News
Severely delinquent bills at 12 month high 24 January, 2012
Australian businesses are increasingly neglecting their bills with the number of severely delinquent payments jumping 28 percent over the Christmas period. According to D&B's Trade Payments Analysis, the number of bills left unpaid for 90 days or more grew 20 per cent compared with 12 months ago.
Over half of retailers fear online competition 13 January, 2012
Over half of retailers expect online sellers to have an adverse effect on bricks and mortar retailers, according to D&B's latest Business Expectations Survey. With increasing competition from e-commerce stores, this situation is likely to deteriorate for retailers unwilling or unable to adapt to changing consumer behaviour.
Small retailers may face another challenging Christmas 14 December, 2011
The Christmas period is usually the most important time of the year for many retailers,  and industry experts and commentators believe that this Christmas period will be 'make or break' for many Australian businesses.
Business sentiment falls amid global uncertainty 06 December, 2011
Australian firms have registered a sharp decline in confidence off the back of continued global uncertainty and financial instability. According to D&B's latest Business Expectations Survey, sales expectations fell five points and profit expectations remain flat based on results recorded last month. The drop in sentiment was particularly evident among manufacturers and wholesalers, where sales expectations plummeted more than 15 points since October.
SMEs and spending cuts 02 December, 2011
The Federal Government has unveiled new spending cuts in a bid to achieve a budget surplus next year and turnaround its $37 billion deficit, but small businesses need not worry unnecessarily as most of these cuts apply to public service and do not directly affect SMEs.
SME tourism sector suffers amid falling visitor rates 02 December, 2011
The tourism industry, which relies largely on small to medium enterprises to survive, has been hit in recent months with falling visitor numbers and the poor economic climate. However, tourist numbers from China and India have grown strongly, indicating a large and extremely tappable market that SMEs should be focusing on.
SMEs stand to gain from Fair Work review 23 November, 2011
SMEs may benefit from a review of the Fair Work Act, particularly after recent industrial action across the nursing and aviation industries have raised questions about the effectiveness of workplace laws and their impact on small businesses.
Businesses taking nearly two months to pay their bills 15 November, 2011
Australian businesses are taking almost a full month longer than average to pay their bills, with national payment terms reaching 53 days during the September quarter 2011. According to Dun  & Bradstreet's latest Trade Payments Analysis, two-thirds of businesses took longer than the standard 30 day period to pay their accounts.
SMEs and the carbon tax 09 November, 2011
Small businesses will incur increased electricity costs after 1 July next year when the carbon tax is slated to come into effect. While large corporations will no doubt be the hardest hit, they will likely pass on increased energy costs to consumers and customers including the two million SMEs in Australia.
Small businesses experiencing soft credit growth 03 November, 2011
High borrowing rates and the pessimistic economic sentiment has deterred small businesses from obtaining credit, despite the SME lending market becoming more and more competitive. Read on to find out why SMEs are experiencing negative conditions.
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