OptiBill — Case Study | Aasif Shaikh · Lead AI Product Designer

My Role

Founder · Product Designer · User Research Lead

Duration

2025 → Ongoing

AI Stack

OCR · Gemini LLM · MSEDCL Data API

Business Model

20% of recovered amount only

Live Product

optibill.in · Maharashtra

The Founding Story

I waited 2 hours.
Paid ₹1,200 in travel.
Took a day off work.

For a billing dispute that should have taken five minutes. The government office had one system. One person who could fix it. And zero incentive to make it easy for me to fight back.

I got the money back eventually. But I kept thinking — how many business owners just give up? Factory owners. Shop owners. People running on thin margins, getting billed twice what they owe, with no way to know and no time to fight it.

So I started asking them directly. 28 interviews across factories, showrooms, and manufacturing units in Pune. The anger I found was real — and the financial stakes were enormous.

💡

The real insight wasn't the billing errors. It was the silence around them.

Nobody talks about it. Businesses assume their bill is correct. MSEDCL has no obligation to tell you when you're overpaying. The overcharging is invisible by design — buried in tariff complexity most engineers don't understand.

What I discovered in 28 interviews

"I've been paying this penalty for 9 months. I had no idea."

⚡

Power Factor penalties

If your PF drops below 0.90, MSEDCL silently charges 2–8% surcharge on every bill. Old motors and AC units are the usual culprits.

📊

Max Demand breaches

Peak demand exceeds sanctioned load in a 30-minute window? Double rate on the excess. A busy Monday morning can cost ₹50,000.

🕐

Time-of-Day premiums

MSEDCL charges 20–40% more between 06:00–09:00 and 18:00–22:00. Factories running evening shifts pay this every month.

⚠️

Maximum penalty seen in research

A large cold storage unit with 3 meters was overpaying ₹3.2L per year. All three causes. None flagged by MSEDCL.

User Research

28 interviews.
3 clear user types.

28

User Interviews

Factories, showrooms, shops, cold storage, manufacturing units across Pune

94%

Didn't know their PF

Even engineers who managed factory operations had never checked their power factor

₹5L

Max annual penalty seen

Large industrial consumers with multiple meters — overpaying silently for years

Pain · Factory owners

"I get a 40-page bill. I don't have time to decode it. I just pay it."

Ops Head · Manufacturing unit · 500 kVA load

Pain · Shop owners

"I went to complain once. They sent me to three different counters. I gave up."

Owner · Lighting showroom · Kothrud, Pune

Desire · All segments

"Just tell me what's wrong and fix it. I don't want to understand tariff schedules."

Plant Manager · Cold storage · 3 connections

Trust concern · Universal

"Who does the filing? I don't want to go to any office or sign anything physically."

Operations Director · Private cold storage

RP

Rajesh Patil

Operations Manager · Kulkarni Castings · 500 kVA · 3 meters

Discovered ₹1.8L in penalties after 9 months. "Nobody told me my PF was wrong. The system is designed to keep me confused."

Multi-meter user High penalty risk

SN

Priya Deshmukh

Director · Commercial Realty Office · LT-II Large

Office building with PF issues for over a year — nobody knew. "We identified it the same day we approved. No visits, no paperwork, just results."

Single meter Time-poor

VM

Santosh Patade

Managing Director · Private Cold Storage · 3 connections

₹3.2L in annual penalties across 3 connections. "OptiBill audited all in one go. Fast, clean dashboard, professional team."

Enterprise user Max risk

Product Screens

Every screen earns trust
before asking for action.

Screen 01 · Marketing Site

Free Refund Estimator first. Email form never.

Research showed factory owners abandon any form that asks for contact info upfront. The landing page opens with a live calculator — enter your monthly bill and business type, get an instant estimate of what MSEDCL may be overcharging you. Zero friction entry.

🧮

Calculator before contact form

Every interview said the same thing: "Show me the money first." The estimator is the first interaction — no email, no phone, no commitment.

