Small Business Advice: Practical Guides to Start, Run & Grow Your Business

Are you thinking of starting a new business or looking for advice to help grow your small business? Or maybe you want to change a passion into a profitable side business that will pay for itself?

We're here to help with practical advice written by our experts to clearly explain complex topics - like when to register for VAT, what is a P11-D, choosing a cheap card reader, or how to calculate your turnover. So if you're looking for practical advice about processing customer payments, raising finance, finding business grants, choosing accounting software, creating a marketing plan, or launching a new business, then we're here to help you build your business.

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Small business advice UK | guides, reviews & tools

Popular Small Business Guides

Taking Payments

7 Best card reader for small business UK: tested & compared

Accepting card payments used to mean renting a terminal from your bank on a...

Grants

How to get a business grant in the UK: complete guide

Grants are the closest thing to free money in the business world. You don’t...

Taking Payments

Can I get a free card reader for my small business?

As a small business owner trying to keep costs under control while you grow,...

The best HR software for small businesses

Managing people well is no longer just an administrative task, it’s a competitive advantage....

Starting

How to make money on YouTube – a guide to earning

Did you know that YouTube has more than 2 billion active users - and creators are uploading an astounding 500 hours of video content...

How to write a business plan: Essential guide for small business success

Picture this: You have a brilliant business idea, but banks and investors want to see more than enthusiasm, they need a good business plan....

15 Most profitable small business ideas for 2026

Are you ready to start your own business but not sure which direction to take? Maybe you're looking to become your own boss or...

MTD - Making Tax Digital

Xero vs QuickBooks vs FreeAgent for Making Tax Digital for Income Tax: which is best?

Xero, QuickBooks and FreeAgent are all HMRC-approved for MTD for VAT and MTD for Income Tax. The question isn't which one works, they all...

Making Tax Digital and payroll for small businesses

Making Tax Digital for Income Tax started on 6 April 2026, and it's caused a fair amount of confusion among small business owners about...

Xero vs QuickBooks vs FreeAgent for Making Tax Digital for Income Tax: which is best?

Xero, QuickBooks and FreeAgent are all HMRC-approved for MTD for VAT and MTD for Income Tax. The question isn't which one works, they all...

Taking Payments

Card readers for sole traders and self-employed workers in the UK

Most card reader guides are written for businesses with a counter, a till, and a regular flow of customers. Sole traders have a different...

Card readers with no contract

A card reader contract locks you in, often for 12 months of longer. For example, an 18-month agreement with Worldpay or a 12-month deal...

Zettle vs Square: comparing card readers for UK traders

Zettle has been rebranded as PayPal POS, though the Zettle name persists widely and the hardware hasn't changed. It and Square are the two...

Vehicles

An introduction to fuel cards for your business

Fuel expenses can be a significant burden for businesses in the UK, especially those that rely heavily on vehicles for their operations. Whether you...

5 of the best fuel cards for small businesses

If your business has vans, lorries or, like our company, you have employees who drive for work, then a fuel card is a good...

Finances

What expenses can I claim as a sole trader? A UK tax guide

For many of the 4.2 million self-employed sole traders in the UK, claiming allowable business expenses is one of the most financially rewarding things...

QuickBooks vs Xero: which is best for small businesses in the UK?

Go to any U.K. Accountant and ask them what Accounting Software they would recommend and you will likely be told either QuickBooks or Xero....

7 Best business expense trackers

Still manually tracking your business expenses with spreadsheets and paper receipts? You're not alone, but you could save time and effort by using a...

Top 10 Self Employed Accounting Software

Managing your finances and accounting can be time-consuming and even daunting. If your self-employed work generates more than a modest revenue or is in...

HR

HMRC Basic PAYE Tools vs paid payroll software

HMRC's Basic PAYE Tools is a free product that does the basics and is used by a lot of UK small businesses. The question...

Statutory sick pay, maternity pay and paternity pay for small businesses

These three statutory payments come up in almost every small business eventually, and they've just been through the biggest set of changes in over...

P45, P60 and P11D explained for UK small business employers

Three letters and two numbers cover most of the document confusion new employers run into. P45, P60, P11D — each does a specific job,...

Auto-enrolment and workplace pensions for small businesses

Every UK employer has duties under auto-enrolment from the moment they take on their first member of staff. There's no small-business exemption, no grace...

Marketing

The small business guide to affiliate marketing

Here's something remarkable - affiliate marketing has grown into a multi-billion dollar industry worth over $17 billion in 2023. What's affiliate marketing? It's a...

6 Best AI tools for small business marketing growth

AI tools are having a huge impact on the way a small business carry out their marketing. The right tool can help in answering...

Beyond hashtags: 7 Proven strategies to boost your small business’s social media presence

Social media can feel like a mystery sometimes - one day your post gets traction, the next day nothing. If you’re a small business...

Effective marketing for your small business on a shoestring budget

As a startup founder or small business owner, you're likely to be very familiar with the challenge of making every Pound count. Marketing is...

Technology

Best project management software for small UK businesses

For a team under 20 people, the right project management platform is the difference between hitting deadlines and losing a Friday afternoon to status-update...

Best CRM software for small businesses in the UK

A customer relationship management (CRM) system is the one piece of software most likely to pay for itself in a small business. It stops...

5 of the Best Free Inventory Management Software

Inventory management software is a key feature of any business dealing with stock, including shops, online suppliers, manufacturers and distributors. If you're on a...

How to Build an E-commerce Site for Free for your Small Business

Buying products and services online is now the norm, with even an expectation from customers that all businesses allow them to buy and pay...