Are you a business who has been caught out by scams or know someone who has. Trading Standards Institute Business Companion website has information & tips on how to avoid getting caught out.
businesscompanion.info
businesscompanion.info/en/quick-guides/miscellaneous/business-scams
The Competition & Markets Authority ( CMA) has issued guidance and an open letter to care homes to advise them of their obligations under consumer law. The advice is being published as part of ongoing work into residential care homes and nursing homes for the over 65s. It follows on from previous work where some unfair contract terms were found which may cause harm to individuals.
www.gov.uk/government/news/consumer-law-advice-sets-out-obligations-for-care-homes
This November, Design and Marketing Executive Charlotte Baxter, celebrates a year working for successful Norwich-based marketing agency Full Mix Marketing.
We sat down with the digital and graphic design specialist to hear about her experiences working in a growing agency.
Congratulations Charlotte on your anniversary! Tell us about yourself and how you began with Full Mix Marketing?
As a child, I was always the creative type, drawing and designing things whenever I could. Originally from the Wirral, I studied design at the University of Derby before moving to Norfolk with my partner. I’ve worked exclusively as a graphic and digital designer, first in a busy digital creative agency, then a national photography brand, before joining Full Mix Marketing.
Despite being a young company, Full Mix already had an impressive client list and a growing reputation. Our Managing Director Sarah West is really passionate about marketing, delivering results and doing things right. I saw an opportunity to work for varied clients, use all my skills and develop new ones. It’s been great to be an important part of something going places!
What does your role entail?
We have a number of clients for which we provide ongoing marketing and others for whom we deliver individual elements or projects. Naturally, my role is creative, I build websites, design print materials, create ad campaigns and provide artwork for social media etc. As so much modern marketing is digital, I’m also an experienced coder, constructing websites so they not only look great but function well too. However, everything we do is a team effort, playing to the strengths amongst my colleagues.
What’s been your most enjoyable project this year?
We recently rebranded a luxury travel group, which I thoroughly enjoyed. We really got to know them and their customers so we could create a strong design brief from which I worked. I got to be very creative with my concepts and the feedback from the client was excellent.
As a Graphic Designer, branding is one of my passions. Whatever the business, it can be incredibly powerful. It was my main focus at University and my first job in Norwich was working on small branding projects.
What has been the biggest challenge this year?
Probably the most challenging and rewarding aspect has been developing new digital skills. It’s such a vital part of marketing and design now to understand how things work online. For example, search engine optimisation has to be considered right from the start with website design.
Fortunately, Sarah is very big on learning, keeping up to date and developing new skills, so we always find time to do so. As our own marketing says, we really want our client’s businesses to shine online!
What are you most looking forward to in the year ahead?
Full Mix and the team are growing. I’ve some really talented colleagues. We’ve exciting new clients and many more we’ve delivered great results for. It’s nice to be part of something which is not only developing but I feel we can all influence where it’s heading.
Personally, I just want to continue honing my skills and learning new ones. Over this past year I’ve really grown as a designer. At the centre of everything we do is effectiveness and I’ve learned how to think like a marketer whilst creating like a designer. Other than that, I’m looking forward to planning my wedding and finally finishing our garden landscaping!
Independent franchise satisfaction survey reveals outstanding results yet again for leading tax and accountancy franchise
For the sixth consecutive year, TaxAssist Accountants, the UK’s largest network of small business accountants, has been awarded ‘5-star franchisee satisfaction’, based on positive feedback from its network of more than 200 franchisees.
TaxAssist Accountants once again received above the average benchmark results for the six key areas of the survey which inform the final Franchise Satisfaction Benchmark report. These include:
• Training and Support • Franchise System • Culture & Relationships • Leadership • Value & Rewards • General Satisfaction
The satisfaction benchmark is provided by WorkBuzz, a leading independent franchise consultancy. It works by inviting existing franchisees to participate in an anonymous online survey which asks them 31 questions about their franchise ownership experience.
Using a consistent methodology, the franchise is assigned an overall satisfaction benchmark score and the highest performing franchisors are recognised in the Best Franchise Awards.
Karl Sandall, Group Chief Executive Director at TaxAssist Accountants, said: “Receiving 5-star franchisee satisfaction for the sixth year running – one of only four franchises that can say this – is a huge honour.
“The accountancy industry is changing and over the last few years, TaxAssist has had to ensure that our franchisees are ready for the challenges and opportunities that Making Tax Digital, cloud technology and advisory services are bringing.
“It is encouraging that our network has been so positive and supportive of the tools we have put in place to enable them to take advantage of these changes.
