And, with electricity prices only going up, Australian businesses quite literally can’t afford to waste power.

The good news is that you don’t need a massive budget to do something about it. These five tips are practical, proven, and can make a real dent in your 2025 energy bills.

1. Invest in smart metering

Smart meters don’t just track your usage, they show you exactly when, where, and what’s chewing through your electricity. With this information, you make smarter decisions on upgrades, maintenance, and energy contracts – plus what activities you might want to cut back on. Energy NSW has a quick-reference info page on smart meters.

2. Turn your team into energy champions

Let’s face it. Even the best systems won’t save you money if your people are unknowingly working against them. Training your staff in basic energy literacy, like switching devices off properly, managing air-con settings, or using energy-saving modes can pay off quickly. Pair this with workplace energy challenges or dashboards to boost engagement. It’s not just about cutting costs, it’s about building a culture where everyone contributes to energy efficiency.

3. Move to the cloud

Still running local servers or legacy systems? Those server racks might be quietly racking up your power bills. Cloud platforms have become incredibly efficient, both in energy use and performance. Transitioning to the cloud not only reduces your electricity consumption, but also cuts down on hardware headaches, lowers maintenance costs, and improves business continuity. Bonus points if your cloud provider uses renewables.

4. Automate off-hours

This one’s simple, but effective. If your lights, signage, or equipment are still humming along after hours, you’re paying for power no one’s using. Timers, smart plugs, and affordable building automation tools can take the guesswork out of it. Even setting devices to ‘low power’ mode overnight can lead to noticeable savings, especially for retail, hospitality, or office-based SMBs.

5. Leverage local initiatives

You don’t have to go it alone. Many Australian councils now offer sustainability programs specifically designed for small businesses. These include free or subsidised energy audits, group-buy programs for LED lighting, and tailored advice to help you reduce usage without disruption. Look up initiatives like the City of Sydney’s Better Buildings program or Melbourne’s Sustainable Business Program. These aren’t just for big corporates. If you’re not tapping into what’s available, you could be leaving savings on the table.

The post Five lesser-known ways to keep biz energy bills down appeared first on Inside Small Business.

From 1 July 2025, every household and around one million small businesses will see another $150 in rebates automatically applied to their electricity bills in quarterly instalments, on top of the previous rebates already being rolled out to Australian households and small businesses.

The Government hasn’t yet released information about the eligibility criteria for small businesses.

Treasury estimates this will directly reduce headline inflation by around half of a percentage point in 2025, and reduce household bills by 7.5 per cent on average nationally, compared to bills without the extension, benefiting every household and small business in the country. It is also estimated that the extension of energy bill rebates will cost $1.8 billion over the forward estimates.

Recent data from the Australian Bureau of Statistics revealed that energy bill rebates that were rolled out in previous periods have helped in reducing electricity prices. In 2024, electricity prices fell 25.2 per cent, but would have fallen just 1.6 per cent without energy rebates.

In a related development, the ACCC’s Inquiry into the National Electricity Market will be extended for 12 months, helping to ensure households and small businesses get a fair deal from their energy retailer.

Altogether, it is expected that the Federal government’s energy reforms will help consumers switch between energy plans to secure the best value for their money, remove excessive fees and charges, and ensure people get the concessions they are entitled to that can help them hundreds of dollars per year.

“We are providing immediate relief on energy bills now while we continue to progress the overdue reform needed to deliver the modern, affordable and reliable energy grid Australians deserve,” the Federal government said in its statement. “Our economic plan is all about finishing the fight against inflation, providing responsible cost of living relief and building a stronger and more productive economy.”

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First and foremost, make sure you conduct an audit of your energy plan and expenses, says Liz Stephens, General Manager of Public Affairs and Strategy at ECA.

“Contact your retailer and make sure you are on the right plan for your business,” says Stephens. “Check: ‘How am I being charged for the energy I used? Am I on the best rates and plan for my needs? Do you have any additional offers for small businesses?’”

Stephens also recommends getting an energy audit done by a professional. An auditor can look at your previous bills, assess your equipment and premises, and consider your business needs. You can find an auditor through Government websites, like www.sustainability.vic.gov.au.

The Federal Government also has information about grants and rebates for small businesses here.

Practical switch-ups

Make sure that any light bulbs and appliances you use in your business are optimised for energy efficiency. Lighting alone can account for 10-25 per cent of your bill, says Stephens, so it’s more than worth it to replace inefficient bulbs with, say LEDs.

AC can be a game-changer for you and your customers, but it can also significantly impact your bill. ECA recommends setting your temperature at 18-20 degrees in winter and 24-26 degrees in summer.

You might also like to invest in motion detectors and timers or more energy-efficient appliances, if you’ve got some budget for upgrades.

