Elon, Cybertrucks & Supplier Links
Your Supplier Journey, Does It WORK?
Elon Musk shows us that it can.
Elon is a clever man. He didn’t invent trucks. Of course he didn’t. They’ve been around for quite some time. So how do you go about revolutionising the truck sector? Well, quite simply, you make it better.
The reason that Tesla has over 1 million truck reservations isn’t just down to its environmental benefits. Here are the big three reasons people are reserving the Cybertruck:
- Looks – quite the head-turner isn’t it? Who wouldn’t want to drive a truck that makes you look like Batman!
- Brand – it’s fair to say that it’s pretty cool to drive a Tesla. They are innovators, forward thinkers and always pushing the boundaries.
- Potential – want to go on a journey reading a book whilst your car/truck drives autonomously? Want your car/truck to be fixed through a WiFi patch update rather than at a garage? It’s fair to say that it’s more likely to happen sooner with Tesla than it is with Ford.
Why is this relevant to the energy sector and the supplier journey?
Well, there are providers out there that offer integrations between supplier and TPI. They’ve been around for a few years. But now UtilityClick has entered the space to make the process smooth, efficient and better!
Our supplier integrations create true automation between suppliers and TPIs, dramatically reducing the cost to serve for both parties.
Dare we compare ourselves to Tesla?
Why Not!...
1. Looks
Our TPI Pro CRM and Supplier Portals have been built on cutting edge technology, creating beautiful front-end applications with primary attention placed on user experience.
2. Brand
We’ve got a great track record in not only building industry-leading software solutions but also building them quickly.
3. Potential
We develop quicker than anyone else in the industry. And with our focus now firmly on TPI/supplier integrations, full automation is on the horizon!
Are you as excited as we are on the future of automation between TPIs and suppliers? Get in touch if so! The only main drawback, we have an Andy, not an Elon. Don’t let that stop you though!
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Development Update - July 2021
You may have seen from social media that UtilityClick has been growing significantly. Here on the dev team, we're happy to say that this expansion has also bled over into our department, as this month we welcomed two new senior .Net developers.
It's been an enjoyable few weeks getting them up to speed and they'll soon be ready to be let loose on the big projects.
Whilst they get up to speed with the system, we've been working hard on a particularly meaty assignment - upgrading our dashboards and reporting. It's really exciting to see it develop but it's not quite ready to be pushed for release just yet. There's been plenty of development on other fronts though; read on to see what we've released in July...
Meter Lookup With MPAN
We've added the ability to search for a site or meter location by MPAN. The whole process has been completely streamlined allowing you to now use either a postcode or meter. Once located, you can add the site directly from the search results. Watch a quick video on it here.
Built for: PRO CRM (UK Only)
Authenticate With Microsoft
We've added an optional extra so that teams can now authenticate to the majority of our services via an existing Microsoft login and password. Authentication changes to your account will require setup time so please speak to your account manager and we'll schedule a future date & time.
Create Commission Overviews
Previously when adding a new supplier you would need to add your own Commission Overviews for each addition (the commission overview section is where our customers upload commission information). Now, if you visit Analytics > Commissions > and click the "New Entry" button, there's a new option labelled "Create Missing Commission Overviews".
Built for: PRO CRM
Other bits and bobs...
We've also added the following other bits and bobs...
Improved History Logging For Contract Live Dates
Within your CRM PRO there's a history log of what's been changed by your team. We've expanded the logging within the contract details view, so amendments to live dates (via the termination and registration tab) are now recorded.
Built for: PRO CRM
Hide Annual Cost/Diff in PDF Quotes
An optional feature has been added to allow "Total Cost" and "Annual Diff" columns to be hidden when generating a PDF from an Instant Quote. This option can be turned on so that admin users are able to control its visibility within their account (under Admin>Settings).
Add New Capacity Charge Type (£/kva/day)
Some suppliers (e.g. Npower) include a capacity charge in units of £ kVa/d. We've now included this value so it's visible and exportable in our quoting tool.
Built for: PRO CRM (UK Only)
That’s it for this month.
Our software evolves at such an exciting rate so please feel free to get in touch to discuss any of the functionality we’ve added since you last saw it. We’ll be more than happy to arrange a demo to show you around!
The Perfect Duo? Avo-lutely!
Create your own energy price comparison website through Tickd, then manage it all through our industry-leading CRM system. Integrate your own supplier relationships or push contracts through Tickd’s panel of suppliers.
What's Tickd?
