Having worked totally find I went into my wordpress site today to be advised it has a critical error. I don't own the website but I can update it.

There's a X beside : The required module gd, is not installed, or has been disabled.

Regretfully I don't even know what that means and a quick scan of the internet/youtube turned up nothing. Can anyone please advise whey that's suddenly and issue or what needs to be done about it. I don't think it can be something I did as I haven't been into the website in an age and it was working when I left it. I put a message out to the website builder but she's not been in contact for ages and hasn't responded. Of course we can stop paying her for the use of the website but it doesn't help us much right now :-(

Any advice kindly given would be much appreciated such as - what does it mean, what does it want

Regards,
Trish

Hey I own a single-product Shopify store (skincare niche, specifically dandruff) that did £58,345 in adjusted net profit in the last tax year.

But due to a health issue that limits my focus, I'm looking to sell so I can focus on something else.

The problem is I make the product myself at home.

I do have a manufacturer lined up, and am taking quotes from larger ones… but It presents an issue that any buyer would need to set this up (unless they plan on making it at home too), rather than just immediately buying more stock from the manufacturer to send to a fulfilment center.

Would this massively affect my ability to list on places like Rightbiz or Flippa, or is there a better path? I am willing to fulfill orders and deal with customers for a couple months until they're ready.

Since the store has many loyal customers after 3 years of business, and since it's profitable (the £58k net profit figure is also despite £90k of "bad" advertising costs due to running Google Ads with broken tracking from Jul-Nov) it doesn't make sense to close it.

Thanks,

D

Hi all,

Quick sanity check with other UK sellers.

Once you’re shipping at decent volume, lost parcels and “delivered but not received” cases seem unavoidable. Damage, missing items, claims going back and forth with couriers, all that fun stuff.

What I’m wondering is this:

Do you still chase compensation every time something goes wrong, or do you eventually accept a certain level of loss and move on because the admin just isn’t worth it?

And if you do claim consistently, who actually deals with it in your business?

Ops, finance, customer service… or does it kind of fall between teams?

Interested to hear how others handle this in reality.

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?

Hi Everyone,

I had been a one- man band Ltd company director for years but decided to stop trading and try my luck with something else. Because I took a year off and was not sure how things would work out, I left my PAYE scheme open for the current tax year (2025/26). However, now I know that I most likely won't be working as Ltd anymore, so I have already ceased the PAYE scheme earlier this year and submitted everything to HMRC via the Basic PAYE Tool I have always used .

Now I have got a little problem with my company tax return filing that I always submitted via their webpage. I was not trading in 2025/26, so it will be a simple £0 filing, but unfortunately, I am not allowed to submit the return now, as I am getting an error saying that I need to wait until the 31st of March. The problem is that on the 31st of March, they are going to close the webpage filing, and from what they say, I will have to use some commercial software.

Is there any workaround, such as a paper copy filing , or an option to change the date to before the 31st (I can't see it anywhere), to avoid all the hassle with setting up everything using a commercial software when all I want is to submit that final tax return and close that topic?

If I leave the company dormant, I know I will still have to submit the confirmation statement every year, but do I still have to submit the company tax return too? If so, would the only way to avoid that be to remove the company from their register?

Cheers

Hello, I hope someone can advise me on a query regarding shipping.

I recently started e-commerce, and I am considering placing an order with an Alibaba supplier and using a logistics agent (whom I also found on Alibaba). The supplier will send the goods to the agent, who will then transport them to my door under DDP incoterms.

I don't currently have an EORI number, so I asked the logistics agent if they would use theirs. They informed me that an EORI is not needed for ordinary goods and is only required for special goods. My understanding is that it is needed regardless, but I may be wrong. The agent then assured me that it is not an issue, as they frequently handle CN-UK DDP shipments, and if there is any problem, the logistics agency would resolve it since the shipment falls under DDP incoterms.

My question is: does this sound reasonable, or should I look for an agent who specifically mentions that they have an EORI number they can use for bringing the goods into the UK?

Thanks in advance.

Hi folks,



I’m after white fold boxes (40 × 30 × 20 cm) for packing. I need decent quality and fair pricing — ideally with options for buying in bulk but happy to consider smaller quantities too.



If anyone has good supplier recommendations, price examples, or where to find these at a reasonable cost in the UK, please drop them here!



