Directors Briefings

  • Advertising Strategy

    Almost every business needs to promote itself in some way, reaching out to customers and potential customers. For businesses with large numbers of target customers in well-defined market segments, advertising is often a cost-effective way of communicating...

  • An Email Policy for Your Employees

    More and more businesses are using email to improve their communications. It can be a quick, convenient and effective way of contacting both customers and other members of your team, without the disruptive effect of a phone call. But if you use email or...

  • An Internet Policy for Your Employees

    The Internet is a powerful tool for improving your business’ efficiency. But it can also be a great way for employees to waste time, damage the security of your IT system and give you legal headaches. If you do not already have an Internet policy, you...

  • Assertiveness

    Greater assertiveness can be the key to getting the best out of your people — increased sales, better customer service, higher productivity and more ideas for improvement. It encourages those who are shy or short of confidence to become more involved...

  • Being Sued

    Accidents, mistakes and misunderstandings can happen in any business. Sometimes these grow into full-blown disputes, and before you know it, you are facing a legal claim. Being sued is stressful, time-consuming and expensive — three good reasons for...

  • Benchmarking

    Every business can use benchmarking. At its simplest, it helps you to compare statistics and control costs. More sophisticated benchmarking looks at process design and business strategy. Benchmarking is a process that compares your business activities to...

  • Budgeting

    No business can know exactly what the future holds. But budgeting reduces the level of uncertainty, helping you anticipate problems, learn from the past and improve your ability to control the business. This briefing will help with internal management...

  • Building Customer Loyalty

    Customer loyalty matters because selling more to existing customers is easier, and cheaper, than finding and selling to new ones. Loyal customers tend to buy more, more regularly. And they will frequently recommend your business to others. This briefing...

  • Business Angels

    Finance of £25,000 to £750,000 can be surprisingly difficult to obtain. Banks generally require security and most venture capital firms are not interested in financing these amounts. Business angels are wealthy, entrepreneurial individuals who...

  • Buying Premises

    Buying business premises gives you control over one of your major financial investments. As an owner-occupier, you can choose to stay in the premises for ever. If need be, you can raise money through selling, taking out an additional mortgage or letting...

  • Buying a Business

    Buying a business can be a big step forward, or it can turn out to be disastrous. This briefing assumes that you have already found a suitable business (the target business). It explains how to complete the purchase of the target business, including...

  • Car Finance

    If you have decided to invest or reinvest in cars for your business, raising the money is unlikely to be a problem. Provided you have the cash for the deposit, and a reasonable credit record, any dealer will arrange terms. But arranging terms is one thing;...

  • Choosing Accounting Software

    Choose the right accounting software package and you will save time and money, make fewer mistakes, and obtain useful management information. The most recent breakthrough has been in making the software easier to use — you no longer have to understand...

  • Choosing Computer Accessories

    Computers are the IT workhorses in your business. To use them effectively, you are likely to purchase a variety of accessories. This briefing covers: Computer printers. Scanners. Digital cameras. Projectors. ...

  • Choosing Office Premises

    Finding the right office premises will help you improve productivity, attract and retain good employees, and give a positive impression of the business to your customers. This briefing takes you through the various stages of looking for an office. It...

  • Common VAT Problems

    Once you understand the basics, VAT is reasonably straightforward. But there are some areas where it is easy to make mistakes. These can lead to stringent penalties, and ignorance is no defence. In this briefing, we assume you understand the basics and...

  • Communicating with Employees

    Poor communication is one of the most common criticisms employees have about the businesses they work for. Employees complain that managers give poor instructions, they feel uninformed about what is happening within the company and often feel that their...

  • Company Cars and Tax

    Company cars are one of the most popular employee benefits. Altogether, more than 1 million UK directors and employees drive company cars. Of these, half receive free fuel for private use. Successive governments have increased taxation on cars and fuel....

  • Corporation Tax

    Corporation tax is the tax paid by companies on their profits. Unincorporated organisations (such as clubs and societies) also pay corporation tax, if they have taxable income. Partners in both traditional and limited liability partnerships and sole traders...

