Monthly Archives: November 2020

FInance, News, Sustainability

New study reveals how accounting practices can improve businesses’ sustainability

The key to make sustainability ‘material’ within organizations could be in the way businesses’ report their financial and pre-financial performance according to new a study from Fabrizio Granà, Assistant Professor in Management Control at ESCP Business School.

The research published in his new book ‘Redesigning Organizational Sustainability Through Integrated Reporting’ explores the role of accounting and reporting practices in representing sustainability within organizations, and examines how individuals engage with integrated reporting to make sustainability meaningful.

By exploring the case of a large international oil and gas company, and its recent development of integrated reporting, the study provides theoretical and empirical contributions to address the role of accounting and reporting practices.

“The ambiguity of sustainability as a concept, and the impossibility to fully capture it through accounting and reporting practices, does not mean that any attempt to represent it inevitably leads to distortion or obfuscates ‘reality’. Rather, the way in which this concept is presented through accounting and reporting practices can have a constructive effect on the organization through the aspirations that these representations entail.” says Professor Fabrizio Granà.

He found that there are three key features that may affect an organization’s approach towards sustainable value creation. Firstly, how the adoption of integrated accounting and reporting practices affect the way in which organizations perceive, evaluate and combine financial and non-financial performance. Secondly, what the effects of adopting integrated accounting and reporting practices are on managers aspirations towards sustainable value creation. And thirdly, how integrated accounting and reporting practices stimulate questioning and debate around how non-financial initiatives and performance affect financial outcomes.

The book demonstrates that accounting and reporting practices, such as integrated reporting, are not expected to offer complete representations of organizations’ sustainability. Rather, these practices offer a number of representations (e.g. graphs, diagrams, tables, grid) that affect the way in which organizations understand and report on sustainability, giving it tangible meaning.

Finally, this study demonstrates that undefined concepts, such as ‘sustainability’, and practices, such as ‘integrated reporting’, mutually construct each other. The attempt to represent sustainability within the organization and the debates that this process generates, make accounting and reporting practices unfold themselves, and evolve.

Logistics, Mental Health, Mental Health at Work, News

Hermes UK Launches Mental Health Training And Wellbeing Support Programme For Its People

Hermes UK, the leading consumer delivery company, has implemented a number of measures designed to support the mental health and wellbeing of its employees. At the heart of this programme is a network of 72 volunteer “Mental Health Ambassadors,” who are being equipped with the tools, skills and ultimately the confidence to listen and talk with someone who needs support, as well as recognise behaviours that can positively and negatively affect worker wellbeing.

The company is committed to providing a framework to raise awareness and address the stigma of poor mental health and signpost clear information on available support and guidance. Other initiatives include the creation of an online wellbeing hub as a social space, where people can find advice, support and share their own personal stories.

Jill Maples, HR Director at Hermes UK, said: “Our vision is to create a great place to work – an environment where our people can grow, develop and reach their potential. As part of this commitment, we will focus on ensuring that everyone feels supported in looking after their own mental health as well as those around them. This is ever more important as we all continue to feel the impact of COVID-19 on almost every aspect of our lives.”

News, Sales

Sales Methods and Strategies for a Covid-Impacted World

If there is one thing for certain in today’s world, we can’t assume that sales methods (and strategies) which were effective pre-Covid-19 are still working. In fact, many B2B organisations already know they’re not.

Our Covid-impacted world has heightened the importance of knowing more about customers and prospects who are now working very differently. And many companies have been forced to look deeper into the digital channels and communication techniques that they didn’t prioritise or perhaps use previously.

A recent project undertaken by Manchester-based digital agency Absurd looked to understand why some B2B sales teams are getting less engagement with their customers. While the research focused on a specific industry sector, the team identified five key findings that apply to many more B2B sectors than those we were exploring.

Oliver Bailey, co-founder of Absurd, explains:

“While some of our insights may seem obvious, they are nonetheless somewhat business-critical for helping to boost B2B customer interaction via digital services.

1. Adapt to the ‘new’ 9 to 5

Many people’s working day has become much more fluid with the onset of home working and restricted office operations. The daily commute which for many was a time to catch up on emails or check social media and news bulletins has been replaced by an early or later start to do ‘proper 9 to 5 work’. Predicting when the best time to reach out is less formulaic as it perhaps was before.

This obviously has implications around how your organisations’ sales team needs to operate; but with mobile platforms and tools such as Calendly, technology gives us opportunities to ensure that any time used outside of the 9-5 is of value.

