Originally written by Edward Murray on Small Business
Small businesses are the heartbeat of the UK economy. They are built on innovation, passion and commitment. They support millions of business owners and employees and for many they are more than a job, they are a way of life. Business insurance is an important safeguard for small businesses, their owners, their employees, and all those with whom they come into contact.
Here we look at some of the key insurances to consider and the protection they provide.
Business insurance required by law
As an employer you are responsible for the health and safety of your employees when they are at work. If an employee suffers an accident, injury or illness as a result of working for your business, then you could be liable.
Employers’ liability insurance is there to help cover the cost of defending and settling claims from past and present employees who believe you failed in your duty of care to look after them.
If your business is located in the UK and has at least one employee, then it is likely employers’ liability insurance is a legal requirement, although there a limited number of exceptions.
If you are not exempt, the law says you must
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What is public liability insurance, and does it cover Covid-19 claims?
by Edward Murray • • 0 Comments
Originally written by Edward Murray on Small Business
At some stage in their day-to-day activities, most businesses come into contact with members of the public in one way or another. Companies have a duty to ensure these interactions are safe and well-managed. Where they lead to accidental injury, death, disease, illness or property damage, public liability insurance can help pay for the resulting legal costs and compensation.
Who needs public liability insurance?
Any business that comes into contact with people who are not employees has a potential need for public liability insurance.
Perhaps you are a retailer and so people come in and out of your shop all day long. Do you have commercial premises that customers and/or suppliers visit? Maybe you work from home and have clients coming to the house for meetings? Are you an event organiser bringing lots of members of the public together?
You also have to think about where you and your employees go during the working day. Are you out and about on business, mixing with other people? Are you visiting other companies’ offices or delivering goods to people’s homes?
If your business, or any of its employees, come into contact with third parties whilst carrying out their business duties,
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What is professional indemnity insurance?
by Edward Murray • • 0 Comments
Originally written by Edward Murray on Small Business
What is professional indemnity insurance?
Every business wants happy clients. Do a good job for them and you will get repeat business, generate referrals and build a great reputation. But sometimes things do not go to plan.
If you give professional advice, you may face claims from clients if they think it was not up to scratch and has had a negative impact on their finances and their brand. Professional indemnity insurance can help meet the costs of defending and settling these claims.
Who needs professional indemnity insurance?
Professional indemnity insurance is not a legal requirement, but many professional bodies and/or sector regulators stipulate that practitioners must have cover in place.
For example, the Solicitors Regulation Authority sets out minimum insurance requirements, while accountancy bodies such as the Institute of Chartered Accountants in England and Wales also requires members to have cover.
But the need for professional indemnity is wider than the traditional professions. It could extend to virtually every person or business giving advice to clients.
This includes life coaches, tutors and health practitioners, as well as web developers, graphic designers and management consultants. It also includes people who work as freelancers or sole traders.
The Chartered Insurance Institute sums
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London & Partners Q&A — driving growth in the London startup ecosystem
by Nick Ismail • • 0 Comments
Originally written by Nick Ismail on Small Business
Some parts of the London startup ecosystem have thrived during the pandemic, while other sectors have not.
The road to recovery for these industries has started with the easing of lockdown, but an inclusive support and economic growth system is needed to support this.
In this Q&A, we speak with Maurizina da Silva, Head of the Business Growth Programme at London & Partners, to find out about; how they are assisting London startups and scaleups, the importance of diversity and inclusion, the state of the London startup ecosystem and its future outlook.
Can you introduce the Small Business audience to London & Partners?
London & Partners is the business growth and destination agency for London and we operate as a social enterprise. Our goal is to create economic growth in London that is resilient, sustainable and inclusive. We do that by working with high growth sector companies, supporting international and domestic businesses, to scale through investment, trade, growth and innovation programs.
On top of this overarching mission, we look at the visitor economy to the capital and aim to attract visitors and create events that highlight London as a world class destination.
We want to promote London as a
Hot Business News Today
London & Partners Q&A — driving economic growth and inclusion in the London startup ecosystem
by Nick Ismail • • 0 Comments
Originally written by Nick Ismail on Small Business
Some parts of the London startup ecosystem have thrived during the pandemic, while other sectors have not.
The road to recovery for these industries has started with the easing of lockdown, but an inclusive support and economic growth system is needed to support this.
In this Q&A, we speak with Maurizina da Silva, Head of the Business Growth Programme at London & Partners, to find out about; how they are assisting London startups and scaleups, the importance of diversity and inclusion, the state of the London startup ecosystem and its future outlook.
Can you introduce the Information Age audience to London & Partners?
London & Partners is the business growth and destination agency for London and we operate as a social enterprise. Our goal is to create economic growth in London that is resilient, sustainable and inclusive. We do that by working with high growth sector companies, supporting international and domestic businesses, to scale through investment, trade, growth and innovation programs.
On top of this overarching mission, we look at the visitor economy to the capital and aim to attract visitors and create events that highlight London as a world class destination.
We want to promote London as a
Hot Business News Today
5 ways for CFOs to understand their data better
by Sadie Williamson • • 0 Comments
Originally written by Sadie Williamson on Small Business
It’s no secret that the best businesses rely on data to drive decisions. It’s also no secret that even for the most data-literate CFOs, there are still some significant challenges involved with achieving data-driven financial planning excellence.