“As ever, each comment made by our franchisees in the survey will be noted and digested and will help inform the support we provide going forward.”
For more information about WorkBuzz and the Best Franchise Awards please visit www.bestfranchiseawards.co.uk
Loganair’s latest figures for its Norwich services display a remarkable punctuality performance, it has been revealed. In July, the most recent month for which figures are available, the Scottish airline’s service from the East Anglian city to Manchester showed 94.0% of its flights at D15, that is within 15 minutes of scheduled departure time – the industry’s definition of being “on-time”. The Norwich to Edinburgh service had figures just close behind, with 91.23% at D15. The two key services sit in the top five on punctuality for the fast-growing Glasgow-based airline, which has its English base at Norwich. Figures for the first seven months of 2018, January to July inclusive compiled by the Civil Aviation Authority, saw Loganair’s three services from Norwich perform at a consistently high level at D15 – 87.19% to Manchester, 85.34% to Jersey and 85.08% to Edinburgh. Meanwhile, Loganair’s increasing number of codeshare and interline agreements with the giants of international aviation is seeing Norwich’s international connectivity growing at an ever-increasing rate – especially to North America. An “interline” partnership with Thomas Cook Airlines provides long-haul connections from Norwich and via Manchester to 13 North American and Caribbean destinations including New York, Los Angeles, Boston, San Francisco, Seattle, Orlando and Las Vegas on a single ticket – with through-ticketing and through-check baggage. Further interline agreements are in place with journeys via Turkish Airlines, Emirates and Qatar Airways. There is also an arrangement with American Airlines at Manchester, via a British Airways “codeshare” to Chicago and Philadelphia, which is one step up from interline, giving passengers complete protection as if they had booked with the ongoing journey airline. Loganair commercial director Kay Ryan said: “Norwich is a massively important airport for us, it is our only operational base outside Scotland. We are very pleased at our increasing performance here both in terms of punctuality and providing more connectivity. It shows our continued and growing commitment to the city and the airport. “We have been working hard at developing partnerships with some of the world’s biggest airlines, and recent deals involve such as Turkish, Emirates and Qatar. All these deals will benefit Norwich Airport and its passengers, especially via our service from Norwich to Manchester. It is an exciting time for us and for our relationship with Norwich Airport.” The latest news comes shortly after Loganair announced a partnership with Norwich City FC, which involves Loganair becoming the football club’s transport partner to away games, but also a sponsor of the club. Norwich Airport managing director Richard Pace said: “As Loganair’s operational base in England we are delighted to see the airline achieve such excellent punctuality on its Manchester, Edinburgh and Jersey routes. Loganair is an important operator for Norwich Airport and its growing interline and codeshare agreements with some of the world’s biggest airlines via Manchester mean passengers can enjoy seamless transfers from Norwich to a growing list of long haul destinations including North America and the Caribbean.”
Norwich Airport celebrates Assist Trust partnership A work placement scheme for people with learning disabilities at Norwich Airport is celebrating success with five people now working at the airport as volunteers since the scheme was launched in May last year. Charity Assist Trust, which proves support and opportunities for adults in Norfolk with learning disabilities, says Norwich Airport provides one of the most important placement schemes it has. A total of five Assist Trust members – Paul, Matthew, Nicky, Nathan and David – have taken on a variety of part-time roles at the airport, with David and Matthew having just completed their first six months in the job. Duties include greeting passengers, assisting with baggage, helping disabled passengers through the terminal and security, cleaning tables and washing up. By providing meaningful work placements in a busy working environment the aim is to help people gain confidence, self-esteem and increase their independence, and potentially progress to paid work. Jamie Price, Airport Security Manager at Norwich Airport, was instrumental in setting up the work placements with Assist. He said: “It’s fantastic to be able to support people with their personal development and all the Assist Trust volunteers have really become part of the airport team. We hope our experience will encourage other Norwich businesses to look at how they can provide similar placements for people with learning disabilities.” Roger Bilton-Hill, Supported Employment Team Leader at Assist said: “Norwich Airport provides fantastic support for our members and it’s one of the most important placements we have. The experience they are getting in a busy working environment is just invaluable and we hope that some of our volunteers can progress to paid work, which is very rare for an adult with learning disabilities.” Assist Trust is Norwich Airport’s adopted charity this year and supports over 130 adults in Norfolk with a range of services including employment and travel training, housing support, daily living skills, and health promotion through sports and healthy living groups. Norwich Airport employs around 280 staff and handles more than half a million passengers a year. It is part of Regional & City Airports, the airport management division of Rigby Group plc which also owns and operates Coventry Airport, Exeter Airport and Bournemouth Airport.
