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One of the biggest business decisions a company has to make is whether to buy or rent its premises. Whether it’s an office, factory or warehouse, your premises can be your biggest asset and there is the potential to benefit from an increase in value in the long-term. However, there are a number of reasons why renting your business premises makes more sense. Firstly, new or growing companies may not have sufficient capital to be able to apply for a commercial mortgage. Instead, you may wish to invest the capital that you do have into expanding your services and growing your client base rather than pumping it all into one big purchase. Secondly, renting means you can quickly change location if required, plus you have more flexibility to move as your business expands and more space is required. This is especially true if you are renting a factory or warehouse and your business takes off quicker than you expect; relocating is much easier to manage than if you need to go through the wholesale and purchase process. As the landlord will generally have to foot the bill for any unexpected maintenance, repairs or security costs, you won’t have to suffer any nasty surprises which eat into your profits. Knowing that a set figure and nothing more will come out of the accounts each month can help you plan and confidently invest in other areas. Joe Williams works for Pearl & Coutts, a specialist agency based in London that helps clients with all their office space and commercial property needs. He commented that, “If you rent you won’t be hit by a downturn in property prices or rises in interest rates; however you must be prepared in case your rent is increase as a result of the economic climate. So depending on the specific needs of your business, renting your premises may represent a more sensible.” The Insolvency Service, has recently released figures that show that the number of companies that are becoming insolvent is increasing. These figures have led the organisation to say that people who are giving credit to companies should be very wary about this as it is possible companies will go out of business. Another survey, the Late Payment Survey was answered by over 200 business owners and directors of finance at UK companies. The survey highlighted the many companies struggle with the problem of late payment from their customers and that this can make it difficult for them to do business. However, despite the increasing rate of insolvency, businesses still said that they weren’t doing credit checks on potential customers before they decided to offer them a line of credit. Less than 50 percent of companies conducted credit checks on new customers, and the figure was even lower for customers who had been customers of the company previously. This shows that companies are not being very cautious and this lack of caution might leave them with unsettled debts in the longer term.Late payment is something that has many effects down the supply chain and is not immediately contained. Those involved with the study admitted that 60 percent of the time they were late with their payments. The primary reason highlighted for this late payment problem was that the businesses themselves were still waiting for payment from clients. Of course, this is an ongoing concern and it is not expected to get better in the immediate future as the state of the economy is still quite bad. Unfortunately, in some situations the reason for late payment is even more worrying. Nearly 15 percent of those who responded to the survey said that they often did not receive payment on time because their customers said they simply could not afford to pay. Sage has been recently working on the development of some new software called Sage 200 and it is expected that the software is going to be attached to the new software from Microsoft, Azure. The reason the company decided to do this is so that small business owners are capable of using Sage, along with Microsoft’s products, on a subscription-based system, rather than just paying for the product upfront. The software is going to be integrated with the cloud platform as this will make it easier for customers to change over to the subscription-based software. It is expected that testing is going to be occurring this year once the product is completed and it should be released in 2013 after many of the bugs have been ironed out. The head of development and sage is Graeme Edwards and he is commented, “We think it is very important that we keep up with our customer’s requirements and we think subscription-based software on the cloud is a positive step forward for us.” Mr Edwards continued in an interview, “We think this is going to be a way to increase our clients’ proactivity and it will also help us create applications that are more tailored to our customers’ needs.” Last year Sage had recorded that 1000 of its customers who were previously using the on-board software have switched to the cloud option. However, when you consider that the company have around 6 million customers in the UK, this is not such an impressive figure. However, over the next few years cloud computing is going to become a much bigger deal and it is likely that more customers will switch over to the new technology. Sage expect that as more people start to adopt, the rate of adoption will accelerate very rapidly. In business, you have to be able to pick up and move your work anywhere in the world if an encouraging opportunity presents itself. You can’t spend too much time worrying about how you’re going to access your desktop from a remote location. With a virtual desktop interface (VDI), your desktop will remain the same regardless of the computer you’re using. Some VDIs are limited to the confines of a business’s home office, but it’s entirely possible for you to take advantage of them in different areas. If you’re unable to gain access to your desktop as you knew it, you could always use online storage services as a means to maintain the ability to open your important files. It doesn’t matter how your files are presented as long as they remain available to you. For the VDIs that don’t allow you to leave your office, the purpose of the device remains the same. When you’re working a lot with computers, your work might take you to various places in the office to work with different pieces of equipment. You won’t want to worry about figuring out how you will get your important documents from one system to another. You should just want to place the files you need in your VDI and access them when you get to your destination. A Dell VDI eliminates the unfortunate task of having to transfer files from one system to another once you have saved them. You might still have to transfer files from time to time, but if you have setup the VDI correctly, you shouldn’t have to do it too often. All