SUBSCRIBE
Home Blog Page 585

How to rescue your insolvent company 

Sam Allcock
-
0
How to rescue your insolvent company 

No director wants to find out their company is insolvent. That said, it doesn’t automatically mean the company has no future. Depending on the company’s circumstances, it might be possible to save the company and, in some cases, allow it to continue trading. 

So, if your company is insolvent, how do you alleviate the issue, and what options are available? 

Assess the state of the company 

You might have already researched business debt relief and have an idea of the route you want to take. While there’s nothing wrong with that, before deciding how you want to solve the company’s insolvency issues, you should assess the scale of the problem. The company’s level of debt has a bearing on what action you can take to alleviate it, and some options might be more realistically achievable than others. 

If your company’s cash flow is slightly imbalanced, less drastic action may be required than if the debts are severe and creditors have actively taken steps to recover them. 

Once you’ve determined that the company has solvency issues, you should speak to a licensed and regulated insolvency practitioner as a priority. Even if you aren’t sure what kind of help you need, seeking advice will help point you in the right direction and put you on the path towards effectively addressing the issues. Burying your head in the sand and hoping the problem will go away is the worst thing you can do. 

Consider how you want to proceed 

When deciding how to alleviate your company’s debts, you should consider what you want for its future. Although, circumstances may dictate whether your preferred option is feasible. For example, if your company has large amounts of debt and the business has no real future, recovery may not be a realistic option, and closure should be considered a more likely outcome. 

What are your options? 

Depending on both your company’s circumstances and the outcome you wish to achieve, there could be several options available. 

If what’s in your company’s bank account won’t stretch to cover an upcoming expense, or your company needs extra funds to keep the cash flow balanced, you could explore several commercial finance options. These can be utilised in a variety of scenarios but are more of a preventative measure than a solution if the company is already insolvent. 

If the core business would be viable if not for the debts, then the company could repay its unsecured liabilities in affordable, monthly instalments. A licensed insolvency practitioner can put the company through a process called a Company Voluntary Arrangement (CVA), which usually lasts up to five years. The arrangement allows the business to continue trading for the duration, and once it concludes, any remaining unsecured debt is written off. 

More significant restructuring work may be required to make the company profitable again. In which case, the company could benefit more from an administrative process. It involves a licensed insolvency practitioner taking control of the insolvent company and acting as an Administrator. As with a CVA, administration pauses creditor pressure for the process’ duration, allowing the insolvency practitioner time to create a restructuring plan for the company. 

Although, as a director, you might instinctively think saving the company should be an obvious end goal, there may be circumstances where the company is beyond saving, and closing voluntarily before the company’s creditors force it into compulsory liquidation, often the least desirable outcome, would be better. Closing voluntarily via a Creditors Voluntary Liquidation (CVL) allows directors to draw a line under the insolvent company and its debts, allowing them to either start another business in a new limited company or just walk away. 

It also allows the directors to control the entry into liquidation, and choose a firm of licensed insolvency practitioners to enact the process rather than a government-appointed liquidator assigned in compulsory liquidation. 

Summary 

If, as director, you find your company is insolvent, you should act as soon as possible. Assess the company’s circumstances to get an idea of exactly what help you need; different insolvency relief procedures are better suited to different scenarios and what you want for the business’ future. 

Once you’ve assessed the company and decided how you wish to proceed, you should speak to a licensed and regulated insolvency practitioner who will guide you through your options and advise you which one would best suit your circumstances. Recovery may be possible if the business model would be viable without the debts, meaning your company could trade on through insolvency or undergo restructuring if necessary. Sometimes, closure may be the best course of action, helping you draw a line under the company’s debts and allowing you to start afresh or walk away. 

E-commerce 3.0: Single CRM Platform Disrupting SMB electronic commerce

Sam Allcock
-
0
E-commerce 3.0: Single CRM Platform Disrupting SMB electronic commerce

E-commerce 3.0 should be defined as a fully connected and integrated e-commerce CRM-marketing-service-analytics-POS platform that has its own private environment of customer data and opens the playing field to small-to-medium businesses (SMBs), according to Mikel Lindsaar, CEO and Founder of StoreConnect.

The need for online storeowners to maximize their valuable time and compete against the big stores is more urgent than ever with U.S. e-commerce sales expected to exceed $1 trillion for the first time this year. Previously, they were not forecasted to reach this milestone until 2024.(1) In 2021, the number of small businesses in the US alone reached 32.5 million, making up nearly all (99.9 percent) of US businesses.(2) Globally, COVID-19 increased online retail sales’ share of total retail sales from 16% to 19% in 2020.(3) However, according to comprehensive market research by Mikel Lindsaar, CEO and Founder of StoreConnect, small to medium business owners have been wasting too much time and too much money in maintaining their e-commerce websites, connecting systems, fidgeting with logistics and not enough time growing their business.

“I wanted to build an e-commerce solution that respects the valuable time of our clients enabling their growth while giving ‘David’ the tools to compete with the likes of ‘Goliath’.”

Introducing e-commerce 3.0

Just like the web has gone through stages of Web 1.0, then 2.0, and now 3.0, e-commerce has followed a similar path.

  • Web 1.0: the formation of the Internet as we know it.
  • Web 2.0: adding dynamic websites that became systems and applications within themselves. This stage also included the consolidation of knowledge of the user into corporations of data, like Facebook, Google, Amazon and others, yet the subsequent loss of privacy with consumers’ private data being the “product.”
  • Web 3.0: Is now moving into a distributed model with a goal to return to individuals their own privacy.

