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July 2017
A recent survey of over 250 convenience retailers has shown that energy costs are a threat to the future of their business. 46% of those retailers believe that they have an ‘unfair’ or ‘very unfair’ deal from their energy supplier. Complaints included – crippling rates, inflexible payment terms and long, extended contracts.
Smartsavings has successfully saved retailers £thousands over the years on their electricity contracts. Get in touch and see what we can do.
Of those stores surveyed, 84% have no written age verification policy; 47% have no warning signage and 79% have no documented training in place.
Smartsavings works with a national provider of compliance checking services. Get in touch to find out more. It could save your business or at the very least help you to avoid a punitive fine.
June 2017
TPR issued over 5700 fines of £400 or more during the first quarter of 2017, an increase of 50% vs the previous quarter.
Are you compliant? Smartsavings works with AEclipse to provide competitive solutions for workplace pensions. Get in touch and see how inexpensive it can be. Don’t risk being fined.
May 2017
Rising inflation is only one of the factors driving up convenience retailers costs. Smartsavings can save you money on the everyday costs of doing business.
April 2017
ATMs are proven to increase footfall, drive profitability and save the retailer money.
Smartsavings works with YourCash, one of the largest ATM providers in Europe. If you are one of the 46% without an ATM, contact Smartsavings about installing an ATM at no cost to you.
March 2017
This includes £131m of theft by customers and staff. That equates to £5475 per store. Are you taking all the measures you should to protect your business against people stealing from you?
Smartsavings has some of the solutions you need, from alarms, cctv, cash safes, insurance and cash collection services.
February 2017
According to analysis by the Retail Economics / Retail Week cost base index, operational costs rose by 4% in Q4 2016, the biggest increase since 2014. The biggest contributor is increased Labour costs. With inflation forecast to hit 3% during the year, the outlook on costs is very challenging for retailers in 2017.
Smartsavings is a proven means of reducing costs through its 22 pre-negotiated deals for key operational services.
January 2017
In the 3rd quarter of 2016, the Pension Regulator issued 15,000 non-compliance notices to small businesses. This compares with 11,000 issued in the previous 3.5 years.
The regulator also imposed more than 3 times the number of fines of up to £10,000 per day on businesses, than it had done in the previous 3.5 years.
In 2017 over 700,000 small employers (0-30 employees) will have to start offering a workplace pension. Don’t risk your business by not complying. At Smartsavings we have a great, cost-effective solution for you.
December 2016
Congratulations to Midshire, our supplier of copiers, on winning this award.
Since the introduction of the NLW earlier this year, retailers have been successfully using Smartsavings to reduce their business costs and in so doing, to mitigate the cost impact of the NLW.
Make sure you are using Smartsavings to reduce your costs as the cost to you of paying the NLW increases in 2017.
November 2016
Read the great testimonials on our ‘Customer Reviews’ page from retailers who are savings £000’s pa on their electricity costs by switching from fluorescent to LED lighting. Smartsavings’ LED lights come with a 5 year warranty and are UK manufactured.
Your investment will pay back in around 9 months, after which it is just pure savings. What are you waiting for?
Our supplier Cashtec can help you to ensure that your cash counting/weighing equipment is able to deal with the new coin. Remember that there will be an overlap period of 6 months when you will have to accept both the current and new £1 coin.
This website provides lots of information about the new coin.
http://www.thenewpoundcoin.com
October 2016
Research shows that when you have a cash machine in store, users spend a larger proportion of this cash in store than other shoppers. Make sure you cash in by getting yourself a ‘free to use’ cash machine from YourCash through Smartsavings.
The falling £ and the rising oil price mean that the cost of electricity is increasing. But did you know that the cost of electricity makes up less than half of the price you pay on your bill? The fastest rising element of cost are the government’s ‘Green Levies’ and these will increase each year.
Make sure you use the free Smartsavings’ expert energy contract renewal service to ensure that you get the best deal available.
According to analysis of the Pension Regulator’s data, around 55,000 small businesses have only a limited understanding of their duty to provide staff with a pension and are at risk of being fined for non-compliance.
Avoid the risk by using Smartsavings’ pension expert to put your workplace pension in place.
September 2016
To help you select the most effective services for your business, we have created this guide to suggest to you what the benefits could be. Find it here
Don’t forget that you can access information about Smartsavings whenever you are on the SPAR Academy site. www.sparacademy.co.uk
Just click on the Smartsavings ‘button’ on the Academy home page.
September 2016
Use Twitter to keep up with the latest news from Smartsavings and our suppliers. Find us @smartsavings1.
It couldn’t be easier to follow us using your smartphone and keep up to date with the different ways to make savings using Smartsavings.
