How to read your water bill
A bill only looks complicated until someone goes through it with you. Here we read it together, box by box: five minutes is enough.
Step by step
The front: who, how much and by when
The first page sums up what matters most: whose name the supply is in, how much there is to pay and by what date. Follow the numbered boxes.
The document you see is a sample: the figures are made up. The document shown is the real one, and it is in Italian: that is the document you have in your hands. Each note tells you what to look for on it. As you scroll, the document stays in view with the active box highlighted; the same notes are also in a list you can open one at a time.
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Box 1: Account number and bill number
Your account number is the number that identifies your supply in our records. This box also carries the bill number, the date it was issued and the period it covers.
On the sheet the account number sits under the heading CODICE UTENTE, the bill number under N. FATTURA. Keep the account number to hand when you call or write to us: it lets us find your record straight away. If you pay by bank transfer you need both, in the payment reference.
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Box 2: Account holder and address
The account holder is the person the supply is registered to. Beside it is the address and the floor of the home the usage refers to.
The two headings read INTESTATARIO FATTURA and UBICAZIONE UTENZA. Have you bought a home, or taken over a tenancy, and the name is not yours? You need a change of account holder: the form is on the forms page.
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Box 3: The rate settings
They show the type of use — domestic or non-domestic — and the number of people recorded as living in the home.
The box is headed PARAMETRI TARIFFARI, and the two items below it USO and COMPONENTI. Where the water is shared out by per-person charging, the number of people changes your share: if it changes, tell us with the form on the forms page. How it works is explained on the water service page.
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Box 4: The summary of the amounts
It is the summary of what you pay: the total for the water, the charges with VAT and any rounding. The last line is the total of the bill.
The box is headed SINTESI IMPORTI FATTURATI and the last line TOTALE FATTURA. The VAT column tells you how each item is treated: ES marks the amounts that are outside VAT, such as the water itself; for the other items the rate applied is shown. The notes attached to the bill explain every abbreviation.
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Box 5: Due date and total to pay
The highlighted band carries the two most important pieces of information on the whole bill: how much to pay, and the date by which to pay it.
The band is labelled SCADENZA and TOTALE DA PAGARE. With direct debit the amount is taken from your account automatically on the due date: no queuing, and nothing to forget. How to set it up is in the residents area.
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Box 6: Customer service and the app
Here you find the phone number, the email address and our website. There are also the QR codes for installing the LIRA — Area Clienti app on your phone.
The box is headed ASSISTENZA CLIENTI. To talk to us, call 051 226693 during our phone hours or write to info@lirabo.com — we answer in Italian. From the app and from the resident portal you can send us your own meter reading and download your bills.
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Box 7: Notes and messages
At the foot of the page there are the instructions for paying, by bank transfer for example. There are also the codes to give your bank to set up direct debit.
The box is headed AVVERTENZE E COMUNICAZIONI. The codes for direct debit are the ones under Codici per addebito bancario SDD CORE RECURRENT. If you pay by bank transfer, write the bill number and your account number in the payment reference: without them your payment is hard to match to your supply.
Box 1: Account number and bill number
Your account number is the number that identifies your supply in our records. This box also carries the bill number, the date it was issued and the period it covers.
On the sheet the account number sits under the heading CODICE UTENTE, the bill number under N. FATTURA. Keep the account number to hand when you call or write to us: it lets us find your record straight away. If you pay by bank transfer you need both, in the payment reference.
Box 2: Account holder and address
The account holder is the person the supply is registered to. Beside it is the address and the floor of the home the usage refers to.
The two headings read INTESTATARIO FATTURA and UBICAZIONE UTENZA. Have you bought a home, or taken over a tenancy, and the name is not yours? You need a change of account holder: the form is on the forms page.
Box 3: The rate settings
They show the type of use — domestic or non-domestic — and the number of people recorded as living in the home.
The box is headed PARAMETRI TARIFFARI, and the two items below it USO and COMPONENTI. Where the water is shared out by per-person charging, the number of people changes your share: if it changes, tell us with the form on the forms page. How it works is explained on the water service page.
Box 4: The summary of the amounts
It is the summary of what you pay: the total for the water, the charges with VAT and any rounding. The last line is the total of the bill.
The box is headed SINTESI IMPORTI FATTURATI and the last line TOTALE FATTURA. The VAT column tells you how each item is treated: ES marks the amounts that are outside VAT, such as the water itself; for the other items the rate applied is shown. The notes attached to the bill explain every abbreviation.
Box 5: Due date and total to pay
The highlighted band carries the two most important pieces of information on the whole bill: how much to pay, and the date by which to pay it.
The band is labelled SCADENZA and TOTALE DA PAGARE. With direct debit the amount is taken from your account automatically on the due date: no queuing, and nothing to forget. How to set it up is in the residents area.
