Development Update - March 2024

Welcome back to the March edition of our regular dev update and with it, we've felt a little like Dr. Sam Beckett.

If you remember the 90's TV series Quantum Leap...

"Dr. Beckett finds himself leaping from life to life, striving to put right what once went wrong and hoping each time that his next leap will be the leap home."

Ok, well maybe we've not been looking to leap home but we've certainly been striving to put right what once went wrong.

As you'll know we release a lot of feature improvements to our software but sometimes these improvements inadvertently supersede other elements that you've previously found useful.

You've told us where improvements could be made and we've taken this month as an opportunity to develop them.

Below you'll find where we've leapt to add a useful copy function for meter serial numbers, we've strived to add the 'child invoice number' to invoice batch exports and we've hoped to make the bulk updating of customer/leads a little more robust.

For this and Other Bits And Bobs check out all of our dev updates from March below.

Oh boy.

Copy That!

We recently added functionality to store multiple serial numbers against a supply where we replaced a text box with a dropdown. In doing so you told us that you could no longer select the number and copy it. We're good listeners so you'll now find a 'Copy' button next to the MSN dropdown to make copying those numbers a breeze again.

Built for: PRO CRM

Export Improvements

A while back we made it so that parent and child references are imported in BILL VAL, but for technical reasons we weren't able to add the child number to the batch export. We've worked around that and it's there now so you can analyse your bills more easily.

Built for: BILL VAL

More Control Over your Imports

We know how handy a bulk import can be so we've been looking into how we can improve them. It came to our attention that you weren't able to add parents to leads when bulk importing, meaning you had to manually edit individual leads post import.

You can now add parents to leads in bulk by going to Admin > Data Imports and selecting the Leads option in the dropdown, saving you tons of time and effort.

Continuing on this front, last month we mentioned that we wanted to give you more control over your own data. You now have the ability to add, edit and delete customer parents in bulk, allowing you to flexibly manage your customers without having to ask our support team for help.

Built for: PRO CRM

Other bits and bobs...

We've also added the following other bits and bobs...

Progress with MOP/DC Suppliers in Forecasting

We're working on updating our MOP/DC supplier section so that contracts placed with these suppliers can be included in your commission forecasts in the future. This month, we've been busy creating new payment terms which will include the ability to choose which month(s) the invoice is expected in. Watch this space!

Built for: PRO CRM

Easier to Reference Bill Val Batches

We're still making regular improvements to our BILL VAL service and this month we've added a reference number (similar to the ones you use for contracts/tenders) which will come in really handy if you have a query for support or want to quickly search for a specific batch import.

Built for: PRO CRM

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 Energy Trumps Card Game

    Sorry, This Offer Has Expired.

    We’ve already given away hundreds of free packs but why not book a demo with us below and check out some of the great software we’ve created. We may even send you one of our own personal packs.

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    Are You A Super Supplier Villain?

    As an industry, we're surrounded by forward-thinking masterminds and cutting-edge technology but that often stops when communicating with TPIs and direct customers.

    This lack of communication often leads to misinterpretation where suppliers are the bad guys.

    It's time to turn that idea on its head with a hero of a customer portal...

    UtilityClick Can Help You

    Your very own white-labelled customer portal. Presented as you whilst discreetly powered by UtilityClick.

    Better dialogue with task management tools. Reduce telephone calls, reduce GDPR risky emails and increase efficiency.

    Get them hooked and then upsell your additional product offerings.

    Empower customers to self-serve and manage renewals.

    Boost your DIRECT AND INDIRECT sales channels.

    Provide relevant news and reports that will be seen by the right people.

    It’s Time To

    Put the cape on.

    Book A DemoFind Out More

    Further reading...

    Development Update – March 2024

    Welcome back to the March edition of our regular dev update and with it, we've felt a…

    Read More

    Development Update – February 2024

    Welcome back to our February dev update and to be quite honest - it's been a quiet…

    Read More


    A Super Hero Customer Portal For Suppliers

    Direct and Indirect Channel

    Suppliers, the times they are a changing.

    Lockdowns, Volatile Markets, Legislative Schemes. We have portals ready to go to get you ready for the new energy world!

    A Forward-Thinking Transparent Portal...