Thanks in advance

Hi everyone, I'm new here. I am in the process of setting up a niche business selling graphite composite musical instrument parts. We are very low volume at the moment and shipping straight to individual customers from China. When the website has been launched, I would like to ship speculatively to a warehouse in the UK and then on to UK customers to make the ordering experience more convenient. It would be good to have a solution that can scale with the business once I start exploring B2B potential. My wife has been selling on Ebay for about 15 years but the fulfillment solution she uses isn't going to work for my products unfortunately.

If any of you have recommendations for low volume but scalable fulfillment solutions, I'd welcome your feedback.

If you are a sole trader and not VAT registered, Is it a legal requirement to provide each customer an invoice for your service?
Or can you simply keep records of the sale/service by your bank account statement and maybe a receipt? I am thinking of times when it is not feasible, for example, a one off payment from a customer who wishes to pay straight away after your service.

Thanks.

Is it possible to change company names whilst the the company status is showing compulsory strike-off action has been suspended?

It seems that competition in recent years has been getting tougher, and quite a few businesses are shifting towards DTF. Does anyone know the specifics of what’s going on?

Hi all, I’m working with a UK client who’s building a structure of several Ltd companies (consulting, SaaS, and a community style business). We’re setting up a separate IP company to hold intangible assets such as brand/logo, course content, frameworks/methodology, templates, know-how, client lists, etc.) . The plan is for the operating companies to license what they need.

The commercial driver here is exit optionality: the client previously had a situation where they couldn’t sell one business cleanly because IP/rights were entangled across entities, so we’re trying to avoid that from day one. Royalties would be modest and we’d document the rationale behind them.

My main question is around future IP evolution: if the operating companies develop/improve content/processes over time, what’s the best-practice legal approach to ensure the IP company remains the owner of improvements/derivative works while still reflecting commercial reality?

If anyone has views on the overall logic (or pitfalls you’ve seen in practice), I’d appreciate your input. Also, I’m looking for recommendations for a UK commercial/IP solicitor who can do a paid consultation and draft/review the IP assignment + licence agreements (including “improvements/derivatives” wording and buyer-friendly transfer/step-in clauses).

Thanks in advance.

Hi we currently us DX Freight as they are the ONLY company i can find who will ship our items. We sell long items that are light, but awkward. Max dimensions are 6000mm x 150mm x 150mm 25kg. They are packaged in solid cardboard tube. DX Freight have lost 3 of these this week alone and refusing to pay compensation as the parecls were going to a private address. I have scoured online trying to find any other companies but no luck. This is going to bankrupt us, they simply do not care.

Hello,
Client has retained profits in a UK trading company and intends to use approximately £250,000 to fund renovation of an overseas residential property that will be let.
I am reviewing the UK tax implications only and considering the most appropriate structure, including:

• Extraction via dividends and personal ownership
• Establishing a separate UK Property SPV
• Funding through an existing trading company
• Use of shareholder loan vs share capital

I would welcome practical insights on:

• Corporation tax treatment of overseas rental income
• Impact on trading status where property activity is introduced
• Any common structuring considerations or risks under UK tax law

Many thanks.

Those of you with small teams - how do you handle training and "how do I do X?" questions?

I'm curious whether most people just rely on shadowing/asking colleagues,
or if you've found something that actually works for documenting processes.

(Context: thinking about this for a business owner I'm helping, not selling anything)

Has anyone found a workaround for Google Business Profile when you're fully remote?

I tried registering but got declined because I don't have a physical location to verify. I'm a virtual assistant working with UK small businesses - all my work is remote, but I still want to show up when potential clients are searching locally or for remote support?!

A Webflow site with 11000+ content. Need to interlink all those. It will drive me nuts if i try to do this tracking in google sheet.

On my Shopify and Wordpress sites I use Linkboss. It handles it perfectly. Fast & the suggestions are good. Ditched the previous tool I was using after finding Linkboss. But they natively don't support Webflow sites.

So I need something at least half decent to save my sanity.

Hello,

Please could anyone help me with the below,

For completing a Self Assessment Tax Return, Does the period of time include any income accrued, or only income physically received/paid within that period.

For example I became Self-Employed in February of this year, I have accrued earnings between February and 5th April 2025, however I will not physically receive any payments until after 5th April 2025,

Would this go on my 24/25 Tax Return based on accrued earnings, or should it be carried over to 25/26 once the money is physically received into my account?

Thank you for your help.

Bit of a niche one, but I’m hoping some people here won’t mind sharing how they do things.


I work in logistics for a big healthcare company and spend most of my time buried in parcel data – couriers, failed deliveries, weird surcharges, that kind of thing. It’s all very glamorous.


