Accountancy, Business & Tax Support For SMEs

In January 2023, The Office for National Statistics stated that the increases in inflation and the price of raw materials were forcing UK SMEs to put their prices up,

““Rising costs and reduced revenue is one of the biggest challenges facing SMEs today. In January 2023, The Office for National Statistics reported that, with the increase of inflation and the rising price of raw materials, 41% of SMEs have had no choice but to raise the cost of their products or services.”

Source: Office For National Statistics, 2023

Equally, with the cost of living crisis, an estimated 70% of the population have less money to spend on non-essential goods. This has affected retail sales for UK businesses.

The cost-of-living-crisis has affected 89% of the adult population, or 46 million people, in the UK according to the Office For National Statistics. Therefore, most business owners feel obliged to increase staff salaries. However, UK SMEs who cannot afford to increase salaries are liable to lose their staff to businesses that can.

Whilst growing your business is what nearly every business aspires to, it brings with it certain challenges and obstacles. These challenges include managing the supply chain to increase your output, recruiting and retaining more staff, investing in new offices, transport, logistics etc. With rising costs for energy, raw materials and products/services, it can be very difficult for SMEs to expand. Supply chain problems can create delays and customer dissatisfaction. 

Getting funding for your SME can be tough during the current economic climate. Yet funding is often essential to making your business a success. Nevertheless, obtaining funding is certainly much easier nowadays because there are more options than just the bank manager. Businesses can look instead to angel investors, crowdfunding, government backed schemes and so on.