Tickd allows you to create your own Energy Price Comparison Website, either integrating your own supplier relationships or utilising theirs. Your customers can generate their own quotes and choose a deal that suits them.
How does it work with UtilityClick?
With the UtilityClick integration, you can push your own supplier pricing straight through to the Price Comparison Website. Then, once a lead lands, you can progress, report and connect automatically all through the UtilityClick PRO CRM.
Guac can it all do?
Key Features:
- Allow your customers to generate their own quotes.
- They choose a deal that suits them.
- Contracts signed, all online.
- Combine with your own special pricing.
- In-built credit referencing process to ensure quotes are pre-qualified.
- Can be adapted to a telesales journey.
- Track, Convert and Report from one CRM system.
Register Your Interest Below...
Disclaimer
UtilityClick is, and always will be a Software Company. UtilityClick does not offer aggregator services and does not share in any commission splits. Tickd do offer aggregator services. To take advantage of this you will need a direct agreement in place with Tickd. We can put you in touch with a Tickd representative when using the “Register Your Interest” form above.
Development Update - June 2021
This month:
June has most definitely been a 'SPEED' month here on the dev team.
We love these tasks - they're not necessarily about adding a new feature but finding creative ways to make a process quicker.
When looking to subscribe to a new software package, primarily you're looking to see if it does A, B or C. However the often-forgotten element is: How quickly can it do A, B or C? If your software is slow, it not only adds time to a task, but breaks your rhythm too.
Read on to learn how we've engaged the afterburners for our users by adding bulk management tools and adapted the way our system exports data.
Speedier Data Exports
If you have a lot of data loaded then system exports can take a long time to be ready. We've rewritten each module using pure SQL code, which means requested exports will now complete much faster.
Built for: UKUSA
Bulk Reassigning Customers
We realise the unnecessary admin required if you need to make wholesale changes to a customer. We've now made it super easy for you to bulk reassign customers based on changes to your team.
Built for: UKUSA
Other bits and bobs...
We've also added the following other bits and bobs...
"Business Type" added to Data Export
A new column has been added to Sales Export to help differentiate between Custom/Bespoke and Matrix opportunities.
Built for: UKUSA
New "Lost" Status
When managing your Pipeline and selecting a deal status of "Lost Contract" - a new "Duplicate" option can now be selected for "Reason for Loss".
Built for: UKUSA
Scottish Power Pricing Zones Updated
We fixed an issue with Scottish Power pricing where gas quotes needed amending depending on Zone Type.
Built for: UK
Verbal Script Commission Warning
We've added an optional feature when generating a verbal script. You can now prefix a script with an additional disclaimer, explaining the process of adding a commission rate to any deal.
Built for: UKUSA
"Referral Partner" field added to Customer template
When bulk uploading customers you can now include a "Referral Partner" that will subsequently be shown within the system. Download the latest customer template from your Admin area to use.
Built for: UKUSA
MAKE SITES / METERS INACTIVE WHEN CUSTOMER IS MADE INACTIVE
Currently, making a customer inactive does not automatically make associated meters inactive. This optional feature will ensure that any sites and meters associated with an inactive customer are also set to inactive.
Built for: UKUSA
Non-UC Admins Can Delete Failed Imports
User levels below Admin are now able to remove any failed data imports.
Built for: UKUSA
Improved Referral Partner Export
We've sped up your workflow by allowing the month and year fields to be left blank when running a "Referral Commissions" export. If left blank all available data will be exported.
Built for: UKUSA
That’s it for this month.
Our software evolves at such an exciting rate so please feel free to get in touch to discuss any of the functionality we’ve added since you last saw it. We’ll be more than happy to arrange a demo to show you around!
Advantage Utilities Partnership
We're delighted to announce our new partnership with Advantage Utilities.
Advantage Utilities are constantly pushing the boundaries and evolving their focus. From winning the Wellbeing award at the 2020 TELCAs, to championing reductions in their customers' carbon footprint - they are acutely aware of the dangers of standing still.
In September 2020, they embarked on another step of their evolution, this time regarding their internal technology - selecting a new CRM to replace existing software within their business.
After diligently reviewing the market for an energy-specific system that shared their ethos, they chose UtilityClick.
Since then, both businesses have worked closely, ensuring that the implementation process was executed successfully. Here is what they both had to say:
The team at UtilityClick had this to say:
"We were delighted to be selected as the preferred software provider for Advantage Utilities. They are one of the top TPIs in the country and go about things in the right way for their customers. They share our principles with respect to how the energy industry is changing and why servicing end-user customers is more than just about giving them the best price.
