Member Blog

Gambling in the United Kingdom has existed for centuries and with technology development, this field has become the main recreational activity in this territory. Internet gambling products have grown there making this country the top place to have the largest regulated online gambling market in the world. Nevertheless, with the rise of this industry there, the issues related to gambling have also increased. That is probably why the organization like Remote Gambling Association (RGA) was launched to reduce gambling harm. 

Working with the UK Gambling Commission, this company was established to help this regulatory meeting its purpose regarding its codes of practice and licence conditions. This company actually aims to prevent gambling problems with its program called Gamstop allowing the gamblers to ban themselves from gambling websites. However, these gambling platforms must be licensed and regulated by the UKGC or among the white-listed regulators.

General Info and Connection with Gamstop Scheme

Remote Gambling Association is a trade association for online gambling companies established in August 2005. This firm is an alliance between different trade bodies such as the Association of Remote Gambling Operators (ARGO) and the Interactive Gaming, Gambling and Betting Association (IGGBA). This pointless organization represents the largest remote gambling firms and the world’s leading developers. 

It was the owner of Gamstop¸ a self-exclusion scheme allowing the gamblers to ban themselves in the gambling platforms run by the UKGC licensed operators for a period of their choice. Despite this fact, some non Gamstop poker rooms accept excluded gamblers as NonStopCasino says. Located in 31 Southampton Row, London, England, this association comes with the policy to promote a responsible play by applying both legislation and regulation to the gambling industry in Europe. Today RGA no longer exists as in July 2019; it was changed to Betting and Gaming Council (BGC).

RGA Duties

The Remote Gambling Association is the founder of the National Online Self-Exclusion Scheme Limited (NOSES) that run self-exclusion scheme Gamstop and GamCare forum. This latter is a program to minimize the gambling problem within the UK. Released in 2018, the Gamstop program allows the players who are at risk to experience gambling harms prohibit themselves in the platforms licensed and regulated by the UKGC. In addition, the self-exclusion on other gambling websites that the players don’t have an account is also possible with Gamstop. 

Nonetheless, these other platforms must be licensed by the UKGC. Apart from this self-exclusion project, NOSES also launched a support program for gamblers who experience gambling disorder. In this project, various schemes are available like practical and emotional supports. Aside from Gamstop, RGA also ran Gamban, a gambling website blocker launched in 2018. Out of the self-exclusion project, the organization has the same duties as the Association of British Bookmakers (ABB) which both ensure responsible gambling in Great Britain. The only difference is that ABB focuses more on land-based operators.

The End of Gamstop Ownership

In September 2019, RGA ends ownership of the program Gamstop. This self-exclusion system is now independent and is owned by the National Online Self-Exclusion Scheme (NOSES). Today, the project Gamstop leads by the non-executive director Mike Dixon who has also been the chief executive of addiction and mental health of the organization. 

Besides, he was previously an assistant chief executive of an organization supporting the victims or witnesses of the crime called Citizens Advice and director of Victim Support. Gamstop was criticized for defects in the system because this organization still allowed self-excluded gamblers to continue gambling. According to Mike Dixon, a strong challenge to improve this scheme will be set out.

Latest News about Remote Gambling Association

• In November 2019, the Betting and Gaming Council announced that a new code of practice would be released. This new protocol would focus on the VIP players and operator seduction. The code details would be launched in spring 2020 to enforce the measures on implementing safer gambling.

• In August 2019, the prohibition of ‘whistle to whistle’ on gambling advertising during all live sports took effect. In fact, after ‘whistle-to-whistle’ received criticism, the Industry Group for Responsible Gambling (IGRG) had suggested this interdiction. Nonetheless, this ban would not be applied to horseracing and greyhound racing sectors.

• In July 2019, Betting and Gaming Council was launched. This entity substituted the duties of the Association of British Bookmakers and the Remote Gambling Association. Obviously, this body has the main goal to ensure a safe betting and gambling through its code of conduct and codes of practice.

Like every business, the first question the operators ask when releasing an online casino is how to run successfully this site. White label platform is one of the solutions that new web-based casinos need to grow their companies since it is experimented on pushing gambling sites to achieve its goal. Besides, these platforms are the keys to reinforce the existing operators’ position. 

