Method and apparatus for pricing calculation

A method comprising:nreceiving billing data, whereinnthe billing data is obtained from a bill for a service,the service is utilized by a user, andthe billing data comprises information regardingna provider of the service,a location of the service, anda total bill amount of a single billing period for the service;annualizing the service usage by converting the total bill amount into an annualized billing amount, whereinnthe annualizing the service usage is performed over all billing periods in a year, the converting comprisesncalculating the annualized billing amount by adjusting the total bill amount using a statistically-determined multiplier,the statistically-determined multiplier is an inverse of a ratio,the ratio represents a statistical relationship betweenna plurality of bill amounts, anda plurality of annual bill amounts,each of the bill amounts is for utilization of the service by a corresponding one of a plurality of other users during the single billing period,each of the annual bill amounts is for utilization of the service by the corresponding one of the other users during all billing periods in a year,the service utilized by each of the other users is in a geographical region comprising the location of the service, andthe each of the other users is other than the user;determining a usage pattern, whereinnthe determining uses the annualized billing amount;calculating a competitive bid, whereinnthe competitive bid is calculated usingnthe usage pattern, anda pricing structure of the provider; andgenerating an administrative report, whereinnthe administrative report comprises a value representing a number of other users having changed from a previous provider to a current provider, andthe administrative report comprises a listing of the previous provider and the current provider for each of the other users.

An apparatus comprising:na user interface, whereinnthe user interface is configured to receive billing data,the billing data is obtained from a bill for a service,the service is utilized by a user, andthe billing data comprisesna location of the service,information of a provider of the service, anda total bill amount of a single billing period for the service;an annualized bill calculator, whereinnthe annualized bill calculator is configured to annualize the service usage by virtue of being configured to convert the total bill amount into an annualized billing amount,the service usage is annualized over all billing periods in a year,the annualized bill calculator is configured to convert the total bill amount into the annualized billing amount by virtue of being configured to adjust the total bill amount using a statistically-determined multiplier,the statistically-determined multiplier is an inverse of a ratio,the ratio represents a statistical relationship betweenna plurality of bill amounts, anda plurality of annual bill amounts,each of the bill amounts is for utilization of the service by a corresponding one of a plurality of other users during the single billing period,each of the annual bill amounts is for utilization of the service by the corresponding one of the other users during all billing periods in a year,the service utilized by each of the other users is in a geographical region comprising the location of the service, andthe each of the other users is other than the user;an annual use calculator, whereinnthe annual use calculator is configured to calculate a usage pattern based on the annualized billing amount;a rate calculator, whereinnthe rate calculator is configured to calculate a competitive bid, andthe competitive bid is calculated usingnthe usage pattern, anda pricing structure of the provider; andan administrative report generator, whereinnthe administrative report generator is configured to output an administrative report,the administrative report comprises a value representing a number of other users having changed from a previous provider to a current provider, andthe administrative report comprises a listing of the previous provider and the current provider for each of the other users.

An apparatus comprising:na pricing engine, wherein the pricing engine is configured to calculate a plurality of competitive bids by virtue of being configured to use:nbilling information, whereinnthe billing information is received from the customer for a service utilized by the customer, andthe billing information comprisesna location of the service,information of a provider of the service, anda total bill amount of a single billing period for the service,an annualized billing amount, whereinnthe annualized billing amount is calculated by converting the total bill amount,the annualized billing amount is calculated over all billing periods in a year,the annualized billing amount is calculated by adjusting the total bill amount using a statistically-determined multiplier,the statistically-determined multiplier an inverse of a ratio,the ratio represents a statistical relationship betweenna plurality of bill amounts, anda plurality of annual bill amounts,each of the bill amounts is for utilization of the service by a corresponding one of a plurality of other users during the single billing period,each of the annual bill amounts is for utilization of the service by the corresponding one of the other users during all billing periods in a year,the service utilized by each of the other users is in a geographical region comprising the location of the service, andthe each of the other users is other than the user,a usage pattern, wherein the usage pattern is calculated based on the annualized billing amount, anda competitive bid calculated for the customer based on the usage pattern and a pricing structure of the provider;a web interface, whereinnthe web interface is configured to provide the customer with access to the pricing engine, andthe web interface is configured to permit entry of the billing information by the customer;a call center interface, whereinnthe call center interface is configured to provide a customer service representative with access to the pricing engine, andthe access is provided such that the customer receives identical information from the customer service representative and the web interface; andan administrative interface, whereinnthe administrative interface is configured to provide an administrative report,the administrative report comprises a value representing a number of other users having changed from a previous provider to a current provider, andthe administrative report comprises a listing of the previous provider and the current provider for each of the other users.