Cheques: Is the End Nigh?

Did you know that you may not be able to use or accept cheques for much longer? If the Payments Council has its way, central cheque clearing in the UK will cease at some point in 2018, so we could all be ditching our cheque books in eight years time.

The Payments Council was set up by the government in 2007 to ensure efficiency and integrity of payment methods in this country, and set future strategy for them. Its recommendation to set this target date is currently being looked into by the Treasury Select Committee. A final decision will not be made until 2016.

The cheque system has been in use since the 1700s but nowadays we have many other payment methods available, and it has gradually become less and less popular. It will be dealt another blow in 2011 when the cheque guarantee card system is withdrawn: another decision of the Payments Council.

Many small businesses still accept cheques from their clients. If you are among them, you need to be aware of these policies. You must have other methods of receiving payments set up, and it would be wise to get going on this early. Make sure these alternative methods are easy for your customers to use, and encourage them to start doing so as soon as possible.

In any case, cheque payments can be a burden for the smaller business, causing payment delays by being lost or held up in the post or wrongly made out; and then of course there is the clearing time.

So why wait until the end of the cheque to put an end to it for your small business?

Business Insurance: What do I need?

Are you sure you have all the insurance cover you need for your business? You can only answer this question when you have assessed all the potential risks.

If you work from an office based in your home, or have separate business premises, you’ll have Buildings and Contents Insurance. Would this cover everything you would need to replace in the event of fire or other disaster? Make an inventory of every item you couldn’t do without and their replacement cost, and make sure your contents cover is enough.

If you have employees, you will need Employee Liability Insurance in case anyone makes a claim against you following an accident at work. Legally you must have at least £5 million of cover. If other people ever visit your premises or are involved in any service you provide, you also need Public Liability cover.

If you have company cars or your business involves delivering or transporting items, all vehicles will have insurance. You may also need to get Goods-in-Transit cover for your own or other peoples items carried in them.

What if something happened to a vehicle and you couldn’t make your delivery on time? Some breakdown service providers offer a continuation contract as part of your cover. If any of the items you carry are classed as hazardous goods, you need specialist breakdown cover as their vehicles will not be included in a general service where engineers are not trained to deal with them.

Professionals like accountants or consultants should also have Professional Indemnity Insurance. This covers any legal costs and loss of earnings if a client claims you’ve made a mistake or not fulfilled a contract.

Consider all the ‘what if’ scenarios that could possibly happen, and then think about the insurance you’ll need to cover those scenarios. What price peace of mind for the success and protection of your business?

Top Tips for Online Banking

All institutions that offer online banking services work hard to ensure security and many of us take advantage of this relatively new and very convenient way of managing our financial affairs. But criminals are always looking for ways to access accounts, and your bank needs your cooperation to keep your money safe.

Follow the general rules for keeping your own computer safe, and take heed of these top tips for real confidence in online banking:

1. When you are completing online transactions, check out the URL. It should begin with ‘https’ which means the site is ultra secure compared to one starting with just ‘http’.
2. Beware of emails that appear to come from your bank. Spammers can be clever at imitating them. Never reply to requests for your login or other security details. Your bank would never ask for these on an email.
3. If you need to learn more about the types of scam relating to online banking, check out http://www.banksafeonline.org.uk/. And you can report any scam emails you receive there as well.
4. Never click on a link in an email that claims to take you to your bank. Far better to do it the long way round by accessing your account via your browser if you need to check something.
5. Log in to your account at regular intervals and check the transactions listed. Ninety-nine times out of 100 all will be well, but if you find anything that shouldn’t be there, it will be easier to deal with sooner, rather than later.
6. Be careful about your PIN and your password. Don’t give them to anyone, and if you have to make a note of them, do it in code.
7. Remember to log out of the online banking service before you leave your computer.

Following these tips will help you stay safe online, and will keep your personal and business finances secure.