tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2169628424962965824Wed, 24 Dec 2025 13:35:33 +0000Weekly small business newsSME newsBase rateInflationSMESME_newswefinda bits n' bobsInteresting articlesParliamentTaxcorporation taxwebsite designCBIMarketing your websitebusiness newsCPIRPIdata securityexporthmrcmanufacturingrecessionself assessmentspending reviewunemploymentvatChemical spillChristmasEconomyEmploymentFraudITIT securityImmigrationInvoiceIrish Bail outLocalism billPAYEQuangosRecoveryRed tapeRoyal Mailautumn statementbanksbig freezebroadbandbusiness confidencebusiness linkbusiness planbusiness_newschinacompany carcontractscost savingequality actflugreengrowthhackinghealth and safetyhot deskinghungaryinflation retirementinsuranceinvoicesmaternity leaveon line businessesparty conferencepayrollpensionpigeon postpollutionpostagepricesproductivityprofit sharingrecyclingscamsstarting a businesstargetswater coolerweatherwefindawefinda is a free UK business quotes service that gets you three quotes for all your business needs from quality suppliers.http://blog.wefinda.co.uk/noreply@blogger.com (wefinda)Blogger54125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2169628424962965824.post-6213966779992211823Mon, 31 Jan 2011 11:52:00 +00002011-01-31T11:54:20.934+00:00corporation taxEmploymentexportgrowthParliamentSMESME newsGrowth slumps to minus 0.5%The office of National Statistics reported a fall in growth to minus 0.5% in the fourth quarter of 2010. Whilst the bad weather can account for some of the slump, it is estimated that figures would still have given a flat or 0% growth if the weather had been better. Bucking the trend was manufacturing with good results for the second quarter in a row alongside http://blog.wefinda.co.uk/2011/01/wonderful-wefinda-weekly-news-week_31.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (AlisonG)3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2169628424962965824.post-9083969278192632715Mon, 24 Jan 2011 11:15:00 +00002011-01-24T11:17:32.554+00:00bankscorporation taxCPIgreenInflationrecyclingRPIself assessmentSME newsInflation up as expectedLargely as predicted the Consumer prices measure of inflation (CPI) rose to 3.7% in December. The rise was mostly driven by increased fuel & energy costs as well as food price increases. The more traditional measure of inflation, RPI, also rose to 4.4%. Bizarrely, the office of National Statistics commentated that inflation would have risen further had furniture http://blog.wefinda.co.uk/2011/01/wonderful-wefinda-weekly-news-week_24.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (AlisonG)1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2169628424962965824.post-5292385591079624947Mon, 17 Jan 2011 05:43:00 +00002011-01-17T05:45:30.462+00:00Base rateCPIfluinflation retirementParliamentpricesRPISME newsBase rate kept on hold but mixed messages in the economyThe Bank of England’s monetary policy committee voted this week to keep base rate at 0.5%. However, with inflation at 3.3% and expected to rise in the months ahead some economists are calling for base rates to be increased soon. Whilst this might help savers and act as a slight curb on inflation, an interest rate rise could also slow the http://blog.wefinda.co.uk/2011/01/wonderful-wefinda-weekly-news-week_17.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (AlisonG)0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2169628424962965824.post-8432332371206652110Mon, 10 Jan 2011 11:36:00 +00002011-01-10T11:38:00.145+00:00Base ratecompany carinvoicesmanufacturingParliamentpensionscamsSMESME newsUK Manufacturing on a highAccording to Markit, UK manufacturing finished 2010 on a high with orders and exports charging forward and leading the British economy. By contrast the service and construction industries slipped back slightly in December on the back of bad weather and pre-Christmas slow down in general activity.SMEs lag behind in pension stakesAccording to research by the Association http://blog.wefinda.co.uk/2011/01/wonderful-wefinda-weekly-news-week.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (AlisonG)0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2169628424962965824.post-6259598352813412199Sun, 19 Dec 2010 18:32:00 +00002010-12-19T18:33:54.654+00:00CBIexportInflationLocalism billpostageSME newsweatherInflation rises againThe latest Inflation figures for November showed rises for food, clothing and household goods all leading to an increase in CPI to 3.3% and RPI to 4.7%. At 3.3% CPI inflation stays well above the government target of 2%. A slight fall is expected in December as a result of retailers slashing prices in pre-Christmas sales before the VAT rise hits in January and pushes http://blog.wefinda.co.uk/2010/12/wonderful-wefinda-weekly-news-week_19.