ROI
Utility management ROI calculator
Estimate the time and spend UMS, the Utilified Management System, could recover for your portfolio. Choose enterprise or energy broker, enter your connections, invoice volumes and costs, and the calculator returns an illustrative result with every assumption labelled.
Calculate your ROI
Model assumptions, not measured results
- Assumed: 90% of the manual invoice-review and reporting time you enter is removed
- Assumed: 2.5% of energy spend is overpaid, and 95% of that is recovered
How the calculator works
Enter your details
Provide your managed connections, monthly invoice volumes and current processing costs. The calculator adapts to both enterprise and energy broker workflows.
We model the value
The calculator applies the labelled assumptions for invoice processing, billing discrepancies and reporting time. Adjust your inputs and validate the result against your own evidence.
See your results
Get a breakdown of time saved, cost reductions and billing errors recovered. Brokers also see example revenue from client services they deliver with UMS, shown separately from savings.
What drives utility management ROI
Most utility management ROI comes from four places: invoice errors you currently pay, hours your team spends moving data between spreadsheets, contract and tariff structures that drift out of line with how you consume, and the reporting work that lands on someone's desk every month. The calculator models invoice errors, invoice review time and reporting time. Tariff and contract alignment sits outside it.
Where invoice errors come from
The calculator's default assumes 2.5% of energy spend is overpaid and that 95% of that is recovered. Both are model assumptions, not measured results, so test them against a sample of your own invoices. Overcharges usually trace to a wrong network tariff, a missed loss factor, a stale contract rate, a duplicated charge or a meter read that doesn't match what the retailer billed. Manual review catches some of them. UMS checks every supported invoice line by line against contract rates and published network tariffs, instead of a sampled few.
Time is the line item nobody puts on the invoice
A commercial electricity invoice carries usage, demand, network, market, environmental and metering charges, plus GST. Reviewing one properly means comparing it with meter data, contract rates, network tariffs and loss factors. The calculator starts at 45 minutes an invoice and $55 an hour; change both to match your team, and it multiplies them by your monthly invoice count.
Reporting work grows with every site
Consumption reporting, spend reporting, progress tracking against energy targets and meter data collection each take hours every month. The calculator includes them because that time shrinks once data flows into one unified system instead of being assembled by hand from PDFs and retailer portals.
For brokers and consultants, ROI runs both ways
If you manage utilities on behalf of clients, the calculator also models the revenue side: invoice validation, branded client portal access, network tariff reviews and payment-file preparation are services you can offer your clients. Client portal access needs the Custom Portal add-on. The revenue figure is gross, at example prices, so your margin depends on what you charge and what the platform and any add-ons cost.
Frequently asked questions
How accurate are these ROI figures?
The figures are illustrative estimates built from your inputs and the calculator's default assumptions. They aren't guarantees or verified customer benchmarks. Adjust the inputs to match your own workflow, invoice volumes and labour rates, then validate the case against a sample of your invoices before you rely on it in a business case.
How long until we see savings?
Time to value depends on onboarding, data feeds, invoice quality and the work your team currently performs. Use a sample portfolio to assess time saved and confirmed billing discrepancies before relying on a savings forecast. Feed coverage and validation depth vary by supplier, fuel and market, so a sample also shows which parts of your portfolio UMS can check first.
Does this only work for Australian portfolios?
No. Utilified is built for utility portfolios worldwide, with the deepest coverage today in Australia's NEM. The calculator itself assumes Australian network tariffs and AUD inputs. UMS is available worldwide. Outside Australia, contact our team to get started, so we can confirm your markets, invoice formats and currencies first.
What if we already have an energy management system?
Energy management software typically handles meter data and consumption analytics. Utility management software handles the financial, contractual and operational side: invoice validation, account hierarchies, contract renewals and multi-utility coverage including gas, water and LPG. The two overlap on metering and complement each other elsewhere. The calculator focuses on the spend that validation can recover.
How does ROI change with portfolio size?
Time savings grow with invoice volume and error recovery grows with total spend, so larger portfolios show larger absolute figures on the same assumptions. Licence cost rises in steps by managed connections rather than per seat, so ROI generally improves as a portfolio grows. The plan recommendation sizes you to the band that fits your connection count.
Can we get a tailored ROI projection for our portfolio?
Yes. The calculator is a starting point. For multi-site portfolios with mixed utilities, complex tariff structures or broker client-service models, our team can run a tailored projection using a sample of your real invoices, which grounds your business case in your own data. Use the "Book a demo" button to set this up.
Test the estimate against your own invoices.
Our team can run a tailored projection from a sample of your real invoices, so your business case rests on your own data.