Monthly Archives: August 2020

Hot Business News Today

What do SMEs think is the best business bank account? – survey

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Originally written by Timothy Adler on Small Business
Handelsbanken has been voted the clear winner when it comes to what SMEs think is the best business bank account.
The Swedish bank, which has more than 200 UK branches, came top of the leader board in four out of five categories, according to the latest Competition and Markets Authority survey published this month.
The bank was named best for overall service quality (79 per cent); relationship/account management (86 per cent); SME overdraft and loan services (78 per cent); and services in branches and business centres (73 per cent) for the fifth time by the survey.
>See also: Business Banking Resolution Service opens doors in November
However, Barclays beat it to the top spot for online and mobile banking services.
BVA BDRC surveyed nearly 17,000 small business customers between July 2019 and June 2020, asking them if they would recommend their provider to other SMEs.
Mikael Sorensen, UK CEO of Handelsbanken, said: “We are particularly pleased to see this response coming from our SME customers, many of whom we have been working closely with to provide a range of tailored, flexible support.”
>See also: 12 of the best digital banking platforms for small business
Overall service quality – Handelsbanken
Handelsbanken was ranked

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Hot Business News Today

What winning The Start-Up Series meant for me – Scott Lever, Zobi

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Originally written by Timothy Adler on Small Business
One thing that the coronavirus pandemic has changed is the whole concept of how we work. For many of us, video conferencing tools such as Zoom and Teams means we can work from home. The technology has shown it can work. And many homeworkers are reluctant to go back to the office, with more than one third not believing their employer has done enough to protect their health, according to Aviva.
But businesses are just as vulnerable to homeworkers as vice-versa.
An astonishing 30 per cent of all smart home devices are hacked and right now, over 1.8bn passwords are being sold on the dark web. What this means is that hackers steal passwords, listen in on commercially sensitive conversations and use employees’ home networks to access businesses.
>See also: What winning The Start-Up Series meant for me – Daniel Verblis, The Moving Home Warehouse
Scott Lever began his career at IBM, and over the last 25 years, his roles included head of infrastructure and end user computing for the Houses of Parliament and chief technology officer for The Royal British Legion.
His background in technology, digital transformations and cybersecurity made him realise how vulnerable we all

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Hot Business News Today

Almost 70,000 SMEs risk missing out on government coronavirus grants

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Originally written by Anna Jordan on Small Business
A massive 69,543 of eligible SMEs in England have yet to claim for the government coronavirus grants announced back in March.
This amounts to almost £1.5bn worth of funding, as revealed by new figures from money.co.uk.
So far the government has given almost one million small to medium-sized businesses in England an emergency coronavirus grant – either in the form of the Small Business Grants Fund (SBGF) or the Retail, Hospitality and Leisure Business Grants Fund (RHLGF)
Earlier in August, figures showed that £10.8bn had been paid out to businesses, highlighting that a significant sum of this money has gone unclaimed.
The deadline for claiming these grants is this Friday, August 28 and any unassigned funding will be returned to the government.
>See also: You have just one month to claim up to £1.6bn in unspent grants
How much grant funding has my local authority given out?
The average grant provided by English councils is £12,269. Camden is giving out the most per grant, providing SMEs an average of £18,852. This is closely followed by the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea (£18,740) and Westminster Council (£17,615).
Out of the top 20, three quarters (75 per cent) of local authorities paying

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Hot Business News Today

Do you need a business bank account? Which one is right for you?

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Originally written by Ben Lobel on Small Business
While it may be tempting to start your new business venture without looking at the need for a bank account dedicated to your business activity, this might not be the smartest of choices.
As your business grows and expands, it’s extremely important to separate your business finances from your personal, day-to-day living.
New start-ups and part-time business owners have a habit of co-mingling their finances with their personal money, and while it may be the easiest, most convenient and cheapest way of operating, it can have its drawbacks – especially further down the line.
Any prospective business owner should treat their business as a business, regardless of whether it’s a part-time venture or not; while setting up a separate business bank account means additional bank fees and expenses, you are also storing up a lot of hassle for yourself in the future.
Many people already in business will vouch that keeping your business spending separate to your personal account ensures better manageability.
And while many business current accounts available charge you for their services, there are others that waiver the charge as long as you pay in more than a certain amount each month.
Make sure that you shop

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