ByteStart is delighted to announce the launch of a new service to help businesses cut their energy costs. Created in conjunction with the UK’s leading business energy price comparison service, Make It Cheaper, the partnership gives you access to brilliant value business energy, broadband and phone deals.
The area of tax for small businesses is not straightforward, in fact it can be a real minefield for the unwary. However, if you take a little time, and work with your accountant, it’s usually possible to find ways to save some tax. To help you think about ways you and your business could pay […]
Make It Cheaper, the business energy switching service, is urging UK business owners to switch to a better business energy deal and lock prices in for as long as possible, as energy prices could soar when the UK leaves the EU. (more…)
We’ve all been there. The team meeting where nothing is achieved. The group discussion where it feels like you can cut the air with a knife. The team that is actually a team in name only, where it’s everyone for themselves and only the most vocal, political or best-connected survives.
So how can you get a broken team back on track, and make sure everyone pulls together? (more…)
The statutory right to request flexible working is available to all employees who complete 26 weeks of continuous employment.
Whilst flexible working is certainly becoming a more common feature in the workplace, it could stand to become even more significant in 2019 as discussions continue around whether employers will be required to state whether positions can be worked flexibly in job advertisements.
In the meantime, here’s what every small business owner needs to know about flexible working rights, and how to handle flexible working requests from staff so that you don’t end up in front of an Employment Tribunal; (more…)
If your business involves selling goods to customers you will, inevitably, need to deal with a percentage of customers that want to exchange items, or are seeking a refund.
As a small business, it’s really important to know what your legal rights and duties are when it comes to customers that have bought your goods. (more…)
When it comes to business profitability, you’ll know that keeping overheads as low as you can is vital. But countless companies end up unwittingly paying more than they should for their business energy. And with energy prices on the rise, this can add up substantially, especially during winter months.
But how do you know if your business is on the best rates, or if you’re overpaying and need to switch to a better deal? (more…)
With each passing year, we are barraged with more and more stories of corporate scandals and wrongdoing. Recent examples include a global carmaker rigging their vehicles to cheat on emissions tests, a major bank illegally foisting accounts and credit cards on millions of customers without their knowledge or consent, and innumerable stories about sexual misconduct by powerful, entitled executives.
And these are just a few high-profile cases – the tip of the iceberg for anyone who reads the business news. (more…)
If you are thinking of starting out as a freelancer or a contractor, you will very quickly need to get a basic understanding of the IR35 rules. (more…)
One of the key attributes of projects is that they are not structured in the same way as ordinary business departments. A number of people, possibly including contractors or consultants, are brought together to deliver a project.
This lack of a corporate structure leads to a need for clearly defined roles in the project structure. (more…)
Starting a new business is exciting but can often be stressful too. Keeping costs at a minimum and budgeting effectively is a sure-fire way to get you through those difficult patches.
One of the quickest and easiest methods is to compare your energy tariff and switch to a better deal. A quick business energy price comparison can result in up to 30% savings per year. So, while business energy is not the most thrilling of money-savers, it’s certainly one of the most effective. (more…)
For any small business, making sure invoices are paid can be a big job in itself. If they’re not managed properly, payments can be consistently late, and your relationships with clients might suffer as a result.
Even more significantly, you’ll struggle to keep cash moving smoothly through your business. No cash, no business. (more…)
Setting up a new business is an exciting, thrilling and all encompassing challenge. It is the best and most stretching form of personal and professional development that a person can do. Creating and selling your own products and services, building a network of happy customers and managing your own time are just three of the […]
Predicting the future is, naturally, a difficult task. If it wasn’t, life (and business) would be a lot less interesting. However, being able to spot the winds of change when it comes to business technology is vital for companies of any size to make the right long-term strategic decisions.
The transition from being a manager to becoming business leader, is one that many new business owners will need to make. Often, the success or failure of your business depends on how well and how quickly you can adapt to this fundamental role change.
ByteStart is delighted to announce the launch of a new service to help businesses cut their energy costs. Created in conjunction with the UK’s leading business energy price comparison service, Make It Cheaper, the partnership gives you access to brilliant value business energy, broadband and phone deals.
