Learn how to plan staff holidays and maintain business continuity during the summer months. Tips on cover, communication, and holiday scheduling. Why summer holiday planning matters for small businesses For many small businesses, the summer season brings a familiar juggling act. With staff eager to take annual leave and customer expectations unchanged, it's easy for operations to become stretched. Unlike larger firms, where cover can often be arranged across bigger teams, sma

Break-even analysis helps you calculate how many units you need to sell to cover fixed and variable costs. Learn how it works and how to use it in your business planning. Every business, from start-up to established enterprise, needs to answer one essential question: when will we actually start making money? That’s where break-even analysis comes in. What is a break-even analysis? A break-even analysis is a financial planning tool that identifies the exact moment your total r

Prepare your business for uncertainty with our practical scenario planning guide, designed for small business owners and decision-makers. Running a small business today means operating in a world where costs, customer behaviour, and regulations can shift quickly. For many owners, the challenge is not just reacting to change, it’s preparing for it. That’s where scenario planning comes in. At FSB, we see time and again that businesses which think ahead are better positioned to

Discover the best free marketing tools to support your small business, from email marketing and CRM to automation platforms and analytics tools. Marketing doesn’t need to be expensive to be effective. For small businesses with limited budgets, the right marketing tools can make a big impact, and many of them are free. Whether you're looking to automate tasks, manage customer relationships or monitor campaign performance, there are digital marketing tools available that cost n

Don't miss a deadline! Stay on top of your annual payroll duties and prepare for the new tax year ahead with our handy checklist of seven payroll tasks for April. Running payroll every month, whether yourself or outsourced to payroll experts, is a weekly or monthly routine. But every April, when a fresh tax year begins, new employment law changes come into force and there are annual payroll duties to carry out. Payroll experts at the Federation of Small Businesses have put to

Find out the four steps your small business can take to comply with the tax legislation, and where you can find compatible software. The Making Tax Digital for VAT deadline has already passed. Since April 2022, VAT-registered businesses have been required by law to follow the new rules, including using compatible software to submit your VAT returns. You may face penalties from HMRC if you don’t meet MTD requirements.   Don’t worry – at the Federation of Small Businesses, we'

Get ready for April. Our UK employment law update 2026 covers the new 6-month probation rules, statutory sick pay changes, and the Fair Work Agency. If you felt like 2025 was a year of "wait and see," you weren’t alone. For twelve months, small business owners have been watching the headlines, worried that upcoming Labour employment law changes would effectively end the concept of a probation period. In this 2026 UK employment law update, we clarify exactly what the new rules

Discover the top five HR trends for UK small businesses, from "job-hugging" and retention strategies to AI upskilling and the new Employment Rights Act. As we move through 2026, businesses are facing a unique set of contradictions: recruitment is slower, yet skills shortages persist; hybrid work is settled, yet culture feels fragmented. To navigate this, employers must look at the emerging HR trends shaping the market, moving away from rigid job titles toward employee retenti

Discover cost-effective ways to upskill your staff, from online training to available grants. Learn how small businesses can boost skills without overspending. For small businesses, staying competitive often means doing more with less. Upskilling your staff can help bridge skills gaps, boost productivity, and improve retention, without the need for constant recruitment. But with tight budgets and limited time, many business owners wonder how to upskill staff effectively and a

Are you overtrading? Spot the warning signs early and learn how to fix cash flow strain before it damages your business growth. Learn how you can prevent the dangers of overtrading and the measures you can put in place to grow sustainably and protect your bottom line. Overtrading may seem like a good problem to have in business. After all, landing a big contract means more orders and more sales. However, the risks of overtrading shouldn’t be ignored. A sudden rise in demand c

Open Banking lets small businesses securely share financial data, simplifying access to finance, improving cash flow & accounting. It also enables easier, more secure, and cheaper customer payments, offering a competitive edge. It's a UK government-backed initiative for better business management. What is Open Banking? Open Banking is a way for you to safely and securely share your business’s financial data, such as your bank transactions or account details, with other truste

Getting all the details in black and white is crucial. We share our top tips for writing your next freelance contract and explain why they’re so important.  Why are contracts so important as a freelancer? No matter what kind of freelance work you're doing, contracts are part of everyday life as a freelancer, but the devil is in the detail. A freelancing contract, commonly in the form of a contract for services or consultancy agreement, should include the details and expectat

Confused by IR35 rules? Our tax specialists from FSB Tax Investigation Protection explain what the new rules mean for freelancers working in the private sector. This content was last reviewed in August 2024. We’re here to help you understand the ins and outs of the off-payroll working changes introduced into the private sector in April 2021, so that you can stay compliant. What is IR35? IR35, also known as the off-payroll working rules or intermediaries legislation was origin

Learn how to approach risk management with confidence. Discover types of business risks, why risk management is important, and steps for reducing risk. With increasing liability claims, being able to identify and reduce risks can help to safeguard your financial stability. Preventing claims can keep your premiums reasonable and also enables your business to avoid significant costs and downtime from dealing with accidents. Legal and insurance experts at the Federation of Small

The Greenhouse Gas Protocol – which provides the most widely recognised accounting standards for greenhouse gas emissions – categorises...