  • Cost Control

    Cutting costs is the simplest way to improve your bottom line. Introducing a cost control system can bring immediate savings and ensure that you remain competitive in the longer term. But cost control needs to be carefully managed. While eliminating...

  • Creating a Brand

    Having a brand can differentiate your business from your competitors and drive customer loyalty. And branding isn’t just for multi-nationals with huge budgets: small and medium firms can create an effective brand by examining how the business works,...

  • Creating a Valuable Business

    Hundreds of everyday actions affect the performance of your business, whether you are negotiating a sale, recruiting a new employee or complaining to a supplier. Much of the working day is spent reacting to circumstances, making small decisions that have a...

  • Credit Control

    Optimising cashflow and avoiding bad debts are two key objectives of any successful business. Setting up a good credit control system is the starting point for both. This briefing will help you to decide what approach is appropriate for your type of...

  • Debt Recovery

    Most businesses experience some problems getting paid on time by their customers. Good credit control helps to prevent this becoming a serious problem. However, there are occasions when a customer cannot, or will not, pay. To avoid a bad debt, you may need...

  • Design

    Businesses that underrate the importance of design are missing a major opportunity. Design is not just about the way products and brochures look. It is an essential part of improving your business, developing new products and innovating. Effective use of...

  • Designing Your Website

    You can design your website yourself, using modern software that makes it no harder than using your familiar word processing software. You can hire a web design agency to do it for you. Or you can use a service that gives you a fixed-price deal for a set...

  • Direct Mail

    Direct mail can be an extremely cost-effective marketing method. You can use it to get details of your company and its products directly into the hands of the people who are most likely to want them. But direct mail works best with proper preparation...

  • Directors' responsibilities

    Company directors are responsible for the management of their companies. But they act on behalf of the owners, and must consider their interests in everything they do. They also have responsibilities to the company’s employees, its trading partners,...

  • Discipline and Grievance Issues

    Recent changes in legislation make it absolutely vital that you now follow the correct procedures in disciplinary and grievance matters. If you fail to do so, you could find yourself judged to have dismissed someone automatically unfairly. If you have not...

  • Discrimination

    Discrimination against employees on any grounds other than their ability to do the job is a bad idea — and could also be illegal. If an employee or potential employee brings a discrimination case against your business, you could be tied up in costly...

  • Dismissing Employees

    Contrary to popular wisdom, fair-minded employers have little to fear from employment-protection legislation. The issues are fairly straightforward and most problems can be avoided by following a few simple rules. This briefing outlines: Dismissing...

  • E-commerce

    The Internet enables you to sell 24 hours a day to customers anywhere in the world through a fully automated sales process. Your online shop can attract new customers and provide better service for existing ones. The increased availability of low - cost...

  • E-commerce

    The Internet enables you to sell 24 hours a day to customers anywhere in the world and the sales process can be fully automated. Your Internet shop can attract new customers and provide better service for existing customers. The increasing availability of...

  • Effective Board Meetings

    The way you run board meetings speaks volumes about how you run the company. Successful companies use board meetings to create and improve key business strategies. This briefing is aimed primarily at companies large enough to have board meetings. But it is...

  • Effective PR

    A good image is a valuable asset. Effective public relations (PR) creates good publicity, building your reputation with customers and others whose opinion matters to you. While advertising can be purchased immediately, generating positive publicity can take...

  • Email, Calenders and Instant Messaging

    IT offers many new ways to communicate, both within your business and externally. These methods of communication can improve productivity and help with marketing.  This briefing covers: Setting up and using email Shared calenders ...

  • Employees Who Work from Home

    New technologies and social change make working from home — sometimes called teleworking — an increasingly cost-effective and attractive option both for individuals and the organisations they work for. This briefing outlines: Which jobs...

  • Employment Contracts

    A contract of employment exists as soon as an applicant accepts your offer of employment. A clear, reasonable contract helps you to ensure that the employee understands what is expected, and to minimise the risk of disputes. At the same time, you need to...

