In last week's Queen's Speech the government indicated its intention that private landlords should be required to check whether or not prospective tenants are legally allowed to settle in the UK before offering a tenancy. The proposal was one of the centrepieces of a speech that focused heavily on immigration.

According to the government's plans, landlords who fail to conduct the checks would receive significant fines.

But the proposals have been widely criticised by both opposition MPs and landlord groups. In the House of Commons Labour MP Fiona Mactaggart said the plans were simply unfeasible.

"I am not sure how a landlord is supposed to be able to prove to their own satisfaction whether someone is qualified or not," she said. "In order to operate the proposal sensibly, it will probably require a register of landlords."

Shadow home secretary Yvette Cooper echoed the remarks, saying that "the government cannot tell us how their policy will be enforced, because they do not know who the landlords are and they will not have a statutory register."

Others, however, have suggested that the new regime would make little difference to landlords, many of whom already include basic checks of this sort in their referencing process. Richard Lambert, CEO of the National Landlords Association, welcomed the proposals, saying: "Every landlord should thoroughly reference a tenant prior to offering a tenancy; this is standard best practice which safeguards the landlord's business. Tenant checks should include not only an identity check, as suggested, but also whether the tenant has any County Court Judgments, possible aliases and include references from their employer and a previous landlord. Such checks should highlight any immigration irregularities.

"However, local authorities must undertake robust, intelligence-led, targeted enforcement, otherwise illegal immigrants who are refused housing by reputable landlords will face homelessness or be pushed straight back into the arms of the criminals who deliberately exploit vulnerable people."

At the moment, the government's proposals are just that - proposals. They may yet be changed, or simply not implemented at all.

That said, the proposals highlight several vital things that landlords should keep in the forefront of their minds. The first is the importance of proper tenant referencing. By ensuring that you check your tenants' credit history, previous landlords, and employment status, you can minimise the risk of non-payment and other problems.

Secondly, as Cooper and Mactaggart pointed out, the prospect of a nationwide register of landlords remains a real one. Registers have already been introduced in parts of the UK, and landlords should be prepared for a national list in the future.

The newspaper reports that the social media giant will begin rolling out video ads from July, with a limited number of major clients being invited to use the new service. It is thought that video advertising will then be made available on a 'self-service' basis to all advertisers.

Although Facebook has so far declined to comment on the plans, some details have emerged. It is thought that adverts will appear without sound in users' news feeds, and that they will then begin playing again in the event that a user turns on the sound. During the early stages of the service users will only see videos from one advertiser per day.

Facebook is positioning the service as an alternative to TV advertising, pricing its videos in the "low $20s" per thousand views. This is slightly cheaper than the current average cost of TV ads.

Although Facebook video ads will not be available to everyone at launch, they still have implications for your small business. The first and most important thing to understand is that the nature of online advertising, and indeed of the internet itself, is changing. If anything, Facebook has been slow on the uptake. Video is now a huge force online. Web users are increasingly choosing video over any other medium, as it provides a quick, low hassle means by which they can receive information.

Similarly, Facebook's pricing represents the perceived shift in consumers' viewing patterns. Conventional TV advertising is seen to be becoming less efficient, simply because consumers are not watching TV in the same way. Instead, they are either watching films and programmes through online on-demand services, or with a 'second screen' - that is, a laptop, tablet, or smartphone that is in use at the same time as the TV is on.

Facebook's entry into the video advertising market is therefore a symptom of a wider shift towards online video content.

Although it may be some months before you can sign up to Facebook's service, there is a number of other ways in which your small business might experiment with video advertising.

The most important of these is YouTube. YouTube is the world's most popular video sharing site, generating 400 million views every day. There are two key ways in which you can use YouTube in your marketing.

Although YouTube might seem like a difficult nut to crack, there are simple ways in which you can use it to build your customer base. Read our guide to YouTube for small businesses for more.

Insurance is one of the most important expenses your business might incur, yet often the most misunderstood. Every person is different, so is every business and as such each individual business’ insurance needs will vary accordingly. That’s why it is hard to provide a fully comprehensive guide to the business insurance world; however we can certainly cover the basics, giving you the right knowledge to make sure that you’re buying the right insurance for your business.

So whether you’re a handyman working on your own, a boutique perfume shop with a few employees, or a multi-million pound international fashion company trading in different currencies and time zones, we are sure you will find something useful in this guide to business insurance.

First let’s tackle public liability insurance. This is probably the most purchased business insurance and is essential for any business which interacts with the general public or meets their clients face-to-face - which is almost every business!

Public liability insurance is there to compensate a member of the public (i.e. anyone who is not associated with your business) should you or an employee accidentally injure them or damage their property. A good example would be a window cleaner who is cleaning a two storey window on a busy high street and drops his bucket. I’m sure you can think of many different things that could be hit and damaged or injured by the bucket.

Or perhaps a plumber leaves a piece of pipe lying around in their client’s home whilst they pop out to get some lunch and the client slips on it and injures themself.

Unfortunately we live in a world where fraudulent claims are not unheard of and as a business owner you may well find yourself a target of one. If there is a claim against you of this nature your insurer will still protect you against it in the same way, so you aren’t spending money on legal costs just because you’ve been targeted in this way.

