6 Ways to Reduce the Overall Energy Cost For Your Business

Are you a business owner struggling with the high cost of electricity? Energy costs can be high for businesses of all types and sizes. By implementing a few simple energy-conservation strategies, you can help reduce your company's energy use. Not only is conserving energy beneficial for the environment, but it’s also good for your businesses’ bank account.

1) Let Peak Utility Brokers Be Your Energy Supplier

If you live in one of the 16 deregulated states, we can help you find an electricity plan that can lower your electricity bills. We partner with over 50 electricity suppliers who compete to save you money. Many business owners are paying more than necessary for their electricity so shopping for a more affordable supplier can help save money.

2) Consider Your Business Equipment 

One of the best ways to reduce energy costs is to use equipment that reduces energy consumption. Consider upgrading outdated equipment such as printers, refrigerators, lighting fixtures, bathroom exhaust fans, HVAC systems, and other heavy energy-consuming equipment with an energy efficient model. By making these improvements, you could save up to 75% on some products and help boost your company’s sustainability. 

3) Turn Off Lights And Devices

All appropriate equipment should be put into sleep mode when not in use. Make sure to switch off all the lights and disconnect appliances or equipment that aren't in use when leaving.  Simplify this process by using a power strip. Identify energy vampires, devices that continue to consume power even when they are turned off. Items such as computers, phone chargers and coffee machines can account for up to 20% of electrical bills f left plugged in at all times.

 Another option is installing motion sensors and automatic shut-offs on your lights when a room is not in use. It’s easy to leave lights on where you don’t need them, and this can make it easier.

4) Install Energy-Efficient Lights

LED lighting uses at least 75% less energy and lasts considerably longer than incandescent bulbs. LED bulbs can last 25,000 hours, while incandescent bulbs last 750 hours. Even though LED bulbs may cost more upfront, they are more cost effective in the long term.



5) Use a Smart Thermostat
Smart thermostats automatically adjust your room temperature settings for maximum performance. These devices are one of the best investments to save energy. You can program usage to shift away from peak times when demand is higher and electricity is more expensive and still maintain a comfortable temperature.


6) Involve Employees

 Business owners aren't the only ones responsible for implementing energy saving methods. Encourage energy-efficient work culture in your business. Educate and motivate employees to be energy-conscious and offer ideas about how energy can be saved.

Get in touch with a Peak Utility Broker
If you would like to reduce your business’ overall energy cost, consider contacting us. The process is simple, and we can provide a savings proposal for you. Our staff is knowledgeable and dedicated to maximizing your energy needs. Give us a call today at  406-206-7992  to learn more about your potential savings! 406-206-7992​

In this century of advanced technology, many manual tasks have been eliminated; therefore, the automation of many daily tasks has made life easier and increased overall productivity. POS (Point Of Sale) Systems significantly contribute to automation processes in more ways than you might think. 

Electric POS systems offer additional benefits beyond automation. While many of these are evident on the surface, there are other underlying benefits to utilizing these systems. Below we outline some of the advantages in more detail.

Speeding Up the Checkout Process

Speed up the checkout process by ringing up customers quickly and accurately with a POS system. Each transaction is digitally stored, reducing the potential for human error. This also helps save time and keeps you organized. You won’t have to worry about keeping all your receipts because all information is saved in a database. Peak Utility Brokers accepts all current electronic payments like credit, debit, ACH payments, and more!

Analytics and Reporting Data
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Making data-informed decisions to improve your business success is significant. POS systems can capture a variety of metrics. These valuable metrics will help manage billing and collections, inventory management, sales tracking, customer engagement, and retention.

Customer Reward Programs

​Loyalty programs give your customers an incentive to continue doing business with you. Building customer loyalty by offering various discounts such as paying with cash, in-store gift cards, or recurring points programs. POS systems make it easy for retailers to create loyalty programs that reward dependable, returning customers.

Manage Employees

Managing employees and all things associated with that can sometimes be challenging. A POS system can help by tracking time, scheduling, and monitoring employee activity. POS systems offer improved efficiency, allowing employees to have more time to interact with customers
Inventory, sales, and pricing accuracy are critical to maintaining a successful business. A POS system automatically helps reduce errors in your business activities. They also accurately track transactions, cash flow, and inventory, saving you time and money.