    Brand It Your Way

    Your very own white-labelled customer portal with user experience in mind! This is no standard portal. This is your portal. Completely customisable to what you stand for and what you want your customers to see.

    Your Brand for Your customers...

    Custom Development

    Whatever your corporate identity, OUR smart energy software can be YOUR smart energy software.

    Reduce Your

    Cost To Serve

    Your direct sales channel is growing. Your TPIs demand first class support. Our portals reduce telephone calls, reduce risky emails and increase efficiency with task management tools for optimum customer management.

    Better Query Management...

    A triple threat. Become leaner, reduce risk and be more efficient all at the same time. Open up a better dialogue with your TPIs, increase their reliance on your services and present transparent upselling opportunities under one roof.

    Show Your True Value

    You want to show how you are different to other suppliers. Now you can. Help your direct customers buy and reduce their energy better. Help your TPIs to submit contracts to you and automate status flows, data access and commission payments.

    Manage Contract Renewals.

    Present Useful Reporting

    ...That's also beautiful.

    The energy landscape is changing

    It’s more than just about getting the best price. It’s about all the other things you do as a supplier that makes you great. Your customer portal is ready! Get in touch for your own demo!

    It's Time To Put Your Cape On...

    Get A Super hero

    A Super hero

    Customer Portal

    Book A Demo

    Further reading...

    Development Update – March 2024

    Welcome back to the March edition of our regular dev update and with it, we've felt a…

    Read More

    Development Update – February 2024

    Welcome back to our February dev update and to be quite honest - it's been a quiet…

    Read More


    A Super Hero Customer Portal for Brokers

    ADR-Ready

    TPIs, the times they are a changing.

    The ADR scheme is launching soon and, to help you get ready for this, we have developed a brand new Customer Portal!

    An ADR-Ready Transparent Portal...

    Brand It Your Way

    Your very own white-labelled customer portal with user experience in mind! Let our portal help you present to your customers everything you do for them.

    Your Brand for Your customers...

    Your Brand for Your customers...

    Zero Development Required

    Zero Development Required

    Whatever your corporate identity, OUR smart energy software can be YOUR smart energy software.

    Reduce Your

    Cost To Serve

    Revolutionise your query management process. Allow your customers to create tasks and complaints directly through the portal.

    Better Query Management...

    A triple threat. Become leaner, compliant and more efficient all at the same time. Open up a better dialogue with your customers, increase their reliance on your services and present transparent upselling opportunities under one roof.

    Show Your True Value

    You do so much for your customers. You get them the best prices. You analyse their invoices. You help them to reduce their energy. You’re helping them on their Net Zero journey.

    Present Interval Data...

    Present Interval Data...

    Beautiful Carbon Reporting.

    ...And Manage Contract Renewals.

    Beautiful Carbon Reporting.

    ...And Manage Contract Renewals.

    Increase Customer Retention

    Present all of your services to the customer in one place and they’ll never want to leave you!

    It's Time To Put Your Cape On...

    Get A Super hero

    A Super hero

    Customer Portal

    Book A Demo

    Further reading...

    Development Update – March 2024

    Welcome back to the March edition of our regular dev update and with it, we've felt a…

    Read More

    Development Update – February 2024

    Welcome back to our February dev update and to be quite honest - it's been a quiet…

    Read More


    Learning From Napster & Metallica

    Further reading...

    Development Update – March 2024

    Welcome back to the March edition of our regular dev update and with it, we've felt a…

    Read More

    Development Update – February 2024

    Welcome back to our February dev update and to be quite honest - it's been a quiet…

    Read More


    Does Good Design Matter?

    Precursor: In 2020 we wrote an article titled “Could A CRM Give You Pleasure?” which proved rather popular. We’ve also spent much of last year improving the UX of our software.

    Does any of it really matter? Thankfully there have been numerous studies to answer this very question…

    For example, in 2005 a group called The Design Council studied portfolios of companies that traded on the FTSE over the past 10 years. What they discovered was that the companies that put an emphasis on design outperformed the FTSE 100 index by 200%*.

    More recently, in 2015 the National Endowment for the US Arts released a study that concluded that small businesses saw a 17.5% increase in average sales on improved goods and services when they invested in design**.
    https://www.arts.gov/sites/default/files/NEAIndustrialDesignManufacturing-4.28.2017-rev.pdf

    So let’s drill down into

    Five reasons why design doesn't just matter for the energy sector, it's imperative:

    Good design has the power to simplify the complex processes that you find in the energy sector.