If you’re after information more specifically related to your sector, the Department of Climate Change, Energy, the Environment and Water has a website for business energy management.

Outages

Hot and rainy weather can lead to power and network outages. With so many small businesses relying on internet or cellular connections, make sure you are prepared for the event of an outage.

The Department of Infrastructure recommends making sure your important information is backed up online or physically, considering a point of sale with a SIM card and Wi-Fi connectivity, and knowing where your closest ATM is located. Additionally, diversify your network providers between devices; this way, if one network has an outage, you are still covered by another. 

The Department of Infrastructure has more information about outages for businesses on its website.

The post How SMEs can reduce power bills and prep for outages this summer appeared first on Inside Small Business.

PowerSmart for Small Business

One of the grants is the PowerSmart for Small Business program, which aims to help Tasmanian small businesses better understand their energy use and implement initiatives that will help them save energy usage and costs.

Under the program, grants of up to $1,000 to small businesses for energy efficiency audits that will enable small businesses to identify when and where they use the most energy, allowing them to make informed decisions about the right energy purchasing arrangements and opportunities to reduce energy consumption and lower energy costs. Small businesses can submit the audit report and invoice to receive the grant once the audit is completed.

Depending on the actions arising from the energy audit, further funding assistance under different programs may be available to support energy efficiency investments, such as the Energy Saver Loan Scheme which provides interest-free three-year loans to eligible small businesses to invest in certain energy efficiency equipment.

Key benefits of the program include up to $450,000 in annual funding available for four years (depending on program uptake) and the option of having a proposed energy audit scope pre-approved as eligible under the program to provide certainty of support before the audit is undertaken.

Multicultural Small Business Grant

The other program is the Multicultural Small Business Grant program, which will support the growth of multicultural small businesses so they can undertake projects that will help develop stronger communities and enhance Tasmania’s regional areas.

The $400,000 grant program will provide grants between $700 and $5,000 to help finance projects that build capability and new skills. Such projects can include building a website, developing strategic marketing plans, or providing advice, coaching or training

“This new two-year grant program is a continuation of our support, which is delivering on our 2030 Strong Plan for Tasmania’s Future, and I look forward to hearing about the different projects that are delivered,” said Tasmanian Minister for Small Business and Hospitality, Jane Howlett

Howlett added that the growth of Tasmania’s multicultural sector was having significant flow-on effect to the small business community.

“Our multicultural sector’s drive is clearly evidenced through the contribution community members from overseas are making in starting and running small businesses across the State,” she said.

The Multicultural Small Business Grant Program guidelines are available on the Business Tasmania website and the program will open on 19 November 2024.

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Well, the good news is that you don’t have to get up an hour earlier, take a 45-minute lunch break (remember those?) or trek to the gym after work (although well done if you’re managing this and managing a business). 

All you need is small movement breaks throughout your day, to find more energy, motivation and focus. 

Two minutes is all it takes

Research has shown that stopping for a two-minute movement break regularly throughout the day is enough to reconnect with your energy and counter the effects of sitting for extended periods. So the next time you hear yourself say you don’t have the time to exercise, try the two-minute trick. Tell yourself, I’m just going to do two minutes. If you keep going after the two minutes is up, that’s great. If you don’t, that’s fine too. The research is clear that you’ll still get incredible benefits from that moment of movement – and remember, all those little moments add up. 

Four ways to find more energy in your day

1. Embrace micro-moves: Quick bursts of activity or ‘micro-moves,’ throughout the workday can be a game-changer. This could include stretching at your desk, doing chair squats during a conference call, or taking brief walking breaks. Micro-moves help counteract long periods of sitting and can significantly boost energy levels, focus, and productivity.
2. Transform your environment: Your small business workspace is probably not set up to encourage movement. But we can change that! Think about how you could change your environment so that it’s more conducive to movement. For example you could get a standing desk, have a yoga ball nearby for when you need to swap out your regular chair, or even have some small weights on your desk for when you need to get moving. The good news is you can even use existing office items with your movement breaks – a full water bottle makes a great weight. 
3. Find an accountability partner: Partner with your team members or other small business founders to set movement goals and stick to them. Having someone to keep you accountable means you’re much more likely to show up. It could be participating in a virtual fitness challenge, sharing progress on a Slack channel or committing to a regular walking meeting with one of your clients or suppliers. 
4. Schedule breaks: While it’s tempting to ‘power through’ that neverending to-do list, scheduling wellness breaks into your day can help your physical and mental health as a small-business founder. Plan your breaks ahead and treat them with the same importance as any business meeting. It could include a quick yoga break, a ten-minute walk, or some time outside in nature. The silver lining? These breaks will ultimately make you more productive and focused, so you’ll get more done than if you’d just stayed at your desk all day. 

