Making Positive Business Choices

Are you ready to tackle a utility bill audit? As the process can be complicated and time-consuming, it's important to have a plan in place before you start.

This post rounds up three easy tips for tracking errors during your audit. Read on to learn more about what steps you can take to ensure accuracy throughout the process.

Start by Checking Your Invoices

The first step in any utility bill audit is always to check your invoices for errors. Invoice errors can trickle down to the line items of your bills, so it's important to ensure that all data is accurate before you begin.

Errors may include incorrect pricing or charges, duplicate or missing items, or incorrect account numbers or addresses. You might also discover inaccurate meter readings or billing cycles, which can affect the total cost of your bill. These can take a while to uncover, especially if you have multiple accounts, so creating a system for tracking them as soon as possible is important.

A utility auditing service can carefully review each invoice so that all errors can be identified quickly with minimal disruption to your business. You won't have to dedicate valuable time and resources to closely examining each document, giving you more time to focus on other areas of your business.

Use Technology

Technology can help streamline the auditing process by providing automated tools that make tracking errors and discrepancies in your billing data easier. Automated tools can also provide detailed reports that show discrepancies in real-time, allowing you to address issues as soon as they arise.

You can also use technology to compare your current billing data with past billing data or industry standards. This will help you identify any disparities in pricing and ensure that you are only paying what is necessary.

The technology can either be used independently or in partnership with an auditing service. Talk to an expert to understand which option is best for your business.

Review Your Contract

Your contract is an important document that outlines the terms and conditions of your business relationship with your utility provider. Before you start an audit, take the time to go through your contract and identify any potential conflicts or issues that may arise during the process.

For example, if your contract states that any disputes must be resolved within a certain timeframe, you'll want to make sure that you are clear on the timeline before you begin the audit. That way, if any discrepancies are found, you'll know ahead of time how long you have to resolve them.

This is also an excellent opportunity to review any changes that have been made to your contract since you last audited it. You'll want to ensure that any new rates or fees are accurate and in line with industry standards. 

For more info about utility bill audits, contact a local company.