    If you were to create a piece of software that fulfilled every part of your job – that system would be complex to a point of chaos but good design can simplify it all into manageable chunks. If done right, the design can act as a translator, simplifying the complex language of your processes.

    Good design can affect users emotions and can actually make your team happier.

    It may seem trivial to focus on emotion when talking about software but companies are realising more and more that it’s possible to evoke a positive response from simple interactions, like a hover effect or a popup animation.

    Firms such as Apple have built billion-dollar products around how good it can make a user feel, where everything is carefully crafted to give the user a positive experience.

    A CRM is much like your phone. You’ll likely spend more time looking at it than you will your own family, so it’s only right that it should also invoke positivity for the user.

    Good design can make your team more efficient

    As humans, we have an inbuilt nature to take the perceived quickest route to a solution, especially if we’re unsure of the path ahead. When performing a complicated task, good design can provide useful tools precisely where and when they’re needed along a workflow. For instance, having an important button appear more prominent than other page elements can help guide users eyes on where they should go next.

    Good design can help highlight your wins and losses

    Presenting your data is all well and good but if its meaning is not clear, then it’s likely to be overlooked. This is even more apparent when reporting within the energy sector. Good design can help declutter and present important, actionable information whilst giving the option to drill down to the data that matters. Users can then focus clearly on the presented facts and adapt swiftly to the cause of their wins.

    Good design can provide assurances of a high level of service.

    If we hold two products side-by-side, we’ll invariably focus on the better-looking of the two. This is where the good design looks to assure us that “If they’ve spent this much effort perfecting how it looks, then the way it works must also be as equally well thought out”.

    Although we know that doesn’t always hold true, it’s inbuilt within us and we still can’t help but use it as a base for commercial decisions. When providing completely re-brandable software like ours, it’s even more imperative that when your customers are using it, the way it looks matches the high level of service that you provide.

    Summing It All Up

    Investing in good design is superficial by its nature but the results will bleed into numerous positive areas, far and beyond aesthetics. Here at UtilityClick we care enormously about the software experiences our users will have, that’s why we invest so much in a design to convey that. We don’t believe any equivalent system can attest to that.

    If you’d like to see how we’ve taken these 5 points above (and a few more) to transform our software, get in touch for a demo:

    An interactive side-by-side of old Vs. new for our PRO CRM product.


    A Big Fat Review Of The Year

    What happened in the world?

    The US elected their first ever female vice president.

    What happened at UtilityClick?

    Vendor Agreements Added

    This update enabled users to keep all customer data in one place by storing all types of agreements, not just energy related.

    Bill Val Launches!

    A brand new product was added to give peace of mind to customers that their bills are thoroughly checked prior to payment.

    Click To Dial Added

    PRO CRM users were now able to make outbound calls and log the resulting details (like call duration and time of call).

    What happened in the world?

    NFT became a thing. Christie’s sells first purely-digital NFT for $69 million.

    What happened at UtilityClick?

    Address Lookups Added

    Address lookup functionality was added to the system, saving users time when profiling their customers.

    Marketing API Integration

    This was a new API connection that allows contacts to be automatically fed through to any system of choice.

    What happened in the world?

    Ever Given boat blocks the Suez Canal for 6 days.

    What happened at UtilityClick?

    A New Advanced Search

    We deployed a MASSIVE upgrade to all system search tools, making it even easier to search for customers and leads.

    This brought an integrated UC Video Jukebox to PRO CRM. Now if the work gets tough users are able to turn up the tunes.

    Our staff launched a lighthearted energy podcast and inadvertently stumble into a great energy-saving waffle cooking hack.

    What happened in the world?

    Nomadland wins Best Film, Best Director and Best Actress at the Academy Awards (Oscars).

    What happened at UtilityClick?

    Employee Payment Terms

    We added an enhancement to our Commissions module that allows users to create employee payment profiles. Monthly payments due can then be reported to internal agents.

    This allowed for future forecasts to be updated based on actual usage, thus providing a clearer insight into users finances.

    We Turned 5 Years old

    Half a decade ago UtilityClick was just an idea from the inside of a South London flat. Fast forward to April 2021 and our software is used to procure over 2.8 TWh every year.

