Welcome back to our Weekly Digest. Read on for the latest updates and some ideas to help us all move forward. Energy price cap prompts calls for government help The amount energy suppliers can charge households has been cut by regulator Ofgem. However, bills will still rise in April as the Energy Price Guarantee (EPG) will become less generous and a £400 winter discount on all bills ends. Lidl puts… Read more
2023 is expensive. The cost of living is higher than ever, interest rates keep rising, and it keeps getting harder to stay afloat, let alone get ahead. As a result, carrying debt has become commonplace. But, with the challenges of the past few years, many of us have more debt than we’re comfortable with. How do you get ahead while you’re still trying to catch up? Here are some tips… Read more
Welcome back to our Weekly Digest. Read on for the latest updates and some ideas to help us all move forward. Getting over-50s back to work isn’t working The government is trying to fix chronic staff shortages by enticing people in retirement back to work, but a new survey shows that long-term sickness and pressure on the NHS are keeping this group out of the workforce and signal more significant… Read more
When you go into business as a tradesperson, your focus is often on performing your trade to the best of your ability – as it should be. With time, the quality of your work will speak for itself, which is the most valuable testimonial of all. However, any trades accountant or bookkeeper will tell you there’s more to it these days. While your good reputation preceding you is undoubtedly essential,… Read more
Welcome back to our Weekly Digest. We hope you and your family are safe and doing well. Read on for this week’s update. UK Unemployment Hits 3-Year High in August UK unemployment hit its highest rate in over three years, rising to 4.5% in the three months to August, according to data released by the Office for National Statistics. The report also showed that the number of people claiming jobless… Read more
Welcome back to our Weekly Digest. We hope you and your family are safe and doing well. Read on for this week’s update. AstraZeneca Starts UK COVID-19 Drug Trial AstraZeneca’s AZD7442 drug, which is a combination of two antibodies, is being tested on 48 healthy people aged between 18 and 55. This clinical trial marks an important milestone in the Cambridge-headquartered pharma giant’s development of a potential COVID-19 vaccine, and… Read more
Welcome back to our Weekly Digest. We hope you and your family are safe and doing well. Read on for this week’s update. COVID-19 Boosts Love for Small Businesses According to new research from Small Business Britain, two-thirds (64%) of 1000 small businesses in the UK believe that the pandemic has increased support of their sector. Small businesses have played a key role in supporting communities throughout the crisis. Now,… Read more
We started 2020 with optimism and hope that this year was going to be better than the last– but then, COVID-19 happened and brought sudden massive changes worldwide. It has disrupted the way we interact, shop, work, and transact. Businesses of all sizes have been plunged into darkness, with some even having to shut completely Meanwhile, others managed to find dynamic solutions to shelter their businesses from the harsh impacts… Read more
Welcome back to our Weekly Digest. We hope you and your family are safe and doing well. Read on for this week’s update. Increase in UK Retail Sales and Business Activity Boost COVID-19 Recovery Hopes The latest data from the Office for National Statistics showed retail sales rose by 13.9% in June compared with May, as demand among consumers returned overall spending close to pre-COVID-19 levels. This improvement was fuelled… Read more
Welcome back to our Weekly Digest. We hope you and your family are safe and doing well. Read on for this week’s update. Non-essential Shops in England Reopen Business secretary Alok Sharma has confirmed that non-essential shops in England are permitted to operate from Monday 15 June, provided they comply with government safety guidelines and carry out a risk assessment. While the government is due to publish guidelines for other… Read more
If your company relies on suppliers in various geographic locations, it’s likely that at some point your business will face a supply chain disruption. Whether that disturbance is caused by a virus, regulatory lockdown, international tensions, changes in local laws or a natural disaster, there will probably be scenarios in which your suppliers or transporters face obstacles that affect your company. Here are some steps you can take to respond… Read more
Many remarkable entrepreneurs, including Warren Buffet, Sheryl Sandberg, and Richard Branson, have credited their success, in part, to the advice of their mentors. An advisory board is an informal group of mentors whose collective business expertise—and objectivity—can help you make better, more informed decisions, thereby accelerating growth. Unlike business consultants (whose fees may well exceed your budget), advisory board members may agree to provide advice pro bono, for a small… Read more
HMRC has changed the way it calculates penalties charged to taxpayers who have made mistakes in their tax returns or failed to notify HMRC of a tax liability. Penalty regime Where a taxpayer fails to notify HMRC of their tax liability or makes an error (careless or deliberate) in a tax return, HMRC can charge the taxpayer a penalty, calculated as a percentage of the potential lost revenue (PLR). There… Read more
If you’re like most small business owners, there are never enough hours in the day to complete every task on your list. Often you’re faced with prioritizing what you need to do right now – deal with a customer, meet a deadline, attend an event – and the things you know you should do for the ongoing growth of your business. Scheduling time to attend to these business activities on… Read more
How much of Bruce Forsyth’s national treasure will go to IHT? Sir Bruce Forsyth was a genuine broadcasting legend, with a career spanning over 75 of his 89 years of life, and ending appropriately enough on the November 2015 Children in Need special of Strictly Come Dancing, a show he had co-hosted since its 2004 revival. His death on August 18th 2017 brings the curtain down on a lifelong love… Read more
Quick and efficient payment options benefit both small business owners and their customers. Consumers are used to flexibility – cash, check or charge? – when buying from large retailers. If you’re a cash-or-check only operation, consider how many sales you may be losing – and how your business would grow if your customers could pay with debit or credit cards. If one of your goals is to start selling online,… Read more
Most small business owners who use accounting software quickly master the basics. They automate processes like invoicing and payroll, track expenses and view real time financial reports to manage cash flow and make better business decisions. But what many business owners don’t take advantage of are key insights that can improve customer care and increase sales. Here are some smart ways you can use your accounting software to help boost… Read more
On average, small business owners spend 10 hours each week recording, organizing, and processing financial transactions – everything from accounts receivable and payable, to employee payments, expense receipts and supplier invoices. While the process may be time-consuming (and tedious!), effective bookkeeping is the foundation of sound financial management – which in turn, is the lifeblood of your business. Feeling overwhelmed by mountains of paperwork and complex calculations? Here are three… Read more