August 2016
We have a new deal launching soon which offers a hassle free solution to Auto Enrolment.
June 2016
Smartsavings LED lighting solutions are providing retailers with excellent savings on energy bills and improving store lighting.
The Smartsavings team are here to help, just give us a call if you need any information.
The new Food Information Regulation comes into force on 13th December and will affect every Food Business Operator (FBO) preparing their own food products for resale.
The main purpose of the act is to protect allergy sufferers from eating products harmful to them. There are also some potentially serious consequences for retailers not complying with the Act.
If you are affected by this then please read the attached advisory bulletin for more information.
If you have any further queries please contact the Smartsavings Team directly on 01275 390511. Posted 10/11/2014
Smartsavings have selected Cashzone as their preferred supplier for ATMs.
By providing your customers with an ATM you could:
A Cashzone ATM could offer you a zero-investment, zero-effort revenue stream.
If you think your store could benefit from an ATM, call the Smartsavings Team on 01275 390511 or select the ATM deal from the deals page. Posted 21/10/2014
With Winter fast approaching we are all starting to think about the increase in our energy bills.
Make sure that you are not paying for more than you need to by taking a closer look at our voltage optimisation deal. Typical savings can be on average 12% of your business energy costs.
For more information call the Smartsavings Team today on 01275 390511. Posted 22/09/2014
We could save you ££££ on your waste collections.
Our supplier, 1st Waste Management, offers general waste collection from as little as £6.50 per collection and from just £4.50 per collection for dry mixed recyclate.
If you are interested in getting a free quote for your waste removal needs please contact us today on 01275 390511. Posted 18/08/2014
The presence of a CCTV camera is a strong visual sign to would-be intruders that your property is being watched and acts as a great first-line deterrent.
Our new deal with UK Security Company will help you to plan and put together a CCTV system that covers the whole of your property at a highly competitive rate.
Make sure that your property is safe and visit the deals page today for more information, or contact the Smartsavings Team directly on 01275 390511. Posted 17/07/2014
Our partner, ESL Services, is offering Smartsavings customers a special price of just £90 per candidate for this qualification which is needed to apply for your personal license to sell or authorise the sale of alcohol in Scotland. Click here for more details of the offer and how to make a booking. Posted 14/04/2014
Don’t forget that as part of our fantastic Stationery and Consumable deal you get free delivery so there is no reason not to have a look at some of the fantastic products available at very competitive rates. All you need to do is register with our supplier via the link on the deal page, then you can order everything you need online and UKOS will deliver it directly to your store. Check out the details now on the deals page and register today. Posted 10/04/2014
Our balers supplier has recently changed their company name from Miltek to QCR Recycling equipment. They have also put together a fantastic special offer exclusively for Smartsavings customers on their 2 most popular products. If you are interested in saving money on your waste then take a closer look at the Offer Details. Please note that this special price is available for a limited time only. Posted 08/04/2014
Great news – we have managed to negotiate an even better telecoms deal with our partners, Global 4, which is now available for all stores. You can now get all your local and national calls for just £7.99 per month and calls to mobiles at just 3.0 pence per minute. All of these amazing offers still come with our fantastic flexible 30 day rolling contract so for more information or to sign up today, visit the Telecoms deal page on the Smartsavings website. Posted 10/03/2014
Mazuma provide award winning bookkeeping and accountancy services that are responsive, efficient and compliant and importantly, it doesn’t cost the earth.
They specialise in providing their services to small and medium size businesses nationwide. Typically they provide:
It’s so simple, no need for face-to-face meetings, you pop your paperwork into one of their famous purple envelopes and Mazuma does the rest. Meantime you can sit back and relax waiting for your monthly management accounts to arrive.
There are no hidden costs and payment is spread across the year to help with your cash flow.
They even offer a one-month no obligation free trial so you can see how easy and efficient it is. Check out the deals page today for more details on this fantastic new offer. Posted 10/03/2014
Look no further than our fantastic new deal with HR Inc. Our new partners are only a phone call away and ready to help you with practical, effective and no nonsense HR support. HR Inc offer a wide range of support and services including basic telephone consultations, contracts, managing performance or disciplinary issues, pensions support and annual audits and reviews. Have a look at this great new offer now and remember to call HR Inc if you have any employment issues or concerns. Posted 06/02/2014
Here at Smartsavings we are all very excited about our new deal – a new and innovative way to help you save money on your energy bills. Our new partner, Fusion of Power, can provide and install a low cost Voltage Optimisation unit which will save you money as soon as it is installed. Typical savings can be on average 12% of your business energy costs. In some cases our partner will even guarantee savings and pay you £100 if not achieved. Check out the deal page now for more information about how the unit works and what you need to do to organise a free site survey to find out how much you could save. Posted 03/02/2014
We have now launched a fantastic deal with our new partners, Cashtec, to provide you with a full range of cash handling and cash security products. We have negotiated some great prices on items such as detector pens, coin sorters, safes and scales. Whether you are counting your cash, moving it, securing it or checking it – Cashtec have a solution for you. Check out the deals page now for more details and prices. Posted 01/02/2014
Welcome to the new look Smartsavings website and what an improvement it is! What started out as a quick refresh has led to a complete overhaul both visually and in terms of content.