you need to run a VDI is a server with the space to store a VDI in addition to the files on your main hard drives. Your VDI won’t run very well unless your server is stable. Many different circumstances have a way of effecting how stable a server is. As long as you have a sturdy firewall in place and personnel with the expertise to maintain your servers, you should have no problems maintaining their integrity. Once you have a secure server, like the one that Dell PACS offers, you can operate within your VDI without having to worry about whether or not your files will be there the next time you open it. Having your files in the right place is also important for when you open your VDI outside of the office. The VDI also gives you the option of saving your files from other computers as well. More often than not VDIs have a hard drive of their own. You could save a file you’re working on in your VDI on the desktop and access it when you open it back up while sitting at your work computer. Don’t use your VDI as a primary location for files of any sort of importance. If something happens to the server, your VDI will cease to exist and the files you saved will go with it. Always back up important files on your work computer in case anything goes wrong with your VDI.  Businesses are set to receive cash advance funding boost of £50m Business Financial Services are a company based in the US that are designed to provide capital to small companies. They’ve recently launched themselves in the UK under the name Boost Capital and they’ve established a fund worth £50 million which is intended to be invested in small businesses and help them improve their cash flow. The business is going to ensure that companies have enough credit and that they are able to get funding on an unsecured basis. This is going to allow them to invest in marketing, remodelling, and even expansion of their businesses. The loans are also available to meet other demands and companies are going to be able to borrow up to £500,000. The application process takes one day and it is possible that the funds can be received by the companies in just five days. The funding is going to be supported by the well-known accounting firm, Baker Tilly. The company is going to be based in Essex and it is expected that they are going to become one of the leading cash providers for small businesses in the UK. David Abbott, UK managing director of Boost Capital, said: “Business cash advance is a relatively new concept in the UK and one that has the potential to become a vital part of the SME funding mix. Its arrival on our shores is in response to the growing demand from businesses, many of which are struggling to access bank funding, for more flexible alternative sources of capital. “By the end of 2012 we expect to have extended over £10m in funding and be renewing cash advances to merchants who have seen the benefits to their business of using a Business cash advance to grow their market share.” Boost Capital is the UK’s first universal business cash advance provider, which means that businesses with any card processor can access their products without having the hassle of changing their existing relationship. Businesses that take a high volume of card sales are best suited for this service, including the restaurant, retail, beauty, and hotel sectors. Marc Glazer, CEO and president of Business Financial Services, said: “While business cash advance is a £1bn a year industry in the USA, the funding source is relatively unknown in the UK with only a handful of providers that are tied to certain banks. Being the first universal provider in the UK is a real landmark for the business, but also a great opportunity to become a key part of the nation’s financial landscape.”
Your Staff Car insurance quotes can differ considerably depending on your circumstances, so it is important to consider the following when searching First of all, it is not the responsibility of your staff to insure themselves when driving. Of course you should only employ safe drivers, and insurance policies will take this into account, but having a well insured vehicle further creates a trust between you and your employees. It also ensures any damages are covered, which can happen with numerous staff driving various vehicles. This will be essential to larger businesses, as more vehicles means more chance of accidents or repairs. Temporary car insurance could be a good option if you have lots of employees who may not need to drive company vehicles all that often. Your Image Depending on your business, again, your company’s image and success may be somewhat dependant on your vehicles. Not only do they provide free advertising when they are seen, but the state they are in absolutely reflects that of your company. This means that without proper insurance, you will have to pay out for any damages or repairs. Not only can this take a while, but the company will then suffer. As the quality of vehicles degrades, so does the company image. Staff Cars Of course, your company might simply utilise cars as staff personal transport. This, again, can reflect on the company; if your staff are meeting important clients in a car in clear need of repair, it demonstrates a less than successful business history. Not only is it a transport, but a staff car is as important, if not more, than your employee’s appearance. It is a well known fact that image is everything. In conclusion, any vehicles you have as part of your company are crucial to the structure and success of the company. Neglecting to properly insure your cars through acceptable insurance can prove risky if anything does happen. Opus is a company that provides energy to businesses in the UK and they have recently released new research which shows that most small businesses are willing to start using smart meters. The survey involved 500 leaders of small businesses and showed that they understand the many benefits of installing this sort of meter at their business premises. Around 40 percent of those who responded to the survey said that they thought the main benefit of installing one of these meters was their ability to look at the amount of energy they were using in real-time. Around 35 percent of those who responded to the survey also said that they would welcome the greater accuracy of the smart reader rather than the traditional way of taking meter readings. The Department for Energy has recently said that in the near future all businesses and homes are going to be able to have a smart meter. This system is going to involve 50 million electricity and gas meters being replaced. The Department has said that the major part of the rollout will begin in 2014 and it is expected that most of it will be finished by 2020. Opus energy have said that they expect to be installing 40,000 of the new meters by the end of the year, a far more ambitious target than