By Powell Dik
Now that the lifting of lockdown is upon us and restaurants are opening back up again, the running costs, the stress of bills and the business of hospitality is all coming back to the forefront for restaurant owners and managers.
To make the financial management of running post-lockdown hospitality easier, it is important to pay attention to where your water bills are coming from and how they are charged.
More often than not, most restaurants do not take the time to look at their water bill charges and end up paying unfair prices. As such, it is important to check in with your water supplier before you pay a charge that you should not have to pay for your water bill.
The different kinds of water bills
There will be different tariffs for each water provider and different methods of charging. Some restaurants will find that they are with a provider that they are unfamiliar with, and these are usually legacy providers: a company that was automatically chosen to provide the restaurant with water after the deregulation of the water market.
For restaurants that function as part of a franchise and have different locations, or even locations that are between two regions of the country, there can be complications upon billing.
These sorts of issues can be easily remedied by consolidated billing, where a standardised rate of water billing is sought after. This can make restaurant budget management a lot easier and is a preferred technique.
Why restaurants specifically?
Restaurants have a high quantity of water in and water out as waste, as they are a fully functioning business and as such, their water usage can ba much higher than other billed companies.
Especially after such a long period of lockdown, restaurants may find that they are suddenly paying a much larger amount of money for the maintenance of their establishment, and it is important for them to make sure they are not being overcharged, especially during this period of great recovery for the hospitality industry.
Considering that restaurants will be in high demand upon lockdown lifting, and kitchens will be in full swing, water bills will be quite extortionate, and so making sure you’re paying the right amount will be extremely crucial for staying within budget.
How to find out who your water supplier is
In order to find your water supplier and to gain further clarity on the transparency of your water bill charges, you can contact a water retailer to establish further understanding. By providing them with details of your business, including locations of the buildings you wish to enquire about, they will cross check who your supplier is and provide you with contact details for them.
At this point, you can then enquire about any water bills that you are paying to your supplier. If you have any issues contacting them, your water retailer will be happy to assist in any way possible. As always, this is to ensure that there is full transparency regarding your charges on your water bill.