Our system is continuing to evolve to become as automated and efficient as possible. Not just on procurement, but across bureau and energy management services too. Advantage Utilities provide first-class, comprehensive services to their customers and we’re really excited to be working with a professional, future-focussed, friendly company who can help us to continue to enhance our system."
Advantage Utilities had this to say:
"After using various connected systems to manage our business for 20 years we had been looking at ways of achieving more efficiencies, streamlining systems, consolidating our data and finding faster ways to service our customer base within the business. After much research and testing in the market we decided to deploy UtilityClick as our preferred software partner.
From the very first introduction the team at UC were both very knowledgeable and understanding of us and our requirements. The software has allowed us to centralise all our data, speed up the time it takes to produce quotes and allowed us to incorporate our complex energy financial statements directly into the system when this used to take weeks.
Although we are still a relatively new partner, UC have already made several changes to the software that we require and work with us on a daily basis to improve the functionality. I look forward to working with UC for many years to come and advise anyone looking at Utilities Broker software to speak with UtilityClick."
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Development Update - May 2021
This month:
The month of May has been a bitty one in the dev team.
New feature ideas come from all sources. As you might imagine, most are spawned from our customers but many are generated by staff and some are simply dictated by industry change.
The priority of each feature idea can vary for numerous reasons but two common traits considered are "How long will it take to develop?" vs. "How many customers will it help?".
As mentioned, for one reason or another, this month it's the 'bitty' features that have taken our priority. They're relatively quick to develop compared to the showstoppers but when combined, you have a set of new features that will hopefully help the many.
Read on to find out more about each of these features.
Supplier Pricing Participation
You can now mark whether a Supplier will be participating within a tender/custom pricing request. Suppliers can also update the flag within their portals. Ideal for keeping on top of who will be quoting on pricing day.
Built for: UKUSASupplierLinks
Parent/Child Pipeline UI
We've updated the system interface to make it much easier to review your Parent/Child portfolios. You can now use a collapsible grid to easily view all child contracts linked to a single parent contract.
Built for: UKUSASupplierLinks
Show rates in dollars rather than cents
We've listened based on your feedback and updated the system accordingly. Rates in the USA system can now be shown in dollars as well as cents.
Built for: USA
Other bits and bobs...
We've also added the following other bits and bobs...
System Export enhancements
Numerous columns have been added to data export across the entire system, providing a more detailed level of reporting.
Built for: UKUSA
History Logging - Leads and Contracts
History logging within Leads and Contracts have been improved to help you monitor even more changes with your data.
Built for: UKUSA
Business Type added to Contracts, Tenders & Sales Exports
Business Type has been added to Contracts, Tenders & Sales Export reports.
Built for: UKUSA
User Type access applied to Employee Payments section
Based on customer feedback, we have added User-Level access to the Employee Payment section of the system.
Built for: UKUSA
Option To Exclude Completed Activities from Activities Export
A tick box has been added to the Activities Export page to allow you to exclude completed activities from the report.
Built for: UKUSA
Suppliers with no relationships excluded from matrix pricing
We have amended the system to only show by default matrix pricing for suppliers that are marked as No Relationship within the supplier section.
Built for: UKUSA
Other field added to Supplier Contacts
A new field called Other has been added to Supplier Contacts so that you can also add contacts that don't fit into our pre-set categories.
Built for: UKUSA
Bug fix - changing meter/account usage
We have fixed a bug that was causing an error screen when changing usage figures within a tender/custom pricing request
Built for: UKUSA
That’s it for this month.
Our software evolves at such an exciting rate so please feel free to get in touch to discuss any of the functionality we’ve added since you last saw it. We’ll be more than happy to arrange a demo to show you around!
A Waffley Big Problem
How do
YOU
cook your potato waffles?
If you listened to the latest Energy Waffle podcast you will have heard that we inadvertently stumbled into what we think could be a potential green issue.
Toasting our waffles saves a considerable amount more energy over the more conventional conventional oven (iterative pun intended).
Crunching the numbers:
On the back of a packet...
Instructions from the back of a packet of waffles dictate you can either pop them in the toaster for 5 minutes or oven at 220degrees for 15 minutes.
A standard toaster needs considerably less power than an oven. What's more, the oven needs a good 5 minutes to preheat, making the potential oven cooking time 4 times as long!
Even without factoring in preheat time, we estimate the power difference to be 525 wh.
If we then assume that around half of all waffles are cooked in the oven (estimated to be around 5,000,000) then we've got...
A total of
1,312,500 kWh
wasted every year!
