Useful links

If you can't find what you are looking for on our website then here are some useful sites that could help you.

Start-ups

www.startups.co.uk

This is aimed at SMEs. It has a clear and simple design and combines news with practical advice. There's plenty of practical advice in a no-nonsense style.

www.princes-trust.org.uk

An independent organisation aiming to foster success in young people to start and develop their own businesses. Also hosts a national competition for start-ups to accelerate young business ideas. Free advice for 16 to 30 year olds.

www.newbusiness.co.uk

A comprehensive website dedicated to new businesses.

www.livewire.shell

Provides the latest information on how Shell Livewire assists people aged 16-30 who are looking to start their own business.

Business information

www.britishchambers.org.uk

This is the site of the British Chamber of Commerce, the national voice of local business providing a range of services including international trade, training and cost-effective commercial services.

www.fsb.org.uk

The Federation of Small Business is the leading political lobby for British small business.

www.yell.com

Home of the online version of the Yellow Pages. Search by keywords and browse by category. A hugely impressive site with massive investment.

www.accountingweb.co.uk

A website designed for the accountancy community providing accounting and taxation information.

Government

www.gov.uk

This site aims to tell you "everything" about the UK government.

www.gov.uk/hmrc

Advice from HMRC for small businesses and those going self-employed. It's surprisingly helpful and full of useful information.

beta.companieshouse.gov.uk

This provides information for limited companies, including name searches and basic company information.

www.gov.uk/government/organisations/department-for-business-energy-and-industrial-strategy

The Department for Business, Energy & Industrial Strategy (BEIS).

www.hse.gov.uk

Government health and safety advice.

www.statistics.gov.uk

This is the site of the National Statistics Office. It's updated regularly.

Search engines

www.google.co.uk

The world's most used search engine.

www.bing.co.uk

Microsoft's popular search engine.

www.yahoo.co.uk

A very popular search engine.

Business news

www.ft.com

Up to the minute news, information and analysis.

www.bbc.co.uk

Find the latest news on the BBC's website.

Finance and support

www.gov.uk/business-finance-support

The Department of Business and Trade has a comprehensive list of organisation that can offer financial advice, as well as those who can offer financial support or grants. This list can be sorted by region, type of support, business size and industry and always a good website to keep an eye on if you are looking for additional funding.

www.gov.uk/apply-funding-innovation

Innovate UK is quite well known, but not fully utilised. If you are trying to test an innovative product/service, or conduct some R&D to develop a new product/service, then Innovate could be a good funding contact. The grants are competitive, so you will have to have a strong application and have a compelling offering, to stand out from the crowd, but the support can really open a lot of doors for SMEs.