|---|---|---|---|
| Utility invoices | Accounts payable, ERP | Kept under the company's tax and finance schedule | Rarely affected by a vendor switch |
| Corrections and credit memos | ERP, approval workflow | Kept with the invoices | Survive, but often lose the link to the dispute |
| Meter reads and interval data | Vendor platform, utility portal | As long as the vendor contract runs | Read-only access ends |
| Dated meter-to-space map | Vendor platform | Often only the current map is kept | Contract end, or the first remapping |
| Allocation rule versions | Vendor platform, spreadsheets | Old versions are often overwritten | New vendor loads only active rules |
| Dispute tickets and notes | Vendor queue, shared mailbox | Varies widely; mailboxes follow email policy | Contract end or mailbox cleanup |
Allocation rules deserve special attention. EPA's WaterSense guidance describes ratio billing as splitting master-meter charges among units by a formula usually based on square footage, occupancy or other factors. Each change to those inputs is a rule version, and a dispute can only be explained against the version in force on the billing date.
What can be rebuilt later, and what cannot
Some consumption data can be recovered from the utility after the vendor is gone. Green Button Connect My Data is a standard that lets utilities share electricity, natural gas and water usage data in a consistent format, with customer authorization that can be revoked. ENERGY STAR's Portfolio Manager glossary also describes downloading electric meter data as Green Button XML and per-meter detail from its Custom Download screen.
What cannot be rebuilt is the company's own reasoning. No utility holds the meter-to-space map, the formula inputs, the dispute ticket or the note explaining why a credit was approved. Those exist only where the company and its vendor kept them. A partner can make this point plainly: usage is recoverable, decisions are not. The system map shows which identifiers join the pieces that do survive.
Who must approve keeping each record
Keeping old records is a company decision, not a partner's suggestion. Each class has a different person who can say yes.
| Record class | Who decides whether it is kept | What they check first |
|---|---|---|
| Invoices and credits | Controller or finance director | Retention schedule, audit needs |
| Meter reads and maps | Finance director with facilities | Vendor contract terms on return of data |
| Rule versions | Property accounting lead | Whether old versions are in the vendor platform or a spreadsheet |
| Dispute tickets | Finance director with legal | Occupant personal details, mailbox policy |
| Records kept for third-party owners | The owner of each property, through the management agreement | Who owns the books under that agreement |
Ask for the vendor contract's end date, any read-only period and what the vendor returns on termination; the SaaS data export rights guide lists the clauses to look for. Do not recommend keeping or copying records the company has no authority or policy basis to retain. A documented contract end is the only urgency worth naming.
Qualification: what the finance director can confirm now
Five metadata facts make the inventory useful for a licensing conversation, and none of them requires opening a record:
- Record classes that exist, from the table above.
- Years covered for each class, especially rule versions and dispute tickets.
- Rough volumes, such as disputes a year and buildings covered.
- Owners: whether the company manages its own buildings, third-party buildings or both; who can license these records explains why that changes the answer.
- Dates: contract end and read-only end, from the contract.
The company itself needs 50+ full-time employees at peak (contractors excluded), a documented operating history, rights to license the records and an authorized contact. Companies in the U.S., Canada and the EU qualify, as do companies in the UK, Australia, New Zealand, India, Singapore, South Africa, Latin America, the UAE and Saudi Arabia when at least 90% of the data is in English.
Unknown until SourceX reviews it: whether buyers want this record set, how occupant names and account numbers would be removed, which buildings the rights cover, and any offer. Partners sign the Channel Partner Agreement before submitting introductions. The energy and utilities page covers the sector, and operational decision logs explains why decision context matters more than totals.
Next step
Refer a company. Earn up to $100,000. Default reward: 25% of Actual Supplier Payout, capped at $100,000 cumulatively per referred company. Eligibility and payment conditions apply, and a signed Schedule A or addendum can differ. A lead, meeting or signature alone does not trigger payment.
If a client's vendor contract has a documented end date and the dispute history still sits in the outgoing platform, register as a partner, check the company on who qualifies and read the terms before you introduce the finance director.