The Value of a Utility Audit

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The Value of a Utility Audit

Utility costs can deeply impact a building’s bottom line, averaging 20-30% of the total budget. Reducing utility costs and recouping overcharges is essential to staying competitive.

Billing errors, incorrect rate structures, meter billing miscalculations, and operational inefficiencies negatively impact your net profit, and UtiliSave has great success in recovering savings and refund opportunities for clients. We reduce utility costs by as much as 10% within the first 18 months, and our goal is to recover 2% annually on an on-going basis. Our continuing monthly review of utility data produces continuous results year after year. We are dedicated to securing lost revenue and increasing savings, all with no risk or time commitment from you.

Common Misconceptions

“We already handle this internally.”
When you engage UtiliSave, any additional savings uncovered are true value added. We review your accounts at no out of pocket cost, so you only stand to gain. In addition, we find that many in-house teams do not have the time or expertise to review utility billings and extensively research the relevant tax and tariff matters. UtiliSave has over 30 years of experience analyzing complex data sets with our robust proprietary software to secure refunds and pin-point recovery opportunities for continuous savings year after year. We perform intricate tariff and contract review to find discrepancies and the best rate option. Optimizing utility data is not an easy task, but it is UtiliSave’s sole focus and specialty. Without the adequate knowledge and expertise, money will be left on the table.

“We are or already have had a utility bill audit done externally.”
That does not diminish our interest in your engagement! UtiliSave’s utility data analysis is unparalleled in the industry, and we prove this by securing more savings and refunds for our clients than any other firm, marching strong towards $1 billion in uncovered revenue. Time and time again, UtiliSave finds additional savings for clients who had already performed a previous utility bill audit. Our trailing audits have uncovered tens of millions of dollars in missed refund opportunities by other auditors.

“I do not have the time to handle this initiative.”
Our work is truly mission critical. Did you know there is a statute of limitations on each billing issue? The longer you wait, the more refunds and savings opportunities become unavailable to be claimed. Our process is designed to be the least intrusive to you and your team. After acquiring nominal information upfront, we are able to undertake our analyses with no additional time commitment from you.

“Your fee seems too high.”
Our contingency fee is 40%. This fee is uniform for all clients, from smaller clients to large clients with utility spends of $500 million or more. Many other auditing firms that charge less often do not perform the level of extensive data dives as we do, cannot provide continuous results, and are not willing to undertake the administrative adjudication processes that we do. With UtiliSave, there is no upfront cost or advanced payments. We are not compensated unless we find savings. Even if we engage outside counsel or engineers, UtiliSave shoulders these costs until we are successful.

“Our Bill-Pay Consultant or Procurement Consultant is looking at the bills.”
Typically, the scope of work undertaken by a Bill-Pay or Procurement Consultant are cursory and limited to an analysis of the most current bill. In contrast, deep data dives are a hallmark of the UtiliSave audit, and we are able to identify billing irregularities in both historical and current utility bills. We perform continuous tariff and contract reviews to secure the best rate options for our clients.

“I need to have total control of all aspects of our utility expenses”
Our process is designed for the client’s benefit and to recoup savings and refunds. It is also designed to be the least intrusive to you and your team. We only have an interest in implementing issues that ultimately result in savings, and will not make any major changes to your accounts without notifying you.

“We don’t like contingency fee arrangements.”
Our contingency fee basis speaks volumes to our invested interest in achieving maximum refunds and savings. The client is not expected to pay unless we uncover money. We adopted this fee structure because we want our clients to be assured that our services are provided at no out-of-pocket cost to them. However, if a contingency fee is not suitable to your methods of business, we are open to arranging a fixed fee. You can discuss this further with your sales professional.

“We have a good relationship with the public utilities and do not want to tarnish that.”
Not only do we personally maintain a strong relationship with our utilities, but we are consistently engaged by companies who are on great terms with their utilities as well. Much of our work benefits the utility company, as we often help clients pay bills on a timely basis and help resolve issues with delinquent accounts. While we are fierce advocates for our clients, we have a reputation of being fair in the claims we bring to the utilities. A strong relationship with utility companies helps us achieve better results with our clients.

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