⚡

₹0 upfront — pay only on recovery

The business model removes the biggest objection. The CTA isn't "buy" — it's "start free audit." Trust is built before money is mentioned.

optibill.in

● Live

⚡ MSEDCL / MAHAVITARAN SPECIALISTS

Stop losing money
on your electricity bill

OptiBill's AI audits your MSEDCL bills in under 5 minutes — identifying Power Factor penalties, Max Demand breaches and ToD overcharges. We file the grievance. You recover what's yours.

✓ Zero upfront cost ✓ AI audit in minutes ✓ Pay only on recovery ✓ Maharashtra only

⚡ Free Refund Estimator

How much is MSEDCL overcharging you?

Your average monthly electricity bill

₹ 48000

Connection / business type

Showroom / Office / Hotel (LT-II Large)

Estimated monthly leakage

₹5,280

Based on avg MSEDCL penalty data for your tariff

Annual overpayment:
₹63,360/yr

Your net recovery:
₹50,688/yr

94%

Audit success rate

14d

Avg resolution time

₹0

Upfront cost

20%

Success fee only

Screen 02 · Upload Flow

PDF upload or phone camera — both paths, zero friction.

Factory owners don't scan documents. Many photograph their bills on a flat surface with their phone. The upload flow supports both paths equally — drag & drop PDF or open camera directly. The AI processes up to 6 months of bills simultaneously, showing a live extraction progress with confidence score before revealing results.

📱

Camera capture as first-class input

Research showed that most industrial users keep physical bills. Adding a direct camera path with guidance (good light, flat surface, CN visible) removed the biggest barrier to entry.

🔢

Show confidence score before results

94% AI confidence shown before the leakage breakdown builds trust in the output. Users feel they are approving a verified finding — not blindly accepting a machine's output.

optibill.in/app — Step 2: Upload Bills

● Live

1 · Sign In

2 · Upload Bills

3 · Review Audit

4 · Approve & File

5 · Track Recovery

⚡ FREE TARIFF AUDIT — No credit card required

Let AI find your
electricity leakages

Upload or photograph your last 6 months of MSEDCL bills. AI extracts kVA demand, power factor, and Time-of-Day data in seconds.

📁 Upload PDF / Image
Browse files from device

📸 Take Photo
Phone camera or webcam

📄

Drag & Drop your MSEDCL Bills

Drop PDF/JPG here or click · PDF, JPG or PNG · HT-I Continuous

✓ Dec '24 ✓ Jan '25 ✓ Feb '25 ✓ Mar '25 ✓ Apr '25 ✓ May '25

✓ Extraction complete — 6 bills processed · All data verified at 94% confidence

94%

Consumer No.

271234567890

Recent Month

May 2025

Total kVA

₹3,18,700

Max Demand

562 kVA

Avg Power Factor

0.86

Peak Units

4,800 kWh

AI Confidence

6 bills analysed · Leakages found

⚡ 94% Confidence

Monthly Leakage

₹42,500

PF Penalty

₹18,400

MD Breach

₹15,000

ToD Premium

₹9,100

Screen 03 · Executive Dashboard

The busiest factory manager. 30 seconds. Full picture.

Research showed the primary user has 30 other problems and zero patience for financial dashboards. The dashboard is designed around a single scan from top to bottom: leakage amount → three causes → billing trend → recovery status → one-click action. No charts that require interpretation.

👁

Leakage in rupees, not percentage

"13% of bill" means nothing to a factory owner. "₹5,613 per month" is an immediate, visceral number. Every metric is in absolute ₹ values, not ratios.

📋

Recommendations as decisions, not suggestions

Each recommendation shows ₹/month saved with a specific, actionable fix. Not "consider reviewing your load profile" — "Install APFC Panel: ₹15,400/month saved, ROI 8 months."

optibill.in/app — Executive Insight Dashboard

● Live

⚡

OptiBill

Dashboard

Invoices

Grievances

Pay Fees

BP

▲ Total Leakage · May 2025

Your factory is overpaying MSEDCL every cycle.
Three rectifiable causes identified by AI.

