Hi I was wondering if anyone could advise me on a company that would be able to help me produce a new product in China, Iam looking for a english compnay that would be ready to help me through all the steps from the begining until the end. (I would prefer to use someone that other people have already used)

Thanks

I’m trying to simplify the setup a bit — right now it’s a mix of notes, photos, and doing quotes later at home, which isn’t ideal.

There are loads of apps out there (Jobber, Tradify, QuickBooks), but most of them feel quite heavy for solo trades or small teams.

Ideally looking for something mobile-first where you can:

• keep job details
• track photos
• put together quotes
• not spend evenings doing admin

What are you all actually using day-to-day? Anything that genuinely saves time on-site?

My company is talking about payment and account information APIs. They are planning to get them integrated so as to better help us and our workflow.

I am confused, mainly about the safety and compliance standards. How do those work? It's a small firm so my opinion would also be taken into account in the meeting. I want to be better informed.

Is there anyone else who imports glassware from China and has been affected by the new duties which can sometimes be like 40%? does anyone then subsequently export the glassware?
Any work arounds?

Hello!

I hope everyone is doing well.

I’m looking to connect with fellow accountants and bookkeepers in the UK to share experiences and insights. It would be great to learn from each other and exchange ideas.

Please feel free to DM or comment in the thread—looking forward to hearing from you!

Have a great day!

Hi folks, I’d be interested to hear from anyone who has experience with high-ticket ecommerce / dropshipping, particularly large / heavy products.

I’ve spent roughly two years developing a UK Shopify store selling gym equipment. I managed to open trade accounts with three UK suppliers, but the supplier side has turned out to be much more difficult than I expected.

Some of the problems I encountered were:

• Poor or unreliable stock information.
• One supplier no longer providing useful stock updates.
• Another effectively expecting me to contact them manually whenever a customer wanted to order something, making it impossible to mark my products as 'in stock' let alone run Google PMax Ads.
• Missing trade prices / product information from feeds / spreadsheets.
• Slow or non-existent responses to enquiries.
• Relatively tiny margins on some products once VAT and delivery were taken into account.
• Particular brands being tied to individual suppliers, so losing an unreliable supplier also meant losing the ability to sell those brands.

One supplier eventually introduced a product feed that could integrate with Shopify, which was a big improvement, but due to missing info – even that hasn’t completely solved the underlying issues.

The website itself is fully developed and has now been accepted into Google Merchant Center, so technically I feel I took the site as far as it could be taken. The problem has really been making the supplier / dropshipping side commercially reliable.

I’ve now decided not to continue investing in this particular setup and am selling the website/digital assets (which include some decent promo videos), but this experience has made me very cautious about approaching high-ticket e-commerce from now on.

I’m particularly interested in other people’s experiences:

> How reliable do you expect UK wholesalers/distributors to be with live stock information?

> Would you completely avoid a supplier that couldn’t provide reliable stock data?

> For bulky/high-ticket products, have you found UK dropshipping workable, or is it much safer to buy selected stock in advance and fulfil it yourself / from a warehouse?

> And are there particular high-ticket niches where you’ve found suppliers to be much more ecommerce-friendly?

I'm very interested to hear how other people have dealt with UK dropshipping. Even if your story isn't about selling high ticket products, I'd still like to hear how you got on.

Many thanks for reading.

Hello

I'm looking for recommendations for UK based agents that specialise in importing goods from China to the UK - looking for recommendations off businesses who have themselves imported goods and have used an agent for this.

Thanks

With Black History Month coming up in October, we have been wondering what other businesses are planning for 2026.

Working in the speaker industry, we've found quite a few organisations are already preparing by bringing in top speakers such as Derek Redmond, John Amaechi and Scotty Mills to share their experiences and start conversations around leadership, inclusion and representation.

I also came across this article with some interesting perspectives from Black thought leaders on diversity and inclusion, which is giving us inspiration:

Black Thought Leaders on Diversity & Inclusion

What are your plans for Black History Month this year? If you've done something previously, what worked well and actually got people involved?

