Business energy and utilities for shops and convenience stores
In a convenience store the fridges and freezers never stop, most baskets are paid by card, and cardboard piles up every delivery day. We look after the contracts behind an independent shop: energy, water, waste, card machines and the phone line your alarm uses.
- Refrigeration loads considered when we compare electricity
- Card machine fees compared line by line
- Cardboard and recycling set up for the rules where you trade
How Helios helps shops and convenience stores.
Fridges that never switch off and card payments on every basket. Helios keeps your contracts on one list, checked line by line.
One contact for the store
Electricity, card payments, waste, water and insurance renewals on one list, with one person who knows your shop.
Fridges and freezers on the right rates
Chillers and freezers run day and night, so we compare day and night rates and standing charges exactly as printed.
Card fees on every basket
Card payments make up most of your takings. We read your statements and set transaction fees and rental out clearly.
Renewals handled before they roll over
We track each end date and notice window and remind you before the last date to act.
Why a shop’s bills look the way they do
Refrigeration dominates
The Carbon Trust found refrigeration can be 70% or more of energy costs in small shops with refrigerated cabinets, and recommends night blinds or covers on open cabinets.
Source: Carbon Trust (2011)
Cards have overtaken cash
ACS reports the share of convenience store baskets paid in cash fell from 68% in 2020 to 49% in 2024.
Source: ACS
What shops usually need from us
Card payments in convenience stores
ACS reports that by 2024 the average card transaction in convenience stores was £9.67 compared with £7.10 for cash, and that cash accounted for 41p of every £1 of sales, down from 57p in 2020. ACS also puts the typical cost of depositing cash through a high-street bank at between 40p and £1.50 per £100.
With most sales on cards, small differences in transaction fees add up. We compare the fee per transaction, the monthly rental, the contract length and the exit terms. See card machines.
Source: ACS
Shop recycling: Simpler Recycling and the Welsh rules
In England, shops must keep dry recyclables, food waste and general waste apart, and paper and card must be collected separately from plastic, metal and glass unless the collector has a written assessment. Most corner shops will have fewer than 10 full-time equivalent employees across the whole business, which gives them until 31 March 2027.
In Wales, paper and cardboard have had to be separated since 6 April 2024, and the law applies to all workplaces with no small-business exemption.
Sources: GOV.UK, Welsh Government
VAT, the Climate Change Levy and low-use sites
Business energy usually carries VAT at 20% and the Climate Change Levy, which from 1 April 2026 is £0.00801 per kWh on both electricity and gas. Very small supplies, such as electricity averaging no more than 33 kWh a day, are treated as de minimis: a reduced VAT rate applies and they are excluded from the levy. Most shops with chillers will be above this, so we check what your bills show.
Sources: HMRC VAT Notice 701/19, GOV.UK
How Helios looks after a shop.
Here is how a shop’s contracts look in the Helios portal: every service, every end date and every document in one place.
- One contact for every service and every site
- Every end date and notice window tracked, with reminders
- Rates exactly as printed: electricity and gas always quoted separately
- Contracts, documents and meter readings in your Helios portal
Shop · Corner StreetIllustration only- ElectricityChillers and lighting31/01/2027Renewal due
- Card machines2 countertop terminals30/06/2027Live
- WasteCardboard and general31/08/2027Live
- WaterSingle supplyRollingLive
- InsuranceStock and liability01/05/2027Live
Keeping contracts and documents in order
We list every contract before we quote, so you see what renews when.
- Electricity and gas: end dates and notice windows
- Card machine: rental, fees and exit terms
- Waste: what is collected, and how often
- Phone line: what is connected to it
What to send us
Send what you have and we will ask for anything else we need.
- A recent electricity bill, and gas bill if you have gas
- Your last one to three card machine statements
- Your waste invoice
- Your phone or broadband bill
- Your water bill
One shop or a small chain
A single shop
Usually one meter and a handful of contracts. We check the dates first and tell you plainly if nothing needs changing yet.
Several shops
See our page for retailers and small chains: recycling rules count employees across the whole business, not per shop.
What we may find
It depends on your bills and contracts. These are the things we check.
- An electricity contract running on out-of-contract rates
- Card machine rental on a terminal you no longer use
- Cardboard going out as general waste
Get a quote for your shop
Tell us about your business and we’ll be in touch. We check your contract end dates and notice windows before we quote.
Prefer to talk? Call 020 4628 5727, Monday to Friday, 9am to 5pm.
Frequently asked questions
How much electricity does a shop use?
It depends on your fridges, freezers, lighting and opening hours. The Carbon Trust found refrigeration can be 70% or more of energy costs in small shops with refrigerated cabinets. We work from your own bills, not averages.
Do shops pay 5% or 20% VAT on electricity?
Usually 20%. A reduced rate applies only to very small supplies under HMRC’s de minimis rules, such as electricity averaging no more than 33 kWh a day.
Does a small corner shop have to separate recycling?
In England, yes, by 31 March 2027 if you have fewer than 10 full-time equivalent employees across the whole business. In Wales the rules already apply.
Can I switch water supplier if there is a flat above?
Often, yes. Ofwat’s draft guidance says mixed-use premises such as a shop with a flat above are normally treated as non-household unless their main use is as a home. Your retailer confirms eligibility.
Bring your shop into one place.
Send us a recent bill and we will start with your contract dates and prices. Add the rest of your services whenever you are ready.