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (AlisonG)0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2169628424962965824.post-6654573615045117586Mon, 13 Dec 2010 11:04:00 +00002010-12-13T11:06:15.818+00:00Base ratebusiness confidenceCBIcorporation taxdata securityhmrcIT securitySME newsvatBase Rate held at 0.5%As expected the Bank of England Monetary Committee held base rates at 0.5% alongside the Asset Purchase programme remaining at £200 billion. The base rate is generally expected to remain unchanged until mid-2011 at least despite concerns over inflation levels.Data Security takes top spotA recent survey by Symantec found that 71% of UK businesses had suffered some form of http://blog.wefinda.co.uk/2010/12/wonderful-wefinda-weekly-news-week_13.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (AlisonG)0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2169628424962965824.post-7048366588894672933Mon, 06 Dec 2010 10:46:00 +00002010-12-06T10:48:08.935+00:00autumn statementbig freezecorporation taxhmrcmaternity leaveself assessmentSME newsTaxChancellor’s Autumn StatementThe week started with the Office for Budget Responsibility upgrading its growth forecast for 2010 from 1.2% to 1.8% although forecasts for 2011 and 2012 have been lowered slightly to 2.1% and 2.6% respectively. This was followed by the Chancellor’s autumn statement, which for SMEs included the commitment to the reform of corporation tax, previously announced in the http://blog.wefinda.co.uk/2010/12/wonderful-wefinda-weekly-news-week.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (AlisonG)0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2169628424962965824.post-8601553266813249137Mon, 29 Nov 2010 10:46:00 +00002010-11-29T10:47:56.811+00:00business newsImmigrationIrish Bail outrecessionRecoveryRed tapeSME newsSME_newsGetting back to business – the good newsSpeaking at an event in Belfast, Andrew Sentance, an external member of the Bank of England’s monetary policy committee highlighted reasons to be optimistic about the recovery. Apparently businesses started to climb out of the recession earlier than expected and this, combined with a lower rate of company failure than forecast, means businesses are in a http://blog.wefinda.co.uk/2010/11/wonderful-wefinda-weekly-news-week_29.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (AlisonG)0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2169628424962965824.post-637196573062469269Sun, 21 Nov 2010 12:53:00 +00002010-11-21T12:55:23.497+00:00business newsChristmasFraudParliamentQuangostargetsWeekly small business newsThe negative impact of targetsA recent long running survey by CIMA has revealed that the imposition of strict targets can actually hinder performance. When targets are strictly applied and can lead to performance bonuses employees will take action to ensure the targets are seemingly met. This includes cutting corners, signing off incomplete work and concentrating on short term goals at the http://blog.wefinda.co.uk/2010/11/wonderful-wefinda-weekly-news-week_21.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (AlisonG)0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2169628424962965824.post-2065312729842069110Mon, 15 Nov 2010 10:42:00 +00002010-11-15T10:43:29.661+00:00business newsInflationpollutionrecessionSME_newsTaxunemploymentJust how fast are we climbing out of recession?The Office of National Statistics has admitted that it got the figures wrong when calculating the growth in the second quarter. Following an adjustment on construction figures they have downgraded their original report from an overall 1.2% to 1%. Within that figure construction growth has been slashed from 9.6% to 6.8%. The adjustment has sent http://blog.wefinda.co.uk/2010/11/wonderful-wefinda-weekly-news-week_15.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (AlisonG)0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2169628424962965824.post-1515743280888055038Mon, 08 Nov 2010 11:26:00 +00002010-11-08T11:29:51.763+00:00Base ratebusiness linkcontractsITpayrollSMESME_newsBase rate held at 0.5%The Bank of England’s decision to hold the base rate at 0.5% and the asset purchase programme at £200 billion sends further signals that it is prepared to ride out the current level of inflation without putting rates up. Could European contract law be about to changeIn July the EU published a green paper which is the starting point for a possible change in contract law http://blog.wefinda.co.uk/2010/11/wonderful-wefinda-weekly-news-week_08.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (AlisonG)1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2169628424962965824.post-4859547138929433953Wed, 03 Nov 2010 13:07:00 +00002010-11-03T13:07:00.358+00:00business planinsurancestarting a businessvatAll great businesses start with an idea.  