Among several online gaming white-label providers, Progress Play holds the best position for strengthening the online casinos and sports betting websites. Established in 2012, the company has already collaborated with several gambling sites and web-based casinos in many countries.

General Information

Holding a licence from the renowned regulators, Progress Play actively operates legally and fairly. In fact, the company is licensed and regulated by three powerful authorities including the UK Gambling Commission, Malta Gambling Authority, and the Ireland National Excise License Office. 

Aside from supplying gambling licences, Progress Play is turnkey solutions for the gaming and gambling industry such as payment processing, player management, Customer Relationship Management (CMR), API Integration Interface, and customer service. 

The firm is also the premium provider of the casino and sportsbook products. As Progress Play offers full mobile casino service, all its platforms are designed using the HTML5 format meaning that the games are adapted on mobile devices without downloading any app.

Main Markets (UK, EU, NZ)

With the growing numbers of operators choosing to run companies related to gambling, the competition has become fierce especially in the countries which gamble the most. That is probably why Progress Play has expanded its services in several nations including the United Kingdom, the European Union, and New Zealand. 

As Progress Play holds a licence from the great UK Gambling Commission, it is not surprising if it operates within this territory. In 2020, the company launched several online casinos that accept UK players. Aside from the UK, the firm also provides the necessary support of the markets in the EU. As a matter of fact, this full-service white label casino solution headquarters in some regions in the European Union. 

What’s more, since New Zealand has become the best location to appreciate a superb online gaming experience as $10 Paysafe casinos accepting NZ players and powered by this white-label offer their services and minimum deposit products to this country. The web-based casinos operated by Progress Play offer to the Kiwi players a good selection of games from the leading providers. This means that this solution for white label gaming operator continues to extend its footprints across the globe.

Casino Products

One of the main reasons to push people to register or not at an online casino is its games portfolio. Since the platform provider Progress Play has cooperated with the renowned software developers, its selection of games promises a pleasant online casino experience. When the words reputed developers are mentioned, the things that come to mind are the names like NetEnt, Microgaming, Nextgen Gaming, Big Time Gaming, and many others. 

The casino games offered by Progress Play are, hence, supplied by these gaming software vendors. Some of them are specialized in slot games whereas others offer outstanding mobile gaming experience and table games. Therefore, its partners are able to choose from hundreds of casino games that are often bundled with quality graphics and lucrative options. Likewise, the largest progressive jackpots can change the life of the gamblers within a matter of seconds. 

Furthermore, as the live casino has attracted the attention of the mainstream, Progress Play platforms are the ideal destinations to enjoy the best live dealer games titles. The games from the providers like Extreme Live Gaming and NetEnt guarantee the thrilling land-based casino mood.

Sportsbook

Although sports betting has been around for several years, this entertaining activity has remained the most attractive. The fact that it gives an opportunity to earn a huge amount of money in an exciting atmosphere makes it so seductive. Progress Play sportsbook provides customizable interface solutions allowing the new websites to create the products and services they desire. 

With multi-currency and multilingual options, the punters from different countries can bet quickly and easily. Moreover, Progress Play also proposes a sportsbook mobile platform and as it utilizes the most advanced technology, the players are able to have fun on their mobile phones. Flash and HTML5 products supplied by numerous developers are offered to the operators who want to launch a business in the gambling field. Every month, its sportsbook mobile and tablet platform comes with 30,000 live matches, 55,000 pre-match events, and more than 140 different sports.

Accepting The Changes COVID-19 Brings to Business

In our the original post on our website we spent some time reiviewing data from an Ernst and Young research report, you can view the full dataset on our original blog but for simplicity, it stated that consumer confidence has taken a hit through COVID19. Unsuprisingly so. What it cannot clearly give a steer for every single industry and brand positioning, it does demonstrate the significant swings in consumer confidence and buying behaviour. People have touted this for a long time, and not with too much data, given this type of assumption didn’t require it. What the EY dataset shows us, just how different they may be.

This leads us to accept and plan for the fact that these changes cannot simply be taken at very surface level, we must embrace the fact that there will be changes that fundamentally affect and require our businesses to adapt to them in alignment and process.

What Matters To Our Customers?

