How Your Print Billing Works: Meters, Reads, and Your Invoice
Your copier doesn’t keep a diary. It keeps one number: every page it has printed since its first day in service. Here’s how we turn that number into your invoice, what each meter column means, and why an estimated read never costs you extra.
With cost-per-copy service, one price per page covers the toner, parts, and service that keep your devices running. Every device has a meter that works like a car's odometer: a single running total of every page it has ever printed. We read that meter at the start and end of each billing period, and the difference is your usage. Your base charge is billed ahead for the month to come, and usage is billed behind for the period that just ended. If a read is ever estimated, the next real read corrects it automatically, so you only ever pay for the pages you actually printed.
The rest of this page covers the same ground as the video in writing, so you can come back to any part of it when your invoice arrives.
What cost-per-copy service covers
Instead of buying toner, replacement parts, and service calls separately, you pay one price per page, and the supplies and support that keep your devices running are included. Most agreements also include a monthly base charge that covers a set number of pages. That leaves one question to answer each month: how many pages did you print?
Your meter is a running total, not a daily log
This is the part most people find surprising. A copier or printer does not keep a record of what you printed on a given day, or when. Its meter holds a single number: the total pages printed since the device's first day in service. That number only ever goes up.
So when a meter is read, whether automatically or by hand, what gets collected is a snapshot of that one number at that moment. There is no daily history stored on the device to pull.
How your usage is calculated
We do what a rental car company does. They note the mileage when you pick up the car and again when you return it, and you pay for the difference. We read your meter at the start and end of each billing period, and subtract one from the other.
For example, if a device reads 48,210 at the start of the period and 51,730 at the end, your usage for that period is 3,520 pages.
Most devices keep separate meters for black-and-white and color pages, because they are priced differently. Each meter gets its own start read, end read, and subtraction.
Reading the meter section of your invoice
Your invoice covers two different periods, which is the most common source of questions. Your base charge is billed ahead, for the month to come. Usage is billed behind, for the period that just ended, because pages cannot be counted until they have been printed.
For each meter on each device, you will see these columns:
| Column | What it means |
|---|---|
| Begin Meter | The meter reading at the start of the usage period. |
| End Meter | The meter reading at the end of the usage period. |
| Total | The pages printed in between: End Meter minus Begin Meter. |
| Covered | The pages included in your base charge. |
| Billable | Any pages beyond what your base charge covers, billed at your per-page rate. |
Your agreement sets your per-page rates and how many pages your base charge includes.
How your meter reads reach us
There are three ways we get a read:
- Monitoring software sends it to us automatically.
- You submit one yourself when we ask for it.
- A technician takes one during a service visit.
If we have more than one valid read for a device, we use the one closest to your billing date.
What happens when a read is missed
Sometimes a read does not arrive in time. When that happens, we estimate your usage from the device's history, and the invoice marks that reading with an asterisk.
Because the meter is a running total, the next real read captures every page printed since the last real one, and any difference is trued up on your next bill. A read that arrives a few days late works the same way.
To be clear about the tradeoff: an estimate or a late read can make one month's usage look higher or lower than what you actually printed that month. What it cannot do is change the total. At most, some pages shift from one month to the next, and over time you pay for exactly the pages you printed.
Why we recommend monitoring software
Estimates even out, but most customers would rather see actual reads on every bill without the hassle of sending them in. That is why we provide monitoring software at no cost. It sends your reads automatically and on time, so estimates become rare.
The software collects only meter readings and device status, such as supply levels. It never sees the content of anything you print or scan.
If a device stops reporting
Occasionally a device stops reporting, usually because the computer running the software was turned off or replaced, or because the network changed. When that happens, you will get an automatic email asking for a manual read.
Send us the read so your billing stays on schedule, then email support@aztecoffice.com, and we will help you troubleshoot or reinstall the software so it reports again.
Frequently asked questions
Why does my invoice show two different date ranges?
Your base charge is billed in advance for the upcoming month, and usage is billed in arrears for the period that just ended. Pages cannot be counted until they have been printed, so usage always trails the base charge by one period.
What does the asterisk next to a meter reading mean?
It marks an estimated reading. We estimate from the device's history when an actual read is not available in time, and the next actual read corrects any difference on your following invoice.
Will an estimated read cause me to be overbilled?
No. An estimate can shift some pages from one month to the next, but because the meter is a running total, the next actual read brings the total back in line with the pages you actually printed.
Which read do you use if more than one comes in?
When more than one valid read exists for a device, we bill the one closest to your billing date.
Does the monitoring software see my documents?
No. It collects meter readings and device status, such as supply levels, and never sees the content of anything you print or scan.
What should I do if I get a meter read request email?
Send us the current meter read so your billing stays on schedule, then contact support@aztecoffice.com so we can get the monitoring software reporting again.
Questions about your invoice?
If anything on your invoice does not match what you expected, email support@aztecoffice.com and we will walk you through it.