For e-commerce, 3.0 was accelerated into existence by the catalyst of COVID. Last year saw annual retail e-commerce sales pass $4.9 trillion worldwide, and online sales are predicted to grow to more than $5.5 trillion by the end of 2022.(4) In 2021, there were anywhere between 12 to 24 million online shops, with more than 2.1 million online retail stores in the US in 2021.(5)

  • E-commerce 1.0 was created and ushered in via the likes of Amazon shopping, popularizing the idea that you could make purchases without having to visit a store. This created a titanic shift within the retail industry causing some retail stores to shut down and move online.
  • E-commerce 2.0 has been typified by anybody being able to get online to sell. This has created giants in the industry, such as Shopify and others, which have made it simple for anyone to create an e-commerce store nearly instantly.

This stage however also included the consolidation of customer data, buying habits, search histories, targeted advertising knowledge and the loss of privacy as corporate giants started slurping up as much information as they could about each consumer, creating bio profiles and attempting to target ads more across their entire network.

For consumers, shopping and using the internet these days has become a balancing act of giving enough information to get what you need, while feeling that every decision you make gets recorded and held in massive, consolidated data stores.

For merchants, part of the e-commerce 2.0 experience has been creating multiple interconnected systems and somehow keeping all of the systems talking to each other in order to deliver a full experience to shoppers.

The status quo is that e-commerce 2.0 solutions often require 5, 6 or 7 different connected systems that somehow need to talk to each other to provide e-commerce point of sale, customer service, marketing solutions, CRM, internal sales, product management, pricing management, stock management, shipping management, etc. while keeping all of the systems in sync and talking to each other. A near-impossible feat.

“The status quo has become an expensive nightmare for big brands,” says Lindsaar. “But for SMBs, it is has been a growing and exorbitant time and expense factor that has been keeping them out of the market and unable to reach their full potential.”

E-commerce 3.0 is a new idea and consists of two major thoughts.

  1. The first is that an e-commerce 3.0 system integrates all of the above systems into one solution. Instead of having five, six, or seven, or more systems attempting to keep in synchronization, you have one e-commerce 3.0 system that provides all of the above solutions via the one application. Your e-commerce website, your corporate website, your point of sale, your marketing solutions, price, product, infantry, shipping management, digital asset management and customer service solutions all being run from a single platform that does not require constant monitoring and support in order to keep its data in sync.
  • The second thought of e-commerce 3.0 is to create, for each retailer, their own private environment of customer data, in essence breaking up the customer-data monopolies. The information you share with each merchant is private to that merchant and not shared with other merchants. E-commerce 3.0 allows each individual merchant their own analytics system and customer-knowledge system without needing to rely on global enterprise companies who provide “free“ analytics solutions in exchange for all of your customer data.

Just like Web 3.0, e-commerce 3.0 is distributing the web back to individual merchants and providing the smaller merchants with the ability to take on the big merchants; actually giving “David” the ability to take on “Goliath.”

The way to change the SMB landscape with one single stroke

Simple: Take the most popular and most widely used sales program—Salesforce—and help online storeowners focus on growing their business, not on the technicalities of their website. StoreConnect is an e-commerce AppExchange package created exclusively for Salesforce. It provides SMBs with a single CRM-based e-commerce solution that saves them time and money.

The disruption of the SMB market is ongoing, as more businesses seek ways to eliminate bloat in staffing and resources, as well as more easily manage their assets. Previously, SMBs had struggled to maintain and afford an e-commerce venture, mainly because they had to have staff working these areas—and a hefty tech stack.

With 86% of digital commerce leaders reporting that digital commerce will be their most important route to market over the next two years, the pent-up demand from the SMB e-commerce market to find a solution was strong.(6)

In fact, Salesforce itself recognized the outstanding work that StoreConnect demonstrated within the e-commerce sector, as well as their clear excellence in innovation on the Salesforce platform. As a result, StoreConnect was announced the winner of the Salesforce International Partner Innovation Award for Retail, by showcasing outstanding leadership within the Salesforce ecosystem, an award, only previously awarded to multi-million and multi-billion dollar enterprises with the resources to use Salesforce to such an innovative capacity. 

StoreConnect, being the new disruptor startup on the Salesforce block, allows one SMB client to run dozens of separate store fronts all with different designs, currencies, products, pricing, content and languages, all on the one StoreConnect / Salesforce license combination.

“We have a very powerful multi-store solution for SMBs,” Lindsaar concludes. “And we are focused on spending the time of our customers as carefully as we spend our own—Time. Well Spent.”

About StoreConnect

Mikel Lindsaar, CEO and Founder of StoreConnect, is an experienced technology entrepreneur whose mission is to infuse small- and medium-sized businesses with the power to be successful in e-commerce and grow to the Nth degree. Small businesses can’t waste time setting up their business on a platform only to repeat the process by changing platforms when they want to scale, nor do they want to waste time figuring out how to integrate multiple platforms. StoreConnect (built on the World’s Number 1 CRM, Salesforce) gives clients a complete, powerful, configurable e-commerce and CRM solution where they can manage their website, online and in-store sales, provide amazing customer service, run all their digital marketing campaigns and have up-to-date detailed metrics, reporting and full understanding of their customer. They were awarded Salesforce’s 2021 International Partner Innovation Award of the year for the Retail sector and are changing the ease with which small businesses are run—with a manageable price tag. StoreConnect is Time. Well Spent. Visit https://getstoreconnect.com/