Market segmentation and alignment is intrinsic to the success of any business. Those that do it well, understand their customer segmentation and align their value proposition to each segment effectively. This makes buying from such businesses easy because they are meeting our demands clearly. Good businesses either stumble upon this segmentation and alignment through chance or make an engaged and meaningful approach to deliver their value proposition in such a way.

COVID-19 however, is likely to change what our customers buying behaviours are. I touched on this lightly in a post aimed primarily at smaller businesses. In this post I discussed how existing qualifiers and differentiators had changed through COVID-19. Now more than ever it is important to understand these buying decisions by segment and align closely to them.

Finding out a customer’s buying profiles always seems to baffle businesses. If you want to know what your customers want, it really is as simple as just asking them. Believe it or not, most of the time they will respond with a very truthful answer.

Adapt Your Business Post COVID-19…

Adapting a business model, or go to market strategy for a segment may seem like a daunting task. There is of course, a proven process to business process redesign. After all, it in itself is simply another business process. What businesses are generally lacking is the knowledge or rationale to execute it. COVID-19 and its ramifications may just be the reason to put that project into place. Ensuring that your processes take into account the new set of buying decisions and segment requirements.

Or Another Business Might

I hate to make any post sound like it is doom filled, or cliff edge stuff. It rarely is in business and I don’t truly believe that adapting your business model post COVID-19 is any different. If there is to be a revolution in buying behaviours, and one that affects businesses. It will not be instant. It is often best to describe it as an iteration and there will be iterations to business. Those that adapt quickly will benefit from the first mover advantage and this diversified approach will deliver gains to those willing to “fast prototype” their response.

Whether viewing this as the ‘new normal’ or a temporary obstacle to overcome, one thing we can all agree on is the need to adapt. With the national lockdown set to progressively ease over the coming weeks, more businesses will need to adapt so they too can reopen their doors and look to recovery. To support this collective recovery, we have created this guide to help you create a COVID-Secure workplace that works for you.

  Review the Right Guidance

With so much speculation, it’s really important that you get the most accurate information on what you need to do for your particular business. A visit to the official government guidance on working safely during Coronavirus offers 8 guides that cover a range of workplaces. As no one will know the intricacies of your workplace quite like you, the first step is arguably using the appropriate guide(s), to determine what you need to do. Once you have an idea of the official guidance for your business, then you may wish to refer to wider guides, expertise or services to support you. Layrd Design offer a great ‘Welcome back to the office’ document, outlining changes that can be made to adapt an office space to meet COVID-Secure guidance.

Assess Risk to Plan your Response Not only does developing a risk assessment help you plan an appropriate response, it also forms a crucial part of your commitment to the welfare of staff and visitors. Government guidance indicates that every employer should be carrying out a COVID-19 Risk Assessment. Often the idea of developing a risk assessment can be over-complicated. Regularly carrying out risk assessments for a variety of venues, events and exhibitions, we advise a step by step approach that asks common sense questions:  

– who might be harmed and how?

– what you’re already doing to control the risks?

– what further action you need to take to control the risks?

– who needs to carry out the action?

– when the action is needed by?

You can find further guidance and templates on creating risk assessments at HSE. If you need support developing your own risk assessment feel free to ask us for advice. By creating a clear common-sense assessment, you can then determine what actions you need to take.

What do you ‘Need’ to do? Notice we say ‘need’. That’s not because you don’t also ‘want’ to keep your employees and visitors safe, of course you do. However you may not need the slew of products and services currently saturating the market. As we developed our own range of products, we strived to do so with empathy and an understanding that this is not a ‘want’. With almost all business under immense strain, cash flow challenged and recovery uncertain, the last thing any of us really want to do is cash out on unnecessary kit. So our simple view remains, if you don’t ‘need’ it, don’t buy it. There are many changes you may need to make that can be achieved by a simple rearrangement in-house or by getting a little creative yourself. Of course, if you have a ‘need’ for any products or services in order to get your business up and running there are many options out there. Just make sure you explore what these options truly are. You may find that under the surface the products on offer don’t actually exist yet, aren’t genuine or due to the complications arising from coronavirus there is a pretty significant lead time. If you’d like any advice on products to manage a COVID-Secure workplace, please feel free to ask us.