2. Be flexible with your IT

You might prefer Zoom, but your client’s IT department may stipulate Webex. Some customers might not be able to access Dropbox and others might not be allowed to access Google Docs.

As more online meeting options become available to facilitate remote working, and face-to-face meetings reduce, this is actually heightening the complexity of how we arrange essential virtual interactions.

This is important because if you’ve only got a short meeting, not having the right tech can cause delays – you don’t want your customer hanging up because, “it wasn’t important anyway” or they ran out of time due to another meeting.

3. Make your content accessible any time

Working busy schedules around set times for physical events, industry exhibitions or webinars have always been commonplace in the B2B sector. Events in particular have long been an important way to connect with customers and potential customers face-to-face, building new relationships or solidifying existing relationships to generate demand.

Even though the ‘face-to-face’ part has changed, the importance of events has not. Sales teams have adjusted to virtual events to launch new products, showcase new techniques and to generate demand for products and solutions.

To be successful these events need to hold the participants’ attention, with succinct messages and to add value to the audience, because unlike previously where they had invested in travel they can now just close their browser if the event does not hold their interest.

So perhaps just as important, and which relates back to point one, is now opening up ‘attendance’ and consumption of information presented during events to be less scheduled and more in line with flexible working.

Webinars might be yielding good results, but new insight shows that customers are more engaged in their own time; during a commute, during a daily walk or early morning/evening. Giving customers the ability to watch a live presentation or discussion in a less time-sensitive way can be an important means to increase their engagement.

Similarly, think about podcasts, recorded videos, whitepapers; ask ‘what alternative formats can you provide that mean there are multiple opportunities for your customers to focus their time on you?’

4. Put greater importance on your search visibility and IA

While not strictly a recent shift, customers predominantly use Google as their search engine over searching for content on a specific site (often ‘in the moment” of a specific task). To be on the consideration list as a product or service provider in your area of expertise, it’s vital that your content ranks high via search and that platforms are visible through optimisation for search, and intuitive interfaces.

Customers often need their question answering and they need it done now. If your outreach and other efforts haven’t engaged their attention, then content via Google might when they’re ready to consider it will.

5. CRM is now more important than ever

We’re now in a time where customer interactions are more digital than ever, and digital means traceable (more often than not).

Make sure your CRM is capturing as much of your customers’ interactions as possible to fuel personalisation and create new opportunities to engage.

Tools such as Salesforce’s Einstein, an AI assistant for the Salesforce CRM, provide recommendations for the next action with a prospect; and the richer the data, the more accurate this can be.

Developing campaigns targeted towards the right customer at the right time is critical to success. Providing different types of content will help to target these customers and build interest in your offering.

“As the battle to adapt goes on, remember the new rules of engagement”
All of these changes mean that, as sales teams, we must accurately communicate the value of our products and solutions to get prospective customers interested, and to keep existing customers engaged.

And above all, with any current approach, a greater understanding of an audience’s needs and requirements is more critical than ever. There’s no substitute for research.

Empathy goes a long way. And if you can create techniques that are personalised and relevant, and also deliver value, engagement levels – and hopefully sales – will rise.

FInance, News

Wolters Kluwer Tax & Accounting UK Launches New Integration for Basecone

Basecone, the 100% cloud solution, launches latest Sage integration to meet the demand for real-time, automated data entry

London, UK, 18 November, 2020 – Wolters Kluwer Tax & Accounting UK has today announced the launch of a new Sage integration with Basecone, its cloud expense management app. The only real-time workflow app to feature Optical Recording Capture (OCR) for automating key bookkeeping processes such as invoice capture, processing, approving and booking of sales and purchase invoices, users can now integrate to the Basecone solution from Twinfield, Xero, and Sage.

Basecone was developed to handle digital documentation and receipt and invoice capture on the go; capturing and processing these documents for bookkeeping in place of what has traditionally been a manual, mundane, paper and time intensive task that can ultimately affect the profit margin on client services. Allowing practices to ’approve on the move,’ invoices can be easily uploaded to the Basecone solution with a real-time connection using a smartphone camera.

The new Sage integration, along with established Twinfield and Xero integrations, is secure and efficient, enabling users to process documents in real-time. The Basecone solution automatically recognises delivered invoices in these platforms and then makes a booking proposal that practices or their clients check and authorise.

