Professional Services
Competitive Credit and Debit Card Rates
Lloyds TSB Cardnet for keen credit and debit card rates, starting at 1.69% and 17p respectively. There is no joining fee. Application forms and further details are available from:
Lloyds TSB Bank plc, Card Merchant Services, Cardnet House, Paycock Road, Basildon, Essex SS14 3HX,
T: 0870 9017915 F: 01268 503669 or contact Meryl Halls at the BA on 020 7802 0811 Meryl Halls meryl.halls@booksellers.org.uk
Retail Review Scheme
Retail Review Scheme is a new initiative from the BA and offers a real business improvement tool. Whether it's on the big issues like Business Strategy or more day-to-day concerns like shop layout or shrinkage, it can be hard to carve out the time and energy to focus on what's required.
This service, run by Paul Ford of Retail Workshop, offers you the chance to buy in consultancy for your business at specially negotiated rates.
The Scheme is infinitely flexible. You call the shots, you write the brief.
Retail Workshop Retail Reviews cost £300. This is a one day programme including taking a brief, visiting your business, comprehensive fact finding, a written report and a follow up if required.
For further information and a booking form please contact Meryl Halls - email: meryl.halls@booksellers.org.uk or contact Paul Ford at Retail Workshop on 01926 431 522 email: info@retailworkshop.co.uk
Insurance for Booksellers
The BA appointed Willis Limited as the Association's nominated insurance broker, and Willis Limited, has for many years, brokered an advantageous scheme for BA members currently offered through Norwich Union. The BA Insurance Scheme offers booksellers cost-effective, high quality, tailored insurance for their business. Benefits include £250k cover for Book Tokens, 'interest free' instalments and libel option. Booksellers who would like a quote for insurance cover or to discuss wider insurance issues should email Philip Derbyshire on Philip.derbyshire@willis.com
The BA is an Introducer Appointed Representative of Willis Limited and Willis Limited is authorised and regulated by the Financial Services Authority.Mystery Shopping Service
The BA offers a low-cost mystery-shopping service for its members, provided by a well-known mystery shopping company, Storecheckers, which can be used to provide a fresh perspective on a retail business, and is increasingly used by retailers to identify their own strengths and weaknesses from the consumer's perspective.
Typically, Storecheckers will send a specialised assessor into a shop posing as a customer. He or she will look carefully at all aspects of the shop's service offering, as well as its staff's selling skills. The assessor then prepares a report for the retailer, detailing where they are succeeding and where improvements could be made. In many cases they will be able to benchmark a shop's performance, eg against other outlets in the same sector.
The BA mystery-shopping service, specially tailored for booksellers, costs just £65. This includes a visit from the assessor followed by a detailed report. The report is both quantitative and qualitative - telling you not just how your shop performed, but also providing a valuable commentary of the consumer experience in your bookshop.
Further information is available from Meryl Halls at the BA, T: 020 7802 0802 or Meryl Halls meryl.halls@booksellers.org.uk
Financial Healthcheck & Business Benchmarking
The BA's Small Business Forum offers a useful financial service for independent bookshops.
The aim of the new SBF Financial Healthcheck & Business Benchmarking service is two-fold: to help independent booksellers learn more about their businesses from their profit & loss accounts and to allow them to compare their performance against businesses of a similar size.
"This is the result of comments and suggestions made by booksellers through the Small Business Forum" comments the BA's Head of Membership Services, Meryl Halls. "They want to be able to drill down into their own finances to improve their profitability, and they want to know how their finances compare with that of their peers."
Participating booksellers will also be able to attend practical finance workshops and receive a copy of the publication, Bookselling Benchmarks.
All information provided will be treated in the strictest confidence and will be analysed by independent financial experts.
Further information is available from Meryl Halls at the BA, T: 020 7802 0802 or Meryl Halls meryl.halls@booksellers.org.uk
Business Support Helpline
The BA Business Support Helpline is being funded by the BA on behalf of the membership, in a bid to provide booksellers with legal and technical advice, information and guidance on such matters as: Tax; VAT; PAYE; Payroll; NIC; Employment; Health & Safety; Commercial Legal; (inc company law, landlord and tenant legislation, consumer protection, intellectual property and debt/debt recovery)
The service is being supplied by Croner Consulting, a specialist provider who have a team of highly qualified accountants, employment law specialists and solicitors ready to provide advice and guidance to BA members during business hours. The service has been widely used by members who are unanimous in their praise for this confidential service. Additionally, BA members are entitled to source a wide range of fact sheets on business related legislation by going to the link to Croner Fact Sheets below. All information on this Croner site is kept up-to-date and could help to clarify difficult issues for booksellers. The Helpline can save businesses huge amounts of time and trouble, not to mention potentially money.
Further information is available from the BA Membership Department on 020 7802 0802 - Contact: Meryl Halls meryl.halls@booksellers.org.uk
to go to Croner