If you’re starting a business or looking to have access to better water supply management, taking a closer look at your business water retailer and the value they offer is essential.
Different retailers can offer you various services, and the business water retailer you choose should reflect your usage and needs. It can be easy to select a retailer that offers more than you need or choose a retailer that doesn’t provide you with everything you need.
In today’s article, we’ll be exploring some vital services that every business water retailer should provide – to help you assess what you need for your business.
Emergency Water Services
Emergency water services are essential services a water retailer can provide to a business. Things such as water contingency plans and the provision of emergency plumbers can make a huge difference in times of need, and this is a service every business needs.
A solid contingency plan for a burst pipe or other water emergencies can help you save money in the long run. Being unprepared for such emergencies can cause unprecedented property damage and negatively impact your ability to provide your services. The disruption such an event can cause can result in a huge loss of earnings.
A great water retailer will provide you with a detailed emergency plan and contact numbers for the worst-case scenario and help you support the repair process.
Most water retailers will often have exclusive contracts with plumbers that can be on call for all kinds of emergencies – all as a part of the added value they can provide customers.
Consolidated Billing
If you are expanding your business to other buildings and properties, your water bills can quickly become complex. Instead of monitoring one bill, you may need to monitor two or three bills – depending on how your water is supplied to your properties.
Consolidated billing is a simple and effective way to solve this issue. Most good water retailers will allow consolidating all your business water bills into one single bill – even for multiple properties.
Not only is this easier for your accountant, but it also keeps all charges above the board and is easy to understand. It also makes it far easier to spot discrepancies in your bill, which can be a tell-tale sign of a hidden drip or leak.
Advanced Payment Schemes
Organising for advanced payments to be made is not a favourable way for most businesses to pay for their water. Frequently, most business owners prefer to pay a monthly fee based on their usage that month (or based upon their fixed rate if a water metre isn’t installed).
However, some prefer this model as it allows them to pay an advance for several months in one go. If you have fairly accurate readings, this is a good way to move billing to a quarterly model.
The option to choose advanced payment schemes signifies a good water retailer. Some retailers insist on forcing advanced payments – a sign of a water company to avoid.
Wastewater Management
A key service all water retailers should provide is effective wastewater management.
The wastewater produced by businesses will often differ wildly from domestic wastewater, either by volume or by contents.
Ensuring that your business’s wastewater is being disposed of correctly is essential for environmental protection and legal reasons.
Trade effluent licences – for instance – are imperative to those businesses that require them. Most office workplaces will not need this licence, but if your business is rooted in manufacturing or industrial, you will likely need this.
A great water retailer will help you assess if you need a trade effluent licence and, if you do, will assist you in applying for the right kind of licence.
Generally, if your wastewater includes contaminants such as:
- Acids
- Chemicals
- Paints
- Oils & Grease
- Fats
- Metallic runoff
- Agricultural additives
- Biological waste
Then a trade effluent licence will be needed. Note that waste from sinks, toilets, and showers generally doesn’t count as trade effluent.
Water Auditing
Having frequent water audits of your business premises and overall water usage is a great way to help your operation become more efficient with water. All the best retailers will provide experienced industry professionals that can perform detailed and attentive water audits.
These water audits usually involve:
- An assessment of your property’s pipes and water appliances
- Collection of water usage-related data
- Analysis of this data and the findings from your property assessment
- Formation of a report with recommendations for reducing water usage overall
If this isn’t a service your water retailer offers, then switching to another retailer is advised. Your water retailer should always encourage sustainable water use.
Conclusion
Finding the right water retailer for your needs is vital to ensuring you don’t overspend on your water bills. But, equally, going with the cheapest rate is often not advisable either.
It is important to strike a balance between paying enough to receive outstanding service and paying just enough for the services you do receive.
If you doubt a water retailer, always double-check on Trustpilot – it is a great way to gauge how good or bad a water company is at providing its services.
