Most small companies go bust before they reach the two-year mark (no matter how good their business idea is). Costs are almost always the cause of this demise and the reason for this is that it’s incredibly difficult for businesses to manage their finances at the startup stage.

A strong direct marketing strategy can often be found at the forefront of business-to-business marketing campaigns, helping companies to advertise their services toward their predefined audience and get ahead of their competitors through the use of popular mediums like email and telemarketing. However, with marketing techniques developing and becoming more advanced over the years, is direct marketing still the best way for B2B companies to advertise their services to their customer base?

The current VAT threshold in the UK stands at £85,000. Any business that has an annual turnover of that value must register for VAT with HMRC, and when they do this they will receive a VAT number. Before you work with another business, you normally want to find out all you can about them and you can easily do this through a Google search. However, something you might not consider looking at is their VAT number, and this is actually something that you should definitely be verifying.

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Small and medium-sized businesses, popularly known as SMEs, are the backbone of any economy. Their owners have mastered the art of creating and selling for a quick profit.  However, one of the biggest challenges that small business owners face in their daily operations is money management. Unlike big enterprises that have employed financial professionals and accountants, small business operation is usually a ‘one-man show’.  As a result, the owner may become too engrossed with creating and selling without taking time to look at the cash flow within the business.

Many small companies, including those providing professional services to clients, perform a lot of work from home. One of the most frequently asked questions by directors is what expenses can you legitimately claim back against your company? Here is a breakdown of claiming home office expenses.
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Over 672,890 start-up businesses were launched in the UK in the tax year 2018/19 – that’s equivalent to 1,844 new businesses per day. However it is a sad, but the inevitable, fact that not all of these will succeed in the long term. So what can you do to try and tip the scales in your favour? One of the most important things is making sure that you get off to a good start, so here are some tips for starting a small business, given by Jeff Barber, Partner at Selling My Business.
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If you’re self-employed, you can claim for a wide range of expenses against your tax bill, although you have to be careful to only apportion costs which have been genuinely incurred in the running of your business. Here is how to claim home office expenses as a sole trader.
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With the pandemic creating thousands of job losses across the country, the government has launched the ‘Kickstart’ scheme to create jobs for young people. There is a risk, especially for young people who may face a long time of unemployment. This scheme looks to help young people gain skills and training in their field.

Responding to the coronavirus lockdown protocols, many businesses have embraced remote working as a safer, sometimes more convenient, alternative to being in the office. This has been widespread and will, in the long-term, likely normalise the practice of remote working. Yet, as a less than desirable short-term side-effect, many organisations are overlooking basic compliance with tax regulations and data protection laws.

Hiring the right people for your team is both a science and an art. You might have a very clear idea about the qualifications and experience you require for a role, but how do you find the right person among the many candidates with similar credentials? It requires rigorous enquiry, intuition, experimentation and knowledge of the key areas to consider.

If your contracts are caught by the IR35 rules, the financial impact will be considerable. Here, we look at the tax difference you will incur if you are inside or outside IR35.
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Once you’ve started up a new venture, you’ll need to ensure that you have banking facilities in place before you can start trading. So, do you need to set up a small business bank account for your business, or can you use your own personal bank account?

Value Added Tax is charged on almost all products and services provided in the UK. The current standard rate is 20%. If your business becomes VAT-registered, you will charge VAT on all invoices you submit to your clients.
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Salary aside, most limited company directors (and shareholders) typically draw down most of their income in the form of dividends. Dividends are distributed by companies of all types in order to return a proportion of company profits back to their shareholders. Here we look at what are company dividends and how to calculate them.
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Every small business wants success, but achieving this goal can be challenging and demanding. The good news is that there are ways to capture your audience’s attention and assist them on their journey to find your products. There are plenty of eCommerce strategies that can help you impress customers enough so that they come back for more products and services.

2020 has brought on more challenges than small businesses were prepared to deal with. One of them is the rise in cyber attacks taking advantage of the panic caused by the pandemic. To give businesses some breathing room, we’ll be exploring what no-logs VPNs are and how they can stem the tide of hacking activity and mass surveillance.

If you are facing business challenges, they can conspire to make us feel down and sap our energy and enthusiasm, which is not good for business. Consider what it would be like if you could have a positive mindset permanently! If these things didn’t affect you negatively but could be faced without fear or stress?

When your company turnover reaches the ‘VAT threshold’ (currently £85,000) in a twelve-month period, you must register for limited company VAT. Even if you don’t, there may be professional reasons why you would want to register anyway. So, how does the VAT registration for limited companies work?

We’ve had recent good news in relation to vaccines but also a reminder that Covid-19 will be with us for some time yet. This means it is very important for all small businesses to have processes in place so that you can keep going safely and without business owners feeling too much weight on their shoulders.