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Energy Efficiency Program Management Software – Demand Side Management (DSM)

Energy Savings Project Tracking

ESP Tracker is an energy savings and project tracking system for Demand Side Management (DSM) Programs.

This includes performance based and rebate programs. We assist utilities, trade allies, ESCOs and energy efficiency organizations – to cost effectively and efficiently manage energy efficiency programs and projects.

Our automated workflow and ease of use have helped numerous renowned utilities nationwide to effectively manage their Commercial, Industrial and Residential EE programs. Please contact us for specific case studies.

ESP Tracker is rapidly deployed within a 30-day time frame.

Minimal administration and training is required, as ESP is designed for quick deployment, focused processes, advanced workflow automation and easily managed dashboard reporting.

ESP is easily customizable to match any required DSM program needs.

Experience

ESP Tracker is currently in operation at of a number of the largest energy utilities in the US. This includes several of the most well known utilities on the west coast, the east coast and the mid-west. Our staff has a combined 20 years of experience implementing Energy Efficiency Program Management software systems.

Energy Efficiency Program Management

• Project tracking
• Measure tracking and calculations
• Financial Payment tracking
• Invoice tracking
• Trade Ally tracking
• Facility tracking
• Key Contact tracking
• Meter and Reading tracking
• Activity and Project Status tracking
• Dashboard Reporting

Database Platform

• Microsoft Dynamics CRM. ESP is built within the Microsoft Dynamics CRM database platform.
• Microsoft SQL 2008. This is built on a Microsoft SQL Server 2008 framework, the state-of-the-art, high-volume database system for millions of large industries around the world.
• Flexibility. Due to its extremely flexible framework, continued customization and workflow design is easily accounted for in our ever growing marketplace.
• Microsoft Integration. Maximum integration options are built into the design.
  • Microsoft Outlook
  • Microsoft Exchange
  • Microsoft Sharepoint
  • Microsoft Office 365/2010/2007/2003 (Excel/Word/Powerpoint)
  • And much more!
• Windows Browser Architecture. Users are able to log in directly from their browser.
• Compatibility. Because ESP is built on the Microsoft platform, integration possibilities are extremely flexible.
• Mobile Integration. Users are able to access the database from their Mobile device for quick updates. Supported systems include iPhone, Blackberry, Android and Windows 7 Mobile.

General Features

• Built for easy deployment with an outsourced Program Management partner.
• Flexible deployment choices: on-premise or on-line.
• Automated workflow through project phases and financials
• Flexible Project Phases
• Multiple Milestone options
• Multiple Payment options
• Multiple Measure Calculation options
• Reporting Hierarchy (Account, Campus, Facility, Project, Measure)
• Automated “One button” Import of Measures, Projects, Financials, Facilities and more.
• Automation of payment requests
• Activity Management and Calendaring. This includes Outlook Integration
• Customer portal
• 30-Day rollout time frame

Flexible Deployment

While some Energy Savings Program Management systems require deployment in the cloud (e.g. Salesforce.com platform), others require on-premise deployment (e.g. Sage ACT!). In contrast, ESP provides you the choice between online and on-premise deployment. In both cases, the user accesses the database via web browser interface.

• Online Deployment (hosted by Microsoft CRM)
• On-Premise Deployment (hosted on your own servers)

Marketing

Due to the Microsoft Dynamics CRM platform, ESP provides very flexible marketing and campaign management options.

• Data Mining. Use the query builder to locate high-potential facilities on the basis of energy usage.
• Customer Segmentation. Due to Microsoft CRM’s simple targeting interface, users are able to easily configure multiple customer segments.
• Campaign Management. With this module, you are able to identify which terms you want to track, then track the details with Campaign Planning Tasks. Usually, users will use tasks to track anything that does not have a cost or marketing list associated with it, and instead will use Campaign Activities for tracking those items. Although Campaign Activities are similar to Planning Tasks, Campaign Activities include more detailed information about budgets and vendors required to execute the campaign.
• Advanced Campaign Management. With this module, the user is able to view the details of how often users visit the site, click on an email and what they are viewing in the email or the site.
• Lead Generation and Distribution. Ability to generate new leads from online capture forms and distribute these to designated users as needed.
• Tele-Marketing. Ability to allow sales force to access and contact the customer base.

Sales

With this core module, users are able to drive sales forward. At the heart of Microsoft CRM is the ability to manage and track sales, marketing and service. This includes the management of Leads, Contacts, Accounts, Quotes, Opportunities, Mail-Merging and much more.