₹5,613/month

Your Recoverable Amount: ₹34,000

13%

of total bill

Invoice Summary

Total Bill Raised₹3,18,700

Optimal Bill (Est.)₹2,76,200

Penalty Overage₹42,500

Savings Potential13%

AVG PF

0.86

PEAK MD

562 kVA

SANCTIONED

500 kVA

PEAK kWh

4,800

⚡

43%

Power Factor Penalty

₹18,400

PF at 0.86 → 4% surcharge on demand charges

📊

35%

Max Demand Breach

₹15,000

Crossed 500 kVA — double rate on 62 kVA excess

🕐

21%

Peak-Hour Premium (ToD)

₹9,100

Heavy usage 1800–2200 hrs → Zone A ToD rate

8-Month Billing Analysis — What You Paid vs. Optimal Bill 8-Month Overpayment: ₹2,22,800 Avg Monthly: ₹37,133

Billed

Optimal

Gain-Share Pipeline Filed @ IGRC →

✓

Audit Verified

₹42,500 confirmed · Apr 28, 2026

Done

✓

Grievance Filed

IGRC-PUN-2026-0483 · May 2, 2026

Done

●

Board Review

MSEDCL Cell, Pune · Ongoing

Active

○

Credit Applied

₹34,000 on next bill · Est. Aug 15

Pending

Claim Breakdown

Total Claim₹42,500

OptiBill (20%)₹8,500

Your Recovery₹34,000

⚡

Install APFC Panel

₹15,400/mo saved

📊

Demand Side Mgmt

₹15,000/mo saved

🌙

Night Shift Loading

₹9,100/mo saved

⚖

Manage Grievances

View Kanban →

Screen 04 · Grievance Tracker

Kanban for IGRC filings. Factory owners already know Kanban.

Manufacturing and industrial users work with production boards. The grievance tracker is a Kanban — Drafted → Filed → Under Review → Credit Applied. Each card shows the claim amount, penalty breakdown tags, and days elapsed. No legal language. No jargon.

📋

No legal jargon in the UI

IGRC (Integrated Grievance Redressal Cell) appears only in the reference ID, not in any user-facing label. Every status is plain English: Drafted, Filed, Under Review, Done.

💰

Total recovery always visible

The bottom row shows total recoveries vs OptiBill fee across all grievances. Transparency at every step — the user always knows exactly what they'll receive vs what OptiBill earns.

optibill.in/app — Grievance Tracker · Track IGRC filings

● Live

Drafted

1

IGRC-PUN-2025-0482

Apr 2025

Bharat Steel

₹38,200

Fee: ₹7,640

PF PENALTY TOD

Awaiting approval

Filed @ IGRC

2

IGRC-PUN-2025-0452

Apr 2025

Bharat Steel

₹42,500

Fee: ₹8,500

PF MD BREACH TOD

Filed May 3

IGRC-PUN-2025-0502

Mar 2025

Bharat Steel

₹31,600

Fee: ₹6,320

MD BREACH

Filed Mar 10

Under Review

1

IGRC-PUN-2025-0501

Feb 2025

Bharat Steel

₹27,800

Fee: ₹5,560

PF PENALTY

Day 22/45

Credit Applied

1

IGRC-PUN-2024-0934

Nov 2024

Bharat Steel

₹68,000

Fee: ₹13,600

ALL PILLARS

✓ Closed · 64 days

Total Recoveries for Client (80%)

₹1,71,200

OptiBill Fee (20%)

₹42,800

Screen 05 · Grievance Detail + Multi-Meter View

Complete breakdown on one card. Four meters, one dashboard.

