Creating a website
To create your own website you’ll need a web address, a hosting service and a website. The cost of building your own website has drastically reduced over the last couple of years, although you will need compare prices in the market place and expect to pay more if you want one that can be used for trading online.

Website address
There are many companies that sell web addresses, which is also known as your URL or domain name. They will normally cost anything from £3.00 to £25.00.

Setting up with eBay Shop or Yahoo Store

Both these companies provide easy to set up tools to get you up and running in no time. They also take care of your hosting. They can be a useful stepping stone to trading online.

Website hosting
For people to be able to visit your site at any time of day or night it has to be hosted (stored) on a computer permanently connected to the internet, called a web server.

To start with, most small businesses choose to pay a third party to host their site. Hosting is offered by a large number of companies and what they offer will vary dramatically in terms of technical support, features and space allowed. Don’t forget to ask if they’ll support online trading.

Online payment solutions
Ideally, you want to allow customers to pay online. This will offer your customers more convenience and allow you to reduce costs and improve cash flow.

There are many online payment solutions to choose from. The best one for your business will depend on online turnover, the average value of transactions as well as borrowing and overdraft rates.

Online marketing
Once you’re able to offer your customers the ability to buy as well as browse, the final step is to make sure you’ve got enough visitors who want to buy.

The good news is that there are now many proven techniques and easy solutions for getting more customers to buy online from you more often. Obviously the difficult part is rising above the crowd and differentiating yourself from your competition.

This is where a well thought out internet marketing plan can help. Here are the main components of any good online marketing plan:

• Registering your site with search engines and directories
• Optimizing your site for search engines through using the right metatags (hidden information describing your site)
• Sponsoring search engine keywords
• Building a database of customer email addresses
• Sending email newsletters
• Buy online advertising space.

If you need help with getting started with selling on the internet please do not hesitate to contact Carl Wilson on 0845 2576835.

Anon. (2006). Starting to trade online. Available: http://www.smallbusiness.co.uk/channels/technology-in-business/selling-online/guides-and-tips/24660/starting-to-trade-online.thtml. Last accessed 26th October 2010.

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• Sole Trader Dare Accountancy Premier Protection Application Form

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Direct Debit Mandate Form

• Direct Debit Mandate Form

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The inspectors’ determination to raise additional revenue means that enquiries can be lengthy and very detailed which inevitably leads to increased fees. A full enquiry by HMRC will cost a minimum of £5,000 to handle and a recently concluded case cost in excess of £15,000.

Cover from as little as £8.75 Per Month

We offer a solution which means that in the event of an investigation you do not need to worry about our fees and which frees us to spend as much time as is necessary to protect you from the inspector. As a valued client of ours Premier Protection Fee insurance will cover our fees up to £100,000 in most situations where you are on the receiving end of the following:

• Aspect or full investigation of your accounts

• Paye or VAT compliance visit

• Enquiries into the personal tax returns of partners or directors of the business.

There are no excesses for you to pay under the policy, all of our costs are covered. In the event of a claim we handle all the paperwork for you. All you have to do is ensure that we have the information to enable us to file your Tax Returns and accounts on time!

To find out more call John now

The cost of the policy generally ranges from £100 plus 5% insurance premium tax (ipt) for a sole trader to £185 plus ipt for a limited company. Our insurers report that the number of claims received in December 2009 (after the new HMRC powers came into effect) increased by 60% over the previous year! We therefore recommend that all clients take out the fee protection cover as it is much more likely that you will be on the receiving end of an investigation now.

For more information or to apply click here or contact John Davies on 01202 875900.

We believe that our combination of cheap prices and reliable accountancy services is proving a winner in the current challenging clients.

To find more or to refer a friend to Dare please click here to request a call back.

The trouble with this is that in the short term you could be resolving a cash issue but in the long term it can do more harm than good. The flow of goods for you to sell into your business are critical. To achieve this you need your suppliers to work well with you.

The keys to good supplier relationships are

·Get closer to them – communicate, tell them what your plans are and what your situation is to avoid any interruption in the flow of goods

·Have a policy – and stick to it!! If you say you are going to pay someone then do it. You could arrange a payment plan for old debt or set up a direct debit with a supplier in return for extra discount….

·Determine your strategy – this will involve looking at how much stock you hold, when it is delivered, work out who your suppliers should be (consolidate where necessary)

·Outsourcing – get the supplier to do more. For instance you could get the supplier reduce their delivery times, which will allow you to lower your stock levels and improve your cash flow.

Don’t forget that suppliers want and need your business – but they will stop supplying if payments become irregular or late without notification. Negotiating with them is an excellent way of managing your cash-flow and driving your costs down.

If you want to review the way you manage your suppliers then please call Richard Dare on 01202 875900.

Dare Quote Form

The website can be found at www.dareaccountancy.com and includes new, information and online quotation functions.

We would love to hear your thoughts on our new website.