Business planning

Almost a third of small and medium-sized business owners are operating without a formal business plan in place, according to research by Close Brothers Asset Finance.

SMEs are not making use of expert advice when starting their business, research by Aviva has found.

A third of medium-sized business owners are planning to sell their business, a report by law firm Mills & Reeve has found.

Almost two thirds of UK businesses generated a cash surplus this year, according to research by the Institute of Chartered Accountants in England and Wales.

More than three quarters of businesses suffer from late payments, according to research by Bacs.

The majority of small and micro-employers have not set up a workplace pension scheme ahead of their auto-enrolment staging dates, according to research by the National Employment Savings Trust.

Shop price deflation slowed to 1.7% in December 2014, down from 1.9% the previous month, according to figures released by the British Retail Consortium.

Less than a third of small and micro-sized businesses put money into a business savings account, research by Aldermore has found.

Shop prices fell by 1.8% in the year to September 2014, according to figures from the British Retail Consortium and Nielsen.

Less than a third of small businesses have plans to ensure business continuity in the event of data loss, according to a report by disaster recovery firm Databarracks.