Box 6: Customer service and the app
Here you find the phone number, the email address and our website. There are also the QR codes for installing the LIRA — Area Clienti app on your phone.
The box is headed ASSISTENZA CLIENTI. To talk to us, call 051 226693 during our phone hours or write to info@lirabo.com — we answer in Italian. From the app and from the resident portal you can send us your own meter reading and download your bills.
Box 7: Notes and messages
At the foot of the page there are the instructions for paying, by bank transfer for example. There are also the codes to give your bank to set up direct debit.
The box is headed AVVERTENZE E COMUNICAZIONI. The codes for direct debit are the ones under Codici per addebito bancario SDD CORE RECURRENT. If you pay by bank transfer, write the bill number and your account number in the payment reference: without them your payment is hard to match to your supply.
Step by step
The back: how the amount is worked out
The back explains the sum: how much water you used, from which readings, and at which rates the amount was worked out.
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Box 8: The usage in detail
For each meter you see the previous reading, the current one and the usage in cubic metres. The type of reading tells you whether the figure is a real one or an estimate.
The box is headed DETTAGLIO CONSUMI ACQUA. A reading can be actual (effettiva), taken by our staff; one you send us (autolettura); or estimated (stimata). An estimate is worked out from your past usage, and put right on the next bill as soon as there is a real reading. To pay only for what you actually use, send us your own reading: it takes 2 minutes.
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Box 9: The amounts in detail
Each item shows the rate applied and the cubic metres or the days it is worked out on: water supply, sewerage, treatment, the standing charge and a few small components.
The box is headed DETTAGLIO IMPORTI. The rates are not set by L.I.R.A.: for the water service the body that sets them is ARERA, the authority for energy, networks and the environment. The standing charge covers the cost of the service and is due even when the usage is zero. The hard words are explained in the glossary.
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Box 10: Your usage over time
The chart compares your average daily usage across the recent periods: at a glance you can see whether you are using more or less than usual.
The box is headed STORICO CONSUMI. A sudden rise with no explanation can mean a hidden leak, in a toilet cistern for example. Try the meter check described in the guides to using less: it takes 2 minutes.
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Box 11: Messages about the rates
A few lines explaining the rate components that appear on the bill — for example the one that funds the water allowance for families in difficulty.
The box is headed COMUNICAZIONI TARIFFE, and the Italian name of that allowance is bonus sociale idrico. These items are set by ARERA’s rulings and change rarely. If an abbreviation is not clear to you, call us on 051 226693 and we will read it together — we answer in Italian.
Box 8: The usage in detail
For each meter you see the previous reading, the current one and the usage in cubic metres. The type of reading tells you whether the figure is a real one or an estimate.
The box is headed DETTAGLIO CONSUMI ACQUA. A reading can be actual (effettiva), taken by our staff; one you send us (autolettura); or estimated (stimata). An estimate is worked out from your past usage, and put right on the next bill as soon as there is a real reading. To pay only for what you actually use, send us your own reading: it takes 2 minutes.
Box 9: The amounts in detail
Each item shows the rate applied and the cubic metres or the days it is worked out on: water supply, sewerage, treatment, the standing charge and a few small components.
The box is headed DETTAGLIO IMPORTI. The rates are not set by L.I.R.A.: for the water service the body that sets them is ARERA, the authority for energy, networks and the environment. The standing charge covers the cost of the service and is due even when the usage is zero. The hard words are explained in the glossary.
Box 10: Your usage over time
The chart compares your average daily usage across the recent periods: at a glance you can see whether you are using more or less than usual.
The box is headed STORICO CONSUMI. A sudden rise with no explanation can mean a hidden leak, in a toilet cistern for example. Try the meter check described in the guides to using less: it takes 2 minutes.
Box 11: Messages about the rates
A few lines explaining the rate components that appear on the bill — for example the one that funds the water allowance for families in difficulty.
The box is headed COMUNICAZIONI TARIFFE, and the Italian name of that allowance is bonus sociale idrico. These items are set by ARERA’s rulings and change rarely. If an abbreviation is not clear to you, call us on 051 226693 and we will read it together — we answer in Italian.
Need a hand?
If something does not add up, we will check it together
An item you do not understand, an amount you were not expecting, a reading that looks wrong: call us and we will go through the bill with you. We answer the phone in Italian; if you would rather write, English is fine.
The postal payment slip
The amount, the account it is paid into, the CBILL code: the slip attached to your bill, box by box.
Read the guideFrequently asked questions
Answers to the most common questions about readings, bills, meters and payments.
Read the FAQsGlossary
Meter readings, change of account holder, per-person charging: the words on your bill, explained simply.
Go to the glossary