• Lead Management. Ability to designate and categorize Leads.
• Lead Qualification. Identification and qualification of Leads.
• Mail-Merge. Ability to create Letter and E-mail blasts with contact fields merged into the template document. Batch labels can also be easily created to support the use of sales literature such as Applications, Brochures and more.
• Contact and Account Management. These two integral modules are thoroughly thought-through and designed for robust customer interaction. This includes the tracking of notes, activities, and much more.
• Quoting. Users are able to prepare quotes within the system.
• Project Creation. Users are able to create projects associated with Contacts, Accounts, Campuses and Facilities.

Trade Ally Tracking

• Applications. Trade Ally interfaces can be designed to match applications. Applications are also easily attached to Account records.
• Qualification. The Trade Ally qualification process can be followed through stages/phases.
• Service Data. Service information such as Service types and geographic areas are tracked and reported on.
• Insurance. Trade Ally insurance information and license status is easily managed via field data or as an attached document.
• Contact Activity. ESP tracks all kinds of scheduled and completed activities pertaining to Trade Allies and other vendors/contractors. Activity types include calls, meetings, tasks and more.
• Success Tracking. ESP tracks vendors on a Project, Facility and Campus level.
• Financial Tracking. Payments related to Trade Allies are associated with the record and thus easily reported on.
• Reporting. Users are able to view vendor statistics based on flexible parameters.

Project Management

• Management of Program Types and Categories
• Tracking of both Studies as well as Projects
• Data History within all Project Phases:
  1. Pre-Commitment
  2. Committed
  3. Installed
  4. Completed
• Tracking of Account/Premise Numbers
• Tracking of Project Numbers as well as Reference Numbers
• Discontinuation of Projects
• Management of Key Contacts (Payee, Project Leads, Decision Makers, Subcontractors, Trade Allies, etc...)
• Reporting Fields. To enable simplified reporting for the end user, we have added a number of Reporting Fields that are easily accessed.

Milestones

• Flexibility. Unlimited Milestone Tracks can be implemented. i.e. Project ABC might have be a Custom (gas) Project with 18 milestones (including pre- and post-implementation inspections), and Project XYZ might be a Standard/Prescriptive (electric) Project with only 6 milestones. The user maintains complete flexibility.
• Skips. Users are able to skip Milestones if they are no longer relevant or required.
• Easy Milestone Advancement. Users are able to easily advance through Milestones with a single click.
• Automatic Triggering. Financials (Payments or Invoices) are triggered at specific Milestones. Measures are triggered as well as needed.
• Automatic Recalculation. Milestone fields for future steps are automatically recalculated when the Actual Milestone End Date field is entered. i.e. fields such as Target Start Date, Target End Date.
• Estimated Milestone Dates. Users are able to override the duration time frame for each Milestone and thus manually estimate the date for each Milestone.
• Discontinuation. Users are able to discontinue projects, thus removing them from active reports and dashboards.
• On Hold. Users are able to place projects on hold, thus removing them from reports and dashboards.

Measures

• Savings and Incentive totals per Project Phase. Measures are automatically moved forward per phase. (Pre-Commitment, Committed, Installed)
• Easy Measure Selection. When a measure is selected, up to 250 fields of predetermined measure data auto-populates the new Measure record.
• Flexible Editing. Editability is conditional – based on project phase.
• Measure Costs. Various cost factors are calculated and summed.
• Energy Savings calculations. Energy savings (kWh, KW, thm) are calculated within each phase.
• Energy Incentive calculations. Incentive amounts are calculated within each project phase.
• Manual Override. Where needed, users are able to override the calculated amounts. The measure is flagged for auditing purposes.
• Project Cap. The Project Cap is calculated on each Measure, and the user is notified when the Cap has exceeded the allotted amount.

Financials

• Flexible Financial Types. This includes both Payment and Invoice payments.
• Automation of Target Check Amounts. Calculations are based on Project, Milestone or Measure modules. Calculation amounts are based on Measure Incentive amounts.
• Billing from within ESP. Where required, users are able to establish templates and thus print bills/invoices directly from within the system.
• Check Number creation. Check Numbers can be generated automatically within the system. This is especially useful when billing takes place directly from the system.
• Check Request reports. Commonly used among existing clients, users print Check Request reports (.csv or .txt format) that interface with banking organizations for fulfillment purposes.
• Check Number import. When users generate Check Request reports and send this to the bank for fulfillment, users are able to import the batch report (of Check Numbers) produced by the bank.
• Payment Reconciliation. Users are able to reconcile payments where required. Especially useful where the utility outsources Program Management to a 3rd party.
• Adjustment Payments. Users are able to create adjustment payments manually where needed. Data integrity is maintained by history creation.
• Check Re-issuance. Users are able to re-issue checks where required. Data integrity is maintained by history creation of each check issuance and re-issuance.

