Do you know the average cost of utilities for commercial buildings is around $2.10 per square foot? It means utility bills of businesses can go up to thousands of dollars. There is no doubt businesses spend a lot on water, energy, and sewage bills. A utility audit is a practice of looking for efficiency improvements, reducing wastage, and checking errors.
If you want to reduce utility bills, you can consult experts like https://www.costanalysts.com/services/utility-auditing/to perform a utility audit and uncover savings. Not all utility audit services are the same, and you need to hire the best utility auditors for maximum savings. To make things easy for you, here are five questions you need to ask before choosing a utility audit service.
1. What Does Your Audit Process Include?
The utility audit general includes
- Waste audit
- Sewage audit
- Energy usage audit
- Water usage audit
Every utility audit listed above covers different aspects. Here is the list of things covered in different utility audits
Energy Usage Audits
The auditing service will check the energy usage of your business. The auditors will check and prevent any energy wastage. For example, they will check computers and other device settings and ensure they are programmed to enter standby mode when not in use. They will ensure the printers and other less-used devices are switched off when not in use.
Water Usage Audit
The auditing service will check for water wastage in your offices. For example, are there any leaking faucets in the canteens, cafeteria, common rooms, and toilets? They will ensure water-saving devices are installed wherever possible to reduce water consumption.
Sewage Audit
The auditing service will analyze your sewage disposal practices and ensure your company follows the right sewage disposal practices.
- The utility auditing service will check all your past 36 months’ bills for errors. They will check your contracts for rates and ensure the service provider has levied the right rates as per agreed contracts. If the auditors find any overcharges or wrong items in the bill, they will communicate their findings to you and the service providers.
- The audit service will also seek a refund of the overcharges and false charges. They will follow up with the service provider and ensure you get the refund as early as possible.
After completing all audits, the auditors will present an analysis of current utility budgetary spending.
2. How Do You Share Your Findings?
The auditing service will share finding reports after completing all utility audits. The report generally mentions the areas where resources are wasted. The auditing service also shows your company areas of savings.
After a brief discussion with clients, the auditing service will develop a cost-saving plan and send it for your approval. After the client’s approval, the auditor decides the implementation schedule as per findings.
3. What Ongoing Services Do You Provide?
The utility audit is not a one-time gig. Most utility auditing service providers will continue to work with your company and analyze current bills. The auditors will continue to analyze utility bills, find overcharges and seek reimbursements from the utility service provider. The auditors might also negotiate with current service providers for better rates.
4. Do You Help In Negotiating New Contracts With Service Providers?
Yes. The auditors will also check the terms and conditions and the cost of the services on the contracts. They will compare the utility service costs with other businesses like yours.
Based on the analysis of current utility contracts, the auditors will look for utility service companies offering better rates. The audit service will hold discussions with other service providers on your behalf and negotiate better rates. The auditors will also overlook the preparation of the contracts and ensure the terms and conditions and rates protect your business interests.
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5. How Much Savings Can Be Realized After Utility Audits?
Every business and its requirements are different. No utility audit service can provide the answer in the first meeting. If a particular utility audit service assures you a certain amount of savings, they are just taking you for a ride. The right utility audit service will take the opportunity to explain the audit process, essential parameters that need to be considered to realize savings.
Some utility audit service providers might show you their list of clients and the amount of money their clients were able to save after a successful utility audit.
To sum up, these are some essential questions you need to ask the utility auditing service before hiring them. The answers to the questions can help you know about their audit processes, way of working, and the amount of savings they can help you realize through utility audits.
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