Find advice on starting a business
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Before you start
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Business planning
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Forming your business
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Running your start-up business
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Self-employed and tax
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Go for growth
Business rates help and guidance
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Guides
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Find guides by theme
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Starting a business
Starting a business homepage
Before you start
- Considering starting up?
- Business opportunities
- Where to start your business in Northern Ireland
- Start-up support in Northern Ireland
Business planning
Forming your business
Running your start-up business
- Choose and set up your workplace
- Business sales and marketing
- IT and e-commerce for start ups
- Use professional services
- Become an employer for the first time
- Protect your business ideas
- Mentoring and networks
Self-employed and tax
- Tax and National Insurance for self-employed or partners
- Understanding Corporation Tax
- Getting started with VAT
- Tax and payroll for employers
Go for growth
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Finance
Finance homepage
Raising finance
- Choose the right finance options
- Borrowing
- Shares and equity finance
- Grants and government support
- How to attract investment
Managing finance
- Expert financial advice
- Financial planning and accounts
- Manage your cashflow
- Improve your cashflow and business performance
- Managing suppliers and payments
- Debt recovery
- Business banking
- Insurance
Financial difficulty
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Taxes
Taxes homepage
Business tax
- Self Assessment
- VAT
- National Insurance
- Corporation Tax
- Construction Industry Scheme
- Capital Gains Tax
- Stamp and property taxes
- Tax reliefs and allowances
- Tax help
Self-employed and tax
PAYE and payroll
Keeping records for business
Excise duties
Industry-specific taxes
Complying with European law
Contact or deal with HM Revenue & Customs (HMRC)
Companies House returns, accounts and other responsibilities
- Starting a company or partnership
- Running a company or partnership
- Company registration for overseas and European companies
- Companies House annual returns and accounts
- Filing company information using Companies House WebFiling
- Companies House forms
- Find company information using Companies House WebCHeck
- Companies House complaints and appeals
Business changes
Selling, closing or restarting your business
Accountants and tax advisers
- Accountants and tax advisers - HMRC services and content
- Tax agent authorisation
- Online tax services for accountants and tax advisers
- Help and support for accountants and tax advisers
- News and communications for accountants and tax advisers
- Compliance checks for accountants and tax advisers
- Appeals and penalties for accountants and tax advisers
- Tax agents and advisers forms, manuals and reference material
- Working with HMRC - joint initiatives
- Money Laundering Regulations
- Business tax
- Self-employed and tax
- PAYE and payroll
- Keeping records for business
- Excise duties
- Industry-specific taxes
- Complying with European law
- Contact or deal with HM Revenue & Customs (HMRC)
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Companies House returns, accounts and other responsibilities
- Starting a company or partnership
- Running a company or partnership
- Company registration for overseas and European companies
- Companies House annual returns and accounts
- Filing company information using Companies House WebFiling
- Companies House forms
- Find company information using Companies House WebCHeck
- Companies House complaints and appeals
- Changes to your business
- Selling, closing or restarting your business
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Accountants and tax advisers
- Accountants and tax advisers - useful HMRC services and content
- Client authorisation
- Online tax services for accountants and tax advisers
- Help and support for accountants and tax advisers
- News and communications for accountants and tax advisers
- Compliance checks for accountants and tax advisers
- Appeals and penalties for accountants and tax advisers
- Tax agents and advisers forms, manuals and reference material
- Working with HMRC - joint initiatives
- Money Laundering Regulations
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Employment and skills
Employment and skills homepage
Recruitment
- Advertise a job
- HR documents and templates
- Taking on staff
- Different types of worker
- Employment checks
- Staff documents and employment policies
Pay staff
Manage people
- Holiday, other leave and sickness
- Working time
- Equality and diversity
- Maternity, paternity and adoption
- Employee engagement
- Staff motivation and performance
- Trade unions
- Redundancy, restructures and change
Develop staff
Resolve conflict and staff leaving
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Health and safety
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Health and safety made simple
- What you need to do about health and safety
- Write a health and safety policy for your business
- Health and safety risk assessment
- Health and safety risk assessment for agency workers
- Health and safety advice: appoint a competent person
- Consult your employees on health and safety
- Provide health and safety training and information
- What workplace facilities do you need to provide?
