ConferenceCall.co.uk blog

Published February 13, 2023

5 brilliant business podcasts for 2023

Launching a new business can be an overwhelming experience, especially if you’re starting up on your own, and you’ll be glad for all the help and advice you can get.

You never stop learning where the world of business is concerned – you’ll not only take on board the advice of those in your industry, you’ll learn from your own mistakes and from the mistakes of others.

But what if this advice isn’t as forthcoming as expected? You could try networking events and get to know other people in your sector or situation, or you could scour the industry press, the internet or even social media for guides to help you along the way.

Or you could check out any one of these five brilliant business podcasts, perfect for business owners entering 2023.

Inspiration Technology

business guide online technology

Published February 6, 2023

How to calculate work from home expenses

Did you know that if you work from home, you may be able to claim tax breaks on certain bills and expenses?

How to fill in your online self-assessment tax return

Midnight on Tuesday, January 31 is the deadline for online, self-assessment tax returns – meaning that if you’re self-employed or another type of self-assessment taxpayer, you have until tomorrow night for filing your 2021-22 taxes.

If you were hoping to send in a paper tax return, you’ve missed the cut-off by a couple of months, as the deadline was October 31, 2022 – so you’ll have to get everything sorted online instead.

And while tax returns are never the top of anyone’s to-do list – anything seems preferable to sorting out your tax – if you don’t file and pay your return by the deadline, you could find yourself hit with some hefty fines.

Guides & How-Tos Small business

business flexible working work from home

Published January 13, 2023

Watch out for push payment fraud

Cybercrime has been on the rise since the pandemic. More of us have had to make online purchases, which means scammers have more opportunity to defraud us.

If you regularly make online payments, whether for goods or services, you’ll need to watch out for the latest technique fraudsters are using to get their hands on your money – push payment fraud.

Figures from UK Finance, the banking trade body, have revealed that £236 million was lost to push payment fraud, with banks unable to return nearly three-quarters (74%) of the lost money.

In the vast majority of cases (88%) it was individual consumers who were conned out of their money, with an average loss of £2,784. The remaining cases were made up of businesses, who lost an average of £24,335 each.

News Small business Technology

business cyber security how to technology

Published January 9, 2023

Working from home may not be as green as you think

On the face of it, working from home is the eco-friendly way to do the nine-to-five. There’s no commute, no office energy consumption, and everyone is in control of their own energy efficiency. This also seems to have been proven by the fact that air quality improved massively when we were all locked down in 2020.

But the reality isn’t quite that straightforward. And what about those soaring household energy bills being added to by the extra burden of running work equipment during the day?

Inspiration Work from home

Published January 5, 2023

How to beat the Blue Monday blues

Monday (January 16, 2023) is Blue Monday – said to be the most depressing day of the year. The reason it’s so glum? It’s the perfect storm of bad weather, post-Christmas debt levels, failing New Year’s resolutions, low motivation and distance from payday.

Although we’re no longer threatened with lockdowns, soaring energy prices and the cost of living crisis could conspire to make this one of the toughest we’ve faced.

If you work from home, your outlook can be even more gloomy as you’re stuck between the same four walls for the best part of every day, chasing invoices from work that you hoped would be paid before Christmas. If you’re suffering from work from home fatigue, our top tips to battle work from home burnout could come in handy.

Here are some top tips to help you beat the Blue Monday blues.

Guides & How-Tos Work from home

how to work from home

Published December 13, 2022

Beat the rail strikes with a conference call

UK commuters are about to be hit with another round of rail strikes in December. Here’s all you need to know along with some information on how a conference call can help you avoid the travel chaos.

Conference calling News Small business Work from home

Published December 13, 2022

How to make sure freelancers aren’t left out in the cold this Christmas

If your business is planning Christmas drinks and parties while getting ready for the seasonal wind-down, the atmosphere around the office will be getting very Christmassy over the next couple of weeks. But spare a thought for those freelancers who work tirelessly all year but never get to see any of the fun stuff.

OK, they don’t have to contend with the commute or the office politics, and they can work in their pyjamas should the fancy take them, but that doesn’t mean those that work from home should be left out of the festive revelry.

So, this year, why not get your freelancers involved in the festive fun?

Guides & How-Tos Small business Work from home

business how to work from home

Published December 12, 2022

What are the last Christmas post dates 2022?

If December has crept up on you once again and you’re massively underprepared for the inevitable Christmas madness, the good news is that you’re still not too late to catch the last post (to UK addresses, at least).

If your business does rely on the postal service, it helps to know when the final postal dates are. These dates may be earlier than previous years as they’ll be affected by strike action. Here’s all you need to know.

Around the world News Small business

Published December 2, 2022

How to conference call Spain

Here’s a stat for you – Spain’s investment in the UK is more than the whole of the Latin America’s combined, making Spain one of the largest investors in the UK.

There are 900 UK companies currently operating in Spain, with businesses like Tunstall and Primark increasing their investment, while Dealz-Poundland, Stella McCartney and Jo Malone are among new UK investors in Spain.

If you want to join the legion of ex-pats and invest in a Spanish business opportunity – or even if you have business interests out there already – you’ll need an easy and cost-effective way to keep in touch – which is where a conference call comes in.

And here’s how you can arrange one for up to 100 participants using nothing more than a mobile or landline telephone…