At Data Crush we take our social responsibility seriously, so we ensure that everything we handle is recycled in what we believe to be the most environmentally friendly manner. However, we can do more and being a Microsoft Registered Refurbisher we have now launched our Refurbishment Program which, as well as recycling redundant equipment, also directly supports a local charity.
When Companies upgrade their technology systems, we ask them to donate their old IT equipment to help make technology affordable for others. So, whilst we know that some Companies already have a method for disposing of their surplus PCs we are hoping that they might now consider using our new program, knowing that the equipment can still hold value for others and support a worthy charity at the same time.
Some equipment may not be suitable for refurbishment and in that case the data drives are physically destroyed, and the components sent for recycling.
Clients can be reassured that all PCs are properly decommissioned, following stringent industry standard >
Are you an employer who has provided a UEA student with a fantastic learning experience, either through paid employment or volunteering? Or do you know of an outstanding UEA student who has undertaken work placements or volunteered? If so, we want to hear from you.
Nominations are open for awards which will be presented at CareerCentral’s UEA Talent Celebration event on 7 May 2019 at the Sainsbury Centre. The event will recognise and showcase excellence in student and business engagement and the following awards will be presented on the evening. To nominate a student or employer click on the relevant link below:
– UEA’s Most Supportive Employer Award – Awarded to an employer who has provided students a paid opportunity to learn and excel in a supportive work place and who has built links with education in order to support the next generation of employees.
– UEA’s Most Supportive Voluntary Organisation Award – Awarded to an organisation that provides volunteers with a valuable experience and excellent training and support.
– UEA Outstanding Student Volunteer Award – Awarded to a student who has shown dedication and enthusiasm through volunteering, and has gone above and beyond to make a sustained impact.
– UEA Outstanding Student Employee Award – awarded to a student who has made a significant impact to your business, going above and beyond to make a difference.
Check out the video of the Employer Celebration Event run by CareerCentral this year for a taster of next year’s event!
Fred. Olsen Windcarrier exhibition stand
TMS has designed and project-managed Fred. Olsen Windcarrier & Global Wind Service’s exhibition stand at Wind Energy Hamburg for several years.
And for this year’s event, which ran from 25 to 28 September, the Great Yarmouth-based company delivered again with an impressive stand that drew plenty of visitors, including VIPs, Frank Horch, Senator for Economics, and Jens Kerstan, Senator for the Environment.
It provided a full project management service and used a team of skilled and experienced contractors to build and dismantle the stand. Features included:
· bar with space for pump dispensing draft beer
· three plasma screens
· private meeting room, with acrylic semi-transparent screen
· secondary meeting area with two sofas and a bespoke coffee table
· hospitality area with illuminated tables and eight stools
· tech bar with three iPads
· coffee station behind the counter
This is what the marketing departments at Fred. Olsen Windcarrier said: “It has been a pleasure working with TMS on our stand for Wind Energy Hamburg 2018. Knowing that TMS handles all details and liaises with both our stand builder and the venue on all practical matters makes our preparation for a large and important exhibition like this much easier and frees up time for us to focus on other parts such as receptions and events.”
TMS Media also provided Fred. Olsen Windcarrier with graphic design, advertising and tech support ahead of the event and lends marketing support across the year.
From January 2019, the Adapt Group will become part of UEA’s Research and Innovation Services, led by UEA’s Director of Research and Innovation and Chamber Board member, Helen Lewis.
Adapt operates the multi-award-winning Enterprise Centre on UEA’s campus, and the Low Carbon Innovation Fund, which so far has successfully invested over £20.5m, leveraging over £48m of private co-investment and supporting over 70 companies to grow.
Helen Lewis said: “This is an exciting opportunity to improve further the entrepreneurial culture at UEA, supporting the ambitions of staff, students and regional businesses; and to place The Enterprise Centre at the heart of our business engagement.”
While the Adapt brand will cease, existing projects with collaborators will continue, and staff will continue to be based at The Enterprise Centre – however they will now work within the University’s Research and Innovation Services.
The change (prompted in part by the December departure of Adapt CEO Prof John French) will allow The Enterprise Centre to fully integrate with the University’s other business engagement activities, expanding the support available to tenants and other stakeholders. The new approach will also provide one central place for businesses to contact to access University funding.
Helen added: “This will allow us to build our offer to The Enterprise Centre tenants and businesses in the region, and provide a truly integrated range of support from funding, access to expertise, recruitment, business incubators, and a whole host of other services.”