- First aid, accidents and ill health
- Health and safety law in Europe
- Protecting your business
- Managing the welfare of people
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Safer ways of working
- Safety of workplace machinery, equipment and tools
- Personal protective equipment
- Computer health and safety at work
- Prevent repetitive strain injury at work
- Work safely at height or in a confined space
- Safe manual handling at work
- Avoid slips and trips
- Storing goods and materials safely
- Transport safety in the workplace
- Safe transport of goods and materials
- Health and safety risks for people working outdoors
- Health and safety in businesses that provide care services
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Health and safety made simple
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Efficiency and environment
Efficiency and environment homepage
Environmental action to improve your business
- Environmental obligations and support
- Environmental performance of your business
- Environmental business tax benefits
Reduce, reuse, recycle your business waste
- Reducing business waste
- Reuse and recycle business waste
- Preventing pollution
- Hazardous substances and waste
Resource efficiency
- Saving energy and cutting costs
- Saving water and cutting costs
- Process and resource efficiency
- Packaging and the environment
Reducing your environmental impact
- Generating energy for your business
- Carbon emissions and climate change
- Business transport and the environment
Environmental guidance by business sector
- Chemical industry
- Construction and building trades
- Electrical and electronic equipment manufacturing
- Engineering and metalworking
- Food and drink production
- Furniture manufacturing
- Metal production and processing
- Offices, retail and hospitality
- Paper and cardboard manufacturing
- Printing industry
- Waste and recycling industry
- Environmental action to improve your business
- Reduce, reuse, recycle your business waste
- Resource efficiency
- Reducing your environmental impact
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Environmental guidance by business sector
- Chemical industry
- Construction and building trades
- Electrical and electronic equipment manufacturing
- Engineering and metalworking
- Food and drink production
- Furniture manufacturing
- Metal production and processing
- Offices, retail and hospitality
- Paper and cardboard manufacturing
- Printing industry
- Waste and recycling industry
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Business premises and rates
- Rates for business properties
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Choosing the right premises
- Search for commercial property in Northern Ireland
- Choose the right premises for your business
- Renting business premises
- Commercial property: responsibilities of business tenants
- Renewing and ending your business lease
- Use your home as a workplace
- Buying business premises
- Commercial mortgages and lenders
- Access and facilities for disabled people
- Tax breaks and finance for your business
- Protecting your premises
- Insure your premises
- Property management
- Improving energy performance
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Innovation and R&D
Innovation and R&D homepage
Product and service development
Design and business innovation
Intellectual property
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Developing products and services
- Research and develop your business ideas, new products and services
- Open data opportunities for business
- CE marking
- Product life cycle
- Make best use of standards
- Intellectual property: the basics
- Manufacturing innovation
- Developing computer games and off-the-shelf software
- Increase efficiency to maximise your profit
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Research and development
- Research and develop your business ideas, new products and services
- 7 key advantages of R&D for small business
- Innovation, research and development grants
- Support networks and facilities for innovation and R&D
- Work with UK universities and colleges
- Manage your research, design and development
- Innovate UK funding competitions
- Research and Development (R&D) Relief for Corporation Tax
- Product life cycle
- Use innovation in your business
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Design for business success
- Design support for your business
- Design for start-ups
- How can I use design in my business?
- Choose and work with a designer
- Managing your design projects
- Branding: the basics
- Designing a successful brand
- Design for technology businesses
- Ecodesign for goods and services
- User-centred design
- Use design to improve your export potential
- Protecting and handling your design
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Intellectual property for business
- Intellectual property: the basics
- Protecting intellectual property
- 5 ways to protect your idea during a business pitch
- Digital intellectual property and your business
- Other intellectual property protection for your business
- Intellectual property crime and your business
- Use intellectual property to grow your business
- Non-disclosure agreements
- Intellectual property protection overseas
- Intellectual property rights when trading in India
- Intellectual property rights when trading in Korea
- Intellectual property rights when trading in Vietnam
- Intellectual property rights when trading in the USA
- Intellectual property rights when trading in China
- Intellectual property rights when trading in Brazil
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Patents, trade marks, copyright and design
- Trade marks
- Trade marks: top tips for small business owners
- Register a trade mark in the UK
- Register a trade mark outside the UK
- European trade mark reform - key changes
- Manage your registered trade mark
- Trade marks and domain names
- Get patent protection for your business
- How to manage your patents
- The Patent Box
- Copyright for your business
- Managing your copyright
- Licensing orphan works in the UK
- Design right and registration
- Protecting and handling your design
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Developing products and services
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Sales and marketing
Sales and marketing homepage
Marketing your business
Know your customers
Maximise your sales
Selling to the public sector
Strategies for growth
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IT
- Basic IT skills
- Introduction to IT
- Suppliers
- Software and business applications
- Computer health and safety at work
- Communications
- Create and manage a website
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E-commerce
- Planning for e-commerce
- Create an online shop
- Search engine optimisation
- Pay per click advertising
- Accepting online payments
- Fulfilling online orders
- E-commerce and the law
- Develop a digital marketing plan
- Generate business from your e-marketing plan
- Online business networking and social networking
- E-marketplaces, online auctions and exchanges
- Common e-commerce pitfalls
- Measuring your online marketing
- Data protection and legal issues
- IT security and risks
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Exporting and importing
Exporting and importing homepage
Basics of importing and exporting
Choosing a market
Procedures and licences
- Authorised Economic Operators (AEOs)
- Export Control Organisation
- Classifying your goods
- Importing controlled goods
- Import and export procedures
- Customs IT systems
Sector overviews and regulations
Moving your goods
- Transport options for moving your goods
- Taking lorries abroad
- Transporting dangerous goods
- Freight forwarding
Customs declarations
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Grow your business
Grow your business homepage
Prepare for growth
Finance and logistics
Strategies for growth
- Growth through product and service development
- Growth through sales
- Growth through technology
- Growth through strategic sourcing
- Growth through strategic partnering
- Growth through international trade
- Tendering for contracts
Managing growth
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Buy or sell a business
Buy or sell a business homepage
Acquiring a business
Selling your business
- Considering selling a business
- Selling your business
- Floating on the stock market
- Capital Gains Tax when selling your business
Exiting and transferring your business
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Starting a business
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