Your accounts are a valuable tool and can guide you to improve your business performance. Gain the skills and tools you need to make better financial decisions to drive your business forward
This will not only enable you to increase profits but will also assist in your relationship with your Accountant and Bank.
However, understanding accounts is not a skill that comes naturally to everyone. It does need to be acquired. Therefore this course has been designed to plug that all important gap and send you back to the office fully armed with the skills and tools you need to make better financial decisions and drive your business forwards.
Our trainer for this event will be Martin Sanders.
Responding to the news that phase 2 of the roadmap out of lockdown for England will go ahead on April 12, Nova Fairbank Chief Operating Officers for Norfolk Chambers, said:
“This is great news. Many firms will be breathing a huge sigh of relief that they will soon be able to reopen their doors to customers. The last year has taken a heavy toll on firms across the county and they will be counting down the hours until they can begin trading and rebuilding their businesses.
“However, the route back to a full reopening of the economy is still a long way off, with continued uncertainty for some sectors about whether, and when, the next roadmap steps will be met, and many more firms asking questions, yet to be answered, about when they can open at full capacity or with fewer restrictions.
“The latest Chambers Quarterly Economic Survey has shown that businesses are becoming more optimistic about the future. But that confidence is fragile and absolute clarity and honesty will be needed every step of the way over the weeks ahead, so that companies have a fighting chance to rebuild.
“To translate hope of renewal into reality there must be a coherent strategy for growth which empowers and enables businesses to lead the economic recovery from Covid-19. Firms will need time to get back on their feet, with the security of knowing Government will support them should the roadmap falter.”
Commenting on International Travel, Nova Fairbank, said:
“The sectors which rely on international travel and their supply chains have been hit extremely hard over the last year and have faced one of the longest periods of uncertainty about when they would be able to resume normal operations.
“It is absolutely vital that the Global Travel Taskforce provides certainty as soon as possible about what level of restrictions will apply on travel to, and from, specific countries in advance of the proposed resumption of international travel on May 17.”
On proposals for time-limited Covid status certification, Nova Fairbank said:
“The government should waste no time in setting out concrete proposals for how Covid certification could work and the rationale behind the inclusion of some sectors and not others. With businesses already investing significant time and money into their reopening plans, they have considerable questions around the implications of such a scheme, including the practical implementation for firms and issues of employment law and liability. The Government must be crystal clear on these issues and consult with business on how any system might function.”
Commenting on plans to allow everyone to access twice weekly lateral flow tests, Nova Fairbank said:
We very much welcome the plan to make lateral flow testing available to every adult in England twice a week. Alongside the workplace testing strategy, this will buoy business confidence as companies start to plan for reopening and rebuilding the economy. But it is also crucial that Government makes sure that people who need to self-isolate are fully supported.”
As a society, we aim to provide the health care interventions and services that give us the best value for the money we spend. But what outcomes from health care do we value most? This talk will introduce some of the new approaches used to assess outcomes, outline some of the challenges, and consider how this information might help with decisions about the provision of health care.
All talks take place in Julian Study Centre Lecture Theatre at 6.30pm
Free admission, no need to book and a complementary drinks reception will follow.
“The sector has been hard hit in the last year, with prolonged uncertainty about when the full resumption of travel will be possible. This framework provides some welcome clarity, however much uncertainty remains around what countries will be on the green list come May 17th.
“The PCR tests required under the guidelines will also prove costly for many travellers, harming those businesses and supply chains who rely on international travel to trade.
“The government must redouble their efforts to provide further clarity on the green list as quickly as possible and ensure PCR test are affordable and accessible to all.”
Grant overview: The Fund provides capital grants to community organisations in the rural areas of the Borough of King’s Lynn and West Norfolk. Projects should have the overarching objective of providing resilient community services and assets for local people to benefit the local economy, address the challenges of rural isolation, support social cohesion and boost local pride. There will be 2 years of funding.