Everybody understands that starting up a business from scratch is not a simple process or an easy challenge to take on. Regardless of how lofty your ambitions are or whether you’re aiming to establish yourself as a sole trader or as a the boss of a burgeoning new enterprise, finding access to initial and early-stage […]
If you need to submit a Self-Assessment Tax Return (SATR) it’s imperative you get it in on time and free of any mistakes. There are penalties for not submitting your tax return on time and you may have to pay a fine if HMRC deem you have not taken enough care in completing it. This […]
It is common for individuals to exaggerate or embellish certain aspects of their CV when applying for a role, however employers can be faced with a serious problem if it turns out the person they hired does not have the experience or qualifications needed to carry out the job at hand. So what can you […]
No matter how successful your business has been with just you working in it, if you want to grow you’ll need to employ people. There are innumerable benefits of having employees. The right people will ease the workload on you and allow you take holidays. Good staff keep your business running day to day, so […]
Human resources as a role within organisations has grown significantly in the last 20 years, and today, employers need to find ways to motivate their staff and keep them satisfied at work. Not only are happier staff likely to be more productive, but they are a less likely to leave and companies will save money […]
Every year there is a new mobile operating system update, so businesses can be forgiven for not being aware of the vast array of new features that are made available. In fact, it is usually the case that most users are not engaged enough to uncover the secrets that a new OS has to offer. […]
When you start your own business, one of the first things you need to do is to start promoting it and finding customers? Depending on the type of business you are in, one age-old and sure-fire way to build relationships is through networking. However, if you are to enjoy the full rewards of networking you […]
How much of what you say is actually remembered? As a business owner, communicating your vision and expectations is vital if your business is to succeed, so strong and effective communication skills are a pre-requisite for any business owner. You need your presentations or speeches to be remembered and acted upon long after the staff […]
When you decide it’s time to get your business started, you’ll find the first piece of advice given by most experts is to “get a business plan written”. And they’re right; that is the first step to turn your business dream into a reality. But many people find it the hardest step to make.
If you run a business it’s inevitable that disputes will arise. Whether it’s problems with suppliers failing to meet their obligations, employee issues or non-payment by customers, when a dispute arises it can be difficult knowing how best to resolve the problem with the minimum of disruption, time and expense. Taking the matter to court […]
So, you have a great product idea, it’s exciting, you see the value and believe it could change your company’s future or launch your next new business. This idea may be a brand new product solving a problem, or a better way to address a market need than the competitors out there today. Knowing that […]
Last year I took the massive step to leave the security of a six-figure salary, bonuses and pension to do something that I truly love. Some might say this was a crazy move but at the age of forty I realised that we are not on this earth for a look around and being happy […]
Starting a new business is a mixture of fun, fear and challenge. For many new business owners, the technology side of things can be particularly fearful. With so many things to think about, how do you know what you do and don’t need to be able to make a success of your new business, and […]
The role of cybersecurity is becoming increasingly important in 2019, with studies showing that the average data breach in the UK can cost companies around £2.7 million and up to 163 days to correct. Whether it is phishing or external hacks, the exposure of key data can be hugely costly to an organisation and some […]
Value Added Tax (VAT) is a tax on the final consumption of certain goods and services in the home market but is collected at every stage of production and distribution. Most business-related goods and services will therefore be subject to VAT.
Every business owner can learn valuable lessons from studying how successful businesses are born and grow. Looking out for, and replicating, key drivers of success in other businesses, can help to drive our own business forward. However, vital insight can also be gained from business failures. In many cases, what we can learn from terminal […]
It may seem like yesterday, but Amazon first began disrupting the retail status quo nearly 25 years ago. As one of the world’s largest online retailers, it has set ecommerce standards. But it now has its sights set on stores. With Amazon’s move into offline retail set to be a game-changer, we asked Retail Technology […]
Company reviews left on websites such as Glassdoor and Indeed can be a great way for your organisation to build a positive reputation and help in efforts to recruit new talent. However, there is always the risk that staff may leave negative reviews on these websites, which can have a very different impact altogether.
Many small businesses up and down the country have a corner or storeroom where dead or unused electronic kit sits, unused and gathering dust. Many of us keep it there because, hey you never know, it might come in handy for spares one day. But it never does and ends up sitting there for years. […]
Starting your own business from scratch can be a terrifying prospect filled with self-doubt and worries about failure and going broke. To help you safely negotiate the path of entrepreneurship, we asked business mentor and author Brian Marcel to share his blueprint for business success.
“You should never judge a book by its cover”, or so runs the popular advice. But there’s a reason that these words are so often-repeated; we often need to remind ourselves that first impressions aren’t everything. Whether we’re meeting a new person for the first time, or picking up an unfamiliar product, our natural drive […]
Christmas might be a time for giving, but the common perception is that it’s not a time for investing. However, as John Auckland of TribeFirst reveals, funding statistics surprisingly show that December can be a great month to find investment for your business.