Category Archive

Full article with thanks to https://www.starlingbank.com/resources/business-guides/how-to-price-your-services/ When you provide a service with minimal cost other than time, it can sometimes be difficult to know what you should be charging. That’s why service pricing is different to product pricing. There are three main pricing methods: cost-plus pricing, market rate pricing and value-based pricing. 1. Cost-plus pricing This method is based on what you would pay an employee. It’s traditional to multiply the notional salary cost by a factor of around three. This would cover the salary, plus a contribution towards overheads, plus an element of profit for the business owner who is taking the commercial risk. For instance, if the employee is paid £10 per hour this would be closer to £13 with national insurance and pension. If the job takes four hours, then you would charge £13 x 4 x 3 = £156. Of this, £52 would pay the employee and …

Full article with thanks to https://www.businessnewsdaily.com/15756-business-partnership-agreement-writing-guide.html   Thinking about going into business with a friend, colleague, family member? 100% you need a partnership contract. Right now everything may seem exciting and you’re both/all passionate about the business but entering a partnership is a little like entering a new romantic relationship. The fact is you DON’T know everything about what your partner/s expectations are, what they want from this business. You may ‘think’ that you do but believe me when I say you don’t. And like any romantic relationship, a business partnership has just as much chance to go wrong. Give your partnership (and business) the best possible chance of success by ensuring you have discussed every element you can think of what ‘could’ happen. And get it all into a signed agreement. Some questions to ask yourself – and each other…. 1) What do you want/need to earn out of …

By Cressida Johns of Sandcress Small Business Consultancy Millions of people have had to adjust to a ‘new normal’ throughout this pandemic. Covid has caused unmeasurable loss – but there have been positives too. With so many people now working from home parents have been able to eat with their children every day, play with them, put them to bed. With less travel families have had more time together, have felt more connected than ever before. As a result, I’m getting daily calls from people who have had a taste of this new life and don’t want to go back. They want to start their own business. And one of the questions I frequently am asked is ‘But is NOW, the right time to start a business?’ The simple answer is absolutely! This pandemic is NOT going to last forever and as it takes between 3 to 12 months to …

Full article with thanks to https://www.thesun.co.uk/news/13682049/treasury-bailout-small-businesses-ineligible-covid-support/ THE Treasury is finally considering a scheme to bailout up to a million small business owners excluded from previous Covid support, The Sun can reveal.  A team of Treasury officials are scrutinising a proposal that would see the Government pay up to 80 per cent of lost trading profits of sole directors of limited companies. The Directors Income Support Scheme would pay grants of up to £7,500 to cover three months of lost trading profits and would be limited to those who earn less than £50,000 a year. Initial estimates have put the cost of the scheme between £2-3 billion depending on take-up. A government source insisted there was still no guarantee that the scheme will be introduced as there are still several loopholes to close down to avoid fraud, waste and legal challenges. Many self-employed workers such as plumbers, engineers, freelance musicians, workers …

Full article with thanks to https://www.tide.co/blog/business-tips/how-much-does-it-cost-to-start-a-business/#:~:text=According%20to%20this%20study%2C%20new,their%20gross%20revenue%20on%20marketing. But, how much exactly does it cost to start a new business? This figure varies widely depending on your chosen industry, location and venue—launching an online freelance writing business will cost significantly less than opening a brick and mortar retail store. On average, UK startups budget £5,000 to launch. Further, the average UK startup spends  £22,756 in their first year, according to a study commissioned by Geniac. But, as only 42.4% of SMEs survive past their first five years, the key is budgeting enough to not only launch, but survive and thrive in the long-term. In this article, we’ll explain the importance of calculating business startup costs, define the types of startup costs you may encounter and provide tools to help you calculate and organise your small business finances to boost your chances of long term success. Why do you need to calculate business startup costs? Financial preparedness …

Full article with thanks to https://www.starlingbank.com/blog/what-is-ir35-and-how-to-prepare/ Please be aware that on the 17th March, the government announced that IR35 tax reforms will be delayed for one year, due to the huge challenges faced by businesses at the moment. The measures will now come into effect on the 6th April 2021. If you’re a freelance contractor providing your services through a Personal Services Company (PSC), you need to know about a tax regulation called IR35. The new rule, which kicks in on 6 April, ensures that private sector clients will determine the tax status of their contractors, rather than the contractor setting it themselves. The aim is to bring the private sector into line with the public sector. It is likely to be the biggest change to how certain SMEs, agencies and contractors get paid and pay their tax in 2020. Following concerns from some contractors on implementation, the government has …

Full article with thanks to https://www.mindful.org/how-do-i-bring-more-mindfulness-into-my-life/ A simple guide to be mindful throughout the day—whether you’re washing the dishes, eating a snack, or sitting down to meditate. Have you ever started eating an ice cream cone, taken a lick or two, then noticed all you had was a sticky napkin in your hand? Or been going somewhere and arrived at your destination only to realize you haven’t noticed anything or anyone you met along the way? Of course you have! These are common examples of “mindlessness,” or as some people put it, “going on automatic pilot.” Which may lead you to wonder—how can I bring more mindfulness into my everyday life? We all fall into habits of mind and body, of attention and inattention, which result in our not being present for our own lives. The consequences of this inattention can be quite costly. They can result in our missing some really good things, …

Full article with thanks to https://www.experienceux.co.uk/faqs/what-are-user-journeys/ A user journey is a path a user may take to reach their goal when using a particular website. User journeys are used in designing websites to identify the different ways to enable the user to achieve their goal as quickly and easily as possible. User journeys map out every step to reach a goal User journeys are the step by step journey that a user takes to reach their goal. This journey will often consist of a number of website pages and decision points that carry the user from one step to another. The user journey is used to map out the current journey a typical user might take to reach their goal. This journey is then redesigned to form an ‘ideal’ user journey free from frustration. The output is traditionally a flow diagram demonstrating each page and decision point throughout the entire …

Full article with thanks to https://www.loudandclearaccounting.co.uk/blog/post/8092/Limited-Company-or-self-employedwhat-is-the-difference/ What is the difference between trading through a Limited Company or deciding to be self-employed? Are they taxed the same? Can you only be VAT registered if you have a Limited Company? If you trade through a Limited Company, can you avoid the payment on account? You may have a lot of questions when you decide to start on your freelance journey; that’s only natural. So here is a quick run through of the questions I am typically asked, which I hope will help you. When will I need to register? If you decide to trade through a Limited Company, you will need to create the Limited Company before you are able to do anything. This is because a Limited Company is a separate legal entity to yourself (this is the reason why your house will be safe if things go pear shaped) so …