Communicate COVID Related Changes So you’ve assessed risk, created a plan, but have you shared it the right way with the right people? The situation is certainly new on us, as increasing google searches for the phrase ‘unprecedented’ have highlighted. As a result, injecting some clarity wherever possible is a welcome remedy that helps all of us manage the situation and get back to business more effectively. With employees this will likely be a case of outlining your risk assessments, indicating responsibilities, changes in procedure and safeguarding measures you have in place. Having a core document or guide to refer to may be a helpful touchstone for staff. Be prepared to have questions or issues that arise on the fly, chances are a few considerations flagged by staff or visitors may prove a valuable part of initial planning, so open up the conversation early. Both employers and employees can find useful information from ACAS here. With regard to your visitors, this is where some signage, however rudimentary may come into play. By now most of us have been herded around a supermarket following floor markings, waiting patiently on a sticker with shoe-prints on it. It may seem a little odd at first, but these directional signs do help visitors follow guidelines and keep everyone safer. Consider both the general messaging as well as specific points for your workplace. Keep it simple and ensure the information is easily visible, don’t forget digital either, consolidating your message with email and social media can help you remain COVID-Secure while also spreading the word that you’re open for business. You can find a customisable poster with general safety messaging for download here. Or if you did need specific safety posters, displays or stickers, you can find some of our products here. Remain Responsive Whilst the return to some form of working normality can’t come soon enough for many of us, it’s also worth bearing in mind that a return to lockdown could also be ahead. It may not be quite the same lockdown we have experienced, but uncertainty over a ‘way out’ and how we manage COVID-19 longer term remains. We should continue to celebrate the little wins and collectively support our businesses and economy recovering. However, it will be important to take lessons from our experiences and prepare a more agile and responsive workforce for the foreseeable future. Retaining an ability to work from home will not only help you manage staff upon reopening, but soften the impact of a second tightening of restrictions. Equally as restrictions loosen and teams can come back together in a sense, it could prove an ideal time to collectively form continuity plans. Certainly easier said than done for many of us, with ourselves reliant primarily on the return of events and exhibitions. However this responsive planning may also involve getting creative with, to use another buzzword of the times the ‘pivot’. Whether this is augmenting an existing service or products, or developing something new, what is it they say about necessity and invention? We will shortly be launching our very own ‘pivoted’ services…although something we have been planning for sometime, there’s no doubt that Covid-19 accelerated our plans. Relaunching our dedicated marketing brand ‘Image Development’ as well as a new interior graphics service, we considered our existing strengths and where we could best offer genuine support to our clients and collaborators while accommodating the challenges brought by Coronavirus.

We hope this guide helps you start creating COVID-Secure workplace to support your future recovery. If we can be of wider support across interiors, marketing or COVID-19 specific products, please get in touch.

• COVID Management Products – Screens, Information Signage & Sanitiser Units

• FREE – General COVID-19 Safety Poster with Key Messaging

• FREE – Customisable COVID-19 Safety Poster with Key Messaging

Some helpful resources referenced above to support you implementing COVID Secure guidance:

• Government Guide Documents on COVID-Secure

• 5 Steps to COVID-Secure Checklist

• HSE Advice on Writing Risk Assessments

• Layrd Design ‘Welcome back to the office’ Guide

Branding is no longer about defining a slogan, name, design, symbol or image or combination of any or all of these elements; it is far more complex. Branding isn’t just about being selected by your target market over the competition. In the digital age, branding is more involved with subtly suggesting your business is a problem solver even though your potential client doesn’t consider he or she has a problem to be solved. There are many sub-headings and elements which, when meshed together, will enable you to form a clearly defined strategy to successfully deliver your brand to a waiting world.

Know Yourself

If you don’t know yourself, how can you project your identity through your brand? Creating a brand from the ground up, your personality and the way you interact with others will be part of the defining elements of the brand. Leadership, combined with a sense of purpose and an understanding of what your target market is searching for are powerful tools at your command.

You will be the central foundation of the business. Leading your business, invoking purpose in your team and crafting a vision for the future are the first steps to success.