Hi I have a small ecommerce website hosted on LCN.com for a few years. The package I have has included from the start "5 x 5GB mailboxes" for my domain name.
This year LCN are asking for an additional £488 inc VAT to keep my email mailboxes. This is crazy, something I cannot afford and hence my question:
Recommendations please for a reliable UK-based web host including 5 email mailboxes. I already have my own domain name registered, so would move this to the chosen web host.

Hi everyone,
I've spent the last while building something to automate data entry: pulling data from invoices, receipts and other documents into whatever system it needs to land in.

I've worked in IT and been through several ERP implementations on the client side at SMEs, and the gap I keep seeing is that most tools in this space treat "admin" as just typing numbers in. It isn't — admins check data against internal rules, flag what's off, and make judgment calls that most software ignores.

So beyond just extracting the data, what I've built also:

• Maps everything into the column names you actually use, not generic defaults
• Flags missing or inconsistent fields instead of assuming it's all correct
• Applies validation rules — custom sums, conditional logic ("if this name appears in this column, do X")
• Learns from trickier or non-standard document layouts
• Pulls specific values out of free-text fields e.g. "6 x Hot Dog Tins" → it grabs just the 6, not the whole string

Has anyone here actually used tools in this space day to day? What's missing, or what winds you up about the ones you've tried?

Hi everyone! Firstly, please forgive any inaccuracies in this, I am no expert!

I am currently looking into AI software and how we can integrate this into our systems to improve and/or automate many of our system processes.

I would be interested to hear what other people have found to be useful, or equally, not useful? Specifically, I would be looking at integrating to Dynamics 365 CRM to automate workflows which are currently being manually completed.

I have also been having a look at ChatGPT 4.0 and have so far been impressed. I am looking into the possibility of building my own GPT, has anyone done this so far and found it helpful? What are some limitations you have experienced with this?

Any and all feedback welcome, thank you!

I need help getting DHL to update customs/fees status (UK)



\- my daughter forgot her phone in Tampa airport
\- we flew home to the UK
\- phone was found and they kindly agreed to pack it for shipping
\- shipment was collected and sent.
\- it’s in my local delivery depot
\- DHL have decided import tax is due

It’s the last point that I’ve spent 3 days trying to resolve.

I have:

\- called both DHL customer support and the dedicated tax/duty line (03442090102) multiple times

\- I have provided a detailed declaration of why this is tax exempt

\- I have emailed said document to multiple email addresses advised by DHL:

gbtcdesk
ukinvoicequeries
picollections

\- The delivery was due today but cancelled because of the unpaid customs charges.

\- I called customer support on 0344 248 0012 and got someone who understood. He put me on hold and spoke to the PI collections team who confirmed they were working on getting the charges removed.

\- nothing has changed in the status yet and I’m getting increasingly hysterical emails and WhatsApps from DHL telling me to pay up.

It’s getting comical now.

Someone, somewhere in the DHL UK machine has the knowledge and ability to resolve this.

My daughter just wants her phone.

Any pointers about who to contact/what to do are most welcome.

If the status hasn’t changed in the morning I’m considering driving down to the depot with all the documents and sitting there until this is resolved.

I’m planning to start a dropshipping/affiliate marketing business and wondering whether I really need a website. Can I just rely on social media platforms to generate traffic and sales, or is having a site essential for long-term growth and SEO?

Previously, I’ve tried small campaigns using just social media with some success, but now I want to scale. There are so many products and niches, and I’m not sure whether creating multiple landing pages for each product is necessary, or if I should focus on just a few key pages/posts.

Would love to hear what works best in 2025 for beginners vs scaling businesses.

