Investor and entrepreneur Matt Haycox learnt the hard way about the ill-effects of jet lag when travelling for work. He says: “In the early days, jet lag would kill me, and I wasn’t giving my businesses the best version of me, but instead a tired and underwhelming shadow of myself. This often resulted in poor decision making and communication.” He is by no means alone. A study by Kayak and Airbus found that jet lag costs UK businesses £241 million a year through mistakes made by jet-lagged staff. According to its findings, jet lag affects travellers for an average of […]

You work in a busy finance department of a fast-growing company. You receive an email from your CEO, asking you to make a large payment from the business bank account – and to do it ASAP. It’s for an important, time-sensitive deal. You quickly scan the message, one of many filling up your inbox. Perhaps you don’t notice that the email address isn’t quite right. The chief is getting impatient and sends you a chasing email soon after, piling on the pressure. It’s urgent – have you made the payment yet? You don’t have time to really think through the […]

Businesses venturing into overseas markets need to understand how best to make and receive payments in different currencies. Below we answer some of the most common questions being asked about international currency transactions. How do multi-currency business accounts work? Businesses that trade across borders normally need to hold accounts in more than one currency, or face the costly process of constantly converting money to and from Sterling. Multi-currency accounts are intended to simplify this, by enabling businesses to manage all their day-to-day business banking and international money transfers in one place. They make it easier for businesses to be paid […]

Tired, burdened with luggage, and perhaps rushing through a foreign airport, it’s easy for a business traveller to lose or damage their gear, be it personal possessions or business property. But how can businesses protect themselves? And who is responsible for the financial cost of replacing a device such as a laptop or mobile phone owned by their employer? As a rule, responsibility is with the employee, says Steve Pritchard, an HR consultant for Anglo Liners: “This can often depend on the circumstances surrounding the missing item, but in most cases, the employee in possession of business property will be […]

The past few years have been interesting for British SMEs. The EU referendum and the US election have taken their toll on currency markets creating fluctuations in the cost of overseas travel and expenses and buying and selling overseas. The pound significantly weakened against some of the world’s major currencies including the US dollar and euro, meaning for businesses it has become a lot more expensive to spend money overseas. Business profits, cash flow and competitiveness can all be affected by exchange rate movements, meaning a keen eye on currency risk is crucial. But fear not, because we’ve put together […]