If you ever receive a claim which you believe is fraudulent, please make sure you notify your insurer immediately as the sooner it can be investigated the better. In fact you should notify your insurer as soon as an incident has occurred, whether you believe it will lead to a claim or not and even if you suspect it isn’t a ‘legitimate’ incident. The sooner your insurer has the information the better job they can do of protecting you.

Insurance companies offer a range of cover levels, commonly starting from £1,000,000 although sometimes lower. With certain business types such as shops, this will often start at £2,000,000. In some cases you may find a contract requires you to hold £5,000,000 or even £10,000,000 – Which is often the case if you are working on a local council or government contract.

If you don’t have a contract specifying an amount, you will need to assess your own risk and level of exposure to the public. Perhaps you have a small jewellery shop with a low number of customers every day, but all your customers are celebrities – you should probably consider how much it could cost should a celebrity trip over in your shop and miss a concert performance. Conversely, you may be running an online shop, selling goods without a shop premises. Perhaps you see a customer once a month who is coming to collect something rather than pay the postage. In this case, your Public Liability needs may be lower - although in this case you will most likely need to consider Products Liability.

Products Liability provides the same type of insurance as public liability, in that it covers you for injury caused to a member of the public or damage to their property – the difference is that it covers damage caused by a product that has been supplied, installed, maintained, or manufactured by you.

It is important to note that this is not the same as a warranty cover – this insurance is not covering you if the product you sold stops working or doesn’t work as it was supposed to. Products liability covers you should your product cause damage or injure someone.

For instance, an online shop may make and sell battery powered toys. Because of bad wiring in the toys, they overheat and catch fire. In this case, the Products Liability cover would be there to provide compensation should a fire cause damage or injury.

Many insurers combine Products and Public Liability insurance into a single product.

Employers' liability is the only business insurance cover required by law. It provides insurance for employees who are taken sick, or who have an accident, whilst working for you.

For Employers' Liability you need to check to see if anyone you have working for you are considered “employees” as defined in the Employers’ Liability (Compulsory Insurance) Act 1969. For instance, a teaching school who 'pays' their students to clean the school by giving them a discount on their classes would be required to have Employer’s Liability insurance, as the student is technically an employee through the terms of the Act.

We have listed out the main details of the Act below. The most prudent course of action when it comes to deciding whether or not to buy Employers’ Liability is 'If you’re in doubt, get it'. Even volunteers working for you can be covered under Employers' Liability, so even though you may not be required to have it by law, you can buy it knowing that they will be looked after in the event that they try to make a claim against you. Please make sure you check your insurance policy to see who is and isn’t covered.

As with all insurance, every case is different, but there are substantial fines if you are found to not have Employers' Liability when you should – so always err on the side of caution when considering whether someone working for you qualifies as an employee or not.

To help you, we have copied out the relevant section of the Health and Safety Executive Handout below. (The full copy of the handout is available here http://www.hse.gov.uk/pubns/hse40.pdf)

“You need employers’ liability insurance unless you are exempt from the Employers’ Liability (Compulsory Insurance) Act. The following employers are exempt:*

• most public organisations including government departments and agencies, local authorities, police authorities and nationalised industries;
• health service bodies, including National Health Service trusts, health authorities, primary care trusts and Scottish health boards;
  
• some other organisations which are financed through public funds, such as passenger transport executives and magistrates’ courts committees;
  
• family businesses, ie if all of your employees are closely related to you (as husband, wife, civil partner, father, mother, grandfather, grandmother, stepfather, stepmother, son, daughter, grandson, granddaughter, stepson, stepdaughter, brother, sister, half-brother or half-sister). However, this exemption does not apply to family businesses which are incorporated as limited companies;
  
• companies employing only their owner where that employee also owns 50% or more of the issued share capital in the company.

* Further exemptions from the need to have employers’ liability insurance are listed at section 3(1)(a) and section 3(1)(b) of the Employers’ Liability (Compulsory Insurance) Act 1969, and Schedule 2 to the 1998 Regulations.

“The following paragraphs may help give you some indication of whether or not a person is an employee under the Employers’ Liability (Compulsory Insurance) Act. However, it is for you to satisfy yourself of the status of the persons working for you and if you have any doubts, you should seek legal advice.

You may need employers’ liability insurance for someone who works for you where:

• you deduct national insurance and income tax from the money you pay them;
• you have the right to control where and when they work and how they do it;
  
• you supply their work materials and equipment;
  
• you have a right to any profit your workers make although you may choose to share this with them through commission, performance pay or shares in the company;
  
• you require that person only to deliver the service and they cannot employ a substitute if they are unable to do the work; or
  
• they are treated in the same way as other employees, for example, they do the same work under the same conditions as someone else you employ.”
  

You may not need employers’ liability insurance for people who work for you where:

• they do not work exclusively for you (for example, if they operate as an independent contractor);
• they supply most of the equipment and materials they need to do the job;
  
• they are clearly in business for their own personal benefit;
  
• they can employ a substitute when they are unable to do the work themselves;
  

you do not deduct income tax or national insurance. However, even if someone is self-employed for tax purposes they may be classed as an employee for other reasons and you may still need employers’ liability insurance to cover them.”

If you are required to buy Employers’ Liability, the law requires you to be insured for at least £5 million, although many insurers offer a minimum cover of £10 million. You are required to display