By Andreas Mjelde, co-founder and CEO, Two This week, the UK Government’s consultation on e-invoicing came to a close, a significant moment that could shape the future of how businesses transact across the country. The consultation sought input on how to increase adoption of e-invoicing across both public and private sectors. For small businesses, this isn’t just about digitising paperwork – it’s about survival. According to QuickBooks, three in 5 (62%) UK SMEs reported overdue invoices in the past year, with an average of £21,400 owed. Many SMEs operate on extremely tight margins, and a delayed payment can significantly exacerbate…
Author: sme-admin
By Eugene Muller, Technical Manager, Probrand The news that the number of cyber breaches and attacks on UK small businesses has dropped made for joyful reading. The figures, which come from the government’s latest annual cyber security breaches survey, seem to indicate that small businesses may be gradually improving their security practices. As someone who works to help SMEs protect their people, devices and data, however, I would urge caution. While the numbers have fallen, the figures are still high – 612,000 UK businesses experienced an attack in the last twelve months. It’s critical that SMEs don’t become complacent and…
The University of Salford has joined forces with Manchester Metropolitan University to equip more SME manufacturers with the strategies and skills needed to thrive in the digital age. The universities have been named as delivery partners for Made Smarter’s Leading Digital Transformation (LDT) programme , a government-funded, industry-led initiative accelerating digital transformation across the North West’s manufacturing sector. This pioneering, fast-track programme is designed to transform business owners and senior managers into digitally informed, empowered leaders, armed with a bespoke digitalisation strategy tailored to their organisation. Since its launch in 2023, the LDT programme has supported 54 participants in developing…
As a small business, it’s easy to think you simply don’t have access to the kind of technology which is helping the bigger players get ahead. There are a wealth of expensive and expansive options out there which larger companies spend their inevitably larger budgets on, and that can be seen as a superpower. Yet, in focusing on what they can’t access, small businesses are overlooking their own superpowers: the ability to understand their own company at a micro and a macro level, and the massive advantage of quick decision making. Larger businesses are often weighed down by complicated and…
Paul Holland, Managing Director for UK/ANZ Fleet at Corpay, including UK brand, Allstar, shares data and insights from Allstar’s research drilling down into those factors that are taking a toll on the UK’s business owners. UK businesses are no stranger to battling an onslaught of challenges, with inflation and economic uncertainty high on the culprit list. Business owners have therefore become adept at spinning many plates, from increased workloads, to staffing issues and market fluctuations, yet recent research found that a third (35%) say chasing payments is the most frequent problem they encounter. This is an unnecessary drain on business owners…
By Martyn Janes, Lead Cyber Underwriter at rrelentless As the economy continues to face turbulence, the UK and, in particular, small businesses must find new and creative ways to survive and flourish. For these companies, this means navigating financial uncertainty while contending with new challenges such as rising cyber threats and greater regulation on their operations. For business founders, there’s often no guiding light to help them navigate the mass of regulations and risks they face, which can seem overwhelming. For all their enthusiasm to build something new, they still rely on outside sources to help them and can be…
The 6th May, 2025 brought with it the long-awaited announcement of a Free Trade Agreement finally being agreed between the UK and India. Espace Global Freight, a Staffordshire based SME freight forwarder have been following negotiations for some time. “The board decided three years ago to specifically focus our long-term business strategy on the UK-India bilateral trade lane” said Geoff Yates, Commercial Director of Espace. “Our business has always focussed heavily on trade to and from the EU but scanning the global economy, we realised early on there would be massive scope for growth between the UK and India.” Indeed,…
Around a third of UK workers have taken or are planning to take extended leave – whether a shorter-term sabbatical (30%) or a longer career break (33%), marking a significant departure from the traditional view of uninterrupted employment, according to new research from professional services consultancy Barnett Waddingham (BW). With over 27 million people employed in the UK**, this equates to up to around 9 million individuals taking or planning extended leave. Once seen as a luxury, sabbaticals are increasingly becoming a desired option for those seeking to manage their well-being and personal growth. Meanwhile, others are opting to temporarily…
When starting a new business, you’re bound to make mistakes but it’s important to see these as lessons to learn from. But what if you could learn from those who have made mistakes before, helping you not make them? Business formation company SUAZ, have asked business experts to share their most valuable business mistakes and how they overcame them as well as data on why startups fail the most. Why startups fail As part of the piece, SUAZ looked into data from NerdWallet around the top reasons startups fail. Reason Percentage of businesses that fail due to reason Ran out of…
UK businesses have been warned that failure to comply with the new EU deforestation regulation (EUDR) could result in criminal penalties and huge fines. Supply chain experts Authenticate are urging companies to demonstrate that goods placed on the EU market are deforestation-free, with thousands of businesses at risk of being punished for non-compliance. Businesses failing to show that due diligence has been performed can expect fines of up to 4% of their EU turnover under the EUDR and criminal penalties under national law. The EU legislation sets out how companies should conduct due diligence, including the collection of detailed information and risk…