A key strength of the Basecone solution, according to Phil Thornton, Lead Technology Product Manager, Wolters Kluwer Tax & Accounting UK, is the app’s end-to-end use of OCR, which can read invoices:” This cuts out the back office, human-based preparing and processing that occurs in other apps, and creates a true real-time document workflow environment. Without OCR this process can take anything up to 24 hours, but with the Basecone solution, companies can experience the power of what it’s like to work in real-time. Customers are reporting up to a 36% increase in time savings using the app, which is freeing up resources for higher value work.”

Basecone can snap copies of documents using smartphone cameras, or it can use a unique email address to receive documents into the app, which features both swipe and drag and drop functionality within its unified invoice approvals process. The pure cloud app also features facial recognition and touch ID.

“The app is incredibly easy to use. It’s basically a camera app – you simply snap and it’s done. It’s really efficient,” said Sam Batkin, Senior Accountant from Worcestershire-based accountancy firm Ormerod Rutter. “You don’t have to remember to retain physical receipts as you go about your day. That’s especially appealing to the next generation of business owners.”

Matt Crook, Managing Director Wolters Kluwer Tax & Accounting UK commented: “If 2020 has shown us anything, it’s that practices need to be able to set up to work not just more efficiently, but also in a way that supports remote working and collaboration. Our customers look to us when they need to be right. With Basecone, practices such as Ormerod Rutter, and many other customers, are taking full control over their document workflows and creating flawless booking processes, and moreover, they are operating in a more sustainable, resilient way, which is great to see in today’s rapidly changing services landscape.”

To learn more, please visit: https://www.wolterskluwer.com/en-gb/solutions/software-tax-accounting

News, Property

Must-have home improvements for COVID working and living

Homeowners looking to adapt spaces for the current and potential future lockdowns and optimal home working during the COVID-19 pandemic can look to suggestions from property experts.

With government guidelines tightening restrictions, it is important that homeowners and potential buyers consider the viability of future lockdowns and home working and adapt in the best ways they possibly can to be safe and comfortable at home.

From converting unused spaces, to developing outdoor areas, the property experts at North Sands Developments, share top considerations for adapting homes for COVID working and living.

James Hartley, director at North Sands Developments, said: “The COVID-19 pandemic has tested everyone, and with government restrictions tightening, there are many important learnings that we can take away from this time, to safeguard our futures in terms of creating a more comfortable, secure and optimised living and working environment.

“From zoom-proof rooms, to pet proofing, good internet connection and ensuring access to open plan and outdoor spaces – whether you are looking to purchase a new home or have an existing home that requires improvements, we have compiled a list of considerations for reference, to help homeowners and potential buyers thinking about living arrangements during the pandemic.”

1. Outdoor space
When spending large amounts of time at home, outdoor space is vital for health and wellbeing, whatever the weather. To make the most of outdoor spaces – home and garden improvements such as extending the size of the garden, improving decking and patios, adding a fire pit for use during the cooler weather, adding a balcony to bring fresh air into the home, and swapping patio doors for new ones such as bi-folds, to connect the home with the garden to accentuate the space is worth the investment.

2. Zoom-proof rooms and spaces
Working from home and juggling family life isn’t always easy and it can be disruptive when important virtual meetings are interrupted with noise. Creating a zoom-proof space in the home is very much an essential when it comes to peaceful working. The ideal zoom space will be as sound proof as possible, with a simple fuss-free backdrop, away from busy areas of the house to avoid any disturbances. If in an open plan home, organise a space in a quieter area of the room, with a divide to hold calls.

3. Convert unused spaces
Converting unused spaces in the home such as a garage, loft or cellar, can provide much needed extra room in the household. The spaces can be used for a new home office, relaxation zone, utility area or a play room, but it is important to ensure that a property possesses comfortable living areas, should another lockdown be enforced. Extra spaces can also significantly boost the value of a property, especially if extra bedrooms and bathrooms are added. Most conversion projects do not require planning permission as it qualifies as a ‘change of use’ to the property, which is another great reason to consider a home improvement of this kind.

4. Add an annexe or garden
Increasing the space in your home with a build project is a great alternative to moving house completely. Adding an annexe or extension to a property, is a larger investment and one that could significantly improve a living environment and add value to a property. Adding a room that is completely separate from the rest of the property, can create the ideal environment for undisturbed home working, or a quiet and tranquil space for relaxation. It will also be a place for extra family or members of a support bubble to stay and visit that isn’t in the main home. If not an annexe, it’s worth converting any loft space to ensure all space in the home is utilised.

5. Divide your open plan spaces
A cost-effective way to create separate zones for different functions is to divide existing open plan areas. Installing partition walls or sectioning off areas with the careful placement of furniture are just two ways to create segregated space, allowing members of a household to live together without getting on top of one another. Freestanding shelves act as great temporary partitions that also provide storage space for any home office essentials.