Hello there, in my company went insolvent in January 2025
Since the rising cost of gas and electricity bills, my electricity bill piled up to over 36K and I was negotiating with the bailiff for a full year paying them in instalments eventually when I couldn’t pay any more, they try to disconnect the supply that I had to take an instant decision to close the
company I spoke to the insolvency practitioner who did the process for me only to find out a few months later. I have got liquidators Solicitor solicitors putting lots of acquisitions on me and my family to be as a shadow Director and my husband to act as a facto de Director.
Negotiating with them we have a mediation in arranged in five weeks time I can represent myself as I can prove my points and the reasons for liquidation but I need someone to represent my husband and his parents who are being brought into this. Can anyone advise if a solicitor for a fixed week could represent me in the mediation? The transaction they are challenging our four years before the liquidation date they don’t even fall into a two year old category.
Thank you I am on a limited time. Can you please advise?

I’ve been reading through some discussions about this new ecom platform and watching comparison videos on Youtube but I haven’t made a decision to start yet. So far, everything sounds pretty trustworthy, the selling process seems clear enough. Still I’d really like to hear from people who are actually using the OTHER platform and selling digital products only. (but if you have any exp with ecomzy it's even better! )
Do you have any withdrawal fees? And how much do you usually spend on promotion? I’m trying to compare a few things before I start my first full digital project. It’s interesting to hear real numbers from people who’ve already been doing this

Hello everyone i run tyresse.co.uk and have been working on tweaking and improving the website in order to drive more conversions, i would really appreciate any advice from people on here to help me do this as its totally different when your hands on the business and always looking at competitors and other websites.

In our experience, the actual three-way reconciliation process isn't usually the problem. The challenges tend to arise earlier, such as delayed posting of costs, incorrect client matter allocation, or staff bypassing established workflows.

I'm interested in hearing real-world examples of recurring issues and how firms have successfully reduced reconciliation exceptions over time.

Would appreciate insights from those actively involved with trust accounts, client money compliance, or legal finance operations.

Hi everyone,

I am currently exploring the idea of setting up a business in the UK, possibly as a non-resident. I have come across options like forming a UK Ltd company and using a virtual office address, but I would really appreciate insights from those who have already gone through the process.

Below are the points I have to understand

- How easy is it to register a UK company remotely?
-What are the legal requirements after formation?
-Is UK business Bank account difficult to open as a non resident?
-Are virtual address accepted for official use?
-Any common mistakes I should avoid in the early stages?

If you have set up a UK business recently or have experience in this area, I would love to hear your advice, tips, or even challenges you faced.

Thanks in advance

I’m into buy to let property investment. With the present interest rate hikes, the business is like walking on a tight rope. A friend has recently given me the idea of diversifying into container self-storage. I have decided to explore this route and I am looking for resources and information about how to setup this business correctly, which seems to be scarce on the internet, I may be wrong. Are there any courses/mentorship available? I couldn’t even find anything on YouTube produced by people based in Uk except for those based in USA. Grateful for your support in my research!

Apologies if I waffle on too much here - I'll try to keep it concise. I shall summarise the main points at the end of the post.
I'm just at a point where I need to make a call and follow through. Any input, positive or negative, would be so greatly appreciated. Thank you.

The full story

I started my limited company in 2016 (online gift shop - mainly selling on Etsy) - It doubled in size every year up until 2020 so I made some financial decisions based off where I thought we would be, and the capacity we would need for fulfilling more orders the following year. 2021 saw no doubling, and turnover remained around 2020 level, then 2022 onwards we just started plummeting. Poor financial decisions made, and not corrected quickly enough. My fault entirely.

I'm at the point now where we make around £3k gross profit per month (which is slowly increasing). Our outgoings (rent, bills, loan repayments etc) are around £1,500pm, payroll for my wife (my only other employee) around £1,100pm, leaving around £400.

Here's the issue - I've bailed the business out a few times now with my personal funds (return of dividend payments mostly, so not owed by the company) and managed to get myself in personal debt, to the tune of around £45k. I obviously can't pay myself enough to cover debt repayments and my own bills (around £4k per month all in).

The business also has around £5k-£6k of debts due in the coming weeks, which I don't have the funds for.

The business can operate without me, though it would not grow, and would slowly decline month on month. I wanted to get other opinions on what other business owners would do in this situation, as I keep second guessing my own decisions.

