The average business energy bill in 2026, by usage not size
There is no single average business energy bill, and no price cap for firms. What UK SMEs pay in 2026 by usage, from about £4,300 for a micro business.
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Browse all 10 tools →Calculators that do the maths for you
Test the numbers before you commit. Ten free calculators, including:
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Marketing & Growth
Asking customers for reviews: what UK rules allow and Google bans
UK law permits some disclosed review incentives; Google bans them. Check the £300,000 penalty ceiling, prize-draw nuance and a review request you can use.
Cashflow & Finance
Chair rent and the VAT threshold: the income salon owners must count
Chair rent counts towards your £90,000 VAT threshold. See how three £400-a-month chairs push £78,000 of salon sales into registration, and what happens to the rent.
Operations
Companies House ID verification: find your deadline before November
Your confirmation statement can make ID verification due before November 2026. Check both director and PSC roles, the filing date and the separate 14-day window.
Operations
Holiday pay for irregular hours: the 12.07% rule and when rolled-up pay is legal
Choose the right holiday-pay category, calculate 12.07% accrual and compare two payslips. Fixed part-time hours and sickness need different checks.
Trades & Services
How to price a cleaning contract in 2026: what an hour really costs
A £12.71 wage becomes £14.24 to £16.27 per worked hour in our examples, before overheads. See how hours, pensions and Employment Allowance change your quote.
Cashflow & Finance
Business energy bills could fall up to 20% under a plan to move green levies
UK business electricity bills could fall up to 20% under a CBI and Energy UK plan to move renewable costs and the Climate Change Levy off them. What it means for SMEs, and why it is only a proposal.
Cashflow & Finance
Growth Guarantee Scheme expansion 2026: 10-year loans and a £54m turnover cap
Rachel Reeves is expanding the Growth Guarantee Scheme: loan terms up to 10 years, the turnover cap rising from £45m to £54m, and £6.5bn more lending expected. What changes and how to apply.
Cashflow & Finance
Plan ahead for your tax payments: the bill is predictable, the cash squeeze is optional
VAT and Corporation Tax dates are predictable, but the lump-sum hit still catches growing firms. What lateness costs in 2026, when Time to Pay fits, and when short-term finance is the better route.
Trades & Services
Office and Commercial Cleaning Prices UK (2026): Per Hour, Per Sq Ft and Per Month
How much does office cleaning cost in 2026? £15 to £30 an hour, and a table turning any visit length and frequency into a monthly figure, so you can price your own office.
Cashflow & Finance
Growth Guarantee Scheme Accredited Lenders List (2026)
Every accredited Growth Guarantee Scheme lender at a glance, including HSBC, Barclays, NatWest, Lloyds and Santander: who lends what, typical terms, and how to choose. Checked 3 July 2026.
Operations
Do I need employers' liability insurance? Usually, the day you hire
Most UK businesses must hold employers' liability from the day they hire, or risk up to £2,500 a day. Who triggers it, who is exempt and what it costs.
Cashflow & Finance
Growth Guarantee Scheme Explained: Eligibility, Lenders and How to Apply (2026)
The Growth Guarantee Scheme backs facilities of up to £2 million with a 70% government guarantee to the lender. What it really costs, who qualifies, which banks offer it and how to apply.
Operations
First Employee Cost UK: £28k Really Costs £28,650+ (2026)
How much more does an employee cost than their salary? In 2026/27, 2.3% to 15% more. A £28,000 first hire really costs £28,650 with the Employment Allowance, or £32,100 without it.
Marketing & Growth
Google Business Profile: the three changes that actually get a local firm called
Primary category, a complete profile and recent reviews you reply to: the three Google Business Profile changes with a documented mechanism behind them.
Cashflow & Finance
What the late-payment rules actually let a small firm charge
A £2,400 invoice paid 60 days late earns you £116.20: statutory interest at 11.75% plus a fixed £70, no contract or court needed. Rate holds until 1 July.
Marketing & Growth
Local SEO location pages: when UK SMEs should build them, and when they should not
Location pages can be a strong local-SEO asset or a thin mess. When a UK SME should build them, what a useful page needs, and how to avoid doorway pages.
Operations
Making Tax Digital is live: what sole traders must do now
MTD for Income Tax is live: sole traders with over £50,000 of self-employment and property turnover, not profit, are in. £30,000 and £20,000 waves follow.
Trades & Services
Materials prices are moving: how long should your quote stay open?
Building materials rose 3.2% in the year to April 2026. An undated quote hands you that risk. Set a validity window, add a materials clause and re-quote.
Marketing & Growth
SEO for UK SMEs: the 90-minute audit before you spend a pound
Before paying for SEO, run this 90-minute audit: search like a customer, fix titles and service pages, sort your Google Business Profile, measure enquiries.
Cashflow & Finance
The £90,000 VAT cliff: what crossing the threshold really costs
Cross £90,000 rolling turnover and a consumer-facing firm faces a 20% price rise or a VAT bill near 12.5% of sales, plus the schemes that soften the blow.
Trades & Services
Price the job, not the day rate
Day rates cap what you earn and hide if a job pays. Build a price from materials, the hours you can really bill, overhead and a margin that survives tax.
Cashflow & Finance
How much should a sole trader set aside for tax?
Sole traders, set aside about 20% of profit for tax in 2026/27, rising to 25% above £50,000, and brace for the first 31 January bill that lands at 150%.
Data & Reports
UK SME Service Demand Index - May 2026
Our monthly read on where UK small-business service demand is heading, drawn from live enquiry data across drainage, waste, cleaning and trades.
Trades & Services
Quoting jobs: why your win rate has less to do with price than you think
Fast, clear quotes win more work than cheap ones. A practical look at what actually moves quote-to-job conversion for UK service firms.
Marketing & Growth
The local SEO basics most UK small firms still get wrong
A no-nonsense checklist for getting found in local search - the handful of things that actually move the needle for small UK businesses.