6. Good internet connection
A commonly overlooked home improvement is a stronger and more efficient internet connection and good WIFI is essential when working remotely for virtual meetings and conferences. This can be as simple as installing extenders to boost internet signal, or may mean changing internet providers altogether for a connection that supports working activity and home living. Before switching provider, it’s sensible to do research online to check which company has the best service in the area.

7. Get a pet and pet proof your home
In terms of overall happiness and wellbeing – pets can certainly provide comfort and company for the long term. Getting a pet is a great life choice for lockdown and beyond, but furry friends need appropriate flooring and space to run around, so it’s important to ensure a home is pet proof by opening up spaces if possible and replacing carpet with floor tiles which can make managing a regular house clean easier.

Construction, Jobs, News

Bicester Property Interiors continues to grow and hire, with focus on junior talent for creating life-long skills in a trade

Local decorating and property maintenance company Bicester Property Interiors is delighted to announce that it is hiring for a senior position, after a very busy half of the year.
Already, the company has been able to offer two junior positions and career opportunities for those starting out, with its two recent hires.

Founder Jake Holdsworth is now recruiting for a more senior position to meet the demands and enquiries from customers in Bicester, Oxford, Brackley and the surrounding Oxfordshire areas: “It’s great to see that people in our local community are requiring our services and supporting our local businesses by choosing us as their provider for property and decorating needs. I think with all of us spending more time at home in lockdown, we’ve wanted to improve and upgrade our interiors, so it’s indirectly been a great time for our company

This business growth is unprecedented, given the trying times of covid-19, and Jake is proud to have been able to offer two roles already: “The job market is very fragile at the minute and local opportunities are very low at the moment, so I think it’s a more important time than ever for school, college and university leavers to consider their future and training opportunities. I want young people to know there are more job opportunities locally beyond Bicester Village in this area! Gaining first-hand experience and developing a range of skills in a trade can really kick-start your career, and I’m delighted to have been able to make that a reality for two local juniors.”
Bicester Property Interiors offers a range of different services, including painting and decorating, flooring, bathroom and kitchen installation, plumbing and heating, and property maintenance.

The company is now searching for a senior hire to assist with larger projects across multi-trade specialisms, including bathroom fitting and tiling, in line with its recent growth: https://bicesterproperty.com/about-us/work-for-us

News

RedArc adds specialist cancer organisation to its partner panel

Specialist cancer organisation, , has been added to RedArc’s panel of additional services expanding the range of additional support that the RedArc nurse can offer, particularly with issues relating to the workplace.

About Working With Cancer

Working With Cancer is a social enterprise aimed at providing coaching and training services to employees to help them address the physical and psychological impact of cancer and how that may impact them in the workplace. The coaching typically covers handling difficult conversations with employers, dealing with changes at work, making ‘reasonable adjustments’, as well managing side effects whilst working. The organisation was founded by HR professional, Barbara Wilson, who herself was diagnosed with breast cancer in 2005 and therefore has the benefit of understanding both the employee’s and employer’s perspective.

Christine Husbands, managing director for RedArc said: “From earlier detection to working later in life, the number of people of working age in the UK who have cancer is set to climb and therefore we want to ensure that we offer the best help to enable individuals to manage cancer and work.

“Providing long-term expert medical and emotional support from our core team of nurses will always be at the heart of what we do. However, over the course of a cancer diagnosis, treatment and beyond, it’s important that we have specialist partners to whom we can refer an individual for additional support. Those looking to manage cancer and work have quite specific needs, and Working with Cancer is a great addition to our specialist partners with their expertise in this area.”

Barbara Wilson, Founder and Director of Working with Cancer said: “Every two minutes someone is diagnosed with cancer so we can expect the incidence of cancer in the workplace to increase. It’s essential that employees and managers are knowledgeable, equipped, and ready to respond, as being able to work is something that most cancer survivors want to do for many reasons, not least because it provides financial independence, but mainly because it provides a sense of normality. We’re very pleased to work with RedArc to extend our support even wider.”

To learn more about RedArc, visit http://www.redarc.co.uk/

Hair and Beauty, News

Demand for Asian Aesthetic treatments during 2020 coronavirus outbreak reaches peak

Ai Beauty Clinic has reported an influx of beauty clients getting cosmetic injections and skin treatment during the 2020 coronavirus outbreak. Despite the virus shutting businesses across the globe and temporary closure of the doctor-led clinic during the pandemic, Ai Beauty has been treating 500 patients a month on average, an increase of 25% since last year.
The clinic also saw the number of international online enquiries and consultations increase, allowing clients to prepare for face to face visits once country assigned restrictions have eased or categorised to the travel corridor list, where they no longer have to self-isolate for 2 weeks following entry.