• Option 1: Do I liquidate the business due to insolvency?
• Option 2: Do I sell assets and excess stock to pay the bills, then keep the business going without me?
• Option 3: Is there a third option?!

I'm good at what I do (the production side - Obviously not the business side so much, though I'm trying to learn faster!)

I have many many options and ideas on how to branch out and either grow the business, or start a new one - But this has led to decision paralysis.

I hate the idea of walking away from the company I've spent so much time trying to build and rebuild.

Full time employment - Working for someone else again after 9 years being my own boss - Doesn't appeal at all (though I've started applying for work quite aggressively!) - But this will unlikely pay enough to cover all of my bills, and I'm not sure how transferable my skills are?!

I've reached the point where I don't want to take on any more debt - Where I need guaranteed income. I'm not desperate just yet, but there will come a time in the near future where I could lose my house - And I can't let that happen, as I have a wife and young children to think about.

To summarise the situation (without the fluff);

• Est 2016
• Turnover doubled each year to 2020
• Expanded operation to cope with expected demand
• Turnover remained the same in 2021 - Outgoings were a lot higher
• Turnover declined in 2022 onwards - Outgoings still too high: Took too long to correct
• £5k-£6k due in coming weeks (we can't currently pay)
• Gross profit currently around £3k per month
• Bills and payroll around £2,600 per month
• Above does not account for me being paid
• I'm now around £45k in personal debt (due to bailing out the company).
• I personally need to be taking home around £4,000pm to avoid further debt.

I’m looking for some pricing feedback in relation to solopreneurs, consultants, one-person businesses and very small teams.

Over the last six months, I’ve spent a lot of time working through errors, wasted usage, unnecessary costs and various blind alleys to get my Hermes Agent setup working as well as it currently can and connected to all the different things i need it to be. Ive had interest from a few people as to how I have put it all together so far as ive shown some of the things I have developed for clients with it etc and going to look to them to see about how to price it too.

Now it’s properly configured, it’s far more powerful and flexible than simply using something like Claude Code or Cowork on its own. It can handle much broader work, create and develop projects, and has controls in place to stop someone burning through all their usage in an afternoon.

Most small business owners won’t have the time or inclination to go through the same learning curve, so I’m considering offering it as a done-for-you setup.

I would install and optimise the full environment, then provide ongoing hosting, maintenance, fixes, improvements and coaching. The coaching is a big part of it: showing the owner how to use their “digital employee” get the most out of them and helping them apply it to their own work and processes.

Based on my initial research of UK and US market and whats available in the market I'm currently considering:

Setup: somewhere between £1000 and £2,500

Coaching, hosting and support: between £500 and £750 per month

£1000 feels too low for the setup, but £2,500 may be too high for the audience.

Likewise, £500–£750 per month feels reasonable for the hosting, maintenance, optimisation, fixes and hands-on guidance, but I’m unsure where the right point is.

Looking purely at the value and pricing, where would you place it?

Am i overthinking this or would the setup be a bit too over the top for this sort of client profile?

Has the look of the website changed

We have created a business with a product we are looking to sell through our website. We are looking to do our first round of marketing through TikTok. Our launch is in 3 weeks and we want to grow our followers on TikTok organically as much as possible before we start paid ads in line with our launch date. We plan on utilising TikTok live on and after launch to drive up engagement also.

What is the best kind of content or strategy to do this effectively? Any tips or advice would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks.

Hi ,

Can anyone give help with this - I'm importing a machine from China and my broker as aske d for a commodity code which i have sent -8701 2110 00 but they have asked this :
My customs team are asking for an additional code which goes with the customs commodity code 8701 2110 00 you have chosen.
Please see the link to import controls under this commodity for Fluorinated greenhouse gases.

but im not sure which additional code is required

any help greatly appreciated

What margins do retailers and distributors expect in the FMCG food industry? I'm trying to work out my margin stack and see if my product idea is feasible, but I'm seeing a lot of conflicting numbers, so I would find it really helpful to hear directly from people actually in the industry.
Thanks!