Utility Switching and Comparison Log

Who this is for

Two halves of the same job. The first table puts the quotes side by side and works each one out as a first-year cost, exit fee included, so they can be compared on one number. The second records the switch: who you left, who you joined, the readings you gave and when it completed.

Anyone shopping around for energy, broadband, phone or insurance, households that have switched before and cannot remember what they were paying, and people who want the meter readings written down before the argument starts.

What this helps you track

• Every quote you have been given, with the supplier and the plan name
• What each one works out at per year, from your own monthly figure
• Any exit fee for leaving the current deal, counted into the first year
• When each quote expires and which one you chose
• The switch itself — dates, readings, final bill and whether it completed

How to use it

1. Write the service you are comparing, the current supplier and what you pay now at the top, taken from your own bill.
2. Enter each quote as a row: the supplier, the plan, the monthly figure you were quoted and any exit fee you would pay to leave your current deal.
3. The yearly and first-year columns are worked out in the browser and the workbook; on paper, multiply by twelve and add the exit fee.
4. Note when each quote expires, since most are held open only for a short while, and tick the one you chose.
5. Record the switch in the second table: the date you applied, the readings you gave, the completion date and the final bill from the old supplier.
6. Keep the sheet until the first bill from the new supplier has been checked against what you were quoted.

Formats

• Printable PDF (A4 and US Letter)
• Fillable PDF with form fields
• Fill in online, saved in your browser
• Excel / Google Sheets workbook

The printable is laid out inside a box that fits both A4 and US Letter, so the two files are identical and neither one is scaled. The fillable PDF has real form fields. The workbook uses plain formulas only — SUM, IF, COUNTIF and the like — so it opens in Excel, LibreOffice and Google Sheets without anything breaking, and every calculated cell is grey so you can see which figures it worked out.

How to print

Download the A4 or US Letter file to match the paper in your printer, open it in a PDF reader and print at 100% — not "fit to page", which shrinks the writing space. Both files leave a 14 mm margin, which clears the unprintable edge on home printers. To print the online version with your entries in it, use the Print this sheet button, which prints only the sheet and none of the page around it. More on printing.

Questions

Which quote is cheapest?

Whichever your own figures make it — the first-year column exists so the comparison is like for like once exit fees are in. The sheet holds no prices, tariffs or estimates of its own.

Why count the exit fee into the first year?

Because leaving early costs money, and a cheaper deal with a fee attached can work out dearer over twelve months. Putting both into one figure is the only way to compare them fairly.

Why record meter readings?

Because the readings on the day of the switch decide where one supplier's bill ends and the next one's begins, and they are the first thing asked for if a final bill is disputed. Photograph the meter as well.

Does it cover insurance and broadband as well as energy?

Yes. The service field takes whatever you are comparing, and the readings columns can be left blank where they do not apply.

How long does a switch take?

That depends on the service, the suppliers and the rules where you are. The applied and completed columns are there to record what actually happened in your case.