Utility Bill Auditing & Recovery Service

Audit utility bills to find errors and recover overcharges

Startup Cost
$8,000-$30,000
Difficulty
Advanced
Time to Profit
8-15 months
Profit Potential
$17,000-$83,000/month

Overview

Utility bill auditors earn 30-50% of recovered overcharges on contingency.

Auditing 100-400 businesses annually generates $200,000-$1,000,000 with 90-95% margins.

In 2025, utility billing errors common and costly.

Services include electric and gas bill auditing (typical 5-15% error rate), water and sewer bill review, telecom bill auditing, tax and tariff error identification, overcharge recovery and refunds, and ongoing bill monitoring.

Successful auditors analyze complex utility rates and tariffs, identify billing errors and overcharges, work with utilities to recover funds, operate on contingency (no savings = no fee), and provide ongoing monitoring.

Multi-location businesses as clients.

Marketing through business networking, facility managers, franchises, retail chains, and accounting firms.

Required Skills

  • Utility Rate Analysis
  • Tariff Knowledge
  • Bill Auditing
  • Utility Relationships
  • Negotiation
  • Data Analysis

Pros and Cons

Pros

  • Contingency model low-risk for clients
  • Utility errors surprisingly common
  • High profit margins
  • Businesses appreciate found money
  • Can serve many clients simultaneously

Cons

  • Need deep utility rate expertise
  • Contingency means unpredictable income
  • Time-consuming bill analysis
  • Utility recovery process can be slow
  • Competition from cost reduction firms

How to Get Started

  1. Learn utility rates, tariffs, and billing
  2. Develop bill auditing methodologies and tools
  3. Market to multi-location businesses
  4. Audit utility bills for errors and overcharges
  5. Work with utilities to recover overcharges
  6. Earn contingency fees on recoveries
  7. Provide ongoing bill monitoring services

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