Advice and Ideas for UK Small Businesses and SMEs
The financing channel looks at the different small business funding options available to start-up companies and established SME businesses looking to grow. Read a wealth of guides and tips to help manage your accounts and cash flow better, views on the future of business banking and where to source alternative finance.
I am an accountancy student (AAT qualified) and I wish to start my own bookkeeping business for sole traders and partnerships. What should my first steps be and are there any rules/laws that may restrict the work I take on? Also, how do I calculate how much to charge?
Accounting
Small Business Banking
My wife and I want to start a boarding kennels business. There are a wide range of business bank accounts available but why use one when all it seems to do is cost money. Why won't an ordinary account do?
Alternative finance
More and more owner-managers are recognising that significant time savings can be made if they outsource this element of their operations to factoring specialists, says Lloyds TSB Commercial Finance.
Accounting
QUESTION: Having started a business as a self-employed driving instructor and made a loss in the first year, can this loss be offset against future profits?
Accounting
When a company trades as a different name to their legal name (e.g. Fred Bloggs Paving Ltd. t/a Crazy Paving). Is it legal to raise invoices using their trading name only?
Accounting
I buy and sell cars and I am using the SAGE accounts system, however I am struggling with putting on credit notes and working out the VAT I will have to pay back.
Alternative finance
If your original source of funding dries up or you fail to convince the bank manager, does that mean you should call it a day?
Accounting
The deadline for filing your Employer PAYE end-of-year returns is mid-May. To make sure you get the best out of online filing, SmallBusiness.co.uk and HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) have put together this list of common errors to help you avoid making the same mistakes.
Alternative finance
If your original source of funding dries up or you fail to convince the bank manager, does that mean you should call it a day?
Accounting
The deadline for filing your Employer PAYE end-of-year returns is mid-May. To make sure you get the best out of online filing, SmallBusiness.co.uk and HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) have put together this list of common errors to help you avoid making the same mistakes.
Accounting
Can I claim VAT on postage as it has been pointed out to me the receipts have a VAT no. on them?
Accounting
I'm approaching retirement and looking to sell my business. Will there be taxes to pay?
Accounting
I am a freelance designer and I find it impossible to get people to pay me on time. What’s worse, I often end up taking a discount on what I have charged just to get paid because I am short of money. What can I do?
Accounting
One of the critical elements of running a successful business is being able to manage your cash flow.
Employing & managing staff
In Aviva’s latest SME research*, 57 per cent of employers surveyed agreed that nowadays employees expect benefits to protect against loss of income or earnings. What do you offer your people?
Partner content
Business broadband offers a host of advantages over standard domestic connections, here’s why you should be considering an upgrade
Partner content
As with any supplier, it’s important to do your research and ask important questions before you select a broadband provider for your business. But what are the must-have things you should take into consideration?
Business Technology
Landlines as we know them will be scrapped in 2027 – along with a raft of upcoming business changes. Here's how to ensure your communications set-up is fit for whatever the future brings