  • Employment Law: The Basics

    Employment law is a complex area that is full of pitfalls. Getting it right means keeping in touch with developments, thinking out your policies and implementing them with care. Getting it wrong is easier, but could be extremely expensive. In this briefing...

  • Employment Tribunals

    Although some employees and employers can now choose to follow an alternative dispute resolution procedure, most employee complaints are still heard at an employment tribunal. You need to take tribunals seriously. If you have well-thought-out procedures, and...

  • Everyday Workplace Policies

    Managing people takes time and resources. You can save yourself a lot of effort simply by having a clear policy on many everyday issues. Employees need to know where they stand, especially when starting a new job. Problems quickly arise if it is unclear...

  • Exhibitions

    Exhibitions provide a unique opportunity to display your product and business to large numbers of potential customers. A clear idea of what you are trying to achieve, and how to go about it, helps you maximise the impact. This briefing looks at: ...

  • Exporting Finance

    Exporting tends to be more demanding, financially, than selling in the UK. Consignments are usually larger, lead times are longer and the risks are more difficult to control. Negotiating the terms of an export sale is a matter of balancing the risks and the...

  • Factoring and Invoice Discounting

    Factoring allows you to raise finance based on the value of your outstanding invoices. Growing businesses, in particular, often find that factoring is a more flexible source of working capital than overdrafts or loans. Factoring also gives you the...

  • Filing and Records Management

    Filing and records management is a vital — if uninspiring — part of any business. Information is a major element in many companies’ competitive advantage, but it can only be utilised if it is available when needed. At the same time, every...

  • Finance for Non-Financial Managers

    Whatever your area of expertise, you need to understand the basics of financial management. This will give you an informed view about the company’s performance, and allow you to play a full role in shaping its strategy. This briefing discusses: ...

  • Financing Equipment

    Hiring or leasing equipment is one way of making your working capital go further Instead of paying out up front, you can spread your payments over a set period, and benefit from the use of the equipment in the meantime. Of course you have to pay for this...

  • First steps to exporting

    Exporting can boost your turnover and reduce your dependence on UK-based customers. Moving into export is a big step — it’s important you consider whether your business is ready for the challenge. This briefing tells you how to prepare for...

  • Floating Your Company

    Floating your company can be one of the most exciting experiences in your business life. But it can also be stressful, time-consuming and expensive. While taking professional advice is essential, it helps if you understand the basics. This briefing...

  • Forming a Business

    Whether you are forming your first business or adding to an existing one, it pays to set it up correctly. Choosing the wrong business structure will expose you to unnecessary costs and risks. Failing to address the key practical issues can result in you...

  • Getting a Grant for Your Business

    Getting grant-funding could really help your business develop and grow. But even experts can find it difficult to keep track of the hundreds of different grant schemes which keep appearing and then disappearing. This briefing outlines the kind of grants...

  • Getting out of a Lease

    As the needs of your business change, you may wish to get out of the lease on your premises. This is seldom easy. A lease is a legal contract, and your landlord can take you to court if you break it. But depending on the detailed circumstances, your landlord...

  • Getting the Most Out of Your PC

    If you have a PC in your office that you only use for running out invoices, writing the occasional letter and browsing the Internet, you could be missing out on substantial business benefits that would cost you little more than a modest investment of time. ...

  • Graduate Recruitment

    Most businesses would like to benefit from an influx of talent, enthusiasm and fresh ideas. The challenge is to achieve it at an acceptable cost. One option is to employ a recent graduate. This briefing is primarily aimed at smaller businesses. It covers: ...

  • Health and Safety

    Looking after health, safety and welfare is not just a legal requirement — it makes commercial sense. Failing to manage health and safety properly can be far more costly than getting it right in the first place. While the sheer mass of legislation can...

  • Health and Safety Risk Assessment

    Faced with the mass of legislation, meeting your health and safety requirements can seem a daunting task. Fortunately, the most critical part of managing health and safety — risk assessment — is relatively straightforward. This briefing covers: ...

