Why small businesses should review their energy bills regularly

Beevo chief executive James Nooney says small businesses need to be regularly reviewing their energy bills in order to avoid being paying more than is necessary, and to make sure they can stay afloat and cash flow positive.

“Bills generally creep up with rate increases, and that’s what’s eating into your bottom line,” Nooney says.

“The energy industry mostly has ‘welcome’ offers and when they run out you often go back onto the normal rates, and suddenly the bottom line is being eaten away. There is little incentive for them to tell you that you’ve gone off the ‘welcome’ offer and this means a business will start paying through the nose.”

While the small fee increases in an energy bill may not seem like a big deal at the time, they can be the difference between a business surviving or going under, Nooney says.

“If the guy at the corner coffee shop makes $1 a latte and charges $4 and we save him $500 on a bill, that’s 500 lattes he has sold – and that’s straight to the bottom line,” he says.

“It’s not $500 of revenue, it’s $500 of net margin.”

But most small business operators don’t have time to look at the fineprint of their energy deal or check on every single bill.

That’s where Beevo can help. The company works to arrange all the essential services that a company needs to run effectively, including energy.

But Nooney says its service extends far beyond just the set-up, with Beevo then providing ongoing account management, making sure they’ve still got the best deals and making sure the suppliers are working for their business. The company has already done the research on energy suppliers and what deal works best for each kind of business, letting business people go back to doing what they do best: running a business.

“Having someone look at your bill and make sure it’s working for you could be the difference between having a good Christmas or having a bad Christmas,” Nooney says.