Standards associated with Asian style Aesthetics has set a strong precedent in the UK, particularly in London which is seen as the go to destination for international Asian clientele using the growing base of clinics set in the capital. Clinics with a predominantly Asian clientele are renown for installing the latest technology and techniques performed by leading Aestheticians and Doctors. The service offering includes total support for the client’s beauty and skincare goals whilst the look is natural, refreshed with a little and often approach. Some of the most popular treatments include, dermal fillers, face contouring, skin rejuvenation treatments, body contouring.

Ai Beauty Clinic Manager Lydia Lee commented; “Ai Beauty brought the Asian/Japanese service model to the UK. Our approach involves high labour costs and we generally invest in the best Aesthetic technology. We re-invest more than 70% of our profit every year into upgrading our aesthetic devices and acquiring state-of-the-art aesthetic technologies. Whilst we invest in the best, we ensure that our prices are set accordingly to achieve fair market competition. Even though we set a high standard in service and client results – setting a fair price without compromising excellent standards we think has been the key. Also, there is a specific look that Asian clients pursue and this takes a level of expertise that is not easy to find, beauty is still a major priority for many of our clients even in a Pandemic.”

To learn more visit: https://www.ai-beauty.co.uk

News

PR agency Eulogy launches Elevator 2021 – It’s annual competition to accelerate tech start-ups driving the green economy

Independent communications agency, Eulogy, has launched its second Elevator programme, with a focus on technology start-ups spearheading the green economy.

As the UK government and Innovate UK announce the recipients of The Sustainable Innovation Fund, with £135m awarded to support businesses pursuing clean growth projects, Eulogy’s Elevator 2021 programme aims to contribute to the ‘build back greener’ movement and help tech start-ups through the ongoing challenging environment.

Now open for entries, Elevator is an accelerator competition enabling early stage technology ventures to pitch for pro bono communications support, designed to help move businesses from start-up to scale-up, whilst accelerating solutions to some of humanity’s modern-day challenges.

The winner will receive marketing, communications, and branding consultancy services to the value of £30,000, spanning February to July 2021.

Five runners up will each receive a Clarity session, Eulogy’s strategic consultancy workshop, which helps businesses identify a communications roadmap to growth.
The competition will be open for submissions from 17th November 2020 to 18th December 2020. Shortlisted entries will be informed in January 2021, with final pitches taking place and overall winner announced on 29th January 2021.

This year’s judging panel represents a diverse spectrum of the technology and communications industry, including Will Miller, Marketing Director at Tech Nation; Elliot Wellsteed-Crook, Director of Community at Forbes Ignite; Lis Field, CEO of Eulogy and Adrian Brady, Chairman of Eulogy, alongside senior tech journalists and other influential representatives of the sector.

Will Miller, Marketing Director, Tech Nation, comments: “This is an important time to be supporting the green tech start-up ecosystem, so I am delighted to be part of Eulogy’s Elevator judging panel. Europe leads the world for impact investing and Tech Nation has a strong commitment to supporting ambitious entrepreneurs driving environmental and sustainable change. As tech start-ups grapple with the challenging operating environment, programmes such as this are vital in providing that helping hand to make ambitions a reality.”

The competition forms part of the Eulogy’s commitment to instil and drive lasting impact on the community and society; and supports its existing work with tech clients such as Headspace and Epic Games, on the growing theme of responsible business.

Lis Field, CEO, Eulogy, said; “We’ve always been committed to driving positive change within our own communities, for our clients and for society more widely. Technology is playing a vital role in delivering a greener and more sustainable future, whilst supporting jobs and rebooting the UK economy – that is why we are focusing our attention on green tech in this year’s competition. This is a chance for us to deploy our expertise to support tech ventures spearheading this important future and I’m looking forward to seeing some fantastic entries.”

Applications for Elevator 2021 are open to early stage tech businesses with a focus on the environment and sustainability at Seed and Series A funding rounds. Businesses can enter on the Eulogy website here: www.eulogy.co.uk/work/elevator-2021-accelerating-the-future-of-green-tech-start-ups

In 2019, In2ScienceUK were the winners of Eulogy’s Elevator programme, an award-winning charity promoting social mobility and diversity in STEM among disadvantaged young people across the UK. Eulogy worked closely with the organisation over a six-month period to help them articulate their positioning and engage with relevant audiences to further their cause.