Define Values

Branding really isn’t about your logo; it is about the message you promote. For example, if your business is female fashion for example, you’ll want to promote your clothing brand as one which cares for the environment. Showing transparency of supply lines, showing your products are not produced in sweatshops populated by exploited women and children is a positive image. Likewise, if you’re setting up a new casino slots in the UK business, emphasising that your business values clients’ security and protects their personal data. You may also want to project real concern for their welfare; gaming and gambling can become addictive, fun can turn to misery if left unchecked. Supporting clients and valuing them if they need your help is an essential, positive element of your particular branding strategy.

Create a High-Profile Event

If you want to help yourself to better your brand overall, then you need to try and create a high-profile event. Invite CEOs from other companies to join you and try and put something together. When you do, you will soon find that you are able to get way more visibility and that you can appeal to a much wider audience too. Regular events for brand promotion should be an integral element of your business strategy.

Use Great Images

A lot of businesses really are personal brands. This means that you are ultimately the face of your entire brand. The days of a boring headshot are long gone. If you want to really boost your business, then you need to use graphics and images which reflect your personality and that of the business. You will also need to style your online presence so that it stands out from the crowd. A picture paints a thousand words, but what use is a picture if the words do not mean anything?

Focus on Products and Services

Focus on delivering quality products and service; don’t compromise. Consumers do look at the price of what the goods or services for which they are searching. However, most people are savvy enough to know that a low price often means lower quality. Do not allow your brand to be associated with poor quality. You brand has to stand for all that is best. Lay these foundations and you’ll not only win over your target market, you’ll also win their loyalty. Loyalty is a valuable commodity in marketing and branding, but it is a two way street between customer and supplier. This may lead to trust issues. If you want to stop this then make sure that you do everything you can to monitor things across your physical products as well as your digital presence.

If you want to, build your brand, engage customers and drive sales email marketing is the most efficient way to do it.

Whether your potential customers are using a smartphone, tablet or desktop computer, you can put your content in front of them. If the content is engaging, tailored to their interests and inspires action, the results will speak for themselves.

So why don’t all businesses use email marketing? Many decision-makers think it’s too expensive for them.

But that’s simply not true. The truth is that for £10+vat per month, you can launch brilliant email marketing campaigns that bring you great results using Smart Messenger.

Over on our Smart Messenger blog post ‘How much does email marketing cost?‘ we’re helping readers to discover more about email marketing, the costs involved and the benefits of using our service.

You’ll find all the details about our three plan levels in our in-depth article, but to give you a summary, this is what you need to know.

• Every Smart Messenger plan comes with a dedicated account manager who you can call on for help and advice at any time.
• On the Lite plan, you get 1,000 email credits pcm to send to unlimited contacts, which goes up to 2,000 on Standard and 5,000 on the Pro plan.
• Our ‘Drag & Drop’ editor makes creating
• Use custom fields on all plans to make your email marketing personal and targeted for different segments of your audience to enhance engagement.
• Drill down into your data thanks to real-time reporting. This insight allows you to disseminate what content is working and what you need to change. In addition, on the Standard plan, you get Google Analytics integration.
• Set up automated email marketing programmes with our Standard and Pro plans.
• Need to send more? Extra emails are not expensive, calculate the total cost with our handy Smart Messenger calculator.

If you’d like to learn more, head over to our detailed blog or feel free to call us on 01603 858250 or email [email protected] for a demo.

As a trickle of people begin to return to workplaces, we’re all needing to ensure we’re COVID-Secure.

We’ve got three articles in this newsletter to help you with this; firstly, Where to Start. Second, our Top 8 RedCat Tips to make it happen.

Lastly, a testimonal.

1. So, where to start?

• There’s some great Government guidance here, but it’s a little generic and needs adapting to your business. Your output here is a section of your Health and Safety Policy, with your rules and procedures to prevent infection spread.
• Next, we demostrate satisfactory levels of control through the Risk Assessment. The Health and Safety Executive in Northern Ireland have published a risk assessment template here, again helpful but it is generic and requires some work to be truly valid for your business.