We originally set ourselves two goals; simplifying the way the website operates and improving communication of the deals to new and returning customers. We’re confident that the new site delivers both , but do tell us what you think by either using the contact us page, emailing us at enquiries@smartsavings.co.uk or simply pick up the phone 01275 390511. Posted 16/01/2014
In a recent article in the Independent Retail News publication “The Guide: 14 for 2014”, the Smartsavings scheme is used as a positive example to illustrate how Spar provides help to their members on managing their energy costs. Paul Wilson of Smartsavings, asked to provide a comment for the article, said:
“One of the challenges for retailers is that if they miss or ignore the incumbent supplier’s renewal notifications, they risk automatic rollover onto a new contract, often at uncompetitive rates. Smartsavings is able to diarise contract end dates and will make contact with the retailer as their current contract approaches renewal, ensuring the retailer does not miss the opportunity to review the market and find the best possible deal every time”
If your energy contract is up for renewal, make sure you contact us now for a quote, you could save a significant amount. Posted 14/01/2014
The Smartsavings team were delighted to attend the Blakemore Tradeshow at the NEC last week. It was a fantastic opportunity to get some face-to-face time with retailers and to gain a real understanding of the cost challenges facing stores in the current climate. We were really encouraged to see how many Blakemore stores are already using the Smartsavings service and we picked up lots of new enquiries and some great feedback from the retailers that we spoke to. Posted 01/10/2013
Great news – as of today we have launched our fantastic new stationery and consumables deal in partnership with UKOS. We have negotiated some very competitive prices on a range of products which should meet all your requirements and there are thousands more products available via the UKOS online ordering site. Delivery is free so there is no reason not to give it a try. All you need to do is register with our supplier via the link on the deal page, then you can order everything you need online and UKOS will deliver it directly to your store. Check out the details now on the deals page and register today. Posted 12/08/13
We are very pleased to launch our new business mobile deal in partnership with Alliance Communications. Alliance can provide you with independent advice on all your business mobile needs and have arrangements with all the major networks. They also offer a full range of handsets and accessories at competitive prices. Check out the details now on the Spar deals page and click on ‘get the deal’ for someone to contact you directly to discuss your needs. Posted 04/04/13
The Smartsavings team are always working hard to ensure that we not only have the best current deals, but that we are also constantly reviewing what our clients want and launching new and exciting deals for our stores to take advantage of. In the coming weeks we will be launching deals for car leasing, car/tyre servicing, hotels, mobile broadband, stationary and more. Make sure you keep on checking back to see what’s new so that you can take advantage straight away. Posted 15/2/13
Our tips and links section has now gone live for our clients. If you are looking for help and advice on clever ways to save money or advice on where to go for further information then take a look. We welcome any feedback or suggestions for any specific areas you would like to see covered here. Just drop us a line with your thoughts. Posted 13/2/13
We are currently in talks with providers within the education sector about launching a tailor-made Smartsavings scheme for them. More and more schools are now faced with the responsibility of procuring their own goods and services independently and we believe that Smartsavings could be the answer. Watch this space! Posted 11/2/13
We are very pleased to announce the launch of our fantastic new Smartsavings website. Along with a new look we have included some features that we hope will make visiting the site a quicker, easier and more interactive experience. Please take the time to have a look and drop us a line if you have any suggestions. Keep checking back as we will be adding lots more content and new deals over the coming weeks. Posted 7/2/13
The total spend through Smartsavings has now exceeded £7.5m per annum. We are delighted that we have been able to directly influence such a significant amount of spend and that the scheme continues to grow all the time. With more and more money going through Smartsavings we are able to negotiate better and better deals giving everyone with access to the scheme fantastic savings and service. Posted 7/2/13
Peter Juty, Spar Culverstone
SPAR Retailer
Vim Goraniya, Spar Risca
Telephone: 07541 654025 Email: enquiries@smartsavings.co.uk
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Unit 1 Office 1 Tower Lane Business Park Tower Lane Warmley Bristol BS30 8XT. ©All rights reserved 2014