Sometimes the idea is discarded or lies unnoticed on a shelf for many years; other times a visionary takes the idea, shakes it up and sets off to sell it to the world.  But what do you need to do when taking that giant leap into setting up a business?  Create a business planNo matter how good the idea and how keen you are to leap http://blog.wefinda.co.uk/2010/11/starting-up-in-business-wefinda-handy.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (wefinda)0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2169628424962965824.post-5924835313645407255Tue, 02 Nov 2010 11:58:00 +00002010-11-02T12:33:38.955+00:00At Wefinda we believe that success comes from connecting businesses which need help with suppliers who actively want to provide that help. That is why we take such pleasure in matching needs and solutions and why our buyers’ guides have already helped many businesses to know and understand what would benefit them. To help us to help you further we surveyed a range of businesses to find out http://blog.wefinda.co.uk/2010/11/what-does-new-business-really-want.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (wefinda)0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2169628424962965824.post-3868676563603890262Mon, 01 Nov 2010 10:27:00 +00002010-11-01T10:29:15.145+00:00Economymanufacturingon line businessesRoyal MailSMESME newsSME_newsEconomy grows at a faster rate than expectedNews this week that the British economy grew by 0.8% in the third quarter was welcomed by economists. Although the growth rate was slower than the 1.2% seen in the second quarter it was double the rate forecast for the third quarter. This result pushes the prospect of a double dip recession further away and means that the Bank of England may not need http://blog.wefinda.co.uk/2010/11/wonderful-wefinda-weekly-news-week.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (AlisonG)0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2169628424962965824.post-4561524404853342368Mon, 25 Oct 2010 12:05:00 +00002010-10-25T13:07:46.649+01:00business_newsCBIcost savinghackingSME_newsspending reviewSpending reviewAll the speculation, leaks and informal briefings were finally over as the spending review was announced on Wednesday. Could have been better/ could have been worse was the overall response depending on which side of the political fence the reviewer sat. People per hour.com ran a survey of 1,000 small businesses, 60% of which were now pessimistic about winning work from the Publichttp://blog.wefinda.co.uk/2010/10/wonderful-wefinda-weekly-news-week_25.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (AlisonG)0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2169628424962965824.post-1727564983463577225Mon, 18 Oct 2010 08:32:00 +00002010-10-18T09:34:27.551+01:00data securityhealth and safetyInflationSMEspending reviewInflation stubbornly highTo no great surprise the inflation figures for September came out at 3.1%, still higher than the target of 2%. Key among the figures was an increase in the cost of basics such as clothes (up 6.4%) and food. With growth having slowed in the third quarter alongside house price falls there are renewed calls for the Bank of England to do more to stimulate the economy, http://blog.wefinda.co.uk/2010/10/wonderful-wefinda-weekly-news-week.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (AlisonG)1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2169628424962965824.post-5317538744523210889Tue, 12 Oct 2010 10:16:00 +00002010-10-12T11:18:14.093+01:00Base rateChemical spillchinahot deskinghungaryproductivityprofit sharingunemploymentBase rate unchangedTo no great surprise, the Bank of England’s monetary policy committee voted to keep base rates unchanged at 0.5%. Most economists are expecting the rate to stay unchanged well into 2011 thus allowing some stability in the lending markets. Wefinda has one note of caution to those who have managed to squeeze some finance from the banks. Make sure that there is some leeway in http://blog.wefinda.co.uk/2010/10/wonderful-wefinda-weekly-news_12.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (AlisonG)0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2169628424962965824.post-5646574085548801647Tue, 12 Oct 2010 10:12:00 +00002010-10-12T11:14:41.979+01:00(Week ended 01 October 2010)Regulations change over on the first of OctoberThe 6th April and the 1st October should be ringed in red on all business calendars as these are the two dates when government regulations change. Headline changes this October include the increase in the national minimum wage and the new equality act affecting a range of employment issues. Depending on your industry, http://blog.wefinda.co.uk/2010/10/wonderful-wefinda-weekly-news.