The grievance detail modal shows exactly how the claim breaks down across PF Penalty, MD Breach, and ToD Premium — with the exact IGRC docket number and MSEDCL reference. The meters view handles the industrial reality: factories often have 3–7 separate connections, each with its own PF and demand profile.

🏭

Multi-meter design from day one

Research showed 60% of factory users have more than one MSEDCL connection. The meter management screen allows each connection to be tracked independently — PF, peak demand, billing cycle — while appearing in one unified view.

Grievance Detail Modal

Meters — HT Connections

HT Connections

3 active meters · Bharat Steel & Alloys

🔵 Main Plant — Block A

ACTIVE

27123456789

HT-I Continuous · Sanctioned 500 kVA

0.86

Avg PF

562 kVA

Peak MD

View Bills

Live Data

🔵 Warehouse — Block B

ACTIVE

37123456789

HT-I Continuous · Sanctioned 250 kVA

0.91

Avg PF

240 kVA

Peak MD

View Bills

Live Data

⚫ Admin Building

INACTIVE

47123456789

HT-0 · Sanctioned 100 kVA

0.94

Avg PF

88 kVA

Peak MD

View Bills

Live Data

Screen 06 · Pay OptiBill Fees

Success fee only after credit appears on your bill.

The payment screen is the moment of truth for the business model. It shows the client's recovered amount prominently before the fee. Payment is only triggered after MSEDCL credits the account. The design makes the math undeniable — and the trust explicit.

💳

UPI first, NEFT as fallback

Manufacturing unit owners pay via UPI or direct bank transfer — not cards. The payment methods match exactly how this segment already transfers money in their business operations.

optibill.in/app — Pay OptiBill Fees · Gain-Share Settlement

● Live

₹13,600

Fees Outstanding

₹54,400

Client Recovered

1

Awaiting Payment

₹0

Overdue

Pending Fee Items

✓

IGRC-PUN-2024-0934 Billable

Nov 2024 · Credit of ₹68,000 applied on Dec bill · 80% of ₹68,000 credited

₹13,600

Overdue

IGRC-PUN-2025-0482 Pending Credit

May 2025 · Under board review · Payable after credit is applied

₹8,500

Not yet due

Payment History

✓

IGRC-PUN-2023-07124

Paid via UPI · Mar 2024

₹6,200 ✓

✓

IGRC-PUN-2023-05081

Paid via NEFT · Oct 2023

₹4,800 ✓

Payment Method

📱

UPI

GPay, PhonePe, Paytm

🏦

NEFT / RTGS

Bank transfer

A payment request will be sent to your UPI app

Payment Summary

Grievance #G2024-001₹13,600

GST (18%)₹2,448

Total Payable₹16,048

You will receive a receipt on WhatsApp + email

Outcomes & Learnings

What shipping as the founder teaches you.

₹7.8k

First recovery proof

Friend's lighting showroom. Used as the opening proof of concept for every sales conversation that followed.

28

User interviews conducted

Before a single line of code was written for the app. Research-first, always.

94%

AI audit success rate

OCR + Gemini LLM identifying PF, MD, and ToD issues across MSEDCL's complex tariff structures.

Designing for people who don't trust AI yet

Factory owners in industrial Pune are not early adopters. Trust is built through transparency — showing the source data, the confidence score, and the exact calculation before asking for approval. The AI does the extraction; the human stays in control of the decision.

The business model is a design decision

20% success fee, nothing upfront — this isn't just pricing strategy. It changes the entire user psychology. Every screen that says "pay only on recovery" reduces abandonment. The model and the UX are the same thing.

When you're the user, you design differently

I knew exactly what the government office queue felt like. That frustration informed every design decision — from the zero-friction estimator to the one-click IGRC filing. Being the primary persona isn't a limitation. It's a superpower.

Agentic AI → human review → trust loop

The most important screen in the app isn't the dashboard. It's the approval gate before filing. The moment where the user reviews the AI's finding and clicks "approve" — that's where trust is built or broken. Every product with AI decisions has this moment. Design it deliberately.

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