A natural gas metering system configured to participate as a processing unit of a plurality of control systems, the natural gas metering system comprising: a processor; a memory coupled to the processor; and a communication port coupled to the processor, the communication port configured to couple to a backbone communication network of a first control system of a first manufacturer and a second control system of a second manufacturer, different than the first manufacturer; wherein the memory stores programs that, when executed by the processor, cause the processor to selectively: participate, over the communication port, as a processing unit of the first control system, the first control system implementing a first proprietary communication protocol between processing units; participate, over the communication port, as a processing unit of the second control system, the second control system implementing a second proprietary communication protocol between processing units, and the second proprietary communication protocol is different than the first proprietary communication protocol; and conform to metrological audit requirements by at least one of performing a prover alignment, performing a prover de-alignment, regulating flow to achieve flow through two or more flow meters to be within a predetermined range, and recording all changes to parameters related to hydrocarbon metering. a processor; a memory coupled to the processor; and a communication port coupled to the processor, the communication port configured to couple to a backbone communication network of a first control system of a first manufacturer and a second control system of a second manufacturer, different than the first manufacturer; wherein the memory stores programs that, when executed by the processor, cause the processor to selectively: participate, over the communication port, as a processing unit of the first control system, the first control system implementing a first proprietary communication protocol between processing units; participate, over the communication port, as a processing unit of the second control system, the second control system implementing a second proprietary communication protocol between processing units, and the second proprietary communication protocol is different than the first proprietary communication protocol; and conform to metrological audit requirements by at least one of performing a prover alignment, performing a prover de-alignment, regulating flow to achieve flow through two or more flow meters to be within a predetermined range, and recording all changes to parameters related to hydrocarbon metering. participate, over the communication port, as a processing unit of the first control system, the first control system implementing a first proprietary communication protocol between processing units; participate, over the communication port, as a processing unit of the second control system, the second control system implementing a second proprietary communication protocol between processing units, and the second proprietary communication protocol is different than the first proprietary communication protocol; and conform to metrological audit requirements by at least one of performing a prover alignment, performing a prover de-alignment, regulating flow to achieve flow through two or more flow meters to be within a predetermined range, and recording all changes to parameters related to hydrocarbon metering.