Look at any type of business, irrelevant of whether they’re a major player in the global engineering market or a small but established firm in the local area, they can be split into one of two categories – product or service based. Whilst it’s by no means easy for any new business to determine how much money they’re going to charge, it’s arguably somewhat easier for the [...]

With the new financial year fast approaching, whilst it might just seem like another day in general for many small businesses, it actually provides the perfect opportunity to start afresh with your finances and financial recording procedure. You’ll have hopefully seen an increase in your business’s finances over the last 12 months and it’s always hoped that your business has grown [...]

No matter whether you operate an internet based service from your bedroom or you have a small retail unit and employ two or three members of staff, there are two things that every small business needs to be able to develop and expand – time and money. The first, time, is something that you can create yourself.  By reorganizing your calendar and pencilling in a few hours each week to be able [...]

You know that back-to-school time is a great time to stock up on office supplies for your small or home-based business. But did you know the holiday shopping season can offer just as good — if not better –deals for your business? It’s the perfect time to buy for a few reasons: Retailers offer sales to pull in holiday shoppers and improve their numbers for the season and year. This [...]

When you first started your small business, it’s likely that one piece of advice you were given time and time again was to keep a record of everything, particularly if it related to your finances. Although you will no doubt record everything that comes in and out of your business account – as well as keeping any relevant receipts and invoices – in some way, if you’re not recording and [...]

Whatever type of business it is that you operate, it’s extremely likely that at some point, you’re going to need to raise an invoice. If you’re part of a large organization, chances are you’ll have your own finance department to deal with the actual creation of the invoice and all you’ll have to do is pass over the details. And if you’ve been running your small business [...]

The 2009-10 tax year finished on 5 April 2010 and if you’re particularly organized, you might have not only received your self assessment tax return in the post, but you could have completed the online variation and received the figure of the amount of tax due for the last financial year. Now, if you’ve kept an eye on your earnings throughout the past 12 months, chances are the figure shown [...]

With the 2009/2010 tax year coming to an end on April 5, if you own a small business in the UK it is likely that you’ll already have had on your doormat a letter from HMRC asking you to complete a self-assessment tax return. If not, don’t worry, it will (unfortunately) be on its way. Whether this is your first or fifteenth year of completing a self-assessment tax return, unless you are extremely [...]

Summary: As a freelancer, you’ll probably want to increase your rates someday, if not already. How can do this without alienating your existing clients though? These tips will help you increase your freelance writing rates without potentially losing current clients who can’t account for the change in their budgets. If you’re a freelance writer, it’s highly likely that you will [...]

Summary: If you work independently offering any kind of service, from freelance writing to financial consulting, you have to set your rates. How do you go about that? Here are a few things you should keep in mind when setting freelance rates or fees to avoid common mistakes. Setting freelance fees can be difficult for a lot of new independent professionals and consultants. Common mistakes are made, [...]