Ease in Use

An all-in-one POS system makes business operations more convenient and simple. The POS system features include a touch screen, receipt printer, cash drawer, and magnetic stripe reader. No extra parts are needed.

What separates Peak Utility from the rest

At Peak Utility Brokers, we offer several merchant services to fit your business needs. Many traditional POS companies add a hidden associated fee with each credit card transaction. These fees may include additional expenses such as interchange, transaction, authorization, statement, online access, and other junk charges.
These fees can range from 1.5% to 3.5% of each transaction’s total and quickly add up to become a significant expense. Using Peak Utility Brokers services avoids these fees with our 0% processing programs.

In today’s competitive market, small business owners, in particular, need to decrease overall monthly operating costs. We can help lower your rates with 0% credit card processing and reduce your credit card processing fees by passing the cost to the customer. It's hard to beat our competitive rates.

Our POS system is secure, reliable, and affordable. With our experience, we will help you increase efficiency, streamline reporting, reduce costs and improve customer service. Our dedicated support team can help resolve any issues or answer questions to keep your investment safe.

​​If any of these benefits appeal to you, call Peak Utility Brokers today! 406-206-7992

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Whether you’re setting up a new business or are an experienced pro, your Point of Sale or POS system is a central component of your business. The right system will do more than just offer clients a way to pay, today’s POS systems can track inventory, manage clients, provide
reporting and more. Therefore, choosing the right POS system for your company is one of the most important decisions a business owner will ever make. A good POS system can merge and simplify crucial business operations while providing a steady stream of data to help you make informed business decisions. If choosing a new POS system is in your near future, we advise that you spend some time researching POS software. With that in mind, at Peak Utility Brokers, we understand that it can be hard to know exactly what you should be researching. Whether you are looking for your first POS system or an updated system, finding the perfect solution shouldn’t be a headache. Here is our guide to 5 things to consider when choosing a new POS system.

1. Reporting
Solid reporting is the key to successful business management, especially for competitive
industries like retail and restaurants. Not knowing how much inventory you’ve sold and how
much is available can cripple your operation. But like the POS systems in general, not all sales reporting is created equal. Beyond sales transaction data, your system should offer reports on top-selling items, inventory reorders, ‘X’ and ‘Z’ reports, sales and inventory activity, and customer activity. If you’re not sure what all of these reports are, you can read a breakdown of necessary reporting here. Ideally, the software you choose should let you pull reports by date or by customer name. After all, in order for your business to truly be successful, you need to understand it as much as possible. Having access to relevant data will empower you to make the right decisions.

2. Integration
Integration refers to the various applications and software that can seamlessly work together. When your POS system integrates with the apps your business already uses, you no longer have to split your time among a variety of tasks. Take for example MailChimp integration. Once your POS and MailChimp account are connected or integrated you can collect customer email addresses at the point of transaction and sync them directly with your MailChimp account. This way, the next time you’re ready to send out a newsletter, you can skip the step of updating your email list. Third-party integrations can dramatically simplify many day-to-day business processes. When choosing a new POS system, give heavy consideration to the available integrations.

3. Pricing
Not too long ago, a robust POS system could run as high as $20,000 a price unfeasible for most small business owners. But today, thanks to the newer software as a service (SaaS) model, you can expect to pay as little as $59 per month with free or discounted hardware. Obviously, pricing should not be the most important factor here, as the features you need to run your business far outweigh the cost. However, beware of POS companies that over-promise and under-deliver. One of the easiest ways to spot a bad system is through inconsistent pricing policies. Though prices may vary from system to system, one thing that never should is transparency in pricing. Look for systems and companies that offer straightforward, competitive pricing that is easy to understand. If the company offers a contract, it should be optional, not mandatory. Contracts may be able to save you money depending on the terms, but be wary of any company that states a mandatory contract requirement.

4. Usability
Before you invest in a POS system, a top priority should be ensuring it has a user-friendly
interface. No business can afford to invest in a difficult-to-use system that requires constantly consulting a manual. Particularly in fast-paced settings, a simple POS system is essential if you want to keep productivity high. If you’re not sure about a system's functionality, ask fellow business owners what system they use and what pain points they’ve encountered.