(Every great campaign needs a great poster)
Is this a joke?
Ok, so there is of course a good bit of levity with all of this... but there is an important point here too.
We as an industry talk a lot about the importance of climate change but do we take enough individual responsibility? As well as championing the latest green trends, could we also collaborate creatively to spark alternative solutions?
Energy management will undoubtedly become a massive part of all our roles over the coming years, so spending some time and energy (no pun intended this time) on our own initiatives can only put us (and our customers) in good stead for the future.
If each of us here derives a campaign that could potentially save the world 1,312,500 kWh, then surely that could have a massive positive impact on our world?
#NoneInTheOven
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A Big Leap: Monthly Usage Data
What does it do?
It allows you to store monthly usage information that's provided by the utility. Simply locate the relevant file, upload and let the UtilityClick system do the rest.
How does it help me?
Commissions! Update your future forecast based on actual usage and gain a clearer insight into your finances.
Retrospectively amend your forecast to help with reconciling payments to truly get on top of budgeting.
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Suppliers, Get In Front of 250+ TPIs. CONNECT provides an integration with TPIs and…
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Development Update - April 2021
This month:
It's been another busy month for the dev team. Although (in the UK at least), we've had a lot of national and school holidays (Easter), we've by no means slowed our usually high-paced release schedule.
The phrase "Time and tide wait for no man" comes to mind... but it should really be rewritten to "Time, new features and tide wait for no man".
Here are a few of the items that have taken the bulk of the team's time this month, together with a brief description:
Employee Payment Terms
We've added a brand new feature as an enhancement to our Commissions module. You can now create your employee payment profiles. The system will then report to you the monthly payments due to your internal agents!
Monthly Usage Tool
When switched on it will allow you to store monthly usage interval data you hold for the meter in question, feeding into your commissions. Simply locate the relevant file, upload and let the UtilityClick system do the rest.
We've completed the US phase of this feature. Next month we plan to begin the implementation process on the UK system.
Other bits and bobs...
It's never just about the big projects. We've also added the following other bits and bobs...
HH MATRIX LOOKUP ADJUSTMENTS
The system has been enhanced to return the appropriate Available Capacity rate based on kVA banding levels.
CLICK-TO-DIAL TOOLTIP UPDATE
The click-to-dial tooltip has been updated to show the phone number for the appropriate contact for those TPIs not using the dialler integrator software.
LEAD EXPORT OPTIMISATION
Exporting lead data from the system for our TPIs who have lots of leads was taking a while. We've optimised the export now to reduce waiting times for accessing the report.
NEW ACTIVITY TYPE
We've added "Tender Refresh" to our list of Tender Activity Types. Ideal when your customer doesn't sign down the first time around!
ACTIVITY EXPORT IMPROVEMENT
The time that an activity is created/due/completed has now been added to the activity export report.
CUSTOMER PORTAL UPDATE
The product name for quotes/contracts has been added to the customer portal to help your end-user customers on tender day.
"NO ACCESS" USERS
These are users who can be added for internal purposes but do not increase the cost of subscription.
SPEED INCREASE FOR TENDER CREATION
We've made speed improvements to the creation of major tenders - with bigger optimisations on the way soon!
That’s it for this month.
Our software evolves at such an exciting rate so please feel free to get in touch to discuss any of the functionality we’ve added since you last saw it. We’ll be more than happy to arrange a demo to show you around!
Free Cake and Burning 5 Candles
How many candles are we burning?
Five!
Yes, we’re 5 years old!
It's hard to believe half a decade ago UtilityClick was just an idea from the inside of a South London flat.
Fast forward to today and our software is used to procure over 2.8 TWh every year.
Or to put it another way -
That's 350,000,000 candles*
So you could say we're burning 350 million candles (our design team told us that was too many to illustrate).
Ok, enough talking...
How do I get my free birthday cake?
Book a demo and we'll send you some cake to enjoy whilst we take you through the system.
What better way is there to spend 20 minutes than eating cake and finding out how the UtilityClick system can run tenders, progress leads, or forecast your commissions?
Just enter your address details when booking your demo below and we'll send you the cake to join us in our celebrations (no tricks, just lovely tasty cake).
Latest articles...
UtilityClick Presents CONNECT
Suppliers, Get In Front of 250+ TPIs. CONNECT provides an integration with TPIs and…
Introducing Your Next Level PRO CRM
Keep reading to discover the top 5 features that our customers have cited as their…
Enter your email below and we’ll write to you about once every 2-3 weeks.