Select a box below to filter the articles. It’ll make it easier to find what you’re looking for.
- Show all
- Banking
- Business Recovery
- Commercial Mortgages
- VAT Finance
- Loans
- Equity
- Investment
- eCommerce Financing
- Business Risk Management
- Organisation Structure
- Governance
- Business Planning
- Business Loans
- Starting a Business
- Funding
- Planning & Forecasting
- Legal Structure of a Business
- Business Development
- Leadership
- Control & Direction
- Employees
- Funding & Finance
- Growing Your Business
- Legal Advice
- Accountancy & Tax
Swoop Webinar: Changes in 2023 – Prepare for the end of the fiscal year
This webinar will lead you through all of the updates you need to know as a business owner ahead of the financial year end. Hosted by business experts Andrea Reynolds, CEO & Co-founder, Swoop Funding and Ciaran Burke, COO & Co-founder, Swoop Funding.
The waiting game
Hitting the top of the market can occur by luck rather than judgement, but waiting and hoping for the best is a risky business, as David Huggett, Managing Director of Lucid Financial Markets explains.
R&D in ‘23: the new rules affecting innovative businesses
The government has brought in new rules around R&D which will be enforced from April 2023
Why do you need to know about asset finance in 2023
If your business needs funding, asset finance may not be your immediate first thought. But with the market changing in 2023, it could solve your funding problems.
Has your business or department “always done it this way”?
“The most dangerous phrase in the language is ‘We’ve always done it this way."
The year ahead – according to Swoop
The big questions about how 2023 will shake out will depend upon your perspective, so we gathered around the table at Swoop Towers to finish the last mince pies and look ahead into 2023 with Andrea Reynolds, Founder and CEO at Swoop, Stuart Pawelczyk, Head of Commercial Mortgages, Sam Tasker Grindley, Head of Swoop for Advisors and Neil Dillon, Head of Equity.
The common reasons start-ups fail and how to avoid them
We understand the common reasons why start-ups fail. We also know how these problems can be avoided.
Four characteristics of a great accountant (and how best to work with them)
Let us start with the obvious - a great accountant takes an interest in you…
5 reasons your customers aren’t paying you
Regardless of the relationships that you’re building with your customers, there are occasions when payments for a product or service aren’t arriving.
10 ways to save on business energy bills right now
From little tricks to a big switch, there are many ways to save on business energy. Here are 10 of our top tips to help you save on business gas and electricity.
5 expert tips to help SMEs manage the cost of doing business as prices rise
Small to medium-sized businesses (SMEs) are innovative, flexible, tenacious and creative. We’ve seen these strengths first-hand: throughout the coronavirus pandemic and right now, as the cost of doing business has increased amidst widespread price rises.
Why do viable businesses fold?
Bridging finance is a short-term solution to solidify your short-term position until a long-term financing option can be arranged.
The mini-budget – immediate help for businesses, but many promises lack detail
The Chancellor has completed his mini-budget announcement, wherein he will attempt to stimulate UK growth via a mix of tax cuts, the removal of green levies, new investment zones, and an energy costs support plan for businesses and households.
The Energy Bill Relief Scheme explained: what is it and will my business benefit?
While the wholesale costs that energy suppliers can incorporate into the rates for businesses will be capped, it will not determine the final rate paid by business customers.
Are you a CFO drowning in legal work?
We can provide you with a dedicated business lawyer embedded in your business, working alongside your senior team for as many or as few days a month as you need.
Have you got plans to survive the oncoming energy crisis? Read this – help is available
It is anticipated that there will be a range of measures including grants, VAT and business rates holidays available to help businesses through what is hoped to be a temporary crisis.
As a sole trader, you risk missing out: discover how starting a limited company can work to your advantage
How you structure your business – however small it is – can make a big difference to your bottom line (and beyond).
Here comes the new RLS but beware… the small print has changed
Sometimes finance is like a game of Tetris: you can fit a lot more in when you have structured everything properly.
How to survive a recession
Economists are predicting a global recession by the end of 2022. With a recession comes uncertainty – and also, potentially, opportunity.
Now, more than ever, SMEs need creative cross-border payment strategies
A series of transformative events, and an age of ever faster digitalisation, demands greater flexibility and agility from enterprises of all sizes, not least in the area of cross-border payments.