The sheer volume of information coming in can be challenging to parse in a meaningful way. And Excel, the CFO’s go-to app for ad hoc reporting, can be tricky to work with, especially given how many hours of busy work are generally involved with getting all the latest figures imported and standardised.
Rather than coping with the challenges of dynamic financial reporting, many organisations end up going on ‘gut feel’ instead of making an educated choice based on the metrics they’re collecting. But this can have even more serious ramifications – for example, failing to properly keep track of auto-renewing contracts and subscriptions cost small businesses between £3bn and £5.75bn in 2020.
Instead of trying to deal with all the data, or avoiding the mention of data altogether, it’s important for CFOs to demonstrate what can be possible when data is properly harnessed and understood. Here are five ways for CFOs to make better use of their data.
1. Remove
Hot Business News Today
5 ways for CFOs to understand their data better
by Sadie Williamson • • 0 Comments
Originally written by Sadie Williamson on Small Business
It’s no secret that the best businesses rely on data to drive decisions. It’s also no secret that even for the most data-literate CFOs, there are still some significant challenges involved with achieving data-driven financial planning excellence.
The sheer volume of information coming in can be challenging to parse in a meaningful way. And Excel, the CFO’s go-to app for ad hoc reporting, can be tricky to work with, especially given how many hours of busy work are generally involved with getting all the latest figures imported and standardised.
Rather than coping with the challenges of dynamic financial reporting, many organisations end up going on ‘gut feel’ instead of making an educated choice based on the metrics they’re collecting. But this can have even more serious ramifications – for example, failing to properly keep track of auto-renewing contracts and subscriptions cost small businesses between £3bn and £5.75bn in 2020.
Instead of trying to deal with all the data, or avoiding the mention of data altogether, it’s important for CFOs to demonstrate what can be possible when data is properly harnessed and understood. Here are five ways for CFOs to make better use of their data.
1. Remove
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4 tips for promoting your business online when you’re on a budget
by Anna Jordan • • 0 Comments
Originally written by Anna Jordan on Small Business
Thousands of new businesses have launched over the course of the Covid-19 pandemic. Out of 1,000 micro businesses, one in five respondents have gone online for the first time, according to the latest research from GoDaddy. Among the most common issues for businesses is promoting themselves on a tight budget.
GoDaddy has partnered with Olympic gymnast turned entrepreneur, Beth Tweddle, along with Stuart Coupland, founder of Coupland Leather, for their second Back to Business Masterclass. The virtual masterclass, Promoting your business online for ‘next to nothing’, aims to help entrepreneurs to maximise the reach of their website and social media output.
Here are four tips to help you promote yourself online, as explained by Louis Brightman, customer care guide at GoDaddy.
Get your website fundamentals right
First of all, design a site that turns browsers into buyers. Go through the customer journey yourself to see if it makes sense.
According to Brightman, 95 per cent of people leave your website without buying or leaving their details – for most, it’s nearer to 99 per cent.
Is it clear that you’re better than the competition? Could you be putting more information on your blog or homepage? Do you have an
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How does the Recovery Loan Scheme compare with other alt-fi options?
by fundingoptions • • 0 Comments
Originally written by fundingoptions on Small Business
The Recovery Loan Scheme (RLS) launched on April 6 2021. The scheme, which replaces the CBILS, CLBILS and BBLS, is currently set to run until December 31, subject to review.
You can apply for finance through the RLS if your business has been impacted by the pandemic: it’s specifically designed to enable business owners to support their plans with additional funding as the nation enters a period of recovery following the lockdown.
You can use your RLS loan for any legitimate business purpose. For instance, you might use it to purchase a piece of necessary equipment or hire a member of staff to meet an increase in demand, or to manage cash flow as you reopen your premises.
Although the RLS has its benefits, it’s certainly not the only finance option on the table.
In fact, the British Business Bank – the organisation in charge of accrediting lenders for the scheme – states that ‘a key aim of the Recovery Loan Scheme is to improve the terms on offer to you, but if a lender can offer you the choice of a commercial loan on better terms, without requiring the guarantee provided by the RLS, they should do
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Regular testing is available to make your business a safer workplace
by NHS Test and Trace • • 0 Comments
Originally written by NHS Test and Trace on Small Business
As we move towards March 29 and the first easing of restrictions, we look forward to taking these next steps safely. However, as we get to that point, business leaders must plan ahead in order to create safe working environments that will help stop the spread of the virus.
At the time of writing, over 25 million people in the UK have received their first vaccination, which shows huge progress already. While the vaccine does offer us long-term protection, it can’t do everything that is needed on its own. Workplace testing offers us a way forward now, so it is important that business owners act soon.
For free testing until the end of June, register your business before March 31. Simply follow this link. This is open to businesses that aren’t open yet and now includes those with fewer than 50 employees.
The critical role of regular rapid workplace testing
If we are to stop the spread of the virus, we must break the chains of transmission. Millions of people are already using regular rapid testing to help protect those around them. If you are someone that needs to leave the house to go to