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Plan and forecast sales
How to use sales forecasting, a monthly prediction of your sales, to improve the management of your business and avoid cashflow problems.
Retail start-up support
How to find the right financial and advisory support to start your retail business in Northern Ireland
Types of retail business
The various types of retail business, including convenience store, speciality store, supermarket, discount store, department store, warehouse, direct retailer and online store
Ten top tips for starting a retail business
Ten top tips to starting a retail business successfully and staying afloat in the early days of trading
Where to set up your retail business
Find the right place to set up your retail business in Northern Ireland by weighing the important options
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.
Understanding social value in public procurement
What social value is in public sector procurement, how you demonstrate it in a tender submission and what resources are available to assist your business.
Rules on credit agreements
Understand the rules that govern credit agreements between businesses and consumers such as the consumer credit act and consumer contract regulations.
Rules on advertising credit
The rules governing advertisement for credit or hire facilities including providing clear, easily understood information and a representative example.
Sales promotion examples
Methods you can use to promote and price your product or service including vouchers, deals, discounts, free samples and loyalty schemes
Consumer credit rules for businesses that hire out or lease goods
An introduction to how consumer credit rules affect businesses that hire or lease goods including providing a written hire agreement stating the consumer’s rights.
Identify areas for improvement in your business
Get ready to tender for contracts by improving your business, identify areas for improvement and take action
Grow your retail business
Find out how to improve your retail business, attract more customers and grow your sales through tactics like visual merchandising and online retail.
Does my business need a consumer credit licence?
If you sell on credit, lend money, issue credit cards, collect debts or give debt advice, you may need a consumer credit licence to operate.
How to apply for a consumer credit licence
You can apply for consumer credit licensing from the Financial Conduct Authority who will assess your fitness on factors such as competence and past offences.
Implement changes to improve your business
Making the right changes to your business to improve prospects when competing for contracts and preparing to tender