  1. Phaneuf|, Alicia; “Ecommerce Statistics: Industry benchmarks & growth”; Insider Intelligence; January 08, 2022; insiderintelligence.com/insights/ecommerce-industry-statistics/.
  2. “How Many Small Businesses Are There in the US in 2022?”; Oberlo; Accessed April 12, 2022; oberlo.com/statistics/number-of-small-business-in-the-us.
  3. “Global e-commerce jumps to $26.7 trillion, COVID-19 boosts online sales”; United Nations Conference on Trade and Development; May 3, 2021; unctad.org/news/global-e-commerce-jumps-267-trillion-covid-19-boosts-online-sales.
  4. Barber, Robin; “Online Shopping Statistics & Trends in 2022”; Cloudwards; March 18, 2022; cloudwards.net/online-shopping-statistics/.
  5. “How Many Online Stores Are There in 2021?”; Digital In The Round; July 17, 2021; digitalintheround.com/how-many-online-stores-are-there/.

“The State of Digital Commerce”; Gartner; Accessed April 12, 2022; gartner.com/en/marketing/research/state-of-digital-commerce-sem-digcomm?

What Should Startups Consider When Evaluating New SaaS Solutions?

Sam Allcock
-
0
What Should Startups Consider When Evaluating New SaaS Solutions?

SaaS solutions can make or break a company. Small teams can certainly make do with basic tools and resources. However, with growth an initial software tech stack is unlikely to have the flexibility or scalability required to grow with your business. This is why it’s critical to assess your SaaS solutions at each stage your company’s evolution.

Finding the right SaaS for your business feels challenging, but it doesn’t have to be. Below highlights the optimal times for startups to review and source new SaaS solutions—and how to make sure you pick the right ones.

When is the best time to source a new SaaS solution?

As a startup leader, you’re carefully considering any and all business investments to avoid wasting precious resources. Of those investments will be the software services you use to operate (a.k.a. SaaS solutions).

SaaS solutions can look like a CRM and marketing automation solution (such as Pipedrive), payment platforms, and project management tools. By investing in the right SaaS solutions, you can optimise, scale, and expand your business’ functions. 

There will be pivotal moments throughout your company’s lifespan where you’ll want to invest in a new SaaS solution. What once worked for your business may not be as efficient as you scale.

So how can founders and leaders know when their current business operations will benefit from introducing a new SaaS solution? Here are some scenarios when implementing new SaaS is optimal:

  • When your company is hiring rapidly. It’s easier for small teams to handle decentralised communication and information sharing. But as teams and operations expand, it’s crucial to break down communication barriers and streamline workflows for productivity, employee satisfaction, and revenue growth.
  • When your company gets more investment capital. No matter what funding series you’re in, it’s wise to invest your new resources in tools that will help your company secure even more funding in the future. Future investors will want to see that your business has longevity in mind. Updating your legacy tech systems shows that you’re future-proofing your operations.
  • When current SaaS tools just aren’t working. Sometimes the tools themselves indicate when it’s time for a change. When your team is frustrated at a tool’s limited functionality, when they’re spending too much time on admin that could be automated, or when it gets too difficult to collaborate on your current symptoms, it’s time for a new solution. 

What should startups be wary of when evaluating a SaaS solution?

Deciding to invest in a new SaaS solution for your startup is straightforward. Then comes the hard part: How do you decide which solution is the best fit for your business? 

The global SaaS market grew from $225.6 billion in 2020 to $272.49 billion in 2021, and it’s expected to reach a staggering $436.9 billion by 2025. With so many SaaS options available and even more rapidly developing, choosing the right one for your business can feel overwhelming. 

Here are some points your startup should consider when evaluating a new SaaS solution.

Is the SaaS solution scalable?

As your company grows, you want your SaaS solutions to grow with you. Assess the product’s scalability, and forecast whether or not the product has the capacity to meet your future needs. 

Inquire about all the provider’s options, not just the ones that fit your company at its current stage. Start with the end in mind. If you outgrow the solution, what are your exit options? Get the business cancellation policy in writing, and ensure you won’t be locked in with a product hindering your business. 

Is the SaaS solution compatible with your existing software? 

Compatibility is crucial. You don’t want to invest in a new marketing automation tool only to find it’s incompatible with your CRM.

For example, ebook subscribers can be added automatically as prospects to your Pipedrive CRM. This means you save the time you’d have spent manually uploading contact information, and you reduce the risk of human error.

What are the available migration options? 

If you’re investing in a new SaaS solution to replace an existing one, ensure that your data can migrate easily from one to the other. 

Do some research on what that migration will look like before making any decisions. Will the data migrate automatically, or will some manual input be necessary? Will there be any downtime for your business as the migration takes place? You’ll want to prepare a contingency plan for your customers if so. This will help you determine how much time migration will take and help you better assess your investment.

What is the customer support availability?

As you onboard your team to the solution, there may be some growing pains. When vetting potential SaaS solutions, inquire about how much support you’ll receive when navigating the change.

When auditing the customer support you’ll receive, consider the following:

  • Dedicated agents. Some tools offer dedicated support agents to help your entire organization manage the change. This is often available on higher tiers of service, so you’ll want to see if it’s offered on the plan you’re interested in.
  • Availability and accessibility. If the customer support isn’t 24/7, make sure their available hours work with your team’s timezone(s). For solutions that your whole team will be using, find out if everyone will have access to customer support, or if it’s limited to certain authorized users. 

You’ll want to get these answers upfront rather than during a stressful troubleshooting moment!

What will onboarding your team to this SaaS solution look like?

