There is an inexorable move towards payments being made online. A recent study by Mintel showed that whilst the cashless society is still a long way off (only 18% of people said they would like to do away with cash), the position is completely different with regard to cheques.

Here are the key facts:

Interest rates have been at an all time low for some years and now that economies are showing signs of a tentative recovery, many economists are predicting that it will not be long before interest rates are increased by Central Banks across the world.

Any change in interest rates can have a mixed effect on businesses depending on ...

One of the most ubiquitous phrases of 2013 has been “Big Data” and you could be forgiven for thinking that if you are not using “big data” in your business, you are somehow failing or are just about to suffer a major calamity.

For the majority of businesses, this could not be further from the truth....

The global economy has been in a poor state since 2008 and it is therefore understandable that most businesses have lowered their expectations on profit and have gone into “survival mode” at the expense of progress. Many businesses have shrunk considerably; economically and in terms of headcount and assets.

The dangers of a slow reaction to an upturn

There is a danger, however, that the actions which you took to ensure that your business did well in an economic downturn become deeply entrenched and can damage your business when the economy improves.

Every business needs a certain amount of financial information by law, but successful businesses always produce more information than is required because they want to ensure that they use financial data to the full in order that they can maximise their profit.

The majority of business owners and managers do not receive any formal training in finance, which means that for much of the time they are unable to harness the power of their information to take day to day decisions that lead to better business management and higher profits.

There are four main types of financial information.

There is a clear link between business efficiency and the level of profit.

The majority of businesses strive valiantly to make progress but very few reach anywhere near their full potential. If your organisation is not firing on all cylinders you will win less business and be less efficient. Therefore profits will be much lower than they should be.

After 2 years of recession, a large number of small businesses identified obstacles to success:

Even in tough economic circumstances, it is beneficial for every business to think about growth. You can be sure that your competitors will be looking to obtain your customers or your share of the market.

There are many reasons that growth is beneficial to your business.

1. Greater profitability by spreading your overheads. You may need a telephonist whether you have 10 or 20 people. The more you expand, the greater the value you will get from each item on your list of overheads.
2. You will have more customers. This will give you greater security. If some customers switch to your competitors, you will still have a larger volume of business.