5. Support
Let’s face it, we rarely think about a system's support options, until we actually need them.
Whether it’s setting up your system for the first time or having an issue with a menu item,
eventually you’re going to need help. To be sure you’re never left without help, 24/7 support is a must. It doesn’t matter if it’s via phone, live chat, or even email, support should be available to answer your inquiry ASAP. Not having the right level of customer support can result in your business losing sales. Excellent support is mandatory to help you overcome any glitches and it’s crucial for your bottom line. Therefore, when you are searching for a new POS system partner, you should carefully consider the support they offer.

The Bottom Line
Now that you know what key factors to explore prior to choosing a POS system, you’re ready to go out and decide on the best system for your business. If you’re ready to buy a new POS
system or upgrade your existing product, contact Peak Utility Brokers today. We offer POS and credit card processing solutions that can save you money today!

Successfully managing a small business requires a constant juggling act of monitoring
day-to-day operations, expenses and revenues. Every business owner should have their finger on the pulse of their company's operating expenses. But what about the non-operating expenses? At Peak Utility Brokers, we know these costs don’t easily figure into your operating profit, it can be easy to overlook them. However, non-operating expenses play a vital role in a business’s bottom line. That means it’s important to integrate non-operating expenses into your accounting framework and financial statements if you want a clear picture of your business’s financial health.

What are Non-operating Expenses?
Non-operating expenses, sometimes referred to as peripheral or incidental expenses, are any costs unrelated to your company's core operations. Businesses in different industries may have disparate non-operating expenses and the expenses may vary by company size. But there are certain types that are typical for most businesses. For instance, monthly expenses such as debt interest payments or investment losses would count as non-operating expenses. The most common types of non-operating expenses are interest charges and losses on the depreciation of assets. Some examples include:
● Business Relocation Expenses
● Business Restructuring Expenses
● Expenses from Lawsuit Settlements
● Expenses from Weather Damage
● Fire Damage Expenses
● Inventory or Receivables Write-Offs
● Losses on Sale of Assets
● Obsolete Inventory Charges
● Preliminary Expenses Amortization
● Write-Offs of Intangible Assets
Non-operating expenses should be recorded at the bottom of a company's income statement. This allows financial statement users to assess the direct business activities that appear at the top of the income statement alone.

The Benefits of Recording Non-operating Expenses
Non-operating expenses are a substantial part of expense management for any business large or small. Keeping clear and accurate records of each non-operating expenses will help you gain a more accurate picture of your company’s financial health. For larger company’s internal partners (such as employees) and external partners (such as investors) will look favorably on this act of transparency. Once you gain a complete understanding of your business’s non-operating expenses it can be fairly easy to reduce them, since they don’t have a direct relationship to your core operations. In contrast, cutting down on operations-related expenses is considerably more difficult.

Calculating Non-Operating Expenses
A company’s income statement (also called a profit and loss statement or P&L) reports the amount of revenue earned during any defined period of time. In addition, the P&L statement details the expenses that can be linked to the generation of revenue. When looking at a company's P&L statement from top to bottom, operating expenses should be the first costs displayed just below revenue. The firm's cost of goods sold or COGS can then be subtracted from its revenue to arrive at its gross income. After gross income is calculated, all operating costs are subtracted to acquire the company's operating profit, also referred to as earnings before taxes or EBT. Once operating profit has been derived, all non-operating expenses are recorded on the financial statement at the bottom. By using this breakdown, you can better evaluate a company’s true operations performance.

Always Stay on Top of Your Expenses
According to Small Biz Genius, only about 40 percent of small businesses actually make a profit. To move your company in a profitable direction, it’s important to understand the role of non-operating expenses in your company’s financial cycles. If you’re looking to lower your non-operating expenses, a great place to start is by assessing your credit card processing fees. Payment processing fees can cost a business hundreds, if not thousands of dollars a month. Peak Utility Brokers offers card processing with no monthly fees. Reduce your non-operating costs and keep 100% of your payment processing sales. Request your savings proposal today!