When you’re running your own small business it can sometimes be a challenge just staying on top of your everyday work, let alone managing all the things you need to do behind the scenes.
But if you can dedicate some time to measuring a few important pieces of admin in your business, you may find that you’re likely to work more effectively and give your business the best opportunity to grow.
How you’re spending your time
If you bill clients by an hourly or daily rate, you’re probably already tracking your time to ensure you charge for all of the work that you do. But monitoring your time is still a very useful habit to get into even if you don’t bill this way.
By identifying how much time you actually spend on working for clients compared to managing your daily business admin, you’ll be able to see how profitable your business really is and which clients are potentially costing you money.
If you track admin time, and other unbillable time, you’ll also be able to see exactly how much time you’re spending on your business that you can’t charge for. It may well be more than you think!
And if your business offers a range
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EU referendum: The self-employed plan to vote on a personal level
by Ben Lobel • • 0 Comments
According to a study by Intuit QuickBooks of 1,000 self-employed workers across the UK, 72 per cent of self-employed workers will cast their EU referendum vote according to personal or political preference, with just one in five (20 per cent) entering the ballot box with their business or career in mind.
Despite placing a personal choice before their business, the referendum remains high on the self-employed agenda and a huge majority (95 per cent) will make sure their voice is heard.
Their vote is currently evenly split with 41.9 per cent set to vote ‘remain’, 41.3 per cent voting ‘leave’ and 11.4 per cent still undecided.
Implications of the EU Referendum
Regardless of this even split, the clear majority (62 per cent) of self-employed workers admit to being concerned about the implications of the EU Referendum result on their future self-employed prospects, but most (57 per cent) believe that in times of economic uncertainty it is still more reliable to be self-employed, rather than working for a full-time employer.
In the event of a Brexit vote, 82 per cent would choose to remain self-employed, rather than trying to find work with an employer (18 per cent).
Just 14 per cent of self-employed workers have fully prepared their business
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Female workers consider training or retraining
by Ben Lobel • • 0 Comments
The study of 2,000 adults commissioned by Oxford Open Learning Trust finds that many women are willing to retrain in order to get a foot in the door of a new job.
Almost a quarter of female workers (24 per cent) would consider training or retraining up to a year for their new role, while around one in ten (12 per cent) would train for up to two years for a new career.
Female workers are considering a career change
The results show that moving into a different job role may be on the cards for many women, as more than a quarter of female workers are considering a career change in the next ten years (27 per cent). Around 11 per cent of workers are planning to move within the next year.
Among female workers, most respondents say working hours (57 per cent) followed by location (49 per cent) are important factors when choosing their current job role.
However, when it comes to choosing a new career or job role, two thirds (66 per cent) of female workers choose salary as an important factor, suggesting that monetary incentives are key for choosing a new career.
Top five priorities for female workers in their current job
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Technology jobs: Employers believe women face uphill struggle
by Jon Sumner • • 0 Comments
Despite almost half of employers (48 per cent) admitting they find it difficult to recruit for technology roles, there is reluctance to adapt current policies to encourage gender equality, with three quarters (75 per cent) of employers admitting they have no plans to do so, according to Monster.co.uk.
Some 59 per cent of UK employees report there are more men than women in technical and digital jobs within their organisation and just 35 per cent believe men and women are equally represented in these roles.
The research highlights that many still feel the UK is a long way from achieving gender parity in the office, 39 per cent believe women still have to work harder for a promotion or recognition and over two fifths (47 per cent) of females say they have either experienced themselves or witnessed gender inequality in the workplace.
Transparency on equal pay for women
In order to address these inequalities, the top five things UK employees think need to be implemented are transparency on equal pay for women and men (55 per cent), offering paternity and family leave to both men and women (43 per cent), greater flexibility on working hours and working from home (40 per cent), more encouragement
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What broadband options are available for my business?
by Ben Lobel • • 0 Comments
There are many different types of broadband connections available. With people tending to know very little about the wide range of different connections that are available and there being so much technical terminology banded around, choosing the right one for you can be tricky.
Here’s a simple breakdown of the main types of broadband which are available to help you make sure that you’re making the right choices when it comes to getting broadband:
Dial up connections
A dial up internet connection tends to be much cheaper than other options but can be very slow and inconvenient.
If you don’t regularly use the internet, then having a dial up connection may be a good idea for you as you have to connect to web via a phone number that you call through your computer.
A dial up connection means that your phone line is out of action whilst you’re connected to the internet, so is not the best or quickest option for those requiring regular internet access- an internal or externa modem is required for a dial-up connection.
Wireless
Wi-fi uses radio frequency to connect to the internet and is one of the most flexible internet connections.
With wi-fi available to connect to
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Summer HR rules employers should consider
by Ben Lobel • • 0 Comments
With the first day of summer now upon us, employers may see an increase in the number of issues and requests within the workplace.
Many employers and managers will have to rely heavily on their workplace policies to correctly deal with issue which may arise.