Available Funding:
In year 1 (2023/24) there is a total of £75,000 available and capital grants of up to £10,000 can be awarded. Match funding of 25% is required and must be confirmed at the time of application. Match funding can be in the form of an in-kind contribution, for example volunteer time contributed towards building improvements. You can apply for a year 1 grant now.
In year 2 (2024/25) there is a total of £225,000 available and capital grants of between £10,000 and £50,000 can be awarded. Again 25% match funding is required and must be confirmed at the time of application. Please note, while you are welcome to begin planning a project for year 2, you cannot make an application at this time. We expect to launch the year 2 application process in early 2024.
Fund details:
Year 1
Year 2
Aim: Support impactful volunteering and social action projects by the purchase of equipment or improvements (not maintenance) to premises.
Aim: Capacity building and infrastructure support for local civil society and community groups through larger scale capital improvement (not maintenance) projects such as climate resilient infrastructure which can adapt to changing external factors, net zero infrastructure, grants for community catering kitchens etc.
Objective: Enable communities to build upon local provision and benefit from well serviced and resilient facilities which meet local need now and into the future.
Objective: Initiatives which create, improve and future proof community facilities, green spaces and local infrastructure.
Vision: Investment will be targeted to improve local pride, support the wellbeing of rural communities, improve connectivity between areas, reduce social isolation and improve access to services and facilities. Projects should provide opportunities to increase social integration and engage residents in volunteering activities.
Vision: Investment will benefit projects which reduce carbon emissions, work towards net zero targets, create resilient infrastructure and establish local green infrastructure projects in line with the government’s 25 Year Environment Plan. Projects which incorporate this approach into the improvement or creation of community facilities that benefit the rural community and the wider environment and increase opportunities for local groups to operate and further invest back into the area will be prioritised.
Grant Exclusions:
Revenue/activity costs.
Purchasing assets which do not have a lasting value (1 year minimum).
Purchasing/repairing play equipment, outdoor gym equipment or similar items.
Purchasing benches, picnic tables or similar outdoor items
Bus shelters.
Footpaths/trods/waymarking or similar items.
Non-electric vehicles.
Projects that still need to raise additional funding at the time of application.
Projects that require planning (or other permissions) but these permissions are not in place at point of application.
Projects that have received funding from other DEFRA schemes e.g. The Platinum Jubilee Village Hall Fund.
Who can apply?
The Fund is open to charities, community groups, parish or town councils, churches for projects that benefit the wider community, CIC’s and other social enterprises, scout and similar uniformed groups and sports clubs. Schools cannot apply.
With self-distancing in-force, we wanted to offer up an alternative for business people across Norfolk and Suffolk to enjoy business networking from home and to help them stay in-touch with others.
Use our LIVE session on the MENTA Facebook page to say hello, ask questions of our resident experts and enjoy ‘networking’
On the morning, head to the MENTA Facebook page and at 9.30 am if we don’t appear, please refresh your screen and join in the chat, say hello and share your views and thoughts.
Your host is Nick Pandolfi and he says “we have received a hugely positive reaction to our previous Facebook LIVE events, we wanted to ensure that people had a way to share their business news and simply say hello to to others “
MedSec 7 is an accredited training and development provider, with experience of delivering training to Individual, Local and Corporate Companies, the Armed Forces, Private Security and the Oil and Gas Industry.We specialise in a variety of disciplines, in particular First Aid and Medical Qualifications, Event First Aid Cover, Teaching Qualifications, Assessor & Verifier Qualifications, Security Qualifications and Hostile & Challenging Environments Training.Our head office is in Taverham, Norwich but we have the ability and experience to deliver contracts at a regional, national and international level.
We are undergoing a period of introspection whereby, although to date our business has been concentrated on training personnel in support of contracts further afield in countries such as Cambodia, Iraq & Afghanistan, we are turning our attention to the part of the country that looks after us, East Anglia.