  • ISO 9000

    Many companies see the introduction of a quality management system as a major step forward in controlling and improving their key processes. Other companies simply react to customer demands that their suppliers should have suitable systems. The...

  • Import Finance

    Many businesses find importing requires greater financial flexibility and reserves than buying from a UK supplier. Rather than buying on credit, you must often commit finance well before delivery. Negotiating the right agreement with your supplier can cut...

  • Incentive Pay

    Productivity and high standards are important to you. Recognition and encouragement are important to employees. Incentive pay is a way for you and your employees to achieve results. A good incentive pay scheme can motivate employees to work better for your...

  • Income Tax Self-assessment

    About one in three taxpayers is affected by self-assessment. If you are one of them, there is no need to be concerned. As long as you keep detailed financial records and meet the deadlines for completing the return and paying tax, you should not have a...

  • Increasing Profitability

    Few people are in a position to sit back and watch the profits roll in. Creating and increasing profitability depends on doing a hundred little things better than the competition. If you are lucky, a single change could provide an immediate boost to your...

  • Innovation

    In a world of change and competition, innovating is not a luxury, but an essential. All businesses need to innovate, though it may take any number of forms, from the steady refinement of established products to the leap in the dark when an untried idea is...

  • Insolvency

    Companies or individuals with debts they are unable to pay are said to be insolvent. By the time a business starts thinking about insolvency, things are already going badly. Simply allowing yourself to run out of money is the worst possible way of handling...

  • Insurance to Protect Your Business

    An unexpected event — such as a break-in, fire, computer failure, key customer going bankrupt or serious illness of an invaluable member of your team — could destroy your business. Insurance can cushion the impact of most risks. But if you...

  • Intellectual Property

    Whether your business relies on innovative new products or just the strength of your reputation, it almost certainly involves some intellectual property. You need to use your own intellectual property as effectively as possible while avoiding infringing...

  • Interest on Late Payments

    All businesses have a legal right to claim interest from late-paying customers. The statutory right to interest, introduced under the Late Payment of Commercial Debts (Interest) Act 1998, applies to all contracts agreed after 7 August 2002. Late payments...

  • Interviewing

    Interviewing is a central part of finding the right person for the job. Done well, an interview is an effective way to find out about a candidate. But done badly, it provides poor information which results in poor decisions. Proper planning, careful...

  • Intranets

    An intranet is like a private Internet, sealed off from users outside your business. It is a company network which shares information using the same point-and-click approach as the World Wide Web. An intranet does not have to be large. It might simply link...

  • Investors in People

    Since 1991, leading companies across the UK have already achieved, or are working towards, the Investors in People Standard. They recognise that their success depends on their employees — and that Investors in People is an effective way to make the...

  • Key Dates for the Tax Year 09/10

    This briefing is a month-by-month schedule of important deadlines in the tax year 6 April 2009 to 5 April 2010. It will help you to prepare and send off the main forms in good time - to HM Revenue & Customs (HMRC) and Companies House. In a simplified...

  • Key Performance Indicators

    Running any business effectively requires good decision-making, which is based on good management information. All businesses need to monitor profitability and cashflow carefully, and use management accounts for this purpose. But to boost profitability and...

  • Key issues in running your business

    ‘I haven’t got time to sort out my priorities’ — that’s the cry of so many owner-managers submerged by the day-to-day demands of running a business. This is a special Directors’ Briefing to help the ultra-busy...

  • Leadership

    Whether you are the managing director or the office supervisor, the way you lead is the single biggest success factor for everyone you work with. Leaders change the organisations around them. They make a difference to the business, rather than just making...

  • Litigation and Insurance

    The cost of bringing or defending a legal action can put serious financial pressure on your business, whether you eventually win the case or not. You could potentially be sued by an employee, a customer, a supplier or a member of the public. Or you could...

  • Maintaining Your IT System

    Buying the equipment and applications is only the start of your investment in IT. Throughout the life of any system, the cost of maintaining hardware and software will form a significant part of the total cost of ownership. But keeping a system running...

