Up to £5,000 worth of business advice is on offer for the company that comes out on top to win the Nottinghamshire Business Awards 2009.

Firms from across the county are invited enter this year’s competition and showcase their successes, talents and products.

Now into their twenty-third year, the awards are free to enter. Although businesses from all sectors are welcome to put their name forward, the contest is primarily aimed at growth-orientated businesses developing new techniques, products and services.

Awards are up for grabs in the following categories:

Nottinghamshire Company of the Year.
Nottinghamshire Small Business of the Year.
Nottinghamshire Young Businessperson of the Year.
New Enterprise of the Year.
Business Innovation.
Winners in all sections will receive a commemorative trophy, but the entrant crowned the overall Nottinghamshire Company of the Year will also scoop £5,000 worth of business advice from competition sponsors KPMG and Nottinghamshire County Council.

Entries must be made by 27 February, with the winners set to be announced at a glittering ceremony to be held at Nottingham City Council House on 7 July.

To register an interest in this year’s competition, visit the Nottingham Evening Post website

Small business legislation is a colossal subject area and new regulations are being introduced in 2009. Below is a summary of some of the main forthcoming regulations that might affect you and your business.
• Extension to holiday entitlement - Parts of the Working Time (Amendment) Regulations 2007 come into force in April 2009, increasing statutory leave from 4.8 weeks’ paid annual leave to 5.6 weeks. Bank and public holidays can be included in a worker’s minimum holiday entitlement; alternatively they can be offered in addition to the minimum entitlement.
• The Health and Safety Offences Act 2008 - The Act comes into force on 16 January and will increase penalties and provide courts with greater sentencing powers for those who breach health and safety legislation. The Act raises the maximum penalties that can be imposed for breaching health and safety regulations and broadens the range of offences for which individuals can be imprisoned.
• VAT Flat Rate Scheme entry - With effect from 1 April 2009, the test that requires a business to check that its total income is less than £187,500 for entry into the VAT Flat Rate Scheme will be removed. Instead, eligibility to join the scheme will be determined solely by the taxable turnover of the business, which must be less than £150,000.
• Corporation tax - The 2008 Budget revealed somewhat controversial plans to raise small business corporation tax to 22% in April 2009, up from 21% in 2008. The Chancellor announced in the Pre-Budget Report back in November 2008 that he would postpone the rise until 2010. The stalemate scenario affects businesses with profits of up to £300,000, which could provide some welcome relief for small firms.
• Extension of trading loss carry back - Usually, a company can carry back a trading loss that occurs in an accounting period for 12 months and offset the loss using profits gained from any source. New rules for 2009 mean that companies can carry back their trading losses for up to three years, in certain circumstances, and for accounting periods that end between 24 November 2008 and 23 November 2009. Unincorporated businesses can make a claim for trading losses for the tax year 2008-09.
• Empty property rate relief - The Pre-Budget Report brought both good and bad news regarding empty property rates. The good news is that properties with a rateable value below £15,000 are exempt from paying business rates. The bad news is that, after months of campaigning by businesses and the property sector to get the unpopular empty property levy scrapped, the tax remains in place, affecting owners of vacant properties that have a rateable value of £15,000 or more.

The banking industry says it will help small business customers in difficulty during the economic downturn by revising their guidelines for dealing with customers.

The banking industry has come under intense government pressure to pass on cuts in interest rates and help firms who may be running into trouble.

However the new guidelines put the onus on small businesses customers to ask for help early, and warn that banks will still have to protect themselves.

The guidelines have been published by the British Bankers’ Association (BBA) and include:

• pro-active contact by banks if they think firms might be in trouble
• banks to offer to discuss all concerns in person
• banks will look to use business assets as security before they consider personal assets as security
• business account switching within 5 working days
• banks helping customers to revise their business plans and forecasts during the recession if necessary.

The guidelines have been revised after consultation with the Department of Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform (BERR).

However the new BBA guidelines state clearly that a firm in trouble which has agreed a rescue plan with its bank may find that its borrowing costs go up as part of the process - but the bank will explain why.

The chancellor announced a series of tax-cutting measures in yesterday’s Pre-Budget Report. The main changes include:

1. The main rate of Value Added Tax will, from December 1st, be reduced from 17.5% to 15% until the end of 2009.

2. Deferral of the increase in the small companies’ rate of corporation tax. The rate will stay at 21% from April, instead of rising to 22% as previously announced.

