Research from credit rating firm Creditsafe, found that 10% of businesses have experienced a 25% increase in costs over the last year. During the same period, over a quarter of small firms have seen a rise in costs of 10% over the same period, and 60% have seen some level of cost increase.

Simon Camilleri, Managing Director of Creditsafe said: “Businesses are faced by rampant business inflation, as the costs of fuel and borrowing increase dramatically. They are also faced with the prospect of employees demanding inflation–busting pay rises to cover the costs of increasing petrol and food costs”

He continued: “If inflation continues to rise we may see thousands of businesses forced to lay off workers, put a brake on expansion plans and even struggle to survive.”

Rosana Mirkovic, spokeswoman for The Association of Chartered Certified Accountants (ACCA) added:
“Keeping costs under control demands a strong head, and a realistic attitude to where savings can be made. SMEs should be doing this on a regular basis anyway, it’s just good business sense, but given the current economic climate, it is now a priority”.

“Reviewing where they can become more efficient is the first step,” she added. “Look at energy bills, staff costs, overheads and supplier costs. Credit check suppliers and do not be put off from making difficult decisions.
“If the decisions are too tough, then small businesses should consult a chartered certified accountant or their business banking adviser,” said Mirkovic. “But the main message is don’t ignore your business’ costs and their immediate and future impact.”

If you are one of the many small businesses suffering from rising costs, why not start by cutting your phone and broadband bills?  XLN Telecom promises to offer the cheapest phone tariffs on the market, as well as competitively priced phone and business broadband bundles. XLN caters exclusively for small businesses, and offers packages and services tailored to suit small business needs.

The costs of bundled broadband packages were lower than those of standalone packages in the second quarter of 2008, a new study from Point Topic has revealed.

The trend was more pronounced in Western Europe, where there is more competition for broadband with fixed telephony and broadband with VoIP packages.

The average price of a double play package with VoIP was down almost 30% from the previous quarter, while the average cost of its IPTV counterpart was up almost 30%.

Fiona Vanier, Senior Analyst at Point Topic commented: “Ultimately ISPs want customers, and they want customers who generate revenue, in particular they want growth in revenue.

“To achieve this they are going to have to hook into all aspects of communication and data transfer, whether it’s voice, video or plain bits.”

She concludes: “A subscriber who takes more than one service from an ISP is more likely to stay with that provider.  They are more likely to generate more revenue over their customer cycle than plain broadband subscribers and that’s what the ISPs, and their shareholders, require.”

XLN Telecom offers two options for broadband, both of which are bundled with phone packages to save your business money. XLN Premium Business Broadband is just £19.99 with the XLN basic phone line plan, and includes a free security package along with 8MB broadband. XLN’s Total Business Broadband offers the complete package – with broadband, line rental and unlimited local and national calls bundled for just £24.95 per month.

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