businessmule blog

On this part of the site we will do our best to bring you up-to-date news and information from the business and financial world.

Dec

Tesco Bank to Offer Business Banking

Tesco Bank has announced plans to enter the business banking market. Chief Executive Benny Higgins is confident of success given that small business owners are also customers of Tesco stores.

Posted by Businessmule Ltd Directors

Oct

Trust in Financial Services at an all time low

Just 7% of 1,600 Britons surveyed by the Direct Marketing Association felt they could trust the financial services industry to ‘look out for them in the current economic climate’. 60% totally disagreed meaning that trust in this industry is at an all time low. 40% added that they had absolutely no confidence in banks marketing messages. Still at least some light at the end of the tunnel for banks – MP’s scored even lower, with the recent expenses scandal doing them no favours.

If you’re feeling bemused by your bank then check out the Business Current Account Calculator to get yourself a better deal – you can trust us to be completely impartial in our recommendation.

Ryan O’Neill, Businessmule Director

Oct

BoE Base Rate Unchanged At 0.5%

The Bank of England Monetary Policy Committee has held the base rate at 0.5% despite worrying evidence that signs of improvement are weakening.

Ryan O’Neill, Businessmule Director

Sep

Abbey and A&L New Bond Offer

Abbey and Alliance & Leicester Business Banking have launched new fixed rate bonds, aimed at businesses with a turnover of up to £1 million. The one year fixed rate bonds, which are available immediately, offer a market leading interest rate of 3.00 per cent gross pa/AER and mature on 1 October 2010.

The new products enable businesses to save between £50,000 and £2 million.

The business bonds are available for a limited period only and may be withdrawn without notice and therefore business owners who are looking to deposit surplus funds for a set period are encouraged to apply as soon as possible.

Sep

BoE Base Rate remains at 0.5%

For the fifth consecutive month the Monetary Policy Committee has kept Base Rate at a historic low of 0.5%.

Rob Heaton, Businessmule Director

Jun

Abbey Launches New 3.20% Gross AER Bond Product

A new limited edition 12 month Fixed Rate Business Bond has been launched this week offering an impressive fixed rate of 3.20% Gross AER. Maturing on 1 July 2010 this product is open to businesses that have between £50,000 and £2m to invest. This product is a limited offer so you’ll need to act now to secure this rate. Please use our Deposit Rate Finder and let us do the work for you.

Ryan O’Neill, Businessmule Director

May

Business Banking Considerations

One of the most complex aspects of business banking is bank tariffs and bank charges.

Unlike personal banking, where we are used to paying only to have an overdraft or if we want extra services such as free breakdown cover, most business bank accounts have charges linked to them. And the charges seem to be there whether you’re doing well or not. The more you pay in, the more they charge you… and what about the interest, you only seem to receive that if you have a deposit account.

Here are a few simple ways to help you stay on top of charges and reduce the impact on your business.

Find a free business bank account

Some banks offer free business banking for 18 months, or even two years. Others offer "free banking forever". Make sure you check out the limits on such accounts though - some free banking accounts may only let you pay in £3,000 per month in cash and 100 cheques… and this might not be for you depending on what business you’re in.

Fully understand the business account’s terms & conditions

While this is the best way to stay charges-free, it’s not the most fun! But it’s worth asking about the terms & conditions before you apply for any products. All charges will be made clear to you then ahead of you filling out lots of forms.

If you can fully understand them you’ll have a better idea of how to work your account to be the most profitable. Once you understand the limitations, it’s easier to tweak your business’s operations to stick to them.

Work the system

Whatever limits your bank sets – work them! If it has a maximum of 100 cheques before you get charged a fee, then pay in 100 a month. Keep a simple written tally so you keep your charges low. This may seem cheeky, but it’s up to you as a small business owner to get the most out of your suppliers. Check the small print. Some times a charge might be applied just for making the credit as well as the number of cheques being paid in. If this is the case then limit the amount of times you actually make deposits.

