With UK Savings Week just around the corner (22–28 September) and World Financial Planning Day on 1 October, there’s no better time for business owners to get serious about their numbers. On 23rd September 2025, award-winning finance trainer, consultant and founder of TKA Finance Training, Tara Askham, will host a workshop at The Wesley Hotel, Euston, London, designed to help SMEs, entrepreneurs, and sole traders take control of their business finances. The interactive training session, “Know Your Numbers, Grow Your Profits, Take Home More Money”, promises to provide attendees with a greater knowledge of their income and outgoings. Hosted by…
Author: sme-admin
With operating costs continuing to rise, UK businesses are increasingly reassessing their property maintenance strategies to help improve efficiency and reduce expenses. Fabien Caqueret, Managing Director at property maintenance and facilities management company MSL, explains whether planned or reactive maintenance is the best approach for businesses to take. However, the best solution may involve a mix of the two approaches. Planned maintenance Fabien shares: “Planned or preventative maintenance involves scheduled servicing, inspection and replacements to help prevent equipment from failing and becoming in need of urgent repairs. A typical schedule may include regular inspections of roofs and gutters, electrics and plumbing and servicing of HVAC systems (heating, ventilation, and air conditioning). How often these are carried out will depend on many factors including the age of the equipment and how frequently it is used, therefore, this can range from weekly to yearly checks…
The Government’s announcement of the toughest late payment laws in a generation marks a pivotal moment for the UK’s small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs). Greg Bell, CEO of Skipton Business Finance, discusses why tackling late payments is long overdue, and what SMEs can do to protect their cashflow and thrive under the new rules. For too long, late payments have been the silent killer of promising businesses – eroding cashflow, stifling investment, and, in the worst cases, forcing otherwise viable companies to close their doors. The statistics are stark: £11 billion lost to the UK economy every year and 38…
To meet surging demand for digital skills in areas outside London, Leigh Ingham MP and Dan Aldridge MP – Co-Chairs of Parliament’s All-Party Parliamentary Group (APPG) on Digital Inclusion – brought Google Digital Garage to their constituencies on Friday 5 September, delivering a full day of free training for local businesses and residents. The MPs worked with Google to bring the flagship programme to Stafford and Weston-super-Mare, ensuring that communities outside of London – too often left behind by the digital economy – had access to world-class skills support. Between the two events, over 100 people took part in workshops,…
Only a few short years ago, generative AI was a cutting-edge technology that only large organisations with vast budgets could afford. Fast forward to today, while AI remains an innovative technology it is becoming more accessible for businesses of all sizes and spanning all industries. In fact, for small-to-medium sized enterprises (SMEs), getting ahead of the AI curve has now become essential to remaining competitive. The shift toward AI adoption isn’t as simple as buying premium licenses to a popular large language model and using it out-of-the-box. There are risks that go hand-in-hand with AI implementation. For example, the potential…
The short- and medium-term investment plans of UK Small to Medium-Sized Enterprises (SME) have been hit hard by the recent changes to international trade tariffs. More than two-thirds (68%) of UK SME finance decision-makers (FDMs) confirmed there has been a high impact on their short and medium-term investment plans, with more than half (56%) suffering up to a 40% drop in their sales pipeline. As UK businesses grapple with changing tariffs in 2025, 70% of UK FDMs also report an increased risk across their supply chains since tariffs were introduced. The results are part of a new research report, “International…
Dr Glenn Mason, Head of Adult Psychological Therapies and Consultant Counselling Psychologist at Onebright, explores his own personal journey and shares first-hand, practical advice for employers. Most LGBTQIA+ individuals have gone on a deeply personal journey to get to where they are today. For many of us we have experienced shame and had internal battles about how to be our true self in a world that isn’t always accepting of who we are. Given we spend around a third of our lives at work, our workplace needs to be a supportive and caring environment. For LGBTQIA+ individuals, this means going above…
By Claire Hughes, HR Business Partner at Totalmobile Recent research shows that one in ten UK workers spends more than 15 hours each week in meetings. In reality, the true figure is likely much higher. Since COVID, virtual meetings have exploded, and many people now spend their working days moving from one call to the next. Diaries are full, leaving little room for deep focus work. It simply means they are busier, but are we really more productive? More than lost time The impact of meeting overload goes well beyond wasted hours. It can sap energy, reduce morale, and stifle…
New research reveals finance leaders are stepping out of the back office and into the boardroom, driving change across recruitment, sustainability, and digital transformation. The role of the CFO is undergoing the biggest shake-up in decades, as finance professionals evolve from number-crunchers to strategic architects. A new study of 500 UK finance decision-makers by The CFO Centre – which provides part-time CFOs to more than 750 businesses across the UK – found that 60% are now leading cross-functional initiatives well beyond traditional finance. Areas include recruitment, business strategy, sustainability, marketing, and people management. Just 1% said their role had not changed. This…
As the era of regulatory scrutiny continues to intensify and client expectations evolve, UK law firms have been hit with a wake-up call with the recent SRA rebuke of Hett’s Johnson Whiting LLP, offering a cautionary tale and a timely opportunity for reflection. In June, the firm was sanctioned for repeatedly submitting identity documents with inconsistencies, including a passport photo that didn’t match the signature to HM Land Registry. These were red flags any modern compliance system should have caught, but in this case, they were missed. According to Cindy van Niekerk, CEO of Umazi, UK law firms continue to be…