On the side I’m looking at whether a “lightweight tender” approach (basically a proper review of rates and service, but without the corporate bollocks) actually makes sense for smaller UK businesses, or if most people just want something that works and don’t care beyond that. It's a service that would hopefully secure cost savings for many SMB's. We saved 25% on one of our divisions return parcel prices this year. Whilst we have a huge business and scale, savings from doing parcel tenders are extremely common, even if we aren't talking about tens or hundreds of millions in yearly spend on parcels. Even at £20,000 yearly parcel spend it is not only possible, but common to have relatively large savings percentages, and who would complain about a couple grand in savings?


If you run a UK business that ships physical products, I’d love to hear:
– Which couriers you’re using (RM / DPD / Evri / DHL etc.)
– How you ended up with them (price, recommendation, easiest to set up…?)
– Whether you’ve ever properly reviewed what you’re paying since you first set it up
– What winds you up the most about your current setup – cost, reliability, tracking, surcharges, lost parcels, something else?
– Is this service would potentially be something you'd be interested in doing for your business on a 'no savings no fee' basis?


I’m not trying to flog software or anything here, just trying to work out if the problems I see at work actually show up in smaller businesses too, or if I’m overthinking it.


If anyone would be up for a quick chat about how you handle shipping in your business, I’d really appreciate it. Happy to share what I’ve seen go wrong (and right) on the logistics side in return – might help you avoid a few headaches down the line.


If this isn’t ok for the group then mods feel free to remove.

Hi, I run a franchise business with my friend, we are self employed. 21 months before our contract end date we asked about renewal options and also what happens if we decide not to. Our franchisor has now stopped us from taking any enquiries or bookings beyond our contract end date, this will jeopardise our business in that by the time our renewal discussions come into place 3-6 months before the end date we will not have any bookings in the diary and will not want to renew due to it no longer being a profitable business and we would be almost back to square one. Our franchisor knows the importance of us being able to continue taking enquiries now and we can’t see anything in our contract to say she is able to stop this a whole 21 months before our end date, does anyone have any experience with this? Any suggestions would be helpful, thanks

Morning,

We have been using Whatsapp Business quite successfully and wondered what everyone's experience with it is?

We use it for incoming enquiries regarding services and general communication.

The main issues we have is
-having a linked device log out and then struggling to reconnect as we work remotely. It means someone has to get hold of the one main phone...
-Missing messages that have been made read

Look forward to hearing of how you get on with it

Daz

How do we go about finding an accountant who has experience of handling a community benefit society's statutory accounts run under the Charity and Community Benefits Society's act of 2014, controlled by the FCA and based on the quickfile accounting programs?

Hi all, I’m in the middle of some inheritance tax planning. I’ve just sold a piece of agricultural land for £500k (held it for 10+ years). I want to give the money to my daughter now.
My accountant says if I give her the cash, I have to live 7 years or it’s taxed at 40%. But... if I use that money to buy other farmland and gift her the land instead, it might be exempt from IHT immediately because of "replacement relief."
It sounds a bit like a loophole—is this standard practice or is it more complicated than it sounds?

David

There's a couple of accounting terms that keep tripping me up:

• Creditors: Amounts Falling Due Within One Year
• Accruals and deferred income

For last year's accounts for my LTD company I had paid my accountant's fee upfront. He put that fee under "Accruals and deferred income" which I thought made sense at the time.

Now, upon reviewing it all against some more formal definitions, it no longer makes sense to me.

I've looked up the definition for "Accruals and deferred income":

Companies House definition:
Accruals and deferred income


CH's definition is quite generic but it does say "subsequent accounting period", which would suggest the accountant was right to put it where he did, However I then found this in a UKBF post:

Accruals and deferred income - accruals are costs incurred in the period but not billed. Accounts must show all costs incurred in a period so you need to add payments, unpaid invoices and accrued amounts and deduct opening creditors and accruals to arrive at the cost for the year.

Click to expand...

This definition is more specific, and it talks about "costs incurred in the period but not billed".

In my case the accountant's fee was 1) paid and billed upfront and 2) not incurred in the period (because the accountant always does your accounts when the accounting period is over), so I'm confused.

Also, "Accruals and deferred income" is a sub-item of "Creditors: Amounts Falling Due Within One Year" which, again, would suggest this accountant's fee is part of the debt my company owes, which is not the case because it was paid upfront.


Is it just accounting practice to do it like this, or is there something else going on?

Thanks for clearing up any confusion!