Three great reasons to refinance your existing loans
Sometimes finance is like a game of Tetris: you can fit a lot more in when you have structured everything properly.
Investor Q&A: Mike Stevenson, Fuel Ventures
Fuel affords me the opportunity to follow my instinct and find and invest in the best founders, no matter which sector they’re operating in.
Life after RLS
The Recovery Loan Scheme (RLS) was the cornerstone of the UK government’s help for businesses through the pandemic.
How to set up as a sole trader and prepare your self-assessment tax return
Tax preparation can be time-consuming and daunting, especially if you’re trying to run a business simultaneously.
Dealing with Debt Management in a post-Covid World
Though no business can completely insulate itself from risk, we have identified four key areas that you may wish to consider to help protect your business during this period of economic uncertainty
How innovative financial products meet the needs of online businesses
In the digital world, customers call the shots: if they cannot get what they want when they want it, they will go elsewhere.
Why business debt should NOT be treated like personal finances
Many of us were brought up with the idea that if you can’t afford to buy something, you should save up until you can.
The five things that make a business investable
Finding the right investor for a business is a bit like dating: you have to kiss a few frogs before you find your prince.
Start-ups and business financing – the perils
Sometimes this process can be problematic and if you have ever had an application refused or an account closed without explanation then the reason behind it could be rather sinister.
Property finance
Navigating the commercial market is often difficult and an important step is to seek advice from a specialist commercial mortgage broker.
Coming Soon. More valuable and insightful content.
Coming Soon. More valuable and insightful content.
How to grow your business safely in
the "new normal"
PR Masterclass with JournoLink
Business Funding and Finance
Growing a successful business requires time, passion, hard work, a solid understanding of how businesses work. And two other important elements: Business funding and finance!
What is business finance and why is it so important to the success of your business?
Business finance is the organising, managing, and monitoring of your business finances. With careful planning, analysis, control and – crucially – access to the right skills, you can ensure that your business finances are kept in good order.
As a small business, good business finance disciplines are crucial to the development and establishment of your business. At best, poor business finance disciplines could result in you missing out on vital opportunities to develop your business, and or losing out to your competitors. At worse, you risk your business not being financially resilient enough to survive periods of disruption.
Business funding describes the range of funding options available to businesses.
These include business funding to get started, for ongoing operational activities and working capital, to invest in equipment and resources, to finance acquisitions and to fuel growth.
Understanding what business funding is available to you, and how to access, is likely to be key to the success of your business.
isme|&|co has been set up to help your business reach new heights. Providing you with the resources you need in respect of business funding and finance.
Covering topics such as:
● How to fund your business
● Planning and forecasting
● The importance of bookkeeping
● Accounting advice for your business
How to fund your business
If you own or manage a small or medium sized business, you’ll appreciate the importance of having access to the right funding options. Business funding is needed to operate and to invest in your company. Business funding in the UK is available in many forms to help your business achieve its goals. These include small business grants, commercial finance arrangements, equity investment, and business loans.
Grants
A grant is money given to your business which is often to be used for a specific purpose. With a grant, you often don’t need to pay it back so long as you continue to fulfil the conditions of the grant award. There are several types of business grants for small businesses you might be eligible to apply for:
Innovation grant funding
For example, Innovate UK invites businesses to apply for Smart Grants to help fund research and development projects.
Small business grant funding for young people
If you’ve just started your business and you’re between 18-30 years old you might be eligible for a business grant for young people. For example, The Prince’s Trust offers new business funding and a range of training and mentoring opportunities.
Apprentice grant funding
Did you know you can apply for a business grant if you take on an apprentice? The UK government offers funding opportunities for taking on apprentices between the ages of 16-24 who are on Universal Credit.
Business Loans
A common form of Business Funding, often referred to as debt funding. With a business loan you agree to borrow an amount of money from a lender. Which you then pay back with interest over an agreed period of time. In addition to traditional banks, the British Business Bank Start Up Loans scheme provides government backed unsecured personal loans from £500 to £25,000 to start or grow a new business.
