Published 13/12/2022
There are many potential sources of tension between property managers and tenants. If the re-billing of electricity, and more generally of energy, has always been one of them, the current context where energy prices have exploded and become volatile, has undoubtedly exacerbated it. All the ambiguities and doubts relating to invoices are obstacles to the transparency of this relationship. These can also be sources of misunderstandings, tensions and, unfortunately, possible disputes. The tertiary sector is confronted with this problem: property managers of retail spaces and tenants of stores, office buildings and tenants of floors, coworking spaces or incubators and transient occupants... The situations are varied and the turnover of tenants is accentuated by the new uses of flexibility at work.
Equipping yourself with the best energy management and optimization tools to gain precision and reliability is therefore a major asset for landlords. And the key to a win-win relationship.
01
Landlords: How to Easily Generate an Accurate Electricity Bill
We are talking about electricity here, but it is of course about all types of energy. Generally speaking, the property manager, depending on the contract, invoices his tenants monthly - more rarely quarterly - in a provisional manner, while waiting for the regularization. Two major difficulties await him. The first is the time spent: issuing invoices can be terribly time-consuming if not facilitated by an energy management system. The second is the lack of data: being confronted with an adjustment showing an unexpected difference, not being able to answer a tenant who asks for explanations on his energy bill. The objective is therefore twofold: to make rebilling easy AND indisputable.
For easier energy billing:
Using an Energy Management and Optimization System (EMOS) will better allow you to:
Automatically generate energy bills. Administrative teams can be relieved of this task, thanks to the fact that bills can be created and centralized automatically on the platform.
Set the criteria for checking or not checking issued invoices. For example, a small amount may justify sending an invoice without prior checking.
What is an Energy Management and Optimization System (EMOS)?
For an indisputable (or almost!) energy bill:
The better the real-time energy monitoring, the closer the bill is to the final consumption. An energy management software can also integrate other features such as:
Allocation on a real or virtual consumption basis: a tool that makes it possible to mix management with "hard" meters and allocation on a "virtual" calculation basis.
Free, personalizable and customizable breakdown criteria: per m2, per number of offices, per number of days of use, per number of months occupied, per services taken... the contract must be completely customized according to your needs.
Under these conditions, an energy management system becomes a real trusted third party in the owner-tenant relationship! Let's not forget that the property manager (who is also an energy consumer!) can also, thanks to this measurement tool, focus on their own energy performance, by benefiting from all the added value of a sophisticated energy management software.
Why should you choose to buy over build when considering an EMS?
02
Using an Energy Management System: Can it Also be an Advantage for Tenants?
The property manager's detailed management of energy costs is also an advantage for the tenant. Thanks to accurate information, they can control their consumption and make relevant choices in terms of business strategy and management.
Ideally, they should themselves be able to access:
To the parameters of their consumption. They can thus aim to reduce their energy bill by monitoring its evolution independently, and by anticipating their decisions. Some energy management systems even allow to plan comparisons by integrating an additional service (for example in the case of a co-working space).
To the history of consumption, even in the event of a change of contract, and over several years. The system must provide the who/what/how much/when/how information, which is essential for valuable accounting traceability.
Use case
Energy Management Software and Business Strategy: The Same Battle
To illustrate the crucial role that an Energy Management and Optimization System can play, we can look at the example of a METRON customer, which owns a large chain of service stations on the highway. They wanted to know the cost of the operating hours of its freezers in each of their service stations. The goal? To be able to relate the energy expenditure specific to the freezers on its energy bill, the sales of ice creams carried out and the margins released. This level of analysis is now required by major retailers in the context of the energy crisis.
03
Can Precise and Indisputable Electricity Bills be a Competitive Advantage?
Clearly, yes! For property managers, distinguishing themselves from their competitors by invoicing their tenants in the best possible way is becoming a major issue. For the future tenant looking for a place to live, the promise of a fair and reliable bill is a big plus. If you add to this the possibility of a personalized energy follow-up and optimization leads, the argument becomes very strong!
Learn how to manage your energy costs with METRON.
KEY POINTS
TO REMEMBER
The tense economic and energy context, the permanent fear of unfavorable developments, the complex uses of premises...many factors can contribute to tense relations between owners and professional tenants. On both sides, the need for transparency is growing. In this respect, an energy optimization solution becomes an indispensable third party of trust, the "referee". The use of an improved energy management system by a property manager can be a powerful argument to develop with a future tenant. Everything that contributes to reducing risks and costs is undoubtedly becoming more and more valuable.
Are you a property manager and you want to be more sustainable and efficient?