Holiday requests
Most employees tend to take the majority of their annual leave entitlement during the summer months, meaning that employers can expect the number of holiday requests to rise during this time of year.
This increase can result in numerous overlapping requests which businesses, especially small businesses, may not be able to accommodate during this specifically busy time.
Managers and employers may need support when handling requests and implementing and following a holiday policy may be what is needed.
The policy should specify the how requests are to be made, as well as clarify how requests will be considered.
For example, if two or more employees have requested the same time off, whether the requests will be decided in the order they were received, at random or whether the employees will be given the chance to negotiate between themselves.
Flexible working requests
Flexible working requests may also increase in the summer period as this coincides with summer school holidays
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Unpredictability for SMEs as Britain votes out
by Ben Lobel • • 0 Comments
Rich Preece, Europe VP and managing director of Intuit QuickBooks says that, after today’s vote, there will be a transitional period while the UK negotiates an exit agreement.
‘It is possible that negotiations may continue for several years so it will be business as usual for now, but SMEs will have to monitor how the landscape is changing,’ he says.
‘One thing is for sure, throughout this period, managing finances is as important as ever. Whether this means a laser focus on forecasting, a revised approach on expenditure, exploring additional sources of funding or keeping overseas clients on side, putting the bottom line first remains key.’
Jason Kitcat, head of policy and public affairs at Crunch Accounting hopes that the government will move quickly following this result to set out its exit plans to minimise uncertainty for the business community.
‘At the heart of negotiations to leave the EU must be how the growth and productivity of freelancers, contractors, the self-employed and entrepreneurs will be supported in the new settlement,’ he adds.
Despite the panic in some quarters, it is important for businesses to avoid a knee-jerk reaction following the decision to leave the EU, says Julie Adams, senior partner at Menzies LLP, saying that,
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Eight small businesses talk about the likely impact of the Brexit result
by Ben Lobel • • 0 Comments
Andi Lonnen, founder of Finance Training Academy Ltd
‘I have concerns regarding the impact of Brexit on my financial training company – if we enter recession again, as predicted, one of the first costs to be cut is always training.
When my training benefits so many people around the UK and provides work for my associate trainers, this would be a bad result.
I also recently started to deliver training in Europe and I’m not sure if this will now continue.
On the positive, maybe good financial training will now be in demand as companies work to find yet more ways to cut costs!’
David Raymond, managing director, Embark Resourcing Ltd
‘As an owner of two small businesses I am concerned for the future, but so long as we have clear leadership and the process of our departure from the European Union is carried out in a careful and considerate way, then we can make this a positive outcome for the United Kingdom.
Our focus should be on our trade agreements with Europe, but more importantly our trade and immigration with the commonwealth and the rest of the world’
Shak Zaman, founder of investment and accountancy firm Brookman
‘Today’s result has made London an unattractive place for start-ups. Lots
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Brexit 2016: The positive view for small companies
by Ben Lobel • • 0 Comments
The recent historic European Union referendum result has huge implications for the UK’s 4.7 million self-employed workers and they’ll be wondering what it means for them.
The Association of Independent Professionals and the Self-Employed (IPSE) believes this new era can and must be taken as an opportunity for the UK.
CEO of the organisation Chris Bryce says that priorities should be new global trading arrangements, cutting burdensome regulation on small and micro-businesses and ensuring that Britain has the most flexible and attractive economy in the world.
‘With these priorities, the UK can be a place where freelancing and contracting can thrive,’ he adds.
‘New circumstances always bring new opportunities for freelancers. We should be optimistic about the future and IPSE will continue to push the importance and value freelancers bring to our economy.’
Katie Shapley, managing director of The Organisers, which provides corporates with personal assistants, says Brexit is ‘wonderful news for the country’.
‘So the pound goes down for a short period; our exports are cheaper, [meaning] more sales,’ she adds.
‘[There will be] less red tape and more power to entrepreneurialism. The future is very bright indeed and we should brace ourselves for the short-term pain and look forward to the long-term gain.’
Stuart Mackintosh, director of
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UK would favour summer business shutdown
by Ben Lobel • • 0 Comments
The study, conducted by ava reveals that many Britons feel that by shutting up shop during traditionally quiet periods, businesses would remain more productive and cost efficient overall.
The 55-64 age demographic is most behind the introduction of annual industrial shutdowns, making up 66 per cent of the ‘yes’ vote.
In the UK, England (59 per cent) is the most in favour of such a move, whereas 68 per cent of Northern Ireland are against a change.
Women more in favour of change
In the battle of the sexes, it appears that women are more likely to support this new productivity method, with 63 per cent backing the system. Men are less inclined to throw their weight behind a proposed change, with 44 per cent voting against.
Lucie Greenwood, sales manager at ava, feels taking the time to delve into how your business performs when trading is slow, you’re more likely to be successful during busy periods.
‘Regardless of a company’s size or profit margins, a decrease in performance and income can be a very stressful time,’ she says.
‘However, it’s these periods in which you have the most time on your hands to take a step back and really look at how you work as a business.