It’s normal for teams to feel anxious about change. Leaders are often the ones making decisions about a new tool, but the people carrying out daily operations use it most frequently. 

Some points to consider while assessing onboarding include:

  • The cost of training. If the provider offers training, determine if the cost is included in your subscription, or at an additional rate. You’ll also want to know the duration of training and how long the provider will offer onboarding support.
  • Team involvement. You’ve already chosen team members to help choose the product, but you also need to determine who needs to participate in training. Depending on the scope of training, you may need to find coverage for these employees’ workload during the onboarding period. 

Effective onboarding is essential to ensure you get the most out of your SaaS solution, so you want to assess the process carefully. 

Asking the right questions is essential when sourcing a new SaaS solution

Sourcing new SaaS tools requires strategic consideration, but it doesn’t need to be stressful. By addressing the points above, startup founders and leaders can make the right decisions to take their business to the next level.

This process is better done sooner rather than later. For example, if you’re going through a stage of rapid growth, investing in new solutions will help you mitigate risk and lay the foundations to scale ahead of time.

Surprising ways to save money online using a VPN

Sam Allcock
-
0
Surprising ways to save money online using a VPN

With the continued growth of eCommerce, it comes as no surprise that there are now 2.14 billion digital buyers worldwide. From booking vacations to purchasing the latest streaming services or software, almost everything is now done online.

However, with the current cost of living crisis, many people are looking to cut back on non-essential spending. But what if there was a way to shop for the things you like while paying less, by simply using a VPN?

To assist you in saving money, VPN experts at Forbes Advisor revealed five of the best products and services you can use your VPN on to access discounts, and Rob Watts, Business Editor, has provided tips on how to choose the best VPN for your specific needs.

What is a VPN?

A Virtual Private Network (VPN) is software that provides online privacy and anonymity by converting a public internet connection into a private network. VPNs conceal your internet protocol (IP) address, making your online activities nearly impossible to track. 

By using a VPN, you can connect to an external server and adopt its IP address, making it appear that you are in the same country as the server you are using. So, for example, if you are in America and connected to a server in the UK, the website will believe you are in the UK and displays all of their prices relative to that country.

5 things you can save money on using a VPN 

Subscriptions

Accessing streaming services such as Netflix, Amazon Prime, Hulu, and Disney+ is one of the most common reasons people use a VPN. This is primarily due to the fact that countries’ catalogs differ, with many users claiming that some countries have better content than others. 

However, many people don’t realise the price of subscriptions varies per country as well. For example, you can pay much less for a Netflix subscription if you join a VPN server that is based in Turkey, Argentina or Brazil. If you get a Netflix account in another country, you can still watch Netflix in your home country, but at a lower cost.

The following table illustrates the difference in prices across a range of services:

Streaming service Cheapest subscription price Most expensive subscription price
Apple Music India, $1.32 per month Denmark, $15.50 per month
Netflix Turkey, $3,27 per month Switzerland and Liechtenstein, $12.74 per month
Amazon Prime India, $1.76 per month United States, $12.99 per month
Spotify India, $2.17 per month Denmark, $15.40 per month
YouTube Premium Argentina, $1.57 per month Denmark, $18.59 per month

(Source: CashNetUSA, CompareitTech, HowToSpotify, Thesimarchitect)

Flights

By changing your IP address to another location and keeping your browsing activity anonymous, you can browse flights from around the world – without booking sites tracking your personal data and increasing prices.

Lower-income countries typically have better flight deals because airlines charge less for their flight tickets. So, by downloading a VPN, you can compare the prices of flights from all over the world in the hope of finding a better deal.

Another option is to clear your cookies and information from previous browsing sessions. As this data is used to determine your location and online behaviour, deleting it allows you to essentially refresh your data and potentially gain access to cheaper flights. This is useful because websites usually raise their prices for people who show a higher level of interest in the flights, as the more time you spend on a website, the more they charge you.

Hotels

Hotels operate similarly to airlines, so companies can vary their prices depending on the target audience. It is known that hotel deals and prices can fluctuate depending on many different factors such as browsing habits, location and even currency.  So, in some cases, searching from a lower-income country will help you get the best deals. 

Furthermore, because some hotels attempt to charge tourists a higher rate, you may find that prices are higher if you search from a country other than the country where the hotel is located.

Car renting

The same can be said for when you are trying to rent a car in a foreign country, as rental companies are known to charge higher prices for foreign travellers booking online. 

Many companies will vary their prices based on your geographical location, so as a result prices will generally be higher if you are trying to book a car in the US, so it is better to check a few other countries’ prices to see if you can get a better deal.

Video games

You can also save money on video games for your PC by using a VPN as different countries have different prices on their games on the Steam store. After you’ve installed your VPN, all you have to do now is compare the prices of each game from one country to the next. If there is a specific game you have your eye on, connect to a VPN server in a country where you can get it for a cheaper price.

How to access discounts using a VPN

So here are the steps you should take if you’re looking to get cheaper deals with a VPN:

  1. Check the prices in your own country on the website of the service you’re interested in

This should be your starting point. You can do this by simply searching for the service you are interested in on Google, and it should come up immediately. Then, go to the website of said service and make a note of the price. For example for flight tickets, put in the details for the trip you are looking to go on and then jot down the price of the flight that best suits your needs. 

  1. Connect to a VPN from another country

Close the browser you were just looking on and then connect to a VPN server in another country. You should now check to see the prices of the service to see which country offers the cheapest price. For example, Apple Music only costs $1.32 a month in India, in contrast, a monthly subscription in the US will cost $9.99.