Secured Loan
Yourself or your business must provide collateral, usually an asset, to qualify for this loan. A commercial mortgage to help fund the purchase of business premises is an example of a Secured Loan.
Unsecured Loan
Collateral is not required in order to qualify for this type of loan.
Commercial Finance arrangements
Sometimes the right mix of Business Funding for your business may include Commercial Finance arrangements such as:
Factoring/Invoice discounting
This is a facility that allows you to convert unpaid sales invoices into cash, which can grow in proportion with an increase in your turnover.
Asset Finance
Arrangements such as Hire Purchase, Leasing, and re-financing that help you purchase equipment and other assets.
Stock Finance
Another form of asset-based lending taking the value of raw material and finished goods held in stock.
Planning and forecasting
Looking to the future is one of the most important elements of growing a successful business. As a business owner you’ve built your company from an idea into a fully functioning business that people recognise and invest in. Whether that’s through buying your services or products, supplying goods or services to you, or by providing Business Funding.
Creating and maintaining your business plan should be an important part of your management regime. You can use it to track progress against your goals and objectives. As well as serving as a key reference point. Against which you can make important decisions, and measure their impact on your business’ performance. Looking at what worked, and – often more importantly! – what didn’t.
Typically your business plan will cover a number of years, often 3 or 5. It’s good practice to review and update your Business Plan on an annual basis. Using it to set a detailed Budget for the coming year.
Planning and forecasting your revenue, costs, and profit margin helps ensure your business is meeting the targets you’ve set for it. If your performance is not as expected – better or worse – you need to understand why. You need to analyse the data, and then predict what’s going to happen going forward so you can adapt your plans accordingly.
The importance of bookkeeping
Whilst some people consider it to be boring, investing time and effort upfront and on an ongoing basis will ensure your records are always up to date and accurate.
Leaving everything to the last minute and trying to go back and do things at the end of the year will be much harder. And there’s then a much greater risk of making mistakes.
Bookkeeping is the name given to the process of recording all financial business transactions. It’s a vital and fundamental business discipline. It improves organisation and coordination, and provides the information you need to understand how your business is performing.
It helps with future planning. And makes tax and accounting admin far easier. Whether you do it yourself or you decide to employ an accountant or bookkeeper, Bookkeeping is one of the most important investments you can make. And it is a prerequisite for the following:
● Summarising financial transactions in informative reports
● Sending out and paying invoices
● Submitting VAT returns
● Preparing and completing annual financial accounts for your business. In the case of Limited Companies, these need to filed at Companies House.
● Preparing income tax returns and helping you to understand business tax.
● Training relevant employees on how to manage business finances.
Accounting advice for your Business
isme|&|co was set up to provide easy access to the information small business owners and managers need.
The world of tax and accounting can seem daunting to the inexperienced. Especially if you’ve recently established your business, and you’re not a trained accountant or bookkeeper. Whether you like it or not, financial reporting and tax is here to stay, which is why we provide access to helpful insights and articles on subjects such as accounting advice for small businesses and understanding business taxes.
Financial Reporting requirements differ for UK businesses depending on the size of the business. It is important you are familiar with the specific requirements for your business and seek advice from a trained accountant if this is not an area in which you are skilled.
The tax your business needs to pay will depend on a number of factors including the legal structure of your business. As a small to medium-sized UK business you’re likely to need to account for the following taxes:
● Corporation tax
● PAYE
● National Insurance
● VAT
● Business rates
● Dividend tax
Controlling and managing your Business Finances can be daunting and overwhelming. Particularly if you are unfamiliar with it. Or just not very interested in it. Or not very good at it. With so much to consider from banking to business tax, it’s important to be kept up to date on the latest information and seek external expertise as soon as it’s needed.
Business Funding comes in many forms. Being aware of the different funding options available to your business and carefully selecting the right mix, at the right time, could be key to your success.
Sign up for FREE
Join the isme|&|co Community for FREE today
Be part of the growing Community of like-minded business people. Join a conversation. Ask a question. Receive regular updates on our latest Content and carefully-selected Providers.
Become a provider
Become a trusted Provider on isme|&|co
Apply to promote your business on isme|&|co. The most effective way to meet well-informed and motivated new clients.The process is short and simple. And we’re always on standby if you need any help.