    What happened in the world?

    The one where the cast of the hit TV series, Friends reunited.

    What happened at UtilityClick?

    Supplier Pricing Participation

    With this update, suppliers could now mark whether they will be participating within a tender or custom pricing request.

    Parent/Child UI Overhaul

    This upgrade made it so much easier for users to review Parent/Child portfolios.

    What happened in the world?

    England reach the finals of a European Championship for the first time ever.

    What happened at UtilityClick?

    Speedier System Exports

    We rewrote each module using pure SQL code, which means requested exports are completed much faster.

    Another new product, allowing users to create their own energy price comparison website through Tickd (and then manage it all through our industry-leading CRM system).

    Bulk Reassigning Customers

    We realised the unnecessary admin required to make wholesale changes to a customer, so we added a bulk assignment tool.

    What happened in the world?

    The delayed 2020 Tokyo Olympics takes place and is dominated by the US and Chinese teams.

    What happened at UtilityClick?

    Meter Lookup With MPAN

    We added the ability to search for a site or meter location by MPAN.

    PORTAL offers suppliers a doorway to interact with TPIs, whilst INSIGHTS allows for invaluable monitoring of market conditions.

    Authentication With Microsoft

    This update brought Microsoft authentication to the majority of our services. Now all that is needed is an existing Microsoft login and password.

    What happened in the world?

    Lionel Messi leaves Barcelona in tears after 21 years with the club.

    What happened at UtilityClick?

    This one was huge! We completely redeveloped all reporting and dashboards from the ground up.

    What happened in the world?

    Nasa's rover lands on Mars and collects first rock samples.

    What happened at UtilityClick?

    A Bumper Release Of Over 100 System Improvements

    Including a 'Recycle Dead Leads' tool, 'Quick Customer Snapshot', and improved error messaging for imports.

    What happened in the world?

    Space tourism takes off as William Shatner actually goes to space.

    What happened at UtilityClick?

    A 2.0 of an upgrade which included significant improvement to the upload process as well as making the system much easier to use.

    We released a selection of items for PRO CRM containing 9 new tools.

    What happened in the world?

    Britney Spears is a free woman after a judge ends her conservatorship.

    What happened at UtilityClick?

    We rolled out 10 new beautiful dashboards to all customer accounts. These new reports not only look great but focus on speed and clarity.

    No matter your supplier relationship coverage, this update meant you could now choose to employ the "Get Tickd Quotes" button and utilise the connections that Tickd have assembled.

    What happened in the world?

    Angela Merkel steps down as German Chancellor after 16 years in charge.

    What happened at UtilityClick?

    Complete System Redesign

    The end of the year saw the completion and rollout of a shiny new design for our PRO CRM, BILL VAL and PORTAL products.

    Duck Hunt Game

    Everyone hates an error screen so we tried to soften the blow of ours by giving users the chance to play a version of the 1984 hit Duck Hunt each time it appears.

    EDF Energy Contract Submission API

    We've worked closely with EDF to give UtilityClick TPIs the ability to submit contracts directly to the supplier, once a quote has been marked as accepted.

    And that was all in just 12 months!

    You’ve seen how quickly both the world and our software evolves. 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!

    Further reading...

    Development Update – March 2024

    Welcome back to the March edition of our regular dev update and with it, we've felt a…

    Read More

    Development Update – February 2024

    Welcome back to our February dev update and to be quite honest - it's been a quiet…

    Read More


    Twas The Week Before Christmas

      Please consider using a refillable coffee cup when redeeming your gift card.

      Sorry, This Offer Has Expired.

      If you would still like a free Starbucks gift card then book a demo with us below and mention the offer. Book a time & date that suits and you could sip your coffee whilst we show you around our software.

      We promise we won’t be latte. (Sorry!)

      Book A Demo

      Please consider using a refillable coffee cup when redeeming your gift card.


      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:

      1. Looks – quite the head-turner isn’t it? Who wouldn’t want to drive a truck that makes you look like Batman!
      2. 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.
      3. 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!

      Latest articles...

      Development Update – March 2024

      Welcome back to the March edition of our regular dev update and with it, we've felt a…

      Read More

      Development Update – February 2024

      Welcome back to our February dev update and to be quite honest - it's been a quiet…

      Read More

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