I'm currently doing some research and looking for businesses that have used Merkandi in the past.

Reason for this I am contemplating purchasing the subscription.

There’s no magic number, but here are some rough ranges people are reporting in 2024/25:

• General website average: around 2.5–3%
• E-commerce: about 2–2.7%
• Desktop usually beats mobile, but mobile traffic is higher, so it balances out
• UK and Northern Europe often see slightly higher conversions than Southern EU, especially where delivery and trust signals are stronger

If you’re below ~2%, you probably have some big wins available (e.g., checkout friction, unclear delivery info, trust badges, slower mobile load times). If you’re closer to 5%+, you’re likely in “optimise revenue per visitor” rather than “fix broken funnel” territory.
What conversion rates are others seeing in the UK/EU right now, and what’s moved the needle most for you?

Hi All,

I am conducting some research on sales and AI.
As the title of my question states, do you think AI is having a big impact on sales and if so what impact is it making?
I have a 9 question questionnaire which will take 5 mins of your time.
Im asking for 5 mins of your time to fill this out and also to start discussions on this page.

Joel

Hi all, I've just released a product called IdentityHealthCheck which is subscription based at very reasonable rates, its currently on sale with founders discount at 50% off and its currently priced at £250 - £2500 dependant user numbers anybody taking this offer will have the price fixed at founders rate for upto 10 continuous years.

IdentityHealthCheck isn't your standard Identity product. It has 46 patents pending and it should make lif much easier for the C-Suite

Check us out at identityfirst.net. How would you all attempt to get this message out quickly to SME's ?

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.

Hi
I’m a start up setting up a Ltd company,
We are currently negotiating a lease on a commercial property and our solicitor requires the company details before we instruct him.
As the property lease has not yet been finalised I won’t be able to use this as the registered business address so as an interim measure is it best to use my home address with a view to changing it on companies at a later date/once the lease is agreed
Many 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

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.

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.