Try these movement breaks: 

• Do angled push-ups at the kitchen bench while waiting for the water to boil for your tea or coffee.
• Stand and pace when on the phone.
• Do a few heel raises when waiting for your next Zoom meeting to start. 

The post ​​Four ways to find more energy in your workday as a small-business founder  appeared first on Inside Small Business.

But there are simple ways to improve your business’s sustainability scorecard and reduce your carbon footprint, so that you can take intentional positive action, rather than feeling overwhelmed by the enormity of the problem. And it might even save you money (bonus!). 

1. Reduce landfill

As a business, everything you throw out that is never recycled, reused or repurposed becomes landfill. You can reduce the amount of rubbish you create by removing single-use plastics from the products you purchase or the packaging you use, and going out of your way to use recyclable materials. 

2. Be energy-conscious

You might be tempted to choose your business’s next appliance or white goods purchase based on price. But if you instead focus on the Energy Star rating or the level of kilowatts the item uses, you can save money in the long run by reducing power consumption. Switching old or fluorescent globes to LEDs, using energy-saving mode on your computer, adding timers to electrical goods and turning these off at the powerpoint can all reduce energy bills and your carbon footprint. 

3. Support clean energy

Consider purchasing GreenPower from your energy retailer to support renewable energy investment in Australia. Or, if suitable, opt-in to harness the sun’s power with solar panels. 

If you have solar and can’t afford to buy battery storage, make the most of the energy produced from your panels by switching your energy habits to when your solar is running. Your local electrician or solar retailer can help you by reviewing your solar system, commercial property and energy patterns.

4. Choose ethical suppliers

Ethical suppliers help to make the world a better place. As small businesses, we are the bread and butter of the economy. Although we might not look like we have purchasing power, every decision we make with our money matters. 

Consider supporting businesses that support initiatives (such as 1% for the Planet), are B corp-certified, or go out of their way to make a tangible difference in the environment. Set up an Ethical Charter or Supply Chain guidelines to support your business in making these decisions in future.

5. Minimise your digital carbon footprint

Our online activities also have an impact on climate change. The internet is already responsible for the equivalent emissions of the aviation sector, so be mindful of your digital footprint. 

If you have a website, sizing images for the web (no more than 1500px wide for most sites) and compressing them with free tools like Tiny PNG and Small PDF before you upload them not only reduces your web hosting disk usage but also lowers the energy needed to load your site for your customers, resulting in a faster website. Google tells us that for every second delay in a website loading in retail, the likelihood that people will not buy from us is up by 20 per cent. You can also opt for green web hosting to be part of a network that monitors and reduces your footprint on your behalf. 

To get a clear picture of your business’s impact, invest in an energy consumption audit for you and your team to reduce consumption and make a positive dent in your employee’s energy bills. Spending some time on research into better environmental choices now is a win for your business’s bank account and a win for the environment. Every little bit helps.

The post Five simple ways to improve your small business’s sustainability appeared first on Inside Small Business.

Managing cashflow effectively has never been more important and these tips will help businesses thrive in this tough operating environment.

Understand energy costs and look for savings

Sharon Musker of WiseUp Energy, a consultancy that works with businesses to help them reduce their energy costs, says that often, business owners think the only thing they can do is shop around or ask their energy retailer for a better deal – but that there are more actions they can take. For example, how a business’s site or meter is classified, and the type of metering, can have a massive impact on the tariff and overall cost of energy.

“If your tariff is not optimised, businesses could be paying thousands more than necessary,” Sharon says. She also suggested that now is the time to identify possible energy-efficiency solutions, such as appliances that consume less energy or augment with on-premises solar.

Grants and allowances

While much of the support available to small businesses over the pandemic is no longer available, existing grants and allowances could also help alleviate pressure. These include:

• As part of the Business Energy Advice Program, small businesses with six to 20 employees may be eligible for a free personalised energy consultation plus access to a Small Business Energy Check tool.
• The Advancing Renewables Program provides matched funding between $100,000 and $50 million for renewable energy projects.
• Businesses in Victoria may be eligible for the Solar for Business rebate scheme, which provides small businesses with a rebate and an interest-free loan to help with the costs of installing a rooftop solar system.

