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Northern Ireland business support finder
A searchable database of advisory and financial assistance - find advice, expertise, equity, grants, loans, and recognition awards.
Financial advice for seasonal businesses
How seasonal businesses can plan their cashflow, staff and stock levels and other activities.
Naming your business as a sole trader
What you can and cannot name your company as a sole trader, including words you need permission to use
Naming your business partnership
What you can and cannot name your business partnership in the UK, including words you need permission to use
Setting up a business partnership
The steps you need to follow to create and set up a business partnership and details of how responsibility is shared
Science parks
Support and benefits of science parks, including technology transfer and business incubation
Writing a business plan: 5 top tips
Five key steps that can help you to prepare a successful business plan when you're starting a business.
Support for protecting your ideas
Get professional help from intellectual property advisers, a patent attorney or a trade mark attorney to protect your intellectual property in an invention
Find manufacturers to build a prototype
Sources of information on product designers and manufacturers who can help you develop your invention
Support for product safety and testing
How to arrange product safety assessment, and where to find testing laboratories, services and product certification in the UK
Support for developing your ideas
Where to get help to develop new product ideas if you're looking to manufacture, market, sell or license your inventions
Checklist: set up as a sole trader
A checklist of things you must do, and organisations you must make contact with, to set yourself up as a sole trader
Avoid sales forecast pitfalls
The key things to avoid when drawing up a sales forecast including wishful thinking, not making it achievable and moving goalposts
Start a sales forecasts
How to use last year's sales as a starting point for your forecast of next year's sales to help manage your business more effectively.
Sales forecast assumptions
How to build expected changes in your business relating to factors such as your products and your market into a sales forecast.
Developing your sales forecast
How to improve the accuracy of your forecast by breaking down your sales figures into smaller categories such as by product, market, region or customer.
Create a sales plan from a sales forecast
Advice on how to achieve your sales objectives by creating a sales plan including your focus, the necessary changes, the steps involved and your target markets.
Payment Card Industry Data Security Standard compliance
The Payment Card Industry Data Security Standard is applicable to any organisation that stores, transmits or processes cardholder information.
Advantages and disadvantages of using a payment-processing company
Using payment-processing companies to handle online card transactions has advantages, but it is also worthwhile to consider the disadvantages.
Advantages and disadvantages of selling through online marketplaces
Using an online marketplace for your business has many advantages, but it is also worthwhile to consider the disadvantages.