smart360 vs el dorado utility billing: which fits your utility?

From 3,000 Meters,
To 
100,000.

El Dorado is utility billing software from Creative Technologies for small to medium cities, towns, property managers and accounting firms, offered in the cloud or on-premise. SMART360 is one platform your own staff runs for billing, customer information, meter data, field work and the consumer portal, built for US water, electric and gas utilities with 3,000 to 100,000 connections.

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Welcome to your unified dashboard. Last updated: 6:38:12 PM
This Month
3
Analytics & Insights
Total Revenue
$298,500
↑ 12.5% from last month
Service Requests
718
↑ 8.3% from last month
Collection Rate
82%
↑ 3.2% from last month
Active Complaints
24
↓ 5.8% from last month
Revenue
Services
Usage
Revenue Trend
60000 45000 30000 15000
Revenue by Consumer Category
32000 24000 16000 8000

Key Takeaways

  • The real choice is size and scope. El Dorado bills for small cities, towns, property managers and accounting firms. SMART360 is built for utilities with 3,000 to 100,000 connections.
  • El Dorado runs in the cloud or on-premise, with Easy Reader for mobile reading, a Service Order Module and the Intuity customer portal.
  • SMART360 is one cloud platform for billing, customer information, meter data, service orders, assets and the consumer portal, with every customer on the same version.
  • Choose El Dorado for a small system or an on-premise option. Choose SMART360 for a utility in its range that wants meter data and assets with billing.

How SMART360 Differs

Three differences that set SMART360 apart

Many kinds of biller, or utilities only

El Dorado

Serves small to medium cities, towns, municipalities, property managers and accounting firms, billing flat fee, metered, multi-utility, allocation and RUBS.

SMART360

Built only for US water, electric and gas utilities with 3,000 to 100,000 connections, so setup, training and support are planned around the utility team.

Cloud or on-premise, or one cloud platform

El Dorado

Offers cloud or on-premise software, accessed from a web browser, with a cloud-based customer portal.

SMART360

One platform, multi-tenant on a single codebase, with every customer upgraded at once and no version to migrate between.

Connected apps, or one platform

El Dorado

Pairs El Dorado billing with Easy Reader for mobile reading, a Service Order Module and the Intuity customer portal.

SMART360

Billing, customer information, meter data management, service orders, mobile field apps, asset management and the consumer portal in one platform.

How it works

When utilities start looking at a change

Most utilities do not change billing systems because something broke. They change when one of these events forces a decision:

A support or contract date is coming up

A support or contract end date on the current system is approaching.

An AMI rollout is coming

An AMI rollout means the billing system has to take in far more meter data.

A new service joins the bill

The utility is adding a service, such as sewer, electric or trash, to the same bill.

Field work is still on paper

Field work and asset records live on paper or in a separate tool.

Key staff are near retirement

The people who know the current system best are close to retirement.
AT-A-GLANCE COMPARISON

SMART360 Vs El Dorado

Dimensions El Dorado SMART360
Best fit Small to medium cities, towns, municipalities, property managers and accounting firms1 Utilities with 3,000 to 100,000 connections that want billing, meter data, field work and assets in one platform
Product El Dorado billing, with Easy Reader mobile reading, a Service Order Module and the Intuity customer portal12 SMART360, one cloud-native utility platform
Delivery Cloud or on-premise, accessed from a web browser2 Cloud-native, multi-tenant, one codebase on AWS, every customer upgraded at once
What it bills Flat fee, metered, multi-utility, allocation and RUBS, for water, wastewater, gas, electric and property management12 Water, electric, gas, sewer and trash on one bill
Meter reads Easy Reader mobile app with geo-mapping, photos and too-high or too-low alerts; works with third-party meter reading software2 Meter data management included, with reads validated before they reach a bill
Field work and assets Service Order Module linked to Easy Reader, with field status updates and driving directions2 Service orders, mobile field apps and asset management included
Customer portal Intuity cloud portal: card and eCheck payments, Autopay, paperless billing, email and text notices2 Consumer portal included
Payments Processing through Invoice Cloud and iCheck Gateway1 Pre-built payment connectors
Reporting Over 40 standard reports, custom reports and export to Excel2 Analytics and reporting included
Pricing Not shown on its website Priced per account, unlimited users4
Go-live Standard timeline not published; offers data conversion and project management1 20 to 24 weeks, with a parallel billing cycle before cutover4
Company Creative Technologies, building utility billing software for over 30 years; hundreds of utility providers and over one million bills a year3 Product of Bynry Inc.