3. National Insurance rates will increase by 0.5% from 2011 - for both employers and employees.

4. A 45% rate income tax band will apply to salaries of £150,000 and above after the next General Election.

5. The £120 rebate for basic rate taxpayers will remain and will be increased to £145 from April 2009.

6. A new Small Business Finance Scheme to support up to £1 billion of bank lending; a separate £1 billion guarantee facility to support bank lending to small exporters; a £50 million fund to convert businesses’ debt into equity; and a £25 million regional loan transition fund.

8. Introduction of a new HMRC Business Payment Support Service to allow businesses in temporary financial difficulty to pay their HMRC tax bills on a timetable they can afford.

9. Changes to the taxation of foreign profits - including the introduction of a foreign dividend exemption for large and medium-sized businesses, supported by a worldwide debt cap on interest.

Small businesses and entrepreneurs in the UK are crying out for mentoring and coaching advice, according to research released from Yell.com.

Undoubtedly fuelled by worries about the current economic climate and the future of their careers and businesses, people are increasingly turning to the internet to find business mentoring, support and business advice. Throughout the last three months, searches for mentoring and coaching on Yell.com have increased by 116 per cent above the monthly average for 2008.

A competition offering cash rewards for the most inspiring business ideas have been launched in Glasgow.

Four awards of 20,000, plus three months support worth 5,000, are up for grabs in the 2008-09 Glasgow Business Challenge Fund. Run by Glasgow City Council, the fund is open to small and medium-sized firms from the city (maximum of 250 employees) that have been trading for less than three years.

Interested firms are asked to submit a business plan of no more than 40 pages outlining their entrepreneurial spirit, innovation, and their plans for future growth. Shortlisted finalists will then get to pitch their ideas before a judging panel.

Companies have three chances to enter the competition, with the following deadlines set:

30 October 2008.
30 January 2009.
30 March 2009.

Two winners will be chosen from the October round, with one each from the January and March contests.

Business owners rate protecting their businesses above insuring their staff’s safety, according to figures released by Norwich Union.

Tough economic and financial circumstances has seen smaller companies squeezed for cash and taking an increasingly defensive approach to business insurance.

The insurer discovered businesses were significantly more likely to consider policies which protected premises, business loans and reduced staff cover as more important than life, personal accident or property cover for staff.

But the majority of respondents also admitted to not understanding the product, with 13 per cent having never heard of it, 26 per cent having heard the name but not knowing what it covers and 36 per cent not understanding the difference between individual products.

The survey also revealed the business owners most common worry is a downturn in the market, with 46 per cent of respondents placing it in their top three concerns, followed by losing clients to competitors, at 32 per cent, clients failing to pay for services, at 30 per cent and utility bills, at 23 per cent.

The Food Standards Agency (FSA) has awarded grants of nearly a million pounds to help food caterers and food retailers improve food safety. Local authorities will administer the grants of up to �50,000, and will involve community groups, local colleges and a range of other organisations in delivery of support to businesses.

The business grants will help almost 5,000 businesses to implement Safer Food better Business (SFBB) ? an innovative and practical approach that helps small businesses put in place food safety management systems. This year the FSA grants have focussed on those caterers and retailers who are harder to reach. SFBB has been developed by the FSA in partnership with industry and local authorities with specific advice available for different cuisines and groups such as care homes.

Applications for the grants were invited in May and applications were internally appraised and considered by an external appraisal panel on 7 August. The panel had representatives from local authorities, LACORS (Local Authorities Coordinator of Regulatory Services), the British Hospitality Association and an academic from Birmingham University. The Agency received 40 applications for grants and 26 were successful, involving 69 local authorities and a range of other organisations.

New laws will come into force in October that govern the display of company names at premises. The Companies (Trading Disclosures) Regulations 2008 are effective as of 1 October this year, and will mean that companies will have to display their registered name at their registered office and their inspection place, as well as any place where a company carries on business. Registered names must be displayed in a position where they can be easily seen by visitors. Furthermore, a company’s registered name, number, place of registration and registered office address must be displayed on business letters, e-mails, websites and other documentation.

An exception to the rule is for home based businesses whose company name does not have to be displayed at a location which is primarily used for living accommodation.

Following the Chancellor’s announcement, the basic Personal Allowance for the 2008-09 tax year is increasing by 600 from 5,435 to 6,035 and the basic rate limit is reducing from 36,000 to 34,800.
As a result, many employees will see their tax code change in September. The new tax codes must be applied on the first payday on or after 7 September 2008.