Search results
Criteria for selecting a supplier
Critical factors you should consider when searching for potential suppliers for your business – including whether to choose single or multiple sources of supply.
Overseas supplier contracts
Overseas supplier agreements should cover pricing and trading terms in great detail, to ensure they offer the best way of avoiding disputes.
The challenges of sourcing overseas
Understand the challenges of sourcing overseas, such as varying trade restrictions, language, cultural and legal differences, and business practices.
Grow your business through franchising
Find out how to grow your business through a franchise operation, and use franchise agreements to prevent common problems.
Intellectual property health check
Find out how you can use the IPO's free IP Health Check tool to help protect your intellectual property assets.
Carry out supplier due diligence
What due diligence checks should you run on prospective suppliers before you enter into contract negotiations with them.
Managing supplier relationships
Key considerations around working with suppliers, including building and managing a successful relationship based on mutual gain.
Advantages of sourcing overseas
Understand the benefits of sourcing your products and materials overseas, and the issues that can arise when purchasing internationally.
Licensing your intellectual property
How to license out your intellectual property, and choose the right type of license, to fuel the growth of your business.
Selling your intellectual property
How to value and sell your business' intellectual property and use your IP to support your growth strategy.
Shortlisting potential suppliers
How to shortlist reliable suppliers and choose the right ones that could meet the needs of your business.
How to find an overseas supplier
Carry out due diligence to research suitable countries and individual overseas suppliers before agreeing a deal.
Working with overseas suppliers
Importance of building a strong relationship with your overseas suppliers, managing quality and carrying out performance reviews.
Paying overseas suppliers
How to pay international invoices and overseas suppliers - common payment methods, their pros and cons, and foreign currency issues.
Record-keeping best practice
Good record keeping habits and the "four S" approach: system, separate, security, storage.
Claim VAT refunds in Northern Ireland or the EU, if you’re established in Northern Ireland or in the EU
How Northern Ireland and EU businesses can claim refunds of VAT incurred on goods in the EU and Northern Ireland using the EU VAT refund system.
Purchase ledger
What to record in a purchase ledger to keep track of how much money you owe.
Wages book
The value of maintaining a wages book and how to manage it if you employ staff.
Digital financial records
Reasons for keeping computer-based financial records and how to choose bookkeeping and accounting software packages.
Sales ledger
The basics of using a sales ledger to monitor the money coming into your business.