2. Our top 8 tips in developing these;

1. Don’t think this is a new or extra legal duty; you’ve already got a Policy and Risk Assessments, and COVID risk assessment is the same as any other risk assessment.
2. Consulting your employees is a legal requirement, so don’t skip this part of the process.
3. People are genuinely concerned for their health, and need to be assured. The Policy and Assessments need to be comprehensive and relevant to their work.
4. Steal an idea from food factories; think of the flow of people and functions in your work place and follow this. It will help identify at which points the risks are greatest. So, start at the front door…….
5. Dig out your copy of our last Newsletter, covering the Legionnaire’s Disease risks in the water systems that need to be dealt  with before a mothballed building is brought back into use.
6. Be realistic about how many people you can safely have within your premises
7. Provide visual prompts to ensure compliance at all times, not just first thing in the morning
8. The guidance has been criticised for being vague. So, do what you feel is the right thing. If its not safe to open stay closed. If you’re happy to, then adapt to remain safe.

​No Wherewithall?

We’ve been working on this since January. We’ve absorbed, digested and applied the Guidance, and we’ve developed and used some of our own templates.

In short, we’re here to help you if you need us. You know where we are!

3. A Client gave us a fantastic Google Review last week following our COVID19 work with them; “Are you a business owner concerned about Covid 19? Speak to Richard and Sarah at Red Cat Partnership. I now have the confidence to carry on safely thanks to an extensive overhaul of my safety practices and risk assessments etc. Invaluable support from one of the most professional and on-the-ball companies you could hope to do business with.”

Online shopping has become a massive opportunity for many businesses. The Coronavirus lockdown has forced a rapid change in consumer behaviour seeing people move away from traditional “bricks and mortar” shopping.  

If you are ready to join the e-commerce industry, it’s never been easier to start an online shop. Our new guide will take you step by step through all the important decisions you need to make, and how to start your online shop.

Unless you work in a TV industry or have your picture occupying every billboard in the city, one might conclude that how you look shouldn’t affect your business success at all. However, according to global statistics, the way you conduct yourself at work can significantly influence your salary and possible promotions.

Another important thing to remember is that looking great for a party and for a business meeting are two different things. The working environment requires proper business attire that looks professional and respectful by all means. While this might sound like a boring style, there are some tips and tricks you can use to always look fantastic at work and leave a style-icon impression that might help you in your career.

1.Invest in a Good Watch

A good watch has always been a status symbol used to display class and wealth. Moreover, in the business world, wearing a watch is considered an unspoken rule, as it helps people stay punctual at all times. Even if you are wearing a plain outfit, a timepiece around your wrist can help you look powerful. Nowadays, many great brands design the perfect watches for investment that can last a lifetime. The watch can be your statement piece, so don’t hesitate to spend a bit more on a good quality item.

2.Look for the Good Shoes

Business attire values the shoes that are elegant and classy. This means that sneakers and flip-flops are by all means prohibited. On the other hand, as you spend a third of your day at work, it goes without saying that the shoes you’ll be wearing have to suit you perfectly. Now, when we say good shoes, we don’t mean pretty or comfortable – we mean both. If you think that such a pair of shoes is impossible to find, you haven’t been looking for it long enough. The best way to find them is to try numerous different models until you find the perfect one.

3.Stick to the Basics

When dressing for work, it is best to stay away from experimenting with colours, models, and size. Maybe this year’s trend is combining leopard print with pink, but try to save that undoubtedly effective combination for some other time. We’re not saying that you should go all black every day, but if you stick to basic colours, it will be easy to combine them and get more outfits with a single item. Also, leave oversize sweaters and tiny tops aside, and wear clothes that suit you perfectly.

4.Buy Eye-Catching Accessories

Carefully chosen accessories can make every outfit look amazing. You can focus on jewellery like an interesting ring or maybe a silk scarf that will add some colour to the basic black and white combination. Again, although this should be something that adds value to the overall look, don’t overdo it and ruin the whole image of your business attire.

5.Find Your Signature Scent

As you could probably guess, the last piece of advice has nothing to do with clothes and everything to do with good perfume. If you’ve heard that the first impression is a lasting one, try to make it last longer by evoking some other senses except the visual one. Make sure that you choose a neutral scent, yet distinct enough to make people remember you next time they smell it again.

If you get all these tips right, there’s no doubt people at work, including your superiors, will think of you as someone ready to advance in their career.