the governments. The survey also showed that around 15 percent of those small businesses that they surveyed already had a smart meter. However, the companies which choose to get their energy from Opus, have a higher percentage of smart meters, with around 25 percent of companies having them. The company said that they want to increase the number of smart meters they were installing dramatically and they hope that they will have smart meters installed in all of their business customer’s premises before 2020. The company are encouraging people to switch over by offering the smart meters at no charge. A representative from the company commented, “Nearly 60 percent of our customers who don’t have a smart meter have been seeking information about the installation of one.” The government have recently announced that they are going to be putting aside around £40 million of funding especially for small firms and entrepreneurs who are going to be innovating with clean energy ideas. This fund is being called the Energy Entrepreneurs Fund and it is specifically designed to help smaller companies who want to demonstrate and develop technologies that are low carbon-based. The funding was announced by Ed Davey, the Climate Change Secretary as part of a two-day summit which is going to be talking about how to bring clean energy to the UK and especially to London. This funding forms part of an overall funding amount of £200 million which is going to be given by the Department of energy and climate. Most of the money from the fund is going to be spent on developing more efficient solutions for buildings. This will include the development of improved ventilation technologies, heat pumps and more efficient lighting. The £20 million figure is the maximum amount that is going to be given to small businesses and this funding is going to start becoming available in the summer. It is expected that the government are going to give an additional £15 million later, assuming that this first part of the project goes well. Small businesses are going to be able to apply for funding and are going to be entitled to £1 million each. The government has also announced that they are going to be launching a competition that is going to encourage people to develop heat storage technology. Enraged business energy customers are inundating the Energy Advice Line with serious complaints about the way that utility companies are using cold calling as a tactic to try and make them sign up with them, and some firms have reported that they have been receiving as many as 30 high pressure calls in a single day. Particularly targeted are those businesses who have just moved premises, and they have made numerous complaints of callers ringing up and fraudulently claiming to be meter official to elicit private information in order for their company to take over as the energy supplier. Complaints from other customers include being plagued by sales calls to such an extent they have been forced to stop answering their phones, which in turn could be losing them vital business. Once of the worst complaints was when a business owner was plagued with phones during a funeral, even though he had asked them to stop calling. The Energy Advice Line, the UK’s leading price comparison and switching service for business, has launched a campaign Say No To Cold Calling on Business Energy to lobby energy regulator Ofgem to ban the practice. Julian Morgan, managing director of the service, said high-pressure cold-calling strategies were increasingly being used by rogue agents acting on behalf of the energy suppliers. Businesses moving premises were particular targets. “You wouldn’t believe the stories we have heard abut the lengths these callers will go to in order to get customers to sign up to energy contracts,” Mr Morgan said. “These agents somehow obtain information about businesses who are taking on new leases, and then bombard them with sales calls. “In many cases they pose as meter “officials” – although no such officials exist – so that business owners reveal meter information. Before they know it, they’ve been hoodwinked into expensive energy contracts We intend to present our evidence to Ofgem and urge the regulator to ban the practice in order to protect businesses from this kind of highly-suspect, high-pressure sales activity.” Mr Morgan said specific examples of complaints involved cold-callers who: • Called one prospective business customer 30 times in one day to sell an energy contract • Called a prospective customer 10 times in one day placing intense pressure on them to agree to a contract • Called a prospective customer 5 times a day before they had even moved into new premises, having already obtained their contact details and meter information • Told a business owner they were legally obliged to accept the energy contract they were being offered • Claimed to be from bogus organisations – variously called Central Registrations, The Meter Registrations Company, The Meter Registrations Department and Central Networks – to elicit private meter information • Threatened to cut off energy supplies if the business owner refused to accept a contract offer • Told business owners their meters needed to be “re-registered” in order to obtain meter registration numbers • Made three unsolicited calls to a business owner in the space of 30 minutes, despite being asked to desist because they were attending a funeral The Energy Advice Line has produced guidance for firms to follow to avoid being locked into the expensive business electricity and gas deals being touted by cold callers. 1. Speak to a price comparison service that has a large panel of suppliers: check that they are not just working for one specific supplier 2. Say No to Cold Calling: do not accept an energy deal from someone who calls you out of the blue. The price is usually 30%–40% above of the current retail price. 3. Verify who you are talking to: ring the company back and ask to speak to your account manager to ensure they are being truthful about the company they represent 4. Price transparency: go with a price comparison service prepared to put the energy tariffs they offer on their website so you can be sure you are making the right choice 5. Commission transparency: if you want to know how much commission the agency is earning from the switch just ask. A reputable service will tell you. If they will not tell you, be suspicious 6. Pressure selling: a professional impartial and transparent service will not exert any pressure on you to enter into a contract, and will give you the information and time you need to ensure you are making the right choice You can join the Say No to Cold Calling campaign and get further information at www.energyadviceline.org.uk/say-no-to-cold-calling.php You can also follow the campaign on twitter @SayNoToColdCall |
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