Does Business Location Still Matter?

Today, location plays less of a role in the success of a business than it used to. New technology offers flexibility that can give businesses a better degree of competitiveness and facilitate collaboration on a global scale. That’s great news for startups and small businesses who are increasingly being priced out of prime London city-centre locations.

London City offices

But while office location no longer matters so much to your workforce, it does to your clients. Though customers can be reached any time of day via email, text, video and voice, where you locate your business still matters considerably, and can determine whether you succeed or fail.…

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3 Steps to Take This Year to Avoid Another Tax Season Scramble

Tax season is the enemy of small business owners. Small business owners wear a lot of hats: accounting, marketing, sales – you name it. The small business owner often fills the void in his business.

Doing small business taxes

TurboTax and other online services even allow owners with no accounting experience to file their taxes and take advantage of tax breaks along the way.

But there’s also the anxiety of:

  • Gathering receipts
  • Outlining all expenses
  • Cycling through billings and invoices

Businesses that opt to pay taxes annually and incur the small penalty also worry about having enough money come tax season.

If you’re a freelancer or contractor, chances are you were more focused on staying afloat this past year than worrying about tax season.…

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The Benefits of Customer Service Training

Customer service expert Shep Hyken wrote in one of his articles ‘Customer service is not a department. It is a philosophy’ and many professionals would wholeheartedly agree with this.

Customer service training

When you utilise good quality customer service throughout the entirety of an organisation– from the recent hires to the CEO – you can improve the way that every element of the operation impacts the customer. This includes not only the employees on the front line, but also those working behind the scenes.

Customer service training makes the difference

As an example of the difference customer service training can make to unlikely roles in an organisation, imagine an employee behind the scenes in a logistics company.…

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Why Your Business Needs Financial Transcription

In today’s volatile financial markets, the importance of financial transcription cannot be overstated. Every organisation or business enterprise deals with vast amounts of financial data on an almost daily basis and proper documentation is essential to keep track of these ever-fluctuating businesses. One false move can trigger a chain reaction that can have devastating consequences for your business.

Transcriptionist doing financial transcription

With that in mind, here’s why your business needs financial transcription.

What is financial transcription?

Transcription is the process of converting spoken words into written documentation. It usually involves taking an audio recording of a conversation, or dictating something to a financial transcriber out loud.…

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SMB’s: Breaking Silos to Drive Growth

Early on in my career I spent six weeks in an ad agency creative department. I was a junior account executive, and I’d been sent downstairs to the creative floor to learn about what they did. It would be generous to say that I didn’t set the world on fire as a creative. In fact, in my entire time there, I came up with precisely one decent ad idea. So, you can imagine how gutted I was when the creative team I was working with shot it down in flames. Sure, my idea wasn’t going to win a Cannes Lion, but it fit the client’s brief perfectly and deserved to be put forward.…

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How Does Your Business Measure Up for Credit Facilities?

There are many ways that banks and financial institutions evaluate a business in terms of its creditworthiness. For example, one of the most important measures is cash flow.

Credit facilities

A business with a strong cash flow typically scores better in the creditworthiness department than one which is cash-strapped. Lenders will always look to the cash flows to see whether the business will be able to cover the interest repayments on the loans and maintain profitable operations simultaneously.

Of course, management needs to keep an eye on all aspects of the business.

Effective leadership at top management, middle management and lower management levels will also be considered when evaluating the performance of a business for credit facilities.…

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5 Ways to Improve Your Accounting Firm’s Bottom Line

The minute you start to become happy with the revenues in your accounting firm, you and, if applicable, your partners might as well refer to your business as a lifestyle, rather than a business intent on generating maximum profit.

Increasing accounting firms profits

The goal of any business should be to maximize revenues. Everything you do leading up to that point needs to be geared toward improving the bottom line – be it sales, customer service, administration, and so on. All tasks have the potential to help or harm revenues.

Here’s 5 ways you can start generating more profit in your accounting firm today:

1.

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SME VOICE: Making Tax Digital (MTD) – How Your Business Can Prepare

It’s official. By January 2018, the majority of individuals and businesses will be on a digital tax reporting system. This change was arguably inevitable as many other aspects of our surroundings make this digital switch, but it may create difficulties for those who are not prepared.

Make Tax Digital (MTD)

While there are those that denounce HMRC’s move as an invasion of privacy, most countries have had a digital option or requirement for filing taxes for quite a while. Even with the criticism that HMRC is struggling to get this all implemented, the change is definite. Their belief is that by 2020 paper tax forms will be virtually extinct.…

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Time-saving Techniques for Restaurant Owners

For people who appreciate great food served in a welcoming and friendly atmosphere, owning a restaurant means living the dream.

Restaurant owner

But owning and running an eating-and-drinking establishment takes more than just a love of all things culinary. Owning a restaurant, dedicated as it may be to providing memorable experiences, is as much about the business side of the equation, and increasing productivity while maintaining quality is the goal.

And the best way to achieve this goal is by introducing time-saving techniques into your daily strategy. The following can help you streamline your processes and boost your bottom line while growing customer satisfaction:

1.

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Top Energy Boosting Foods for the Traveling Entrepreneur

As a traveling entrepreneur, you know just how difficult it can be to stick with a healthy diet. Along the same lines, you may find it a challenge to keep your energy level high.

Healthy eating businesswoman

Let’s face it: you need quite a bit of energy to grow your business. While sleep is important, you may not get nearly as much as you would like. As frustrating as this may be, it’s good to know that there are many energy boosting foods that can work in your favor.

It doesn’t matter if you’re traveling for the day or you’ll be away from home for a few weeks, here are a few energy boosting foods that you should add to your diet.…

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