  1. Compare the prices

All that remains is to see if you have been able to obtain a discount on the service you are interested in. Using the flight tickets as an example, return to the same flight website you were using and enter the exact same details of the flight that you were interested in to see if you can get a discount on the flight price.

Rob Watts, a Business Editor at Forbes Advisor shared his tips for ensuring you download the best VPN for your specific needs:

“VPNs are popular because of their ability to keep user activity private from malicious third parties. However, VPNs’ remote access features lend themselves well to other applications, like accessing discounts that may be geo-restricted to other regions. In many cases, VPNs can be used to access discounts on streaming services, flights and hotel bookings that wouldn’t be possible with a standard connection.

ExpressVPN offers the most countries to choose from, so if you use this service, you will have the best chance of obtaining a discount on your online purchases. We recommend using this service if you want to save money on airline tickets or hotel reservations.”

Prime minister extends Right to Buy scheme to help ‘generation rent’ get on property ladder

Sam Allcock
-
0
Prime minister extends Right to Buy scheme to help ‘generation rent’ get on property ladder

New data shows over a third of Millennials aren’t able to afford buying a house on their own

Two property experts discuss how this scheme could help with those struggling to enter the housing market

Boris Johnson has confirmed plans to extend the Right to Buy scheme to those who rent from housing associations, whilst enabling people to use their housing benefit to pay towards mortgages. In an attempt to combat the housing crisis – which has grown in the fastest pace in 15 years – the prime minister’s new plans could affect over 3 million households in England. Property concierge platform, Moveable, reveals that 36% of Brits aged 25-34 are waiting to get into a partnership/marriage before purchasing their first home because they simply can’t afford it on their own. Johnson’s £30bn benefit will enable ‘generation rent’ to abandon astronomical rental prices, and lay down the foundations to own their first home

Through the Right to Buy scheme, tenants could get a discount of up to 70% of the market price, depending on how long they have lived in the property. Now, Johnson’s new “benefits to bricks” policy will additionally enable young people to pass affordability checks needed to get a mortgage. He is also expected to announce a review of the mortgage market to search for ways to reduce people’s deposits. Ministers have stated that more than half of those in the private rented sector can afford to service a mortgage; however, only 3% have enough savings for a deposit.

In light of the announcement, property experts, David Hannah and Simon Bath, discuss how the new announcement will expand the opportunity of home ownership, especially to those on low incomes and the younger generation.

David Hannah, Group Chairman of Cornerstone Tax comments:

“The government’s introduction of the Right to Buy scheme is welcomed. It is a great initiative that will aid buyers (especially first-time buyers and those on low incomes) in purchasing a property. However, I think rising interest rates, inflation and the cost-of-living crisis remain serious hurdles in preventing housing from becoming affordable for all Brits.

“With house prices reaching new highs, buying a home has become more unachievable, especially for low to middle income households. If prices continue to rise, then this scheme will become even more important for people looking to get onto the property ladder. However, the government must ensure that it has been meticulously evaluated before introducing it, rather than it being a ‘quick fix’.”

Simon Bath, CEO of iPlace Global, the creators of Moveable comments:

“With a series of socio-economic crises impacting the ability for people to get onto the property ladder, the prime minister’s announcement could potentially act as a stepping stone for many – particularly for the younger generation and of course people on living in social housing.

“When this initiative was introduced in the 80s, it gave over five million households the chance to own their home. While it’s a step in the right direction to assist the new generation with property ownership, we must ensure that more social housing is also being built, so that there are still options for those who may not be able to buy a home and who need it most.

“There will still be those on low to middle incomes struggling to secure a mortgage because of the difficulties of raising a deposit. With disposable income declining and energy prices going up again in October, it’s important to make sure that every person in the country has the equal opportunity to own a home.”

The US Dollar in May 2022 – A Monthly Look

Sam Allcock
-
0
The US Dollar in May 2022 – A Monthly Look

It has been an interesting year for the US Dollar, as a chain of events favored flows into the global reserve currency. The risk sentiment has deteriorated significantly, raising the pressure on volatile assets such as tech stocks and cryptocurrencies.

In such an environment market participants choose to stay in cash and when faced with a difficult choice, the winner will often be USD, simply because this is the leading funding currency of the world, tending to rise when interest rates are also rising. However, the May 2022 performance has been rather mixed, mainly due to several factors.

DXY pierced above pandemic highs -but stepped back

At the beginning of May, the US Dollar Index, or DXY, hit a fresh 20-year high, showing the low appetite for risk around the world. Still, that wasn’t a catalyst strong enough to push the price even higher.

A temporary top was generated on May 13 and since then, the Dollar sold off a bit, in a move that looks more like a correction from oversold conditions and not a major shift in capital flows. Because DXY is the value of USD against the Euro by more than 50%, this retracement lower should be no surprise, as EURUSD, the most popular currency pair, is now rising for the second week in a row.

Interest rate spreads to start narrowing

According to experts at SquaredFinancial, a globally reputed licensed brokerage brand, capital is constantly searching for yield and as the US Federal Reserve raises rates, while other central banks like the ECB or BoJ stand put, investors tend to naturally favor the Dollar.

Markets have been pricing in monetary tightening from the beginning of the year, but as US economic activity starts to head south and a top in inflation figures is expected to be seen during the next few months, one should question whether the FED will tip the economy into a recession.

US bond yields have already topped, suggesting a temporary top in tightening has been reached. On top of that, the ECB is already changing its tone, suggesting an interest rate hike will likely occur during Q3 of this year, right after asset purchases end.

