EZ ReadIt Gold Software

Overview
The EZ ReadIt Gold software package is used for both data logging of EZ Meter Plus and Plus IO meters as well as tenant billing. It can also be used for tenant billing with meters you have to read manually. The program is written in Microsoft Access and Visual Basic. All the Access source code is included in the distribution package so you can modify it for your specific needs.

A CD-ROM with the latest version of the program is included with Plus and Plus IO meters. It may also be downloaded from this website by clicking one of the links below. Update CDs can be ordered for $30.00 list in the Accessories list box in the online store.


Tenant Billing
The program can be used with the automatic reading system meters for totally automated billing or it can be used with manually read meters to prepare invoices.  Multiple rates can be entered and applied separately to individual tenants.  The rates can include minimum charges, a fixed fee, and different rates based on the number of kilowatt hours used.  The program also supports a single fixed charge for each tenant, usually rent.  The program does not handle time of use billing or demand billing. Caution: The program does not support separate customers for one or more of the pulse output meters that are connected to a Plus IO meter.


Data Logging
The program can be configured to read the meters on whatever schedule the user desires with the data logged in the Access database.   There are some reports built into the program plus the user can either use the Access Report Writer feature to create a custom report, or export the data to Microsoft Excel or another spreadsheet program.  There is also a stand-alone program that you can use with Windows Scheduler to read whatever meters you select on any time schedule that you can configure Scheduler to do.


Remote Control
The user can easily view the status of the input ports and turn the output ports on or off. 


System Requirements
EZ ReadIt Gold requires Windows 98 or later (see note below about Vista), and Microsoft Access 2000 or later.  A runtime version of Access is available for download, however not all the features of the program are available with the runtime only version.  We have received several reports from users who were not able to make the runtime version work on their computers.   

Windows Vista Warning.   We tried to install EZReadIt Gold on a brand new Windows Vista Home Premium computer and the install failed. We also tried to connect the new computer to our existing network of Windows XP machines. It was not able to see anything in the workgroup. Computers in the workgroup could see the name of the Vista machine but not any of the shared files. Since this was a borrowed computer and we were totally unimpressed, we have decided not to make an immediate effort to make EZReadIt work on Vista. The lack of connectivity to our network makes us believe that it will be several years before Vista is widely used in the business community and we hope that Microsoft will be able to improve its new product so that it will support the software written in some of its earlier products. That said, we do not want to discourage you from trying to run the Access database if you have the full version of the new Access program. Please let us know if you get it to work.

Software Manual
Click here to view the software manual.


Third Party Software Interface
The communication server that reads and sets the meters is a Microsoft Active-X object that can be accessed by data logging or property management software written by other venders. It can also be used with Microsoft Excel or any other Active-X compliant program.  Click here for interface details.

The program is also capable of reading all the meters and writing a text file with the meter location, the last kwh reading, and the date and time of the last reading. The text file can be read by other programs and the data imported into the other program.

Free Downloads
Click on one of the links below, then save the file to your hard disk.  Then extract the files and run the Setup program.  Complete details are in the help file.

The Runtime zipped file includes Internet Explorer 5.0 which you probably do not want.  The self extracting EXE file does not include Internet Explorer.