Use online business banking

Because it’s cheaper for them to run, most banks encourage you to use online business banking. It’s also a benefit for you – you can run your business’s bank account nearly 24 hours a day without a queue in sight. Your bank may have a deal where you can reduce the cost of running your account if you do the majority of transactions online.

Automate as much as you can

Standing orders and automated bank transfers are great ways to bank quickly and easily. Most banks’ online banking systems allow you to set up a future payment, meaning you can deal with invoices when they come in, even if you don’t want to pay for a few weeks. Automated tools like these will help remove possible late payment charges from other suppliers.

Reduce the amount of cash you pay in

It costs your bank money when you pay in cash, as they have to pay counter staff and have security operations. If you can reduce the amount of cash you pay in, you may be able to negotiate a better account with a lower cash limit. Encourage your clients to pay with other methods by reducing their bill by a few pounds. Some businesses offer a percentage discount for clients that pay electronically within 7 days.

If you have a small number of retail transactions, you will have to balance the cost of paying in cash against the percentage charged by card machines.

Negotiate for better interest rates and lower charges

Depending on your turnover, remember that your bank probably wants to keep your business. It hopes you will stay with it for years to come, making it lots of profit!

So if you think you’re getting a raw deal, tell them. Book an appointment with your bank manager or speak to a banking centre manager over the phone. Take evidence with you of competitor offerings to show that there are better deals out there.

Compare products On-line

Try our www.businessmule.co.uk banking comparison tools for business current accounts and business saving products. It only takes a few moments and will show you an impartial view of the market based on your specific needs.

May

Business Lending and Business Deposits on the Rise

News just in. Business lending to small businesses by high street banks is on the increase having risen by more than £270 million in March. This has led to suggestions that the credit crunch may be easing its grip. This increase is reported to be a 5% year on year improvement and is the third consecutive increase this year.

Business Deposits by small businesses also increased by £881 million in March.

Additionally in March there were more than 52,000 new banking relationships set up with businesses, which was similar to the levels seen a year earlier.

If you are stockpiling your cash and are looking for a new home for your business deposits then please use our Business Deposit Rate Finder to help you get the best deal around.

Ryan O’Neill, Businessmule Director

Apr

Searching for Business Deposit Rates

Not so long ago if you wanted to compare a host of deposit rates for your business you’d have to either scout around the bank branches, speak to your accountant or search for best buy tables in Sunday papers... hoping they covered business deposit rates.

The emergence of the internet has made information so much more accessible and in the last couple of years comparison services have become more and more a part of every day life - but not for business services.

www.businessmule.co.uk was launched in mid 2007 to fill what we believed was a gap in the comparison market and to provide much needed support to the small business sector. Our Deposit Rate Finder service allows you to compare business interest rates from a host of partner banks with minimum effort. All you have to do is input how much cash you have to deposit and over how long and we’ll then liaise with our partner banks so that a list of business interest rates are provided for you to compare. And if you then decide you want to open an account with one of the banks we’ll facilitate the dialogue for you. This is done electronically at the front end and then over the phone with the banks when you’re finalising the details of your account requirements.

Our business deposit service is easy, quick and secure to use... and the more business people use it the more we’ll be able to source better rates for you either with our existing partners or new ones.

Visit www.businessmule.co.uk today to try the service for yourself - and let us know what you think, we’re always aiming to provide a fantastic service and can only do this with your help. And if you like it, tell an associate, the more people that use it the better it will become!

Over the coming weeks some of our partner banks are due to submit some blogs to give advice and guidance about business banking so keep an eye out.

All the best.

Rob

Mar

Businessmule Blog

Welcome to your brand new Businessmule Blog. We will use this space to post interesting news and articles which you might find useful to your business such as information on what banks are doing and what our key business partners are doing. We will update this area frequently and we welcome any newsworthy content from our website users that you feel would be of benefit. Please provide your content on our enquiry e-mail form which can be found in the ’contact us’ link on any page of the website. Please keep checking this Blog for further updates.

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