Last week the Office for National Statistics (ONS) stated that the UK's rate of inflation dropped to 7.9% in the year to June, which means the rate of price rises in the UK has slowed more than expected, down from 8.7% in May - although it still remains high. Falling fuel prices contributed to the drop, while food prices rose less quickly than in June last year. Experts are predicting that the Bank of England will increase interest rates by a minimum of a quarter per cent in August as they continue with their plan to get inflation down to 2 per cent.

This new guide equips music creators with step-by-step guidance on what music data is, why it matters, and what to do with it.

Innovate UK and its partners have created a series of scoping activities to gather information on how remote sensing is used to understand, monitor, and mitigate plastic litter.

After some of the hottest temperatures seen on record last month we have been reminded about global warming and how small businesses could help the drive towards net zero.

The closer you are to retirement, the more important your retirement planning becomes.

The Bank of England (BOE) raised interest rates by half a point to 5 per cent last week, with increasing calls for tougher action to fight persistent high inflation. Andrew Bailey, the governor of the Bank of England, said that the Bank thinks inflation - the rate at which prices are rising - will fall "markedly this year" but adds there are signs of it being "persistent".

The Government has published the third annual Investing in Women Code report. The Investing in Women Code is a commitment to supporting the advancement of female entrepreneurship in the United Kingdom by improving female entrepreneurs’ access to tools, resources and finance from the financial services sector.

Recently we have seen increasing interest rates, the largest monthly house price fall for nearly 14 years by 3.4%, and businesses and individuals paying the highest tax burden since the 1960’s.

With the present economic uncertainty, managing your business’s cash and understanding the flow are now vital tools in maintaining resilience and being able to adopt flexible strategies for success.

Last week Amazon announced that, for warehouse workers, it is to offer parents term-time only contracts. The new contracts would guarantee those who care for school-age children, including guardians, six weeks of holiday in the summer and two weeks over the Easter and Christmas breaks. Employees will be entitled to all full-time benefits.

Or maybe increased the number of customers, reduced expenses or even decreased prices? Do you know the effect of these changes to your bottom line?

Successful businesses right now have one thing in common – they are prepared to make fast changes to their plans!

With the Cost of living and strikes weighing in on the economy, flexibility is the key attribute needed to survive and prosper in uncertain times.

Just suppose we could show you movements on profit when flexing key variables with a simple but effective tool called “Business Analyst”.

Innovation has generally been recognised as essential for value creation, both for individual companies and for the UK economy as a whole. The development of new ideas, processes, and technologies and their flow across different sectors is a significant driver of economic growth and productivity. Recently, innovation has also been identified as crucial to the transition of the economy away from fossil fuels and carbon-intensive business activities.

A company might have a great product or service but without a business growth strategy to help it define, articulate, and communicate where it is going, it may not grow at all!

Earlier this month the Bank of England (BOE) raised interest rates for a 12th consecutive time as the rate of rising prices remains high. The Bank rate has gone up from 4.25% to 4.5%. The BOE has been under pressure to put rates up because it has a target to keep inflation at 2%, but prices are currently rising at more than five times that level. The rate of interest is at its highest for almost 15 years.

From Monday 15 May 2023, unless you are already using Making Tax Digital (MTD) compatible software, you will no longer be able to use your existing VAT online account to file manual VAT returns. That is because by law, all VAT-registered businesses must now use Making Tax Digital (MTD) compatible software to keep their VAT records and file their VAT returns.

With the new wave of artificial intelligence (AI) technology, there’s an opportunity to automate many routine or administrative tasks and improve the overall efficiency of your business.

According to the International Monetary Fund (IMF), the UK economy is predicted to shrink for the remainder of 2023 and then grow by only 1% in 2024.

With the constant news surrounding the economy, interest rate uncertainty, and high inflation, its difficult not to worry about these issues and lose sight of what’s really important – the health and welfare of you and your loved ones.

Millions of businesses and households are struggling with their energy costs, alongside increases in general taxation, the cost of council tax, water bills and other utilities.

Is it all doom and gloom or can you plan forward and make adjustments in, and to, your business to factor in these changes?

Like many other taxes, inheritance tax (or IHT) allowances have been frozen. This sounds generous of the chancellor at a time when the government is strapped for cash. But it actually means that we are paying more. Data from HMRC has revealed that Inheritance tax collected between April 2022 and February 2023 totalled £6.4bn, which is £900m higher than the same period last year.