If that is the case, markets have to reassess and reconsider the interest rate spread, which will narrow if the ECB will join the group of central banks fighting inflation.

Divergent monetary policies

Although during May currency markets reconsidered how far the FED can go with the tightening process, the experts from SquaredFinancial believe that there is a limit to how much interest rates can rise, given that debt-to-GDP ratios have increased substantially in order to combat the pandemic effect on economic activity.

The Dollar should consolidate at higher levels, keeping in mind that the US is in a much better shape to keep interest rates higher, relative to other developed nations. Unfortunately for the other currencies, the USD will probably still hold an edge, until a new business cycle starts to unfold.

Proper Tips and Tricks for Bitcoin Mining in Luxembourg

Sam Allcock
-
0
Proper Tips and Tricks for Bitcoin Mining in Luxembourg

Bitcoin mining is a process of adding transaction records to Bitcoin’s public ledger of past transactions. This ledger of past transactions is called the blockchain. The blockchain serves to confirm transactions to the rest of the network as having taken place. Bitcoin nodes use the blockchain to differentiate legitimate Bitcoin transactions from attempts to re-spend coins that have already been spent elsewhere. You can also explore bitprime gold for further information.

Mining is intentionally designed to be resource-intensive and difficult so that the number of blocks found each day by miners remains steady. Individual blocks must contain proof of work to be considered valid. This proof of work is verified by other Bitcoin nodes each time they receive a block. Bitcoin uses the hashcash proof-of-work function.

The primary purpose of mining is to allow Bitcoin nodes to reach a secure, tamper-resistant consensus. Mining is also the mechanism used to introduce Bitcoins into the system: Miners are paid any transaction fees as well as a “subsidy” of newly created coins. This both serves the purpose of disseminating new coins in a decentralized manner as well as motivating people to provide security for the system.

Bitcoin mining is so-called because it resembles the mining of other commodities: it requires exertion and it slowly makes new units available to anybody who wishes to take part. An important difference is that the supply does not depend on the amount of mining. In general changing total miner hashpower does not change how many bitcoins are created over the long term.

Luxembourg has become a hub for Bitcoin and blockchain activity in recent years. The country is home to a number of Bitcoin and blockchain startups, as well as some of the biggest names in the industry.

In May 2018, the government of Luxembourg announced that it was working on a legal framework for ICOs. The move was seen as a way to attract more blockchain businesses to the country.

Luxembourg is also home to one of the world’s leading cryptocurrency exchanges, Bitstamp. The exchange was founded in 2011 and is currently headquartered in the country’s capital, Luxembourg City.

Mining is an important and integral part of Bitcoin that ensures fairness while keeping the Bitcoin network stable, safe, and secure. Links from trusted sources such as the official Bitcoin website, Bitcointalk forum, and Reddit can help you locate good mining pools.

When choosing a mining pool, make sure to inquire about fees, payment methods, minimum payouts, and other important details. Also, be sure to research the reputation of the pool before joining.

Once you’ve joined a mining pool and have set up your bitcoin mining hardware, it’s time to start earning bitcoins! Simply enter your wallet address and begin mining.

To increase your chances of winning blocks, it is often necessary to join a larger mining pool. The increased hashing power of the pool allows for a greater chance of finding blocks and receiving rewards.

In addition to joining a reputable mining pool, it is also important to use high-quality bitcoin mining software. This will ensure that your hardware is used to its fullest potential and that you are able to monitor your progress and earnings.

When it comes to earning bitcoins, there is no one-size-fits-all approach. Every miner has different needs and goals. As such, it is important to tailor your bitcoin mining strategy according to your own specific circumstances.

With that said, here are some general tips and tricks for bitcoin mining in Luxembourg:

1. Join a reputable mining pool: As mentioned earlier, joining a reputable mining pool can increase your chances of finding blocks and earning rewards. Visit Bitcoin forums and chat rooms to get recommendations from other miners on which pools are the best.

2. Use high-quality bitcoin mining software: In addition to joining a reputable mining pool, it is also important to use high-quality bitcoin mining software. This will ensure that your hardware is used to its fullest potential and that you are able to monitor your progress and earnings.

3. Tailor your bitcoin mining strategy: Every miner has different needs and goals. As such, it is important to tailor your bitcoin mining strategy according to your own specific circumstances. Consider factors such as your budget, the hashrate of your hardware, and your electricity costs before deciding on a mining approach.

4. Stay up to date on Luxembourg’s cryptocurrency regulations: The government of Luxembourg has been supportive of cryptocurrency and blockchain technology. However, it is still important to stay up to date on any potential regulations that could impact your bitcoin mining activities.

5. Stay informed and engaged with the Bitcoin community: The Bitcoin community is full of passionate and helpful people. By staying informed and engaged with the community, you’ll be able to learn about new developments in the industry and receive valuable advice from experienced miners.

By following these tips and tricks, you’ll be well on your way to becoming a successful bitcoin miner in Luxembourg!

Unpicking The Sunday Times Rich List

Sam Allcock
-
0
Unpicking The Sunday Times Rich List

As electricity bills almost double and stories of UK citizens struggling with rising prices, conversely, the nation has seen a massive upturn in the country’s billionaires. 

The usual suspects of The Sunday Times Rich List are all present and correct  with textile heavyweights Sri and Gopi Hinduja topping the list with a £28.472bn fortune, knocking philanthropist Sir Leonard Blavatnik from the top spot, down £3bn in net worth.  

First published in 1989, the Sunday Times Rich List is an annual rundown of the 250 richest people or families in the UK, ranked by net wealth. 