At the end of April the Insolvency Service issued the latest corporate and personal insolvency statistics for the quarter January 2020 – March 2020. The report shows that the total number of company insolvencies in Q1 2020 decreased by 8.5% from Q4 2019 and decreased by 8.5% from the same quarter in the previous year. The report also shows that t there were 768 bankruptcies where the individual was self-employed, a decrease of 10.5% on Q3 2019 and 15.5% lower than the same period last year. A more detailed analysis of formal insolvencies reveals there have been significant reductions in formal insolvency appointments since the lock down in late March 2020.

The reported decline is evident in the day-to-day business activity for the Insolvency and Recovery team at MHA Larking Gowen.  As well as dealing with insolvent liquidations, the team has seen an increase in activity dealing with enquiries from company directors on their options.

Andrew Kelsall, Insolvency and Recovery Partner at MHA Larking Gowen, said, “We’ve been dealing with number of Insolvent Liquidations but not the number you would perhaps expect during the current economic crisis.  Clearly there will be some cases where there are pressing needs and good reasons to enter into an insolvency now and we’re working with directors on some of those cases. However, a big part of our support now is around advising company directors who are unsure about what they should be doing next”.

“It is important not to panic and rush into an insolvency, reversing out of it may be impossible if you have a change of in the future”.

Below are Andrews’s top three tips to consider before making any decisions:

• Reduce costs – if trading has ceased, or significantly been reduced, due to the COVID-19 restrictions, then look at all possible costs and whether they can be reduced, furloughing staff, including directors, look at the Coronavirus Business Interruption Loan Scheme (CBILS) and Bounce Back Loans for funding. Be careful about personal guarantees and restrictions on the use of any such loans.
• Review your business – ask yourself this, if your business was viable before the current restrictions were in place then are there any reasons to suppose it won’t be viable again when the restrictions are eased? If so, then that may be the appropriate time to review the business and consider if any assistance is required from an Insolvency Practitioner.
• Consider a restructure – during this period of confinement you may well have realised that you can operate in a different and perhaps more efficient way.  If this is the case, when we return to the new normal, input from an Insolvency Practitioner might help achieve this via a restructuring of the business.

Andrew concluded, “Basically, don’t panic, we’re all in this together and we don’t have all the answers. None of us know for certain how this will all unfold and taking some time and waiting to see what happens before making significant decisions about liquidating businesses may well be a good decision”.

The Insolvency and Recovery team are also highly experienced in advising business owners. If you’d like to explore any of the above in further detail, then please get in touch.

Call 0330 024 0888 or email  [email protected]. You can also find contact details on the Our People section our website.

Andrew Kelsall

For all businesses – large or small – growth is a big driver of success. If you’re not pursuing growth in your given market, you’re at threat of losing market share to competitors. When that happens, you’ll find your company shrinking, losing profitability and, ultimately, floundering and folding. As such, even if you’re low on funds, mapping out growth is an important part of your business strategy. In this article, you’ll gain a better understanding of how you can grow your business in spite of the limited funds you have at your disposal.

Cost-Free Strategies

There are many ways to attempt to grow your business without spending a penny. You may, for instance, choose to focus a month of your time on productivity. If you’re able to make your staff and your internal processes work more efficiently, you’ll be able to make more cash, which you’ll later use to invest in your growth. Meanwhile, you can use free social media posts to market your business without paying for access to consumers, as Entrepreneur magazine explains. These free options are perfect for businesses that are lacking funds – and can give you that boost you need for a large investment in your growth.

Loans

In other circumstances, you’ll need cash fast in order to take advantage of market conditions. If you’re a sunglasses retailer, for instance, you want to be increasing your marketing clout and business at this very moment, as the UK is increasingly bathed in sunshine and citizens plan their trips abroad in the summer. If you’re unable to take advantage of that seasonal business, your company will lose out. As such, finding small loans to boost your investment in growth in the short term is likely to enhance your profits, enabling you to pay back your loan and grow your business simultaneously.

Pricing Adjustments

Often, static pricing can be a detriment to your business. If you never change the prices of your good or services, you’ll find that competitors undercut you and consumers quickly turn to these competitors for trade. Pricing dynamically, on the other hand, enables you to put up the price of your products when demand is high, and to lower prices – or offer deals and coupons – when demand is low. In this way, you can make tiny, cost-free adjustments to your business offerings and benefit from growth and increased sales, or profits, as a result.