Dr Rebecca McKelvey, Founder, In2ScienceUK said: “The Eulogy team supported us to develop our brand, build our profile with beneficiaries we were keen to connect with as well as develop the team to think about communications in a creative and dynamic way. One year on and we have increased our partnerships, revenue and most importantly the number of young people we are able to support. We have learned about the power of good communication and we cannot thank the team at Eulogy enough.”

Now in its 24th year, Eulogy is a full-service integrated communications agency, delivering services right across the marketing mix. Eulogy has a strong heritage in helping both early stage tech ventures and large enterprise drive reputation and growth, with client experience including Virgin Media Business, Epic Games, Oxbotica, Drayson Technologies and Foundry, to name a few.

In the last 12 months, Eulogy has greatly expanded its tech portfolio, as the industry has grown rapidly to support the acceleration in digital transformation, winning a diverse range of UK and international tech clients, including, Ekimetrics, Stocard, Mettle, Iyuno, and Flintfox, alongside project growth with retained clients including American Express, Kantar, Virgin Media Business and TCC.

News

The surprising overhead cost you can cut by 30% NOW: The Hidden Cost of Waste

If the current pandemic has taught us one valuable business lesson, it’s the need to have cost effective practises in place.

Whether you work on a construction site and have rubble to dispose of, a restaurant and have food waste to bin, or in an office with confidential documents to safely destroy, waste disposal is something that every single business needs. However, when considering cutting back business overheads, waste collection can be an often overlooked area that can have a significant impact on a business’ outgoings.

New insight from waste management specialists, BusinessWaste.co.uk has found that changing waste contracts can save businesses up to 30% (around £250 per bin) when based on just 1 bin being collected per week.

Waste contracts typically last for 12 months, however many businesses rarely consider changing their suppliers, letting prices continue to increase year on year. With 5.9 million businesses in the UK*, the waste management company predicts that around 500,000 businesses could change contracts each month, but don’t, meaning a shocking amount of money is being spent in the UK every year on unnecessary business overheads.

Mark Hall, Waste Disposal Specialist at BusinessWaste.co.uk provides his expert insight into the top 3 things to consider when changing your waste management supplier.

1. Beware of weight limits on bins

“Weight limits are a positive thing, put in place to encourage companies to take a more pragmatic approach to how they deal with waste. By placing limits on the amount of waste a company can send to landfill, they encourage business to recycle and reuse material.

“However, some unethical suppliers have been known to make millions by overcharging. Make sure to familiarise yourself with the current waste limits for wheelie bins. You shouldn’t be being charged more than 18p extra per additional kilogram – if you are, you have the right to challenge your supplier.”

2. Don’t let yourself be charged for a Duty of Care certificate 

“Under current UK laws, businesses have a legal obligation to keep a Duty of Care Certificate, or Waste Transfer Note, that documents every load of waste that leaves the premises.

“Your waste management company should provide you with this entirely free of charge, however, this is not always the case. You should be very wary of any company that charges extra to provide a waste transfer note.”

3. Check the small print regarding your bin insurance

“Some companies will include a statutory fee for ‘bin insurance’. However, this is very rarely an actual insurance policy and can often be another sneaky method of increasing your overall fees.

“If your waste management company does include bin insurance as part of your invoice, don’t be afraid to query them over this and always ask to see the actual insurance policy documents.”

Mark comments: “It is estimated that businesses in the UK are responsible for generating 41.1 million tonnes of commercial and industrial waste every year, meaning waste management services are in high demand.

“Unfortunately, this ‘seller’s market’ can mean that some suppliers are able to take advantage of businesses and charge over the odds. We have saved our 15,000 customers a total of around £3.75M due to our unique position as a broker, allowing us to go to market and make sure our customers are getting the best value for money possible.

“Naturally, administrative tasks such as changing waste services can fall to the bottom of the pile when there’s a company to be run and financial targets to hit, but correct disposal of commercial waste at a fair price is incredibly important for businesses to be financially and ethically conscious.

“Before signing a contract with a commercial waste disposal company, make sure to familiarise yourself with what you can expect your waste disposal solution to cover, what the must-haves from a disposal company are, and the hidden costs you need to be aware of.

“When making a final decision, make sure to switch to a disposal company whose ethics align with your own business and who have no hidden extras – something we pride ourselves on at BusinessWaste.co.uk”