As Storm Desmond begins to calm, Lancashire’s small businesses are picking up the pieces after experiencing some of the heaviest rainfall on record, with many high street shops flooded and expected to be out of action until the new year.
The supermarket giant has reported a 78 per cent decrease in the number of plastic bags sold, just two months after the 5p levy was introduced to all large businesses by the government.
After months of hype and excitement, Small Business Saturday finally hit the nation’s high streets this weekend as millions of people came out in support of their local shops.
Late payments are plaguing small businesses across the country, with large corporations simply refusing to pay their small suppliers on time. This infographic from Sage emphasises just how many small firms are suffering with late payments and highlights some of the most common excuses used by companies who haven’t paid up on time.
During the European Commission’s SME Assembly in Luxembourg, SME Insider spoke with Lili Scout, a 12-year-old entrepreneur from Australia’s Sunshine Coast and the face of the Tech Girls are Superheroes movement. Lili spoke about her dream of getting more young women into the tech world, why children can start a business at any age and how she aims to support small businesses.
The European Union has agreed a free trade agreement with Vietnam, eliminating 99 per cent of all tariffs, potentially bringing in £20m to UK businesses each year.
With auto enrolment affecting millions of small businesses around the UK, SME Insider spoke with Andy Beswick, head of business solutions at Aviva. He told us about the problems SME owners are facing with the staging process, and revealed what accountants can do to help the 480,000 businesses that need to set up their pension scheme by the end of next year