  • Making an Insurance Claim

    For most businesses it is not a case of if, but when. You will probably make a claim on an insurance policy at some stage, be it for a catastrophic fire or a minor theft. Your insurance policy will compensate you for financial loss. This can include...

  • Making the most of the Internet

    The Internet is a vast store of information and data. It is an incredibly useful business rsource which can save you time and money. The briefing covers: What you can find online. How the Internet can save you money. Online networking. ...

  • Managing Change

    Businesses face change all the time, driven by internal or external influences. The rhetoric of change always includes words like growth, innovation, reorganisation, computerisation, redundancy, relocation and diversification. But most changes in business...

  • Managing Insurance Risks

    All businesses face a wide range of risks every day. Careful planning can either reduce these risks to an acceptable level, or eliminate them completely. While insuring some of these risks is essential, it should be seen as no more than a back-up to an...

  • Managing Your Cashflow

    A business can survive for a short time without sales or profits, but not without cash. It is cash which pays the bills and allows trading to continue. And if you are growing, and extending credit to more customers, the need for cash is greater. This...

  • Managing Your Creditors

    You rely on good relations with creditors for the smooth operation of your business. Suppliers (trade creditors), the bank, and statutory bodies such as HM Revenue & Customs all effect the cashflow of most businesses. When your cashflow is tight, you may...

  • Managing Your Sales Team

    Getting the most out of your sales team is essential if you are going to achieve your company’s full potential. But it is not always easy. Sales people can be a breed apart, operating in a stressful environment where they are exposed to rejection and...

  • Managing Your Time

    Time is like money. If you control it, you can create a satisfactory and productive working environment. If you do not control it, you can spend your working life in an exhausting and depressing muddle. This briefing explains how to make time work for you....

  • Marketing on the Internet

    Using the Internet gives you access to a number of powerful marketing techniques. The Internet can improve the reach and cost-effectiveness of your marketing. It can help you build your company’s reputation and win new customers. This briefing...

  • Marketing with Your Database

    Databases make information management easy and relatively inexpensive. Mailshots, telemarketing and customer service activities can be more purposeful when you have instant access to details of all your customers and prospects and all your contacts with...

  • Minimum Wage and Statutory Pay Obligations

    .Regulations covering minimum wages and statutory pay apply to almost every business. It is illegal to pay less than the National Minimum Wage so you need to be clear about your responsibilities as an employer if you are going to minimise disruption to your...

  • Motivating Employees

    Most employees spend less than half their time at work being genuinely productive. For the business owner, this is frustrating and expensive. Ironically, though, the employer is usually the major cause of the problem. Almost all employees will be highly...

  • Moving Premises

    Moving into new premises is usually an exciting milestone — marking the growth of your business or a new strategy. But few people realise beforehand how disruptive and time-consuming moving is likely to be. The key to success is meticulous planning...

  • NVQ's

    Measuring performance at all levels is one of the keys to success for growing businesses. Traditional financial measures alone are no longer sufficient. Measuring an employee’s performance and the contribution they make to achieving goals is essential....

  • National Insurance and State Pensions

    All earners pay National Insurance contributions (NICs) on their earnings. Employers pay employer contributions for each employee and collect and forward their employees’ contributions. Paying contributions entitles an individual to a state pension....

  • Negotiating a Purchase

    Negotiating a purchase can often be more critical than negotiating an individual sale. Apart from price, you may need to secure strategic essentials such as component quality and continuity of supply. Good preparation, clear objectives and an awareness of...

  • Negotiating a Sale

    Negotiating a sale can be a daunting challenge or an exhilarating opportunity to exercise your ingenuity and judgement. Unless you are doing it all the time, it is always likely to involve emotions as well as logic. Nobody likes to lose a sale, but making...

  • Network Servers

    Most businesses with three or more computers will benefit from having a computer network. The network server is the computer that manages the network. It is also where all your shared files are stored. Buying a network server is more complicated than...

  • Networks and Communications

    A network can link all the computers in your office, allowing users to share files, programs and resources such as printers and modems. Even businesses with fewer than ten computers find they benefit from installing a network. This briefing is aimed at...

