Your small business invoice: all you need to know

Struggling to make sense of your energy invoice? 

Whether you are a new or existing customer, we appreciate that your energy invoice does come with a lot of information and can look confusing – however here at EDF we want to make our invoices simple and as easy to follow as possible, to help you grow.

This guide will give you everything to expect on your small business invoice and will help you to make sense of all the information!

When will I get my small business invoice?

As an EDF small business customer, you will be sent an invoice monthly from us. The timing of when you receive this invoice will depend on the date we receive a meter reading.

If your smart meter is fully functional, we’ll take a reading on the first of every month – with an invoice being sent within the first week of the month.

If you don’t have a smart meter, or your smart meter requires you to give us a reading – we’ll be in contact to ask you for a read on the last 5 days of every month. In this case we’ll send your invoice across in the first week of the following month.

If we don’t recieve a reading from either yourself or the smart meter –an estimated invoice will be produced around the 6^th of every month.

How often will I get my invoice?

To keep things as smooth for you as possible, we’ll send an invoice to you once a month, either to accurate readings or estimates!

Where can I find my invoice?

At EDF, we understand how busy running a business can be, this is why we have ensured that finding your small business invoice is as easy as possible. 

Your communication preference with us will determine how you receive your invoice. This will either be through a paper copy sent out to you, or via your nominated email address. 

Regardless of your communication choice, you can view the invoice in your MyAccount!

This is one of the number of benefits of the EDF MyAccount feature. As well as this, you can pay for the invoice, add meter readings, see previous invoices we have sent, and update your preference for communications. 

How do I pay my invoice?

There are lots of different ways you can pay the balance due on an invoice you receive from us.

• MyAccount: you can pay by debit or credit card instantly and securely online with MyAccount.
• Online Banking: make sure to use the EDF Account Number as a payment reference and also the correct Bank Details
• Debit or Credit Card: pay by debit or credit card (Mastercard/Visa/American Express). You will need to call into our number on 0333 006 9950.
• Paypoint: you can pay your bill in cash at any Paypoint Location. Allow two working days for payment to reach your EDF Account.
• Pay zone: you can pay your bill with cash at any location with a Pay zone sign. Payment will reach EDF Account in two days.
• Post Office: you can pay with cash, or a cheque made payable to Post Office Ltd. Remember to write your EDF account number on the back of the cheque, allow three working days for this to reach your EDF account.

What is a credit note?

Being a small business customer with EDF, you’ll receive credit notes from us if your energy account is in credit with us.

Credit notes won’t show any charges, but instead just the credit that has accumulated on the account.

If your energy account has been billed up to date and has been billed correctly –  you will be entitled to having this credit refunded.

What’s my invoice based on and why is there an estimated reading when I have a smart meter?

• Your invoice will be based on meter readings.
• An estimate read will be produced if we do not receive an accurate meter reading by the time the invoice is due to go out. This can be changed to an accurate one when this is received by us!
• An actual read is a read which is either supplied by you or from your businesses smart meter.
• You may receive an invoice with an estimate read when your business has a smart meter if we are struggling to communicate with the meter. If you see an estimated reading on your invoice while having a smart meter – we would need to get an actual reading while we investigate the smart meter issue.

What’s included in my invoice?

There is several pieces of different information that will be presented on your Invoice:

• Bill Summary: shows the amount of energy you have used between the two dates. It will only show the charges during the billing periods. Usage is measured using your meter reads
• Rota Disconnections Identifier: this letter is allocated to a business energy customers in a particular block. If required, the National Grid will refer to these letters when announcing supply emergency measures to inform businesses if their ‘block’ will be impacted.
• Unit Rate: the Unit Rate is the rate charged per unit or Kilowatt hour (kWh) of electricity or gas used
• Climate Change Levy (CCL): CCL is a government-imposed tax to encourage reduction in gas emissions and greater efficiency of energy used for business or nondomestic purposes
• Standing Charge: this is a fixed cost that is included in each electricity and gas invoice, regardless of usage. The charge covers cost to maintain the energy supply network, take meter readings, and support some Government social and environmental schemes
• Consumption and meter reading Information: this section provides a detailed breakdown of your energy charges for gas and electricity. The charges are based on the number of units consumed during the billing period. Electricity is measured in kWh. Although gas is measured differently, we convert that measurement to kWh
• Total Charges: the total Unit Rate and standing charge cost for the period stated on the invoice, including VAT and CCL

• Other elements of the invoice include: MPAN number, Date issued, Supply Address, Payments and Distributer enquiries

   

Is your invoice different this month?

Here at EDF, we want you to have the assurance that your invoice is correct and trouble free. If you feel that your invoice is too high or too low – it may be because we estimated your reading.

The best way to resolve this is to send us an up-to-date meter reading, so we can rebill the account to the accurate read. To do this, you can contact one of our helpful small business energy specialists on hello@edfenergy.com – or you can submit the reads in your MyAccount.

By installing a smart meter, these issues would be prevented from happening. For more information on this please click here.

If you are still unsure about your invoice being slightly different this month, watch this video with one of our Small Business Energy Specialists who helps to explain the reasons your invoice could be different:

Can my rates change?

• At EDF – we bill customers once a month to specific rates, however these rates can change depending on the tariff you’re on.
• If you have gone onto an EDF Fixed for Business tariff, these rates will stay the same for the duration of the time you are on the tariff. 
• If you have moved into a new property you will likely be moved onto a deemed tariff – these rates are often the highest ones so it is recommended to switch ASAP.
• If your fixed tariff has expired and you haven’t renewed – you will be put onto our ‘freedom’ tariff. This is a variable tariff meaning rates will fluctuate and there is no exit fees.
• A variable tariff (non-fixed) means that your rates will change once every quarter in line with wholesale prices, these are often reviewed once every quarterly similarly to the residential price cap (January, April, July and October). 
• On the first of each of these months, if you are not on a fixed tariff your rates will either increase or decrease, the pattern tends to be an increase in the winter before a decrease in the summer.
• https://www.edfenergy.com/energywise/small-business/choosing-right-energy-tariff-your-business

Does my direct debit change?

• The fixed element of the tariff only refers to the actual rates themselves – not the direct debit. 
• On a fixed direct debit, you will pay the same amount each month for your usage and standing charge. However, this can be increased or decreased depending on factors such as the account balance.
• The other kind of direct debit is a Variable direct debit. This is where the direct debit equates to how much the invoice has come to itself. This will of course vary each month but will mean customers will never be in a debit/credit on their energy account.

As a small business owner, you’re probably aware just how important understanding your energy costs are to the short-term and long-term growth of your business. Having good knowledge of your invoice is vital to this, as well as knowing how to control and manage your consumption plays a crucial role. Located in your MyAccount, Energy Hub will allow you to keep track of your usage and costs. It shows live updates with half hourly data from your smart meter, this is the best way to keep on top of this for your small business, like Coco & Bloom have: