Best practices in financing management

If you don’t have any in-house subsidy expertise and don’t plan to develop it in the future, it’s important to work with an energy efficiency expert or subsidy consulting firm. Now there are some companies that specialize in consultancy and requesting financing. Both parties can benefit from long-term cooperation and for you as a craft company this is the easiest way to provide your customers with the relevant know-how.

Of course, you or your employees can also inform yourself or your employees about financing programs and pass them on to customers accordingly. You can find information and contact persons on the KfW, BAFA and ZDH websites. However, because many grants require an energy efficiency expert, most of your clients will still need an energy consultant. So why not knit one now?

Collaboration with an energy consultant

Working with a certified energy consultant makes sense for several reasons. With many financings, especially KfW financing loans, an energy consultant is absolutely necessary to receive the financing amount. Furthermore, due to the countless possible combinations, it is difficult to receive the highest possible financing without the help of an energy consultant.

If you, as an artisan company, have an energy consultant directly in your network that you can offer to your customers, this represents a further advantage for your customers. They don’t have to look for them themselves and can be confident that they are dealing with a reliable energy consultant.

Using an energy consultant involves costs for the customer, but there are also various subsidies from KfW and BAFA. Depending on the energy consultant services you wish to use, these can be subsidized by 50 to 80% of the costs. Without an energy consultant it may happen that the money is invested in the wrong measures or that the funds are not used fully. Ultimately, using an energy consultant pays off for the client not only professionally but also financially, and you will ultimately benefit from satisfied clients recommending you to others.

Further training to become an energy consultant for buildings

Continuous training to become an energy consultant for buildings is also an interesting option for artisan companies. If you or an employee of your company has a master’s degree, you have the opportunity to train as an «energy consultant for buildings (HWK)» at one of the trade chambers. The course usually lasts 15 months with a workload of around 10 hours per week.

As a certified energy consultant you will be able to carry out energy consultancy, issue energy certificates and much more. The advantage for you as a small business is obvious: you not only have an energy consultant in your network, but directly in your company. Another seal of quality for your work and you will be able to provide your customers with the best possible support when requesting any financing.