Simple ways to stay cashflow positive

The likelihood of ongoing energy price increases, along with the rise in operating costs, demands disciplined cashflow management. Tactics we’ve seen small businesses use to better forecast and manage their cashflow include:

• Get paid faster: Invoice clients as early as possible, shorten payment terms if possible, ensure payment terms are clear and follow up any late payments quickly.
• Pay on a longer timeline: Negotiate longer payment terms with your suppliers where possible.
• Reduce overheads: Always consider the return on any expenditure. Check your subscriptions and cut any that are not used or paying off.
• Check your contracts and bills: Set aside an afternoon to assess contracts for possible savings that may be negotiated, check bills for any anomalies or errors, and start planning now for the inclusions you would like in new contracts that will start over the next 12 months – this includes energy contracts.
• Consider opportunity cost: Weigh up the benefits of bulk stock orders against the cashflow impact of having stock on hand over lengthy periods.
• Track cashflow in real time: If keeping track of revenue and expenses is proving tricky, consider hiring an accountant to set up systems to help.
• Forecast for different scenarios: Revisit your cashflow forecast regularly – it’s not set and forget. Using a cashflow forecast calculator helps you decide whether your business can invest in a new product or service, or needs to set aside a portion of revenue for an upcoming quiet period or large expense.
• Adopt tools to ride the ups and downs: Consider whether your business needs access to a cash reserve to fall back on, such as a line of credit. A business line of credit provides cash when it’s needed across a set term, and interest is generally only charged on the funds you use, while you use it.

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Origin are looking to harness the ideas of start-ups and innovators to drive the adoption of data and analytics in the energy sector, and to provide customers with cleaner and smarter solutions. They have gone into partnership with innovation hub Stone & Chalk – who brings start-ups together with potential corporate partners, investors and mentors – to run the Originate scheme and source innovators from outside the energy industry to bring new ideas into it.

“We have a long track record working with start-ups both in Australia and internationally, helping to foster ideas that capitalise on growing trends including the convergence of data and energy, growth in renewables, storage and green fuels,” Tony Lucas, Origin’s Executive General Manager of Future Energy & Technology, said.

“Over the past three years, we’ve reviewed more than 2500 start-ups and ideas, and know what we are looking for in terms of ideas that we can nurture and help to take that crucial next step.

“We’re a founding member of the global Free Electrons start-up accelerator program and have already commercialised ideas such as Origin Spike – our gamified demand response program developed with US start-up OhmConnect,” Lucas added.

Leveraging Australia’s rich heritage in innovation that has produced world-changing technology such as Wi-Fi, ultrasound and cochlear implants, Origin intend to tap into the local technology community for ideas on how to make energy easier, smarter and cleaner.

“The partnership between Origin and Stone & Chalk is a fantastic opportunity for both organisations to help shape the future of energy delivery in Australia,” Stone & Chalk General Manager for Sydney, Marie-Anne Lampotang, said. “We will be connecting our start-ups that offer a range of innovative solutions that can help innovate across Origin Energy’s technology stack.

“Stone & Chalk is focused on shaping the future of emerging tech sectors by catalysing the commercial success across our impact network and helping them on the next stage of their journey to scale their businesses,” Lampotang added.

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The latest edition of the report, compiled by research firm Alviss Consulting for Energy Consumers Australia, is published twice a year, is based on retail offers available to small businesses during April 2021.

“This is great news for the 1 million Australian small businesses and the people who own and operate them,” Energy Consumers Australia Chief Executive Officer, Lynne Gallagher, said.

“We’ve seen decreases in the wholesale electricity price as a result of multiple factors including the influx of renewable energy into the grid and the impact of price monitoring and default offers. We are really encouraged to see retailers passing those savings on to small business consumers in the form of lower tariffs.”

The report noted that the largest decreases in annual electricity bills for small businesses were recorded in Victoria ($8750, while Western Australia experienced an increase in electricity bills in the past year ($230), though remains lower than the levels the state reached in 2017. South Australian small businesses continue to incur the highest average annual electricity bills ($7,215) while Queensland businesses continue to have the lowest ($5,190).

A factor in South Australian prices is that the state’s electricity consumers still face the highest level of network charges in the nation. Network charges are levied by network operators to cover the cost of building and maintaining electrical infrastructure, including the poles and wires.

“Encouragingly, we are also seeing falling network costs during the past year being passed through to small-business customers in South Australia, Victoria and Tasmania,” Gallagher said.

Another factor contributing to lower energy costs according to the report are lower gas prices. The report noted that average annual gas bills decreased by two per cent between April 2020 and April 2021.

“It is extremely encouraging to see that energy costs – which have been at historically high levels for much of the past decade – are coming down,” Gallagher said. “But there is definitely still work to do before we can say that Australia’s small businesses are operating comfortably in terms of their ability to meet their energy costs.”

A number of states also introduced default offer requirements that provide a safety net offer, set by the states’ respective regulators. The report pointed out that the introduction of default offers has demonstrably contributed to lowering overall energy costs.

“These default offers are having a clear impact on lowering energy bills for small business,” Gallagher said. “Their introduction has been a genuinely impactful reform. It’s important to note, though, that the default price is seldom the lowest available one. Small-business owners and operators can usually get a better deal by investigating market offers or contacting their retailer.”

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