The shop on High Street, Banchory joins Steven’s first shop on 92 Rosemount Place in Aberdeen
After taking over the reins from his father in December 2017, Steven has moved premises in Aberdeen, taken on additional staff and opened a new shop in Banchory, which marks the next phase in Steven’s ambitious growth plans.
Chartered Accountant Steven, who runs his practices with the assistance of seven staff, said: “Building my own business and working in the small business community has always been my ambition.
“I am a passionate supporter of small business as the lifeblood of the local community and there is a real need for a network of local, approachable business services, and this is why we’ve taken the step to open a new shop.
“As demand for our services continues to grow, the new shop in Banchory gives us the opportunity to grow with it.
“Having looked at TaxAssist with my father back in 2010, I was really impressed with the business model, so when the opportunity arose to step into his shoes, I jumped at it. He built an outstanding business, which is well respected within our small business community and I’ve thoroughly enjoyed meeting existing clients and spreading the news of our services to new clients.”
TaxAssist Accountants now has over 290 shops and offices around the UK. If you would like to run your own TaxAssist Accountants practice, call us today on 0800 0188297 to find out if your preferred area is available.
This well attended annual series of events keeps franchisees abreast of the developments being driven from the Support Centre and provides a useful networking and discussion forum.
Three of TaxAssist Accountants’ Executive Directors, Sarah Robertson, James Mattam and Daren Moore, and key Support Centre personnel, recently visited nine locations around the UK to host the annual round of Regional Meetings. The events were well attended with over 180 franchisees in attendance, representing over 90% of the network.
The core content of the regional meetings concerned three areas:
Sarah Robertson, Group Operations Director, presented on the new Software Estate, which includes TaxCalc, Practice Ignition and Receipt Bank and the practical issues around software migration and training.
She reiterated that the Software Estate was the foundation to enable franchisees to be more productive, gain efficiencies in their practice, be more profitable and be best positioned to capitalise on the forthcoming opportunities.
Group Commercial Director Daren Moore FCCA, announced the launch of 2 new services that will be provided directly from the Support Centre.
These new insourced service offerings will cover all aspects of Payroll and Tax and will be delivered through new teams of specialists. Delivering services in this way will help franchisees deliver services more profitably, to generate additional fees and to win new clients.
Daren also presented a new ‘Our Services’ document, setting out the huge range of services clients can access through the TaxAssist Network. This document will prove to be a hugely valuable tool, helping franchisees to differentiate their services and deliver new fees through cross selling activities.
James Mattam, Group Business Development Director, presented the new Brand Awareness Media campaign to increase more exposure for the business via TV, social media paid programmes and social media engagement along with localised planned marketing plan support.
All of the proposed changes were greeted with enthusiasm by the network as Sarah explained: “I am pleased to report that the network is on good form and very positive towards the changes that lie ahead.
“They understand the strategic decisions that have been made with regards to our new software estate and the benefits this technology brings in making them more efficient, productive and cutting edge with clients and they understand that technology is the foundation for how we drive this business forward.
“It was pleasing to hear that the network fully appreciates the amount of work that the Support Centre team is doing to help and support them to be more successful in their practices and I’ve enjoyed reading the positive responses from franchisees following their regional meeting.”
Concerning the new software suite, Nigel Starkey, franchisee in Leicestershire, said: “Today I have signed up with Receipt Bank seeing the virtues of what it can bring us. The pricing deal that has been secured has been the deciding factor. Keep up the good work – still love being part of the ‘TaxAssist’ network and fully appreciate all the hard work you carry out at Norwich!”
Richard Brookes franchisee from Cambridge is also a fan of Receipt Bank and says:” I really enjoyed our regional meeting – very useful as always. I have been using Receipt Bank for years and the new deal has nearly halved my cost.”
Hampshire-based Doug Clanchy commented on the new software suite: “We have implemented Receipt Bank already. It’s early days but I’m pleased with the time saved so far. We have 34 new client proposals signed up through Practice Ignition to date, and 11 awaiting acceptance. I can see that there will be considerable benefits from this when we have been able to evolve our procedures to take full advantage of the functionality. Thank you for a great meeting. The strategic thinking, energy and momentum is back in a big way.”
Andrew Thornton, a franchisee in West Yorkshire, commented: “I took a lot from the regional meeting; there seems to be a lot of good ideas and interesting developments going forward.”
This was a view mirrored by Nick Brook, a franchisee in West and South Yorkshire:” I thought yesterday’s meeting was one of the best I’ve ever attended and full of useful content.”