Blog

Closing the deal

Posted 17th August 2021 at 10:11 am

sales

Your firm might have a database full of potential leads, your products and services could be the best in your market sector but if you can’t close a sales deal, then your business development and marketing efforts will be wasted. The key to making a sale is to focus on the customer and putting their needs first.   Do your research No matter what industry you are in, knowing the decision maker is key to closing a sale. In many cases, the decision maker will send someone else to go out and verify all the options that are available. You... Read more

Protect your business against fraud

Posted 10th August 2021 at 9:52 am

fraud

Throughout the Covid-19 pandemic, businesses have experienced an increase in the level of fraudulent activity. Many firms have moved their business activities online and with more employees now working from home, there are increased opportunities for fraudsters to target them.   Example: Invoice Fraud Invoice fraud is on the rise and while not a particularly new scam, it can be catastrophic for businesses who fall victim to it. Invoice fraud occurs when a fake email address is used to contact a business, pretending to be one of the firm’s suppliers The emails tend to mimic those that the firm usually... Read more

Developing the next generation of business leaders

Posted 3rd August 2021 at 9:26 am

leaders

Regardless of the industry that you work in, the way in which you and your management team nurture the next generation of talent in the first decade of their careers can have a huge impact on their prospects for the future. Given that the world of business is constantly evolving, it can be quite difficult to pin down exactly what career progression looks like for your employees. However, one thing is certain, if we don’t develop the next generation, we will not have any future leaders.   So what can today’s business leaders do in order to support the development... Read more

What is crowdfunding?

Posted 27th July 2021 at 9:08 am

crowdfunding

Crowdfunding is a way of raising money for a business venture, personal endeavor, or charitable cause, where a large number of people invest in or donate money to the cause. It is becoming more popular with startup and early-stage businesses, particularly those which have struggled to secure funding from traditional lenders such as banks or financial institutions.   As the name suggests, crowdfunding is about engaging a crowd of people to co-fund a particular project. Funding can be provided by hundreds or even thousands of individual investors. They all come together to provide money to get a project off the... Read more

Working from home in a heatwave

Posted 20th July 2021 at 5:36 pm

With ‘freedom day’ upon us, many workers have mixed feelings about moving back to office working. However, the arrival of a heatwave across the UK makes an air-conditioned office an incredibly attractive prospect right now!  If you’re working from home, or if your workplace doesn’t have air-con, here are some top tips for working during a heatwave.   Close the curtains This might seem a bit strange, but closing your curtains or blinds can make a massive difference to how much your house heats up over the course of the day.   Dress (not to) impress Sports clothes are ideal... Read more

Self Assessments: the benefits of early filing

Posted 12th July 2021 at 10:30 am

early

Many of you will have received an email from HMRC recently inviting you to submit your Self Assessment tax return earlier this year. Though the online Self Assessment filing deadline is 31 January 2022 (31 October 2021 for paper submissions), there are some benefits to filing early if you are able to. Filing your Self Assessment tax return earlier can give you peace of mind, and help you better manage your tax bills so that you don’t get a nasty surprise in January. When returns are filed early, the payment on account (POA) for the next period is more likely... Read more

Hidden Gems of the West Midlands

Posted 29th June 2021 at 10:55 am

west midlands

With the summer fast approaching, and our travel options still severely limited, many of us will be gearing up for a staycation. To keep you entertained over the summer, in this week’s blog we round up some of our favourite local hidden gems for you to explore.   Halfpenny Green Wine Estate & Airport Yes, we make wine in the West Midlands, and it’s actually rather good! But Halfpenny Green is much more than a winery, with a well-stocked farm shop, enormous wine loft with a huge selection of spirits and wines, and a lovely balcony with far ranging views... Read more

Conversational Marketing

Posted 18th June 2021 at 4:21 pm

conversational marketing

Word-of-mouth marketing, content marketing, influencer marketing, social media marketing… do we really need yet another form of marketing? In the case of conversational marketing, the answer is a resounding yes!   Conversational Marketing is essentially a conversation on your website with your customers. Rather than customers filling in a form and waiting for a human to call or email them back, or having to scroll through a page of FAQ’s, conversational marketing allows your customer to get real-time help with their specific query.   In order to utilise conversational marketing, you need either a Live Chat function, or a Chatbot.... Read more

Cloud Accounting for the post-pandemic era

Posted 14th June 2021 at 10:01 am

Cloud Accounting

Over the last 18 months, the world has got much more used to remote working, and solutions which facilitate it, such as cloud-based software. Here at E R Grove we have been offering cloud based accountancy solutions for our clients for some time now, so if you haven’t yet taken advantage of these, now might be the perfect time to check them out!   What are the benefits of Cloud Accounting? Cloud Accounting is a web-based software which you can access anywhere, anytime and through any device, giving you more flexibility to run your business than traditional bookkeeping processes. It... Read more

Reimburse private fuel by 6th July to avoid fuel benefit

Posted 8th June 2021 at 9:34 am

fuel benefit

One consequence of the recent periods of lockdown is that employees may have driven fewer private miles in their company cars, particularly where they have not been driving to the office. If they are to avoid being taxed on the provision of private fuel, they need to fully reimburse their employer for the cost of private fuel by 6 July 2021 for the 2020/21 tax year. If not, the benefit needs to be reported on the employee’s form P11d for 2020/21. Note that the CO2 emissions percentage for the car is multiplied by the £24,500 notional list price used to... Read more