1 Audience, product family, payments and services: utilitybillingsoftware.com (as of October 2026).

2 Delivery, billing types, meter reading, service orders, portal and reporting: El Dorado, Software.

3 Company history and scale: Creative Technologies, About Us.

4 SMART360 packages and implementation timeline: bynry.com/pricing.

Comparisons reflect Bynry's understanding of publicly available information as of October 2026. Where a detail is not publicly available, it is not stated. All product and company names are trademarks of their respective owners. Bynry is not affiliated with or endorsed by Creative Technologies.

Results Utilities have Measured on SMART360

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Meters Live

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Faster meter to bill

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Billing accuracy

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5%
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9

Customer retention

el dorado OR SMART360?

When SMART360 is a better fit

You serve 3,000 to 100,000 connections.

SMART360 is built only for that range, so the setup, training and support are planned for a small or mid-sized team.

Feature illustration

You want meter data and assets in one system.

SMART360 includes meter data management and asset management with billing, service orders and the consumer portal, so reads are validated before they reach a bill.

Feature illustration

You want one cloud platform, upgraded for you.

SMART360 is one multi-tenant cloud platform with every customer upgraded at once, a 20 to 24 week implementation, and one price per account with unlimited users.

Feature illustration

el dorado OR SMART360?

How To Compare?

  1. Count your meters and services.

    Note your connection count, every service you bill, and any allocation or RUBS billing. This shows which system is sized for you.

  2. Decide cloud or on-premise.

    Ask who hosts the system, who installs updates, and how billing works if the internet is down.

  3. Run the same test billing cycle.

    Give both vendors the same rates, accounts and reads, including a missing read and a meter change.

  4. Get the go-live plan in writing.

    Ask for the weeks to go-live, whether data conversion and parallel billing are included, and a reference utility your size.

What Utility Leaders Are Saying

What others are saying about SMART360

We were really impressed with how the Bynry team took the time to understand what we needed… They didn't just offer a product, they offered a solution.
reshimna william
Reshimna William
Project Manager at Isle Utilities
SMART360 has really changed the way we manage customer information, billing, and service requests - it's fast, easy to use, and gives us real-time visibility.
john mauli
John Mauli
IT leader at Island Water Authority
What impressed me the most was how grounded the Bynry team is. They really understand utilities and aren't just selling software - they're solving problems.
doug rosenberg
Doug Rosenberg
Business Advisor with Deep Utility Experience

See SMART360 run your billing cycle

SMART360 is a cloud-native platform for US water, electric and gas utilities, with billing, meter data, service orders, assets and the consumer portal in one system, priced per account with unlimited users.

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COMPARING OTHER PLATFORM?

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Common FAQs

Is SMART360 or El Dorado better for a small utility?

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It depends on your size. El Dorado is built for small to medium cities, towns, municipalities, property managers and accounting firms, and runs in the cloud or on-premise. SMART360 is built for US water, electric and gas utilities with 3,000 to 100,000 connections. Below about 3,000 connections, a smaller billing system may be the better fit.

What are Easy Reader and Intuity?

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They are El Dorado's companion apps. Easy Reader is a mobile meter reading app with geo-mapping, photos and alerts for reads that look too high or too low. Intuity is a cloud customer portal for card and eCheck payments, Autopay, paperless billing and email or text notices.

Does El Dorado run in the cloud?

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El Dorado describes cloud and on-premise options, accessed from a web browser. SMART360 is a cloud-native, multi-tenant platform where every customer is upgraded at once.

How is El Dorado priced?

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El Dorado does not publish prices on the pages we checked. SMART360 is priced per account with unlimited users.

How long does a SMART360 implementation take?

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A standard SMART360 implementation runs 20 to 24 weeks. Data is migrated in validated stages and a full billing cycle runs in parallel against the current system before cutover.

Is SMART360 secure and compliant?

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SMART360 is SOC 2 Type II certified and hosted on AWS with a 99.9% uptime SLA. It uses role-based access control, encryption at rest and in transit, and exportable audit logs.