Beatrice Bartlay, managing director of jobs agency 2B Interface, is spearheading a campaign to ensure that small businesses such as hers don’t suffer as a result of larger companies taking a lax approach to paying outstanding invoices. In perhaps one of the most significant pieces of VAT news for quite some time, Bartlay is calling for late payers to face a 20% VAT fine should they exceed a 60-day payment window. After this point, the offending company would pay additional VAT on the goods or services... Read more >

While  GDP figures show 0.3% growth over the last quarter, some business sectors are performing against the odds and experiencing exceptional growth. Barclays Online Business Outlook 2013 released this week has revealed that companies that operate online are thriving, with half of those questioned having produced double digit growth in the last three years. The average online company surveyed experienced 11.4% compound annual growth over the last three years, that’s over 50 times the rate of the... Read more >

Over 120 million transactions are lost each year in the UK through people leaving shops because they can’t pay by card, according to new research from Judo. A further 92.8 million opportunities to sell are lost through people avoiding shops because they don’t accept card payments. Over one in five (21%) consumers said that they had left a store in the past six months without making a purchase because the store didn’t take cards. Almost the same number (19%) had avoided a store altogether because... Read more >

Guest Post: Starting a new business is an exciting time but it can also be very stressful, with plenty of things to think about. In order to help ease the burden, we have a bit of advice on the things you as a new business owner need to do – and some tips on what you should avoid – in order to get your company off to a good start. What you need to do All businesses operating in the UK need to be registered at Companies House, the central registration point for firms operating under British... Read more >

International research from Pitney Bowes reveals that coupons are making a comeback and small businesses are in the best position to gain. The whitepaper, entitled ‘The Coupon Renaissance’, revealed that 76 per cent of consumers would buy more from local businesses if they offered coupon incentives. With many small local businesses struggling in today’s economic climate, the figures offer a positive outlook that SMEs should capitalise on. The surge in coupon redemptions is a relatively new... Read more >

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