Guillaume Pousaz, CEO and founder of payment cloud solution payments platform checkout.com is this year’s highest climber, seeing a £13.716bn rise in his fortunes. 

In the nether regions of the monetary index, Roman Abramovich fell 20 places with a dramatic dip of £6.101bn in net wealth. As the biggest loser on the list, Abramovich was joined by fellow oligarchs Denis Sverdlov, down by £4.776bn, and Alisher Usmanov losing £3.406bn of net wealth because of government sanctions against wealthy Russians due to the devastation inflicted upon Ukraine.    

Property constitutes the largest industry of The Sunday Times cash catalogue, constituting over 37 of the 250 entries. Many property magnates also supplement their income with ventures as diverse as gambling services, football, media, and food.     

The finance sector is well represented with a total of 22 entries. Wise founders who promise customers ‘lower fees than old-school banks’, Kristo Kaarmann and Taavet Hinrikus are new entries on the list followed by decentralised banking pioneer, Revolut CEO Nik Storonsky, seeing a £4.2bn jump in fortune. 

The ubiquitous entry of Hedge fund managers constitute a total of 14 listings.

The online gambling industry also witnessed a considerable spike in earnings. PokerStars CEO Mark Scheinberg is sitting pretty with a £407m increase in fortune, augmented by the entrepreneur’s luxury hospitality ventures through his real estate investment vehicle, Mohari. Scheinberg also tops his coffer with a stake in the Ritz-Carlton Yacht Collection, a stately Madrid Hotel, and a luxury resort in Costa Rica. 

Salfordians Fred and Peter Done of Betfred fame climbed £241m, aided by a successful £97.7m VAT cashback claim from HMRC on the tax paid on fixed-odds betting terminals (FOBTs) between 2005 and 2013. Betfred accounts also benefited from investments to the tune of £94.3m occurring “from a fair value gain of the group’s investment in shares listed on the London Stock Exchange”.

As the notoriously reclusive Denise Coates lives in a Xanadu-style estate complete with yachting lake described as a space-age super home, the family who famously started bet365 in a Portacabin sat in a Stoke-on-Trent car park surged £189m in assets. The family members sit at number 17 on The Sunday Times Rich List. To this day, Denise Coates remains the highest-paid female businessperson on the planet.   

Ruth Parasol and family, owners of Bwin saw no change in fortune and sit at £780m net worth. Founder of PartyGaming, Gibraltar resident and San Francisco native Ruth Monicka Parasol was ranked 15th of the world’s wealthiest self-made women, as published by The Economist in 2010. 

As well as boasting a London property portfolio of top-class shopfronts, fancy hotels, and apartments with high-end price tags, London tycoons Ian and Richard Livingstone placed at 31 on the list, seeing a £400m drop in earnings from the previous year. The Livingstone brothers’ stake in Evolution AB, providers of live casino games across the iGaming industry was negatively affected by a $3 billion loss in market value in November 2021.

The substantial decrease in value occurred when a US law firm accused Evolution AB of operating in Iran, a violation of US sanctions, just as Evolution AB was moving into the nascent US online gambling market. 

The growth in iGaming magnates’ fortunes (fraternal moguls excluded) is potentially down to the recent boom in online gambling, aided in part by the US loosening online gambling restrictions. With the online gambling market looking to exceed $90bn by 2023, there seems to be no stopping the runaway iGaming market. Online slots in particular are seeing a surge in popularity, indicating that advancement in technology, in particular mobile gaming, is paying dividends across the industry. 

The greatest insight provided by The Sunday Times Rich List is that the UK now has a record number of billionaires, with a total wealth jump of almost £60bn from last year. With the total number of billionaires now totalling 177, it’s up by six from the previous year. 

Contentiously, Chancellor Rishi Sunak and his wife enter the list at 222 with a total net wealth of £730m. For a government salary of £151,649, it’s clear that Sunak’s history as a hedge fund partner is the fundamental reason behind him being one of the richest frontline MPs in parliament.

According to the list published by The Sunday Times, the 250 richest people in the UK are worth £710.72bn, compared to £658.09bn in 2021 – an 8% rise from the previous year.

An Overview of the Different Types of Blinds Available for Healthcare Settings

Sam Allcock
-
0
An Overview of the Different Types of Blinds Available for Healthcare Settings

Any hospital, health or social care environment will require the careful management of shading and privacy. There are five main types of blinds that could be deployed within a hospital, GP surgery, dental treatment room, care home or social care facility. These are:- Venetian blinds, pleated blinds, roller blinds, vertical blinds and Roman blinds. This article shall explore an overview of each of the different styles of blinds offered.

Integral blinds, also commonly known as integrated blinds, are a type of blind that sit within the glass. This design makes integral blinds boast a range of different features which make them a highly suitable option for hospital environments.  The two types of blinds that can be fitted as integral blinds are Venetian and pleated blinds.

Venetian Blinds

Venetian blinds come in a wide variety and can be either mounted onto a window or above a window. They are comprised of horizontal slats that allow the user to adjust the amount of light that enters a room and offer a good degree of privacy even when the slats are not completely shut. Integrated Venetian blinds are encapsulated within a double glazed unit and are therefore not exposed to dust or germs. Integrated Venetian blinds are therefore an excellent option for all healthcare environments due to their hygiene properties.

