Bytestart Small Business Newsletter #3

Welcome to the third edition of our small business newsletter - published around every fortnight. Bytestart is the online small business portal, providing news and features on everything from starting up, web design & promotion to taxation and credit control tips.

Please forward this newsletter on to your colleagues - they can join instantly at http://www.bytestart.co.uk/content/about/subscribe.shtml

1. What keeps small business owners awake at night!
2. Leading tax lawyer gives view on Arctic Systems Section 660a test case
3. Ten Tips to minimise your tax bill before 5th April year end
4. Search Engine Optimisation Firms - What to look out for
5. Overview of Trademarks & How to Apply
6. What do small businesses want from Budget 2005?
7. Reciprocal Links and Visitor Retention
8. It pays to charge interest under late payment laws
9. Ebay UK - Small businesses flock to sell online
10. New penalties for late self assessment tax returns
11. Free advice on acquisitions for growing businesses
12. Microsoft e-commerce startup guides to trading on the Internet
13. Choosing and Using Keywords
14. Lie for me not to me says UK bosses
15. Writing content to help promote your small business site

What keeps small business owners awake at night!
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With one in ten small business owners waking up every night worrying about some aspect of their business, entrepreneurs are calling on the Chancellor to give them back their sleep as part of his Spring Budget.

http://www.bytestart.co.uk/content/news/1_12/what-keeps-small-business.shtml

Leading tax lawyer gives view on Arctic Systems Section 660a test case
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With just two weeks to go before the High Court appeal, a leading tax lawyer has explained his reasons for supporting the Professional Contractors Group (PCG) in its backing of the Section 660a Arctic Systems case.

http://www.bytestart.co.uk/content/taxlegal/9_8/leading-tax-lawyer-gives-.shtml

Ten Tips to minimise your tax bill before 5th April year end
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With spring upon us, now is the time to get your house in order and give your finances some spring cleaning to minimise you tax bill before the end of the tax year on 5 April.

http://www.bytestart.co.uk/content/taxlegal/9_7/tips-to-minimise-your-tax.shtml

Search Engine Optimisation Firms - What to look out for
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As the search engine optimisation game grows ever more competitive, and gaining Top 10 rankings becomes a harder process, many webmasters and small business owners are farming out the essential task of promoting their sites to search engine optimisation companies.

http://www.bytestart.co.uk/content/promotion/7_6/search-engine-optimisation-firms.shtml

Overview of Trademarks & How to Apply
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A trade mark is a symbol or sign which differentiates one type of business from another. Includes an insight into domain names as trademarks and how to apply for a trademark.

http://www.bytestart.co.uk/content/20/20_2/overview-of-trademarks-ho.shtml

What do small businesses want from Budget 2005?
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National Insurance exemption, 100% first year capital allowances and a freeze on other new tax legislation for two years is what small businesses really want from this year's Budget, says PKF, accountants and business advisers.

http://www.bytestart.co.uk/content/news/1_12/what-do-small-businesses-.shtml

Reciprocal Links and Visitor Retention
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Getting listed in the search engines is only part of the battle for traffic – many webmasters stop at this stage without looking to the longer term future. Not only must you resubmit your pages on a regular basis to maintain your search engine rankings, you also have to monitor the ever changing algorithms used by these sites in order to preserve your rankings.

http://www.bytestart.co.uk/content/promotion/7_6/reciprocal-links-and-visi.shtml

It pays to charge interest under late payment laws
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Research by the Better Payment Practice Group (BPPG), has found that 28% of businesses have successfully charged interest under the late payment legislation, up from 20% in a similar survey last year – a strong indication that the late payment legislation is helping firms to collect overdue debts.

http://www.bytestart.co.uk/content/news/1_12/it-pays-to-charge-interes.shtml

Ebay UK - Small businesses flock to sell online
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It clear from recently published site statistics that eBay UK is becoming the marketplace of choice for small and medium sized businesses. Why so many SME's have decided to set up a business on ebay.

http://www.bytestart.co.uk/content/news/ebay-uk-small-businesses-.shtml

New penalties for late self assessment tax returns
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Self-assessment taxpayers, who failed to pay all the tax due for the 2003-2004 tax year by 31st January deadline, should be aware that they will incur cumulative penalties the longer payment is delayed, warns the Institute of Chartered Accountants in England and Wales (ICAEW).

http://www.bytestart.co.uk/content/taxlegal/new-penalties-for-late-se.shtml

Free advice on acquisitions for growing businesses
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A free seminar explaining how companies can use acquisitions as a means to grow is being held by PKF accountants and business advisers at its London offices on 22 March.

http://www.bytestart.co.uk/content/news/1_12/free-advice-on-acquisitio.shtml

Microsoft e-commerce startup guides to trading on the Internet
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The Microsoft Small Business site contains a variety of useful e-commerce related startup guides, including how to build an e-commerce site, and the most common mistakes you should avoid during the startup process.

http://www.bytestart.co.uk/content/24/24_1/microsoft-ecommerce-start.shtml

Choosing and Using Keywords
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Although there are many different factors, which will influence how well your web pages perform in search engines, many people see 'keywords' as the single most important aspect of any site promotion effort.

http://www.bytestart.co.uk/content/promotion/7_6/choosing-and-using-keywor.shtml

Lie for me not to me says UK bosses
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A new survey has shown that while the vast majority of company directors and senior managers believe it is wrong for their employees to lie to them, almost half are comfortable with those same employees telling untruths on their behalf to their customers.

http://www.bytestart.co.uk/content/news/1_12/lie-for-me-not-to-me-says.shtml

Writing content to help promote your small business site
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One of the best ways to attract visitors to your site is by providing related sites with quality editorial relating to your subject area. Not only will this give you a chance to promote your service or business, but it can also indirectly aid your search engine promotion efforts via link popularity.

http://www.bytestart.co.uk/content/22/22_1/writing-content-to-help-p-2.shtml

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All the best,

The Bytestart Team