Business Stuff

Tips & Insights

Practical, no-nonsense ways to run a tighter, calmer, more profitable business.

Featured
An adviser's desk covered with paperwork, a calculator and a laptop
Insights

How small firms actually fund buying another business

Almost nobody turns up at completion with the full price in cash. Here is how the money is really put together, and the parts that catch first-time buyers out.

Keep reading

More insights

A laptop and a coffee cup on a kitchen table Insights

Neonatal care leave and pay: what a small employer has to do

Invoices and paperwork spread across a desk Insights

Late payment interest: what you can actually charge on an overdue invoice

A desk in a small office with an empty chair Insights

When an employee resigns: notice, garden leave and the handover

A laptop and coffee on a kitchen table Insights

How to credit-check a customer before you take a big order

A desk lit by a lamp at night Insights

How to register a trade mark in the UK: what it costs and what it protects

Notes and figures spread across an advisory desk Insights

How to build a cash flow forecast a lender will actually believe

Paperwork and a laptop on a desk Insights

Carer's leave, dependants' leave and bereavement: the time off small employers get wrong

A market stall stocked with goods for sale Insights

Paying for stock months before you sell it: how importers fund the gap

A phone and a notepad on an office desk Insights

Your Google Business Profile: the free hour that brings in local work

A desk with paperwork and a calculator Insights

How much funding do you actually need? Calculating your working capital gap

A laptop and coffee cup on a desk Insights

How to run a recruitment process that will not land you at a tribunal

Investors and founders sitting around a boardroom table Insights

Angel, VC or equity crowdfunding: which route actually fits your business

Company paperwork and a laptop on a desk Insights

What a company director is personally liable for

A desk with paperwork, a calculator and a laptop open on tax figures Insights

Payments on account: why your January tax bill is bigger than the tax you owe

Two people sitting across a table in a formal meeting Insights

What actually happens when an employment tribunal claim lands

Someone still working at a desk in the evening Insights

The 48-hour week, rest breaks and opt-outs: what the working time rules actually require

Paperwork and a calculator on an adviser's desk Insights

Where your business cash actually sits: the £120,000 line worth checking

A workshop bench with tools in use Insights

Health and safety: what a small employer must actually do

A laptop and coffee on a kitchen table Insights

No sick pay when you work for yourself: what freelancers actually get

Commercial buildings seen from street level Insights

Buying your premises instead of renting: what it actually costs

A small team meeting around a table Insights

Statutory sick pay changed in April — what small employers now pay

Three business partners talking in an office Insights

EMI share options: giving staff a stake without giving away control

Loan documents and a pen on an adviser's desk Insights

Debentures and floating charges: what a lender actually takes when you borrow

Tax paperwork and a calculator on a kitchen table Insights

Can't pay your tax bill? What a Time to Pay arrangement actually involves

Two people talking across a table in a small meeting room Insights

Suspending an employee: how to handle a serious allegation properly

Staff working behind the counter of a busy cafe Insights

The minimum wage traps that catch small employers out

A shopkeeper opening up for the day Insights

Refunds and returns: what you must give, and what you can refuse

Paperwork and a laptop on a desk Insights

How to make a redundancy fairly: the process a small employer has to follow

A desk lit by a lamp at night Insights

Refinancing business debt: when consolidating helps, and when it just moves the problem

A row of independent shops on a UK high street Insights

Business rates: what a small firm actually pays after the 2026 revaluation

A tradesperson using a drill in a workshop Insights

Taking on an apprentice: what it actually costs in 2026

An adviser's desk with paperwork and a calculator Insights

Salary and dividends: how directors actually pay themselves

Paperwork and a laptop on a desk Insights

Workplace pensions: what you must do the day you hire your first employee

Two people going through paperwork at a desk Insights

Employee, worker or self-employed: getting employment status right

A market stall with fruit and vegetables on display Insights

Card processing fees: what taking a payment really costs your margin

Paperwork and a laptop on a desk Insights

What a lender actually asks for before they approve a business loan

A workshop bench with tools laid out Insights

Employers' liability insurance: what you legally need the day you hire someone

A desk lit by a lamp at night Insights

What actually happens if you miss a business loan repayment

Paperwork and a laptop on a desk Insights

Maternity and paternity pay when you are the small employer paying it

Two people talking across a table in a meeting room Insights

Settlement agreements: what they are, and when a small employer should actually use one

