Understanding your bills can be daunting, confusing and overwhelming; not anymore. At Niccolo, we want to ensure that we are clear in all our communication with you, and make sure that you feel confident in understanding the services you’re paying for when you log into our billing platform.
Below you’ll find a walk-through of our invoices, explaining what each section means.
THE HEADING
- Niccolo Contact Information
The top left corner has our website, our contact email and our contact number. Below that is our registered VAT number.
- Niccolo Address
The top right corner has our office address
- Client Name
The bottom left corner has your name. It is followed by the Niccolo address.
- Invoice Information
The Tax Point is the date that VAT becomes due on a particular transaction, in this case your invoice.
The Account Number is the identification of your personal account with Niccolo.
The Invoice Number is the number that identifies this particular invoice. It allows the invoice to found quickly if you contact us about it.
GAS USE
- Meter Readings
These left-hand side details the reading on your meter, the right-hand side shows the dates of your most recent and your previous meter readings.
Meter Readings are one of the most important parts of your bill. Meter Readings ensure that you’re paying for the correct amount of usage. Without accurate and regular meter readings your supplier will estimate how much energy you’re using which could result in you being overcharged, or undercharged leaving you with a deficit to pay back once you end your contract.
Readings Key:
Letter | Meaning |
R | Actual Read |
E | Estimated Read |
Q | Adjusted Read |
(this can also be found at the bottom of your invoice)
- Gas Consumption
This number is the amount of gas you have been supplied with in the month. It is measured in square feet or square meters.
- Calorific Value
The calorific value is the energy content per unit mass of the gas you use. This means it is the amount of energy released when the gas you’re supplied with is used as fuel.
- Correction Factor
This converts the gas you’ve used, as opposed to the gas you’ve been supplied with. The conversion is from cubic meters of supplied gas, to kWh (Kilowatt Hours). A kWh is the amount of energy that has actually been used over a period of time. The more kWh you use, the more you pay in energy charges.
The correction factor converts gas units into kWh by working out the volume of gas being used based off of the temperature and pressure of the gas.
The correction factor is used to make sure we all get the same number of kWh for each cubic meter of gas burnt.
- Corrected Consumption
This is the actual amount of gas you used in the month, measured in kWh. This is the amount of gas you’ll be charged for using.
- VAT
VAT stands for Value Added Tax. It is a sales tax registered traders have to pay to HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC). It is applied onto the value of the goods or services supplied to customers from the traders. The standard rate is 20%. You can find out more about VAT here.
- Line Total
This means the total of this line of the table. The subtotal at the end of the invoice is the total of all invoice lines.
CCL CHARGE
What is CCL?
The Climate Change Levy (CCL) is an environmental tax on the energy that businesses use. The UK government, in response to the impact of Climate Change, provided a number of taxes and relief schemes which encourage businesses to operate in a more environmentally-friendly way.
For the latest an previous CCL rates per kWh on natural gas, please refer to the table below. To find out more click here.
TIME PERIOD | NATURAL GAS |
1 April 2016 to 31 March 2017 | 0.195p/kWh |
1st April 2017 to 31st March 2018 | 0.198p/kWh |
1st April 2018 to 31st March 2019 | 0.203p/kWh |
1st April 2019 to 31st March 2020 | 0.339p/kWh |
1st April 2020 to 31st March 2021 | 0.406p/kWh |
For more information on VAT and Line Total, see the Gas Usage section.
TOTAL
- Subtotal
This is the combined total of your Gas Usage and CCL Charge for the month, Subtotals on invoices do not include VAT.
- VAT
This is the combined total of the VAT you pay on your Gas and on the CCL.
- Amount Due
This is the sum total of the invoice, combining the subtotal and the VAT charges. This is the amount that will be charged to your account.
CLIENT INFORMATION
- Supply Details
This is the address that the gas is being supplied to
- Meter Information
This is specific information about your meter. For more information regarding the significance of meter readings see the Gas Usage Section.
- Contract Details
This section states the start and end dates of your contract.
PAYMENT INFORMATION
- Direct Debit Terms
This offers some clarity on the terms of a direct debit and explains what the outgoing payment should appear as on your bank statement.
- Payment Bank Details
This is the information of the bank account you will pay your bill to. You will need these in order to pay your invoice and transfer money from your account