Our CEO, Training Director, Business Development Manager & Clinical Lead were all raised in East Anglia, with one joining the local Royal Anglian Regiment of the British Army and another spending the latter part of his Royal Air Force career in the skies of the region as a Search & Rescue Winchman Paramedic. It is now time to give something back and as a company we are getting involved with local business groups such as Norfolk Chambers of Commerce and running promotions for the regions residents.
‘Coffee Means Business – relaxed, informal business networking for all local businesses. No membership, no pressure, just great networking over coffee.
Programme: · 9:30 am – help yourself to coffees and teas, meet with other businesses · 10.00 am – a welcome from Genix · 10.05am – time for more conversation · 10.30 am – short presentations from local businesses · 10.40am – who will you meet? · 11:30 am – time to go…
Bring plenty of business cards!
“The most cost-effective networking I have ever done”.
Balance of UK firms reporting increased export sales drops, despite already being at historically low levels.
Hospitality firms, caterers, retailers and wholesalers all most likely to report decreased sales.
Advance bookings and export orders show no signs of improvement, indicating that recovery is distant
The British Chambers of Commerce’s Trade Confidence Outlook for Q1, released today, has revealed the stark issues facing UK exporters in the first months of this year. The survey of more than 2,900 UK exporters revealed that the percentage of firms reporting decreased export sales had increased to 41%, up from 38% in the previous quarter. The percentage of businesses reporting increased export sales fell to 20%, down from 22% in Q4 2020. 40% reported no change in their export sales.
The historical percentage balance data for this indicator shows that the proportion of firms reporting increased export sales remains at a historically low level and has, in fact, worsened compared to the previous quarter. The balance of manufacturers reporting increased overseas sales was down to -9% from -8%, while the balance of services firms reporting increases dropped to -26% from -22%. See the graph image.
Further sectoral breakdown reveals that hotels and catering firms and retail and wholesale firms were the worst hit, with 81% and 60% of respondents respectively reporting a decrease in export sales this quarter. Just 4% of hotels and catering firms reported an increase in export sales, with only 14% doing so in retail and wholesale. Among production, manufacturing, and construction firms, 36% reported decreased export sales, with 27% reporting an increase and 37% reporting no change.
For advance orders from overseas customers, the picture remains broadly the same. 81% hotels and catering firms reporting decreased advance exports sales, alongside 59% of retail and wholesale businesses. Worryingly, this suggests that exporters are not seeing signs of the situation improving in the short term.
Respondents cited Brexit and the impact of Covid-19 as the biggest causes of problems in trade. Firms told of issues such as shipping delays, increased cost of transporting goods and extensive paperwork requirements, with many seeing the problems they were facing as structural in nature rather than short term issues likely to alleviate as companies adjusted to the changes in the UK-EU trading relationship.
Responding to the findings, Co-Executive Director of the British Chamber of Commerce, Hannah Essex, said:
“Given that export sales are at some of the lowest levels ever recorded in the history of our data, the fact that situation is continuing to deteriorate is concerning. These new figures show that UK exporters are currently facing a range of issues that go beyond just those that have been created by the pandemic.
“Whilst our Quarterly Economic Survey earlier this month demonstrated that domestic sales had continued to recover towards pre-pandemic levels, these findings show exports not only failing to recover but falling back. Many businesses are telling us that their ability to continue trading is at risk due to issues arising from the UK-EU TCA. In response, Government has taken a step in the right direction with the establishment of the £20 million SME Brexit Support Fund, although we believe the scale of ambition needs to be much greater.
Segmentation & Customer Profiles – What, Why and How
Everyone is unique, so it seems counterproductive to categorise traits and characteristics into groups, right? Quite possibly.
However, Segmentation and Customer Profiles can act as an eye-opening introduction to learn who your target and ideal customers are. By creating a Customer Profile you can begin to identify gaps in your current marketing strategy where your target customers are not hearing your messages.