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (AlisonG)0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2169628424962965824.post-8549945087076400615Fri, 24 Sep 2010 10:28:00 +00002010-10-01T15:40:42.347+01:00Invoiceparty conferenceSME newsTaxwater coolerwefindaPublic sector under increasing pressure to pay invoices promptlyThe European Union Late Payment Directive which is awaiting final sign off will force all public and private organisations to pay invoices within 30 days or face a surcharge of 8% plus fixed compensation. This is somewhat weaker than current UK regulations which oblige public sector organisations to pay invoices within 10 days. http://blog.wefinda.co.uk/2010/09/wonderful-wefinda-weekly-news_24.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (AlisonG)0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2169628424962965824.post-7253945077836625413Tue, 21 Sep 2010 08:11:00 +00002010-09-21T09:14:10.557+01:00broadbandequality actInflationPAYEpigeon postSME newsTaxWeek ended 17 September 2010We start this week with the dreaded word inflation. Consumer price inflation was higher than expected in August and shows no sign of dropping back for some time. However, most economists believe that the still weak economy will gradually bring inflation down without the need for higher interest rates. Meanwhile the European commission is forecasting growth in the http://blog.wefinda.co.uk/2010/09/wonderful-wefinda-weekly-news.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (AlisonG)0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2169628424962965824.post-4898066823332167064Mon, 13 Sep 2010 13:16:00 +00002010-09-13T14:16:26.472+01:00Businesses breathed a sigh of relief this week at the Bank of England’s decision to hold base rates for a further month. However, with mixed reports on the housing front and weak economic reports, the prospect for a double dip recession hasn’t gone away completely. Analysts are generally predicting a long slow climb out of recession combined with high unemployment as the most likely future. Inhttp://blog.wefinda.co.uk/2010/09/wefinda-weekly-small-business-news-week_13.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (wefinda)0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2169628424962965824.post-291440476776804749Mon, 06 Sep 2010 16:45:00 +00002010-09-07T09:46:35.881+01:00Marketing your websiteTalk about social media to a group of business people and you get a range of responses. Some have embraced social media and think that their business couldn’t do without it; others don’t see the point and will have nothing to do with it whilst the remainder nod sagely and then confess that they don’t really know what social media is or how it could help them. In truth, social media is simply http://blog.wefinda.co.uk/2010/09/wefinda-guide-to-social-media.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (wefinda)4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2169628424962965824.post-4811512373508979871Mon, 06 Sep 2010 16:39:00 +00002010-09-07T09:46:30.539+01:00Weekly small business newsIn banking news, HSBC has announced that it will consider relocating overseas if the UK government forces banks to split into smaller chunks. HSBC refused government assistance at the top of the banking crisis and has stayed relatively strong thanks partly to its concentration in the Asian Market. Meanwhile state owned RBS has announced a further 3,500 job cuts, mainly in back office functions http://blog.wefinda.co.uk/2010/09/wefinda-weekly-small-business-news-week.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (wefinda)0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2169628424962965824.post-2572270092026571643Mon, 23 Aug 2010 09:01:00 +00002010-08-27T13:31:34.849+01:00Weekly small business newsWe start this week with Local Enterprise Partnerships (LEPs). These are due to replace Regional Development Agencies and are aimed at providing a joint local government and business approach to development in areas such as housing, planning, local transport and infrastructure, employment & enterprise and the transition to the low carbon economy. The deadline for proposals is 6 September so http://blog.wefinda.co.uk/2010/08/wefinda-weekly-small-business-news-news.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (wefinda)0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2169628424962965824.post-3839933771196118922Wed, 18 Aug 2010 10:07:00 +00002010-08-27T13:33:34.730+01:00website designThis whole area is really quite confusing, so here’s a beginners guide It is quite easy to buy a domain name these days. Just visit a domain registrar such as 123reg.co.uk and start looking for the name of your choice. What is it and what do you do with it? Once you’ve chosen you can simply buy the domain and it’s yours. But what do you do with it then? And what have you bought anyway? The http://blog.wefinda.co.uk/2010/08/what-is-difference-between-domain-name.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (wefinda)0