A carpenter working on site Insights

CIS explained for people on the tools: deductions, returns and getting your money back

A desk with paperwork, a calculator and a laptop Insights

Flat rate, APR or factor rate: what a business loan really costs

Two people talking across a meeting table Insights

TUPE: what happens when staff transfer with the work

Paperwork and a laptop on a desk Insights

Director's loan account: what taking money out of your own company really costs

Glass office buildings in a city Insights

Your business credit score: what a lender sees before they read a word you wrote

A laptop and a coffee on a work table Insights

How to price a monthly retainer without underselling yourself

Notes and a calculator on an adviser's desk Insights

How much holiday are your staff actually entitled to?

Two people talking across a desk with paperwork Insights

Flexible working requests: what UK small employers must do now

A desk lit by a lamp at night Insights

EIS and SEIS explained: why investors ask about it before they'll write a cheque

A laptop and a coffee cup on a small desk Insights

Funding options when you're a sole trader or freelancer (and the bank says no)

Paperwork and a laptop on a desk Insights

How to give an employee a written warning properly

Two people going through paperwork together at a desk Insights

UK business grants: what's actually out there, and what to expect

Someone typing at a laptop in the evening Insights

What actually goes in a shareholders' agreement

Modern office buildings viewed from street level Insights

Start Up Loans and other government-backed schemes: what's actually available

Cafe staff working behind the counter Insights

Zero-hours contracts: what UK small employers can and can't do

A manager and employee talking in a small meeting room Insights

Managing staff sickness absence: what small employers actually need to know

Workshop equipment and tools laid out for use Insights

Asset finance vs buying outright: how to fund new equipment or a van

Small team working together at a desk Insights

Probation periods: what they actually protect when you hire someone new

Fresh produce displayed at a market stall Insights

Stock control basics: the cash that's sat on your shelves doing nothing

Paperwork and a laptop on a desk Insights

Personal guarantees on business loans: what you're really signing up for

Two people reviewing paperwork at a desk Insights

Restrictive covenants: can you actually stop an ex-employee poaching your clients?

A cluttered desk with paperwork late in the evening Insights

IR35 in plain English: what it actually means if you hire contractors

Modern glass office buildings Insights

What actually happens if a customer takes you to small claims court

Two people going through paperwork at a desk Insights

Do you need a written employment contract for your first hire?

Power tools and equipment in a workshop Insights

Loan, overdraft or invoice finance: what's right for a trades business buying kit

A team meeting around a table Insights

The real cost of a bad hire — and how to spot one early

A carpenter working in a workshop Insights

How to write a quote that wins the job without racing to the bottom

Paperwork and a laptop on a desk Insights

How to chase late invoices without losing the client

A desk lit by a lamp at night Insights

Should you register for VAT before you have to?

A desk with a laptop, books and papers, lit at night Insights

The subscription trap: why recurring costs quietly kill small business margins

A laptop, coffee mug and phone set out on a desk Insights

How to set a marketing budget when you have no idea what 'normal' looks like

Someone reviewing printed financial paperwork Insights

Break-even point: the one number every new business should calculate before launch

Colleagues taking notes around a table during a meeting Insights

How to run an exit interview that actually tells you something

A laptop, coffee mug and phone set out on a desk Insights

Pricing for profit: how to stop underselling yourself

A desk with a laptop, books and papers, lit at night Insights

Cash flow vs profit: the difference that catches every founder out

Hands reviewing paperwork beside a laptop at a desk Insights

How to read your management accounts in 15 minutes a month

A business owner working hands-on with a power tool in a workshop Insights

Delegation 101: how to let go without losing control

A craftsman standing in his workshop Insights

Building a business that doesn't need you every day

A desk covered in papers and a laptop late at night Insights

Five numbers every UK business owner should know cold

Two colleagues in a focused conversation across a table Insights

How to have the difficult conversation you've been avoiding

Talk business with people who get it.

Join the Business Stuff Facebook group — UK founders, side-hustlers and small business owners swapping real advice, no gurus, no jargon.

Join the Facebook group
Powered by Buzz Accounting

Need an accountant who won’t bore you to death?

Business Stuff is run by the same people behind Buzz Accounting — fixed-fee accounting and advisory for UK founders who want a straight answer, not a lecture. Same energy as this site, just with a qualified accountant attached.

See how Buzz works →