There is no right or wrong list of Segmentation factors, Nivea even use sun-cream usage as a factor (please forgive the pun), and in this webinar we introduce how we do it at Hethel Innovation; a technique we have introduced to businesses through our fully-funded ERDF project, Breakthrough.
What We’ll Cover
In this session we’ll look at:
What is Segmentation?
What is a Customer Profile?
The benefits and criticisms of these techniques.
Why to use Segmentation and Customer Profiles.
How to begin the process, and what happens next.
Following the session you should understand how to conduct your own Customer Profile exercise by looking at the similarities of your current customers. With this information you can begin to introduce new marketing practices to access those who currently are not aware of your organisation.
Who Should Attend?
Early stage organisations looking to identify their early adopters for feedback.
Small businesses wishing to identify their niche.
Large organisations looking to move into new markets, and access new customers.
Those in the public sector looking to create solutions for a specific group of residents.
This webinar will be delivered by Jordan Sharman, part of Hethel Innovation‘s Business Development Team. With a background in Marketing, alongside manufacturing, Jordan works closely with SMEs and Startups in Norfolk and Suffolk to realise their target market and create businesses which provide a value that exceeds the expectations of the customers.
Balance of manufacturers expecting their prices to increase highest since Q4 2017
87% of production & manufacturing firms cited pressure to raise prices from raw material costs
Overall, 38% of firms expect prices to rise in the next quarter, while only 5% expect prices to decrease
The British Chambers of Commerce today announced the publication of new research which shows a rising number of firms expecting their prices to increase significantly in the coming months. The figures also document growing concern among businesses over rising inflation.
The data, drawn from responses from more than 5,800 firms, shows 2 in 5 businesses (38%) in Q1 2021 expect to see their prices increase in the next three months, an increase from 25% in the previous quarter. In contrast, only 5% of firms are expecting a decrease.
The figures also demonstrate that nearly 1 in 3 (30%) businesses cite inflation as a cause of concern in the coming months, up from 1 in 4 (25%) in the previous quarter.
Manufacturing
The balance (the percentage of those firms reporting an increase minus those reporting a decrease) of manufacturing firms expecting the price of their goods to increase over the next three months rose sharply to +46%, from +27% in the previous quarter and is now at its highest level since Q4 2017, a time when the post-EU referendum devaluation of sterling pushed UK consumer price inflation to 3%.
Raw materials costs are cited as the key driver of rising prices for manufacturers, with some firms pointing to continued post-Brexit and Covid-19 disruption. 87% of production and manufacturing and 72% construction firms cited raw material prices in Q1 2021, up from 80% and 67% respectively in the previous quarter.
Services
In the services sector, the balance of firms expecting prices to increase over the next three months rose to +27%, from +15% and is now at its highest level since Q1 2020.
Within services, retail & wholesaling firms were most likely to expect price increases (56%) in the next three months with raw material costs as a key pressure. This was followed by transport and distribution firms on 48%.
45% of hotel and catering sector businesses are expecting price increases in the next three months, as Covid restrictions ease. In contrast, professional and consumer services firms were least likely to expect an increase in prices (both 26%).
Responding to the findings, Head of Economics at the British Chambers of Commerce, Suren Thiru said:
“The latest results confirm a significant uptick in price expectations in the first quarter of 2021, suggesting that inflation will drift markedly higher over the near term.
“The renewed upward pressure on prices were particularly acute among manufacturers, reflecting the rising cost of raw materials amid ongoing post-Brexit and Covid-19 driven disruption to supply chains.
“While inflation is currently subdued, the triple effect of the rise in the energy price cap in April, the release of pent-up demand as Covid restrictions ease and persistent post-Brexit border disruption is likely to drive inflation higher over the near term, possibly above the Bank of England 2% inflation target.
“However, such drivers of inflation are typically transitory in nature and given the amount of spare capacity in the economy, any price spike is likely to be temporary. Therefore, there should be sufficient scope for the MPC to keep interest rates on hold for some time, particularly given the uncertainty that still surrounds the outlook for the UK economy.”