Trevose Golf & Country Club

Simplicity – Service – Savings

£1500

Refund from supplier due to invoice validation

33%

Savings

THE BRIEF

Located in Cornwall, Trevose Golf & Country Club is one of the UK’s leading holiday destinations. With three links golf courses catering to golfers of all ability levels, seven beaches within a mile and numerous leisure facilities, it is the ideal holiday destination for golfers and non-golfers alike.

With the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, it became more important than ever for the business to identify savings opportunities. As the UK transitions to a net zero 2050, the Gold Club is also looking for ways to continue reducing its carbon footprint.

Smarter Business’ proactive approach and proprietary software helped Trevose Golf & Country Club reclaim money from inaccurate billing, lock in energy savings with a new contract from a green energy supplier and identify other potential efficiencies.

OUR ACTIVITY

At Smarter Business, saving our customers money goes beyond procuring cheaper energy contracts. We conduct thorough invoice validation and ongoing energy monitoring to bring energy management to the boardroom and help customers save even more money.

Contract Renewal

Smarter Business’ Head of Mid-Market Solutions, Tim Sealy-Fisher, monitored the energy market closely for two months, timing it carefully to help Trevose Golf & Country Club lock in the best possible energy rates for their next contract. All it took is for Trevose to supply a current invoice as a point of comparison; Smarter Business’ energy monitoring software called Dataview does the rest, overseen by energy expert Sealy-Fisher.

We were able to secure a new contract with a green energy supplier, Haven Power, helping Trevose work towards its carbon-neutral goals. Best of all, the rates were 33% lower than their current supplier’s renewal rate.

Invoice Validation

It is estimated that 5% of energy bills are wrong. That amounts to at least one bill every two years being inaccurate, going back as far as the energy contract does.

What is not always made clear by other brokers is that there are different levels of invoice validation. At Smarter Business, we use Dataview to source industry data that is independent of the data provided by energy suppliers. This allows us to conduct a proper, in-depth invoice validation.

Energy Monitoring

Along with a monthly energy report, we regularly touch base with the Trevose Golf & Country Club to share any extra advice to help them save even more money. This year-round relationship allows us to build a true partnership and act as Trevose’s trusted energy consultant.

Tim and the Smarter Business team were able to secure massive savings – and even a significant refund – with very little involvement and effort from our side. It’s such a relief to know that we have found a partner with our best interests at heart, leaving us to focus on our other business priorities. They have the systems, tools and expertise to take care of our energy portfolio, so we are more than happy to leave it to them!

– Nick Gammon, Managing Director, Trevose Golf & Country Club

Identify potential energy efficiencies

So far, our reporting revealed that engineering uses the majority of electricity. We can advise Trevose on how to use this understanding to implement a solution, such as using machinery at off-peak times.

THE OUTCOME

33% energy rate savings

Energy prices change on a daily basis, so carefully monitoring the market is key to securing the best energy deals. Most busy business managers don’t have time to do this, which is why it pays to let the energy specialists take care of it. Recommending the right contract at the right time combined with a competitive tender helped Trevose Golf & Country Club save a massive 33% on the renewal rate offered by their existing supplier.

In addition to savings, getting Smarter Business to align the business’ contract end dates saves administration time, leaving the team to get on with what they do best.

£1500 refund

To conduct invoice validation, most other brokers simply look at the energy contract, check that the rates are correct, and validate the invoice. But there are so many points on an invoice that can be validated beyond the actual rate.

In the case of Trevose Golf & Country Club, we were able to recognise that their half-hourly data was incorrect due to the supplier basing calculations on estimates. The actual invoice doesn’t specify whether consumption figures come from actual or estimated readings, but we were able to use independent industry data to identify where estimates had been incorrectly applied. As a result, we were able to arrange a refund of £1500 from the electricity supplier.