Expansion

If you’re looking to really get to the next stage of your business – by taking your local or national company into the international market – you don’t necessarily need a great deal of cash to make this leap. Indeed, with the internet connecting you with consumers all over the world, all you’ll need to do is adjust your website so that consumers can be sure you’re an international company, accepting international payments and shipping to all countries in the world. If you can do this, you’ll be able to slowly drum up business from outside the UK, boosting your profits as a result.

These four tips will provide you with the boost of growth that you’re looking for by investing in your scaling strategy.

Employers have until 6 July to report any taxable benefits and expenses provided to their employees (including company directors) during the 2020 tax year on the forms P11D, and will have to settle any National Insurance arising on these by 19 July.

These forms cover everything from company cars to employee loans and Mat Waters, a Manager in our Halesworth and Lowestoft offices, has written this series of articles to cover the main areas to be considered when it comes to both providing and reporting benefits and expenses.

The series concludes by looking at payments to or on behalf of employees which can potentially be exempt from reporting.

Mobile telephones

An employer is able to provide its employees with a mobile phone on a company contract without a benefit needing to be reported to HM Revenue & Customs (HMRC), even if there is an element of private use. The phone will need to remain the property of the employer and not gifted to the employee as otherwise a tax charge will arise on the value of the phone.

Home telephones

If an employer puts in place a home phone contract for an employee to be used for solely business calls then this qualifies as exempt from being reported. However, where there is an element of private use by the employee then a benefit is incurred based on the private proportion of the total phone contract (line rental and calls).

Where the employer pays for the employee’s personal home phone contract, then the total cost of package will need to be reported, although National Insurance (NI) will only be paid on the full cost of the line rental (as this is deemed to be wholly relating to the employee) and the element of private call charges.

Travel, accommodation and subsistence

One of the most familiar expenses is the HMRC mileage rates, which are currently 45p per mile up to 10,000 miles and 25p per mile above this. These rates are paid to employees for business journeys, cover the fuel and running cost of their personal vehicle and will not need to be reported to HMRC. However, should an employer wish to pay the employee in excess of these rates, then the additional amount paid will need to be reported.

Where an employee has use of a company car but pays for all the fuel personally, there are separate HMRC advisory fuel rates based on the fuel type and engine size which should be used in place of the 45p/25p. These rates only cover the fuel for business journeys as the employer will be responsible for the running costs of the vehicle.

When an employee is required to work away as part of their employment, these will be treated as exempt so long as the company only pays directly for, or reimburses to the employee, the exact costs of the travel and accommodation. Should employees be provided with a flat rate amount not agreed in advance with HMRC then the excess should be added to the employee’s earnings and taxed through the payroll.

Any private travel arranged and paid for by an employer will need to be reported as a benefit on a P11D, or if it is arranged by the employee but paid for on their behalf by the employer then this will need to be reported on the form P11D and the cost subject to PAYE and NI through the payroll.

When employees incur subsistence expenses to cover food and drink bought on business journeys, HMRC provide benchmark rates which can be paid based on the length of the journey. These start at £5 for travel of 5 hours or more and go up to £25 for travel of 15 hours and where travel is ongoing after 8pm. Employers can agree bespoke rates with HMRC but otherwise any amounts paid in excess of the benchmark rates are subject to PAYE and NIC.

Record keeping

Previously, an employer would need to apply for a P11D dispensation from HMRC to confirm that they were only paying either exempt rates or actual costs, that adequate records were being maintained and that formal procedures were in place to ensure all expense claims were verified.

Although HMRC has moved to a self-certification system rather than requiring for a dispensation to be held on file, it is still the employer’s responsibility to ensure that suitable controls and record keeping are in place for expenses claims. These will need to be in place for both for payment of benchmark rates and actual expenses incurred.

Protecting your business

All of the benefits and expenses covered in this series fall within the remit of PAYE inspections and records checks and so, if you are running a business where several of the matters covered apply, you may want to ensure you have adequate Tax Investigation Cover in place in the event of HMRC wanting to review yours records.

If you have any questions, please get in touch.