About

Tim Adler is group editor of Small Business, Growth Business and Information Age. He is a former commissioning editor at the Daily Telegraph, who has written for the Financial Times, The Times and the Daily Telegraph. He is the author of three nonfiction books, the most recent of which was reviewed by The Sunday Times as “compulsively readable” and by the Daily Mail as “dazzling”. Since becoming editor of Small Business in 2019, the website was named alongside the BBC, the Guardian and the Telegraph as a top live blog covering the coronavirus pandemic by journalist trade magazine Press Gazette.

Success stories

Sara Davies of Dragons’ Den 7 tips for small business

Sara Davies, the latest investor on Dragons’ Den, began her company aged 21 while still at university. Today, Crafter’s Companion has become a £35m business. Sara shares 7 tips for other entrepreneurs setting out on their own

Advice

Small Business goes live with Start a New Business

Start a New Business offers a step-by-step guide for the 81% of Britons looking to start their own business, with live shows in London, Birmingham and Glasgow

Tax

Don’t scrap entrepreneurs’ relief, argue small firms

Small business asks chancellor Rishi Sunak to not go back on Tory election pledge to reform, not scrap entrepreneurs’ relief

Tax

Taxman will not fine you for getting things wrong with IR35 within first year

But fines will be imposed on freelance contractors from April 2021 as Treasury cracks down on willful deception

Financing

Two in five small businesses don’t have enough access to finance

Over half of small businesses do not have any finance in place at all, with overdrafts being most popular choice for those that do

Business Loans

Government plans permanent state-backed small business loan scheme

Business could borrow anything up to £10m through 80% state-guaranteed bank loans in successor to existing coronavirus financial support

Tax

Rishi Sunak blinks, says HMRC will ‘go soft’ on IR35 changes in year one

Chancellor Rishi Sunak seeks to reassure freelancers that HMRC will not be “heavy handed” when new IR35 rules come into effect on 6 April

Tax

Chancellor Rishi Sunak may scrap business rates in favour of a land tax

Chancellor to announce review of business rates in budget, mulls scrapping them in favour of landlords paying tax on land value

Employing & managing staff

One third of freelancers say IR35 changes affecting their mental health

53% of contractors plan to walk away from projects in April, when tax changes take hold, costing UK economy £2.2bn in lost productivity

Business management

6 ERP systems for growth businesses

An ERP system bundles everything you need to run a company, including CRM, inventory and marketing, into one package - and they are becoming cheaper. But what is the best ERP system for your business?

Alternative finance

Why Rishi Sunak is going to be good for small business

Chancellor Rishi Sunak has argued for the creation of an SME bond market, which could raise billions of pounds for small business

Small Business Banking

Small businesses using loans to manage cashflow, instead of investing

One in four small businesses borrow money for cashflow after late payments almost doubled to £23bn last year

Tim Adler

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