  • New Product Development

    A ‘new product’ can be a product or a service. It can be the next revolutionary computer chip, or a new holiday package put together by a travel agent. The point is, it is new, so it is often risky. This briefing will not help you generate the...

  • Overdrafts and Bank Loans

    Overdrafts and loans are the most common form of external financing available to businesses. Used properly, they provide a simple and effective way of financing the growth of your business. But despite their widespread use, they are not always used wisely....

  • Payroll

    Payroll is a crucial part of your operations. The government requires you to collect tax and National Insurance (NI) under the PAYE system, and imposes penalties for failure and missed deadlines. The many complications include processing statutory sick pay,...

  • Payroll Software

    Good payroll software does more than just calculate wages and print payslips. It enables you to gather information on your employment costs and to keep track of individual employees. One of the strengths of the best packages is the range of extra modules...

  • Pensions for business owners

    Companies are not obliged to set up their own company (or occupational) pension schemes, but the Government has said it intends to encourage company schemes as the best way of providing pensions for employees. Changes in legislation, as well as...

  • Pensions for employees

    The basic state pension, for an individual, is currently £87.30 a week. To boost your income in retirement, you need to make your own arrangements. You can choose between a variety of schemes, many of which were originally devised to take advantage of...

  • Pensions for senior managers

    Owner-managers, directors and senior managers have a wide choice of pension options to provide for retirement. From April 2006 the choice has become wider, as previous tax rules have been sept away. They have been replaced with a much simpler tax regime with...

  • Performance Appraisals

    Maintaining employees’ focus and motivation is essential if they are to make a full contribution to your business. Performance appraisals actively involve employees in understanding what is expected of them. By setting agreed objectives — and...

  • Personal Development Plans

    Personal development plans (PDPs) provide a powerful, flexible way to link employees’ professional and personal development with the development of your business. A PDP is a short, unambiguous written document — usually one side of A4 paper...

  • Planning Your Marketing

    Successful businesses focus on getting the basics of marketing right. Marketing is based on identifying and satisfying customers’ needs — profitably. It encompasses market research, pricing, promotion, distribution, selling, customer care, and...

  • Planning your exit from your business

    Many owner-managers put in a lifetime of hard work building their business only to throw away some of the rewards by failing to consider properly how they will exit from the business — both financially and as a manager. It is vital to begin planning...

  • Preparing for Your Annual Accounts

    This briefing is aimed at smaller limited companies. Companies with an annual turnover of less than £5.6m and total assets (fixed and current) under £2.8m must file a set of accounts with HM Revenue & Customs and with Companies House. When...

  • Pricing

    The prices you charge for your products can have a dramatic effect on sales and profits. Setting your prices too high can reduce sales abruptly, while undercharging can devastate your profits. The logic is simple. Your optimum price is one that gives the...

  • Purchasing

    In the daily drive to improve sales, it is easy to forget what a powerful impact your purchasing has on bottom-line profits. Yet, for many businesses, a one per cent cut in costs can have the same impact on profit as a ten per cent increase in sales. By...

  • Recruitment

    Recruiting the right employees can be a challange, with no guarantee of success. But using the right information and procedures will improve your chances of finding what you are looking for. This briefing outlines: How to plan your recruitment. ...

  • Redundancy

    Redundancies are a fact of life in the smaller business, where carrying surplus staff is a short cut to disaster. A shift in the economic or business climate, a merger or a move to a new location can all make redundancies inevitable. Redundancy is a complex...

  • Remote Working

    Laptop computers, mobile phones and other technologies mean that some businesses do not need a physical ‘place of work’ for their employees. Even if you are not ready to do away with company premises altogether, remote working can still help...

  • Remuneration

    Get your remuneration packages right and you will attract reliable employees with the skills your business needs for success. Get them wrong and you will be unable to recruit these people — or hold on to them. Since the remuneration package is the...

  • Rent Reviews and Rating Assessments

    Rent reviews are a mechanism for adjusting a tenant’s rent to the current market level. Similarly, the revaluation of rating assessments adjusts the rates an occupier pays, bringing it into line with rental values. You negotiate rent reviews (if your...