Pleated Blinds

Pleated blinds are a good option for style-conscious environments such as a GP surgery or dental practice as they come in a wide range of colours and can therefore fit with the interior design of a room or establishment. Pleated blinds allow a soft diffusion of light into a room which prevents a sharp glare of sunlight from occurring making them perfect for patient-facing healthcare facilities. Integrated pleated blinds stay in pristine condition for many years and boast the same hygienic properties as integrated Venetian blinds.

Roller Blinds

Roller Blinds are a relatively cheap style of blind and boast easy installation which makes them a suitable option for hospitals to consider within patient wards. Roller blinds are also available in a wide range of colours which will complement any healthcare facility’s decor and style. However, roller blinds are not an ideal option to consider for placement on a bifold door and the bulkiness of the roller at the top of the window may detract from the aesthetic.

Vertical Blinds

Vertical blinds open and close from side to side instead of up and down and are operated via a pulley system by pulling the chain or cord to move the blinds left or right.  Vertical blinds are not the most practical choice of blinds for healthcare settings as they will block access to the window or door as they would have to be fully drawn back every time the window or door is opened.  The fabric of vertical blinds is also known to stack and bunch which would further ruin the aesthetic.

Roman Blinds

Roman blinds are a practical easy style of blind that consist of loops that can be made out of any style of fabric. There are, however, some safety considerations that should be taken into account before installing Roman blinds. The operation of the blind via a cord can be a hazard for vulnerable patients and children within healthcare settings.

How to Maintain a Positive Cash Flow for Your Business

Sam Allcock
-
0
How to Maintain a Positive Cash Flow for Your Business

A positive cash flow is essential for any business, no matter its size, industry, or stage of development. Without it, a company will quickly find itself in financial trouble and may even be forced to close its doors for good. So what is a cash flow anyway? Simply put, cash flow is the money flowing or coming in and out of your business. 

Cash coming in from your clients or customers is actually coming from accounts receivable while cash going out from your business on expenses, such as taxes, salaries, bills etc. is going out through accounts payable. If more cash is coming into your business than going out, you have a positive cash flow and vice versa. There are a number of things that can cause a business to have negative cash flow, such as late payments from customers, unanticipated expenses, or simply, not enough revenue coming in. 

There are number of ways to manage negative cash flow. For example, if invoice payments are late, you can resort to invoice financing from sources, such as arkkapital.com. However, the best way to manage negative cash flow is to not have one in the first place. Here are a few ways businesses can maintain a positive cash flow. 

Best practices for managing business cash flow

There are a few best practices for managing business cash flow. First, it’s important to have a clear understanding of your business’s cash flow situation. This means knowing where your money is coming from and where it’s going. This information will help you make informed decisions about how to manage your cash flow.

Second, you should establish a system for tracking your cash flow. This will help you identify any potential problems early on and take corrective action if necessary.

Third, you should develop a plan for dealing with unexpected changes in cash flow. This could include having an emergency fund to cover unexpected expenses or taking out a line of credit during lean times.

Finally, it’s important to review your cash flow situation regularly and make adjustments as needed. By following these best practices, you can help ensure that your business has the cash it needs to operate smoothly.

How to overcome common cash flow problems in business

There are a number of ways to overcome common cash flow problems in business. One is to improve your invoicing and collections process. This means sending invoices out as soon as possible and following up with customers regularly to ensure payments are made in a timely manner.

Another way is to reduce your expenses. This may involve cutting back on unnecessary costs, such as office supplies or entertainment expenses. You may also want to negotiate better terms with suppliers or vendors in order to get more favorable payment terms.

Finally, you can also look into financing options in order to help improve your cash flow situation. This may involve taking out a loan or line of credit, or working with investors to raise capital.

What are some common causes of negative cash flow for businesses?

Negative cash flow can be caused by a number of different factors. One common cause is when businesses fail to properly manage their inventory. If a business has too much inventory, it can tie up a lot of cash that could be used for other purposes. Another common cause of negative cash flow is when businesses have too much debt. 

If a business has taken on too much debt, it may not have enough cash to make all of its required payments. Last but not least, another common cause of negative cash flow is when businesses do not have enough revenue to cover their expenses. This can happen if a business has not properly planned for its expenses or if its revenue unexpectedly decreases.

As a result, you may be forced to declare bankruptcy because your company simply isn’t generating enough revenue and cash to cover immediate expenses, let alone make a profit. That’s why a negative cash flow can be quite dangerous if left unchecked.  

1...584585586...1,106Page 585 of 1,106

ABC Money 2025 - 1st Edition

Magazine - 2025 Edition

Explore the latest insights, trends, and expert analyses in finance with ABC Money 2025. Stay ahead in 2025!

LEARN MORE

Leading news network for crypto, finance and business.

More from ABC

Contact

Contact: advertise@abcmoney.co.uk © ABC Money Team @ 2006

  • bitcoinBitcoin (BTC) $ 88,117.00 0.38%
  • ethereumEthereum (ETH) $ 2,984.56 0.4%
  • tetherTether (USDT) $ 0.998797 0.01%
  • bnbBNB (BNB) $ 858.75 0.49%
  • xrpXRP (XRP) $ 1.87 1.63%
  • usd-coinUSDC (USDC) $ 0.999878 0%
  • tronTRON (TRX) $ 0.284896 0.77%
  • staked-etherLido Staked Ether (STETH) $ 2,982.97 0.17%
  • cardanoCardano (ADA) $ 0.351512 5.36%
  • avalanche-2Avalanche (AVAX) $ 12.71 2.94%
  • the-open-networkToncoin (TON) $ 1.68 2.98%
  • solanaSolana (SOL) $ 125.04 0.06%
Enable Notifications OK No thanks