Program Goals

• Flexible Goal Management. Users are able to define goals per Program.
• Flexible Time Frames. Goal time frames can be flexibly defined (i.e. Year 1 = July to June).
• Monthly Time Frames. Goals can be configured on a monthly basis.
• Calendar vs Fiscal Years. Users are able to define Goals for both Calendar as well as Fiscal years.

Program Costs

• Flexible Program Costs. Users are able to define costs per Program.
• Multiple Cost Categories. Users are able to enter and report on numerous categories.

Workflow Automation

• Alerts within ESP or via E-mail
• Automated Field calculation
• Automated Measure calculation
• Automated Project Cap notification
• Automated Payment creation
• Automated Milestone creation – dependent on Program Type
• Automated update of Current Phase, Milestone, Status, Stage, Target start and end dates.
• Automated Measure updates
• Automated update of Reporting Fields – to simplify dashboard creation by the end user.
• Import. Ability to import complete Projects (including Facility, Measure, Milestone, Financial, Contact and Account records as well as associations/relationships).

Red Flag Alerts

ESP has the ability to easily design and implement Red Flag alerts. These can be assigned as E-mails or as tasks within the system. Several of the most commonly used alerts include.

• Payment notification
• Overdue payment/invoice
• Overdue milestone phase/stage
• Project Cap surpassed

Security

• Field level Security
• User Security
• Role Security
• Conditional Security

Reporting

• Simple Dashboard user interface. Users are empowered to develop their own reports through the reporting wizard.
• Excel Reporting. Users are able to export their reports to Excel for more advanced reporting.
• User Training. ESP administrators are trained on how to develop and extract these reports. Unlike other complex reporting tools, such as Crystal Reports, no programming skills are required for using these dashboards.

Sites / Facilities / Campus

Facility records are easily created, managed, and even imported. Users are able to track numerous data points on each Facility record.

• Meters. Meters can be associated with Facilities/Sites. Meter data is easily aggregated for all Meters at a Facility – and thus visible on the Facility screen. This enables users to easily target the Facilities with the highest potential. Meters can also be easily associated with a Project Measure where needed.
• Readings. Meter Readings can be imported and aggregated to the Meter record and thus to the Facility/Site level.
• Project Reporting. Users are able to report on Project success per Facility and per Account.
• Account Hierarchy. Facilities and Sites can be easily associated with Parent records.
• Campus Hierarchy. Where applicable, Facilities can be associated with a campus. This eases the ability to report on Project information at a Campus level

Document Management

Documents can be attached to the database via several methods.

• Simple attachment into the database
• Simple linking from ESP to the local file path
• Sharepoint integration. This can be implemented via

Next Steps

Step 1: Contact us at 888-774-GOLD (4653) or E-mail us at info@accentgold.com. We would love to explain how ESP functions and can meet your Energy Efficiency needs.

Step 2: Discovery of Needs

Step 3: Live, personal Demo of ESP

Please contact us to help us discuss which needs and requirements your DSM Program has.
We will gladly assist you in the following areas:

• Provide a free demo of how ESP functions in day to day operations
• Walk you through your implementation options and requirements
• Prioritize your needs – thus optimizing your ROI
• Develop the best project and implementation roadmap

In our Discovery of Needs phase, we will begin by evaluating the following:

• Energy savings and incentive budgets and goals
• Program types, measures and calculators
• Milestone design and duration (Red Flag when overdue)
• Financials (Payments, Invoicing, Check creation)
• Reporting and Dashboard requirements
• Utility requirements that require ESP customization
• Marketing and campaign needs
• Security and Field editability parameters
• Audit parameters
• Customer and Trade Ally processes
• Customer and Trade Ally Portal needs
• Alert automation
• Import automation
• Integration needs (Office, Exchange, Sharepoint, Outlook, etc..)
• Data migration (from current/legacy environment)
• Document creation, management and correspondence

Why Choose Us?

• Experience. Our staff has a combine implementation experience of 20 years, we are able to competently advise and guide you in through your process.
• Flexible Platform. Choice of On-Premise vs Online "access from anywhere"
• Rapid Deployment. 30-Day deployment rollout.
• Flexible Program and Milestone Management. Users can easily manage multiple programs and milestone phase options.
• Optimal Workflow. Projects, Measures, Milestones, Financials, Contacts and Accounts are all integrated.
• Rapid ROI. With user adoption at a premium, our highly intuitive User Interface will enable a high adoption rate and thus a rapid ROI.

Project Management Team

Your project will be managed by our highly skilled and experienced ESP Implementation team.

• Tim Priestley – Founder and President
• Mark Shaw – COO and Senior Project Manager
• Ben Leong – Senior Project Developer
• Claire Leong – Professional Services
• Chris Van Staden – Business Technology Consultant
• Carol Bargabus – Business Technology Consultant