As a microbusiness owner, you may well be running to some very tight margins, and overpaying on anything, whether staff wages or utility bills, could be enough to plunge you into the red.
The good news is, simply switching energy provider can instantly cut your overheads, and if you run a microbusiness you’ll be glad to know that Ofgem rules mean you have more freedom to switch than other SMEs.
By submitting your details you agree to our terms and conditions and privacy policy. We promise we won't share your data with others for marketing purposes.
A micro business is defined by the European Commission (EC) as one that has fewer than ten employees and a turnover or balance sheet total of less than €2 million.
To qualify for a microbusiness energy contract, you must either meet the above criteria, or use it must use no more than 293,000 kWh of gas a year, or no more than 100,000 kWh of electricity a year.
As for the cost of your energy bills, Ofgem estimates that if your business uses 293,000 kWh of gas or 100,000 kWh of electricity, it should pay between £10,000 and £12,000 a year for each fuel, excluding VAT and the Climate Change Levy.
To meet the criteria for commercial energy tariff, you’ll need to prove you are running a business from home and use a significant portion – usually 50% – of your energy to run your business. This might sound like a lot, but just using enough lighting, heating and electricity to keep your business running every day will most likely to be enough to make you eligible.
When calculating how much energy you use for business purposes, remember to deduct any appliances that would be on regardless of your business being there, such as fridges.
If you need further advice on finding the best deal on your business’s energy contract, speak to one of our business savings experts today on #CAMPAIGNBUSINESSSERVICENUMBER#. Or leave your details here, and we’ll give you a call back.
While most SMEs can’t consider switching until their energy deal enters its switching window, which can be anything up to six months before the contract’s end date, micro business owners can give termination notice at any time during their contract.
If you’re on a fixed term deal, suppliers must be completely transparent about contract end dates and notice periods on bills and statements, so you know exactly when you need to switch to avoid being rolled onto a less competitively-priced deal.
And if your supplier has been incorrectly billing you, to help protect from unexpectedly large, and potentially crippling energy bills, Ofgem has recommended that suppliers can only backdate your bills for the last 12 months. Even so, to help mitigate the risk of over or underpaying for your gas and electricity, you should still provide your energy supplier with frequent readings, to make sure your business is billed accurately.
To switch your business energy today call #CAMPAIGNBUSINESSSERVICENUMBER#
Prefer us to call you?
Call me backIn order to get the cheapest electricity for micro business usage, or the best deal on gas for your microbusiness, it’s worth enlisting the help of the energy experts here at uSwitchforBusiness, who can help you switch in just a few simple steps:
Switching energy supplier is one of the most effective ways to help cut your overheads without compromising on the quality of your goods or service. It really is that simple.
Get in touch now to see how much you could save.