  • Renting Premises

    Compared with purchasing premises, renting is flexible and ties up a minimal amount of capital. Most businesses rent their premises, either through a lease or a licence. However, be on your guard. Property law can be complex and verbal agreements do not...

  • Research for Your Marketing

    Marketing research helps you understand your competitive position, spot opportunities, lessen risks and take better decisions. It is more than just market research, which is concerned only with examining aspects of a given market, such as its size, location...

  • Research your export markets

    It’s essential to carry out thorough research before you start exporting. It will help prevent costly mistakes, boost your chances of choosing the right market and show you how to sell your products and services in that market. This briefing is aimed...

  • Rights for Working Parents and Carers

    Given the number of changes to parental rights in recent years, employers could be forgiven for not knowing where they stand when one of their employees is pregnant or becomes responsible for a child. But with employment tribunals making large awards against...

  • Role of the Company Secretary

    Every company is obliged to appoint a company secretary. If you accept this appointment, you will become an officer of the company, with legal responsibilities under the Companies Act. From 6 April 2008, it will no longer be obligatory to have a separate...

  • SWOT analysis

    SWOT analysis looks at your strengths and weaknesses, and the opportunities and threats your business faces. By focusing on the key factors affecting your business, now and in the future, a SWOT analysis provides a clear basis for examining your business...

  • Sales Presentations

    A presentation is an ideal opportunity to make a sale. You have a captive audience and far more flexibility than in a simple sales letter or phone call. Although many people do not look forward to making a presentation, the right approach can make it an...

  • Search Engine Optimisation

    Search engines are perhaps the number one way people locate information on the Internet. They can be a major source of traffic for your website. If you sell online, they can provide a steady stream of paying customers too: This briefing explains: ...

  • Securing Your Premises

    Theft, vandalism and arson are the crimes most likely to affect your business. There is no single solution. You need to identify the particular threats you face. This briefing sets out the security measures you should consider to minimise the risks and to...

  • Security and the Internet

    Your IT system, and the information you hold on it, is valuable. Accidental or malicious damage is at best inconvenient and at worst disastrous. Simply using a computer to hold and process business information creates a security risk. Connecting the system...

  • Selling Technique

    Persuading customers to part with their money may not be easy. But the actual process is a straightforward one. Whether you are selling to businesses or individual customers, the rules remain the same. This briefing outlines how to: Identify and...

  • Selling a business

    Selling a business is often the culmination of years of work. It can be a difficult, emotional and time-consuming task. It is not something that many managers or owners do more than once. You have to get it right first time. This briefing outlines: ...

  • Setting up a Basic IT System

    Every business should specify and source an IT solution which meets its immediate requirements, but which can also act as a base for expansion as the business grows. This briefing covers: Basic requirements. Using software. Networking. ...

  • Sickness Issues and SSP

    Businesses lose a lot of money through sickness absence, not all of it medically justified. While many of the issues can be handled on the basis of give and take, there are times when clear policies and decisive action are needed. This briefing covers: ...

  • Software Use and Your Legal Liabilities

    Computer software is a central part of many businesses’ operations. But its increased importance brings new risks. Fraud, viruses, legal challenges and simple mistakes can all have catastrophic effects on your profitability. An effective software...

  • Specifying and Purchasing IT

    Buying IT unwisely increases costs and reduces system effectiveness. Aim to acquire a solution which meets your business needs and you feel comfortable managing. IT-related services can be as important as the hardware and software themselves. This briefing...

  • Stakeholder Pensions

    Stakeholder schemes were introduced by the Government to encourage people with moderate earnings to save for their retirement. They are intended to be cost-effective, flexible and accessible to all. Unless you already have a pension scheme which all your...

  • Strategic Acquisitions

    An acquisition could increase the size and profitability of your business overnight. It might enable you to take advantage of new economies of scale, or diversify into new areas. You might be able to acquire a bigger and better customer base, or strengthen...

  • Stress Management

    Stress affects employers as well as employees. It can cause illness and absenteeism. It can also be the cause of bad business decisions, poor workplace relations and loss of productivity. This briefing covers the following points: The cost of ignoring...

  • Subsidised and Guaranteed Loans

    If you have a promising business but cannot provide the security needed for a conventional bank loan, the Government’s Small Firms Loan Guarantee may be what you need. Alternatively, other supported loan schemes (loans subsidised by government or...

  • Suing

    Part of the skill of running a successful business is creating good relationships with your customers and suppliers, so that agreements are kept and problems can be sorted out amicably. When things go sour, your priority is still to settle the dispute...

  • Tax and National Insurance

    This briefing provides an introduction to the taxes most likely to affect your business. The sooner you set up systems for maintaining your records, and the better you keep them, the less money you will need to spend on professional help in dealing with the...

  • Teambuilding

    Small businesses rely on teamwork, just as much as their bigger counterparts. When a small group of people starts working towards shared goals and producing results that add up to more than the sum of the parts, it becomes a team. Successful teamworking...

  • Telecoms for Competitive Advantage

    Today’s telecoms technology can do more than simply save time and money. Alongside computing, telecoms form the backbone of an efficient business. The technology allows you to talk, leave messages, hold conference calls, send data, use the Internet and...

  • The Euro

    The euro is the single currency shared by 13 of the EU’s 27 member states (see margin note, page 2). Euro notes and coins were introduced on 1 January 2002. The UK is not currently part of the European single currency. But as the eurozone accounts for...

  • The Law on Flexible Working

    As an employer, you need to know about flexible working. The law says you must ‘consider seriously’ requests to work flexibly from employees with a child aged 16 or under, a child with disabilities under 18 and employees looking after a dependant...

  • Using Accounting Software

    Good accounting software should put you in control of your business. You can automate the tasks you have to do, including keeping records and completing statutory returns. And once the data is recorded, it will be easy for you to access and manipulate it for...

  • Using Training Effectively

    Training can make a mediocre employee good at something, and a good person excellent. On the other hand, a person without training can be a brake on the business. Whether you are aiming for increased sales, more efficient production, better use of IT, or...

  • Using a Consultant

    Bringing in the outside expertise of a consultant can solve problems and help you improve processes, products and profitability. Choosing the right consultant for the job is half the battle. The other half, which this briefing covers, is to get the best...

  • Valuing a Business

    The two questions ’How much is your business worth?’ and ‘How can you make it more valuable?’ are of paramount importance to any business owner. This briefing is aimed at anyone buying, selling or simply running a business, who needs...

  • Venture Capital

    For businesses requiring additional finance, which are unable to increase their level of borrowing, venture capital (also known as private equity finance) may be the answer. Venture capital firms provide financing in return for a proportion of your shares....

  • Website and Email Law

    Some people like to think of the Internet as an unregulated free-for-all, but this is simply not the case. The law still applies, although in some areas its interpretation and effects are not entirely clear. The international nature of the Internet, and the...

  • Working Time Regulations

    Regulations covering working hours apply to almost every business. Working time regulations aim to improve health and safety by controlling the hours employees work. This briefing covers: The rules governing working hours, rest periods, annual leave...

  • Writing a Business Plan

    Every management team should know where it is taking the business, and how it is going to get there. This is the purpose of the business plan. This briefing outlines the key issues to consider when putting together a ‘typical’ business plan....

  • Writing a Mailshot

    Most businesses send out mailshots several times a year, whether they are large-scale mailings or batches of individualised letters to a dozen key customers at a time. If the targeting and the offer are right, you get a positive response. If you get them...

  • Writing an Advertisement

    A well written advertisement can dramatically improve the effectiveness of your campaign. While writing a great advertisement is an art, the key principles are easy to understand — helping you either to prepare your own advertisement or evaluate the...

  • Your Business and the Environment

    We are all concerned about the environment, but most of us prefer to believe it is someone else’s problem. Such complacency can be costly. As a minimum, you must find out how environmental legislation affects your business. At the same time, being...
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