Our Business Water Services
We compare the water market on your behalf and check that the bill you are already paying is correct. The second of those is usually where the money turns out to be.
Since the non-household market opened in April 2017 you can buy water from any licensed retailer in England. Scotland has had that choice since 2008. We tender your supply across our selected supplier panel, but we also run a historical audit of your billing, because water bills go wrong quietly and nobody checks them. Where we find you have been overcharged, that money can often be recovered and backdated. If you run several sites we can bring them onto one retailer and one bill, which makes the invoices far easier to check.
We do not stop at the switch. Every bill you receive afterwards is checked against the tariff you actually agreed, so a wrong charge is caught in the quarter it appears rather than years later. Your validated invoice data feeds our reporting platform, so consumption and spend across every site sit in one place.
Compare business water suppliers and cut your water rates
Since the water market deregulated in April 2017, businesses in England can choose their water retailer instead of staying with the regional default. Most never have, which means many companies are still on default business water rates they were moved onto automatically.
We compare business water suppliers from our selected panel, benchmark your current rates and handle the switch if there is a saving worth having. You send us a recent water bill and we do the rest. The review is free and there is no obligation.
Where we tend to find the most savings:
- Default out-of-contract rates that were never negotiated.
- Standing and meter charges that do not match the site.
- Billing errors on estimated reads, especially across multiple sites.
- Surface water drainage and trade effluent charges you may not owe.
The water itself does not change. The same wholesaler supplies it through the same pipes. What changes when you compare business water suppliers and switch is the rate, the billing quality and the service.
Our Business Water Services
Water Bill Analysis
Think you have an error on your business water bills, or not convinced the charging plan is correct. We can audit both the cost and tariff structure for any potential cost recovery.
Retrospective Invoice Recovery
We conduct an historical water audit looking for billing and tariff errors with the view of unlocking and recovering billing overspend.
Water Procurement
With our digital approach to water procurement it is easy to benefit from a range of tailored options and transform the way that you manage your water utility life cycle.
Business Water Audit
We provide a range of water audits from simple desk top surveys to more detailed on site surveys to help identify potential reduction solutions.
Invoice Validation
Our EaaSi energy spend management platform automates the collection of invoices for validation and financial reporting. The customer facing software then provides powerful analytics and financial budgets and performance.
Smart Water Meters
Water metering is often overlooked, but it is possible to capture water consumption in the same way as power and gas. Our metering solution allows you to capture consumption and help detect and avoid water leaks.
Water Service Provider
Our end to end water services covers all requirements from retrospective cost recovery, tariff analysis, water efficiencies and water procurement solutions. Our water procurement service makes it simple to switch water supplier by handling the whole process on your behalf, from finding you the best price to managing the whole changeover process.
Our customers are now benefiting from the new deregulated and open commercial water market, and any competition between water suppliers means increased choice and lower rates for end users.
Couple this with proactive management of your business water supply and the savings really start to stack up. Ongoing checking of your invoices also provides peace of mind and our full validation solution provides a range of additional reports to help with your budget analysis requirements.
Business Water Audit
Our intelligent business water audit service is a free of charge solution available for any type of business premises. If you are concerned about water consumption and costs, then a historical audit is the best place to start. Not only will this identify savings potential immediately, but it will provide, in many cases, a cash rebate from your water company which can be used to offset other utility costs or to further fund other water saving initiatives.
In order for us to perform our business water audit service all we need is a recent copy bill for each water meter on your premises and brief summary of how you use water within your business. Our experienced water consultants will then carry out a comprehensive audit of all the component charges on your bills that make up the total charges, taking into account staff populations and water facilities on site.
Commercial Water Health Check Report
Once complete we will return a no obligation report back to you indicating our findings. This could simply be a health check on your business water services, that at the moment your charges and consumption levels are correct, and we would just recommend monitoring your costs in the future for any significant changes.
Or we could identify incorrect or erroneous charges on your account that we will then recover on your behalf. In extreme cases we would also recommend an on-site survey to further establish evidence that will support our claim or to identify potential areas of water waste that can be easily rectified on site. This could be anything from simply controlling water use more effectively or something more dramatic such as hidden water leak detection solutions.
All types of billing anomalies (duplication, over-estimation of accounts, overcharges)
Investigation, of all fixed charges applied, Verification, of allowances available, Validation, of Surface Water Drainage charges, Assessment, of consumption, Identification, of possible leak/shared supply, Confirmation, of appropriate meter sizing, water meter audit, Investigation, of Trade Effluent consents and Potential, for water efficiency measures and/or rainwater harvesting.
Upon completion of the analysis a full report detailing the opportunities available to the customer, both financial and environmental and advice on how to proceed will be provided and our historical audit is entirely free and without obligation.
Ongoing Invoice Validation
Ongoing checking of your invoices also provides peace of mind and our full validation solution provides a range of additional reports to help with your budget analysis requirements. Continual reviewing of bills allows us to benchmark usage and spot leaks when they happen meaning wastage is kept to a minimum as well as the associated costs. We can also optimise new tariffs when they are released as well as other vital pricing points.
Water Procurement
Our water procurement service makes it simple to switch water supplier by handling the whole process on your behalf, from finding you the best price to managing the whole changeover process. Our customers are now benefitting from the new deregulated and open commercial water market, and any competition between water suppliers means increased choice and lower rates for end users.
However, it is not just lower rates that have customers switching supplier, you can now consolidate all your bills under one supplier making processing bills faster and understanding them easier.
You will still receive the same water, and nothing changes with your physical supply. Switching takes around 3-4 weeks to complete so you could be seeing savings from next month.
Business Water Fact Sheets
Water Audit
Invoice Validation
Water Switching
Site Works
Retrospective Water Audit
Before any water reduction work commences it is vitally important to confirm that your charges currently levied by your water company are valid for the supply in existence at your premises. Time and time again through our business water audit we identify an amazing array of issues with commercial water bills with some charges levied accidentally for months and even years. The other main issue that we see often is failure to identify the time periods that the bills actually cover.
As it’s not unusual for a water company to bill in advance and historically at the same time and this makes it extremely difficult to keep track of your payments and accrue funds for future expected payments.
Typically, one in three sites will reveal a savings opportunity through business water audit and analysis alone with savings varying from 12-45% of annual water expenditure. An additional onsite business water audit can reveal even greater savings and retrospective rebate opportunities in line with the Statute of Limitations.
Water Leak Detection Services
Following our initial desktop business water audit of your billing information we can quickly move to identify water leaks on your premises on your side of the water meter. This can be achieved either through our initial analysis or through an on-site water leak survey, which can lead to significant and immediate savings in a company’s water bill. We can also advise you on additional low-cost measures to help further reduce water consumption for your business. There are various techniques for detecting water leaks on your site and the most suitable method of detecting water leaks is dependent on the site conditions.
Electronic listening equipment amplifies the sound given off by a water leak, our team use their years of experience and expertise to accurately pinpoint the leak and mark off in order for repairs, to be swiftly completed by our repair team.
This clever piece of kit uses two sensors placed at each end of the suspected water leakage area. It is then calibrated according to supply pipe size, material and distance between the two sensors. Placed on the water supply pipe or valves the system will then locate the noise made by the leaking water and visually display the water leak on the screen calculating the exact point of the water leak. Our team then mark the point of the leak for repair by our team.
In some instances according to site and ground conditions we have to inject gas (95% nitrogen 5% hydrogen) into the mains water, upon completion a sensitive gas detector is then passed over the leaking water main and as the gas escapes from the water leak area the detector registers the leaking gas, we then mark down the leak area for our repair team.
In some instances the client may not have drawings of the underground water mains, in which case we carry water pipe tracing equipment for both plastic and metal.
Upon completion of our water leak detection survey, a full report containing specification and the cost of repairs will be sent for your review. We will in most instances quantify the expected water loss and report the expected monetary waste value. Once approved we will arrange excavation, repair and reinstate all surfaces disturbed to rectify your leakage issues.
Water Smart Meters
Now that we have measured and controlled your business water consumption we would recommend some form of monitoring to measure any potential future anomalies in your consumption patterns. We can achieve this through the use of a smart water meter, data logging equipment or real time monitoring as accurate as every 5-seconds.
We monitor your water consumption and provide remote water meter reading at strategic points on site. This information is fed back into our web-based reporting service so that leaks & other unusual water consumption can be immediately identified online and in real time if required.
Case Studies
How many water companies are there in the UK?
there were numerous water companies operating in the UK. The water industry in the UK is privatised and regulated by bodies such as Ofwat (the Water Services Regulation Authority). The exact number of water companies may vary due to mergers, acquisitions, and changes in the industry landscape. However, generally, there are several major water and wastewater companies, including but not limited to: Severn Trent Water, Thames Water, Anglian Water, United Utilities, Yorkshire Water, South West Water, Northumbrian Water, Scottish Water (operating in Scotland)
Is there VAT on business water bills?
Value Added Tax (VAT) on business water bills in the UK can vary depending on the circumstances and the type of business. VAT is generally not charged on water supplied for domestic or non-business use, but it is typically applicable to water supplied for commercial or business purposes.
What are business water rates based on?
Business water rates depend on your regional wholesaler, how much water you use, your meter and site type, and the retail contract you are on. Most of the bill is set by the wholesaler and is not negotiable, so the retail margin is the only competitive part.
Further Reading: How commercial water bills are calculated
More on Business Water
> Get a business water quote, send us a recent bill and we will compare our panel and check every charge.
> Business water rates explained, what makes up your bill and why switching moves so little.
> Compare business water suppliers, what you are actually comparing, and what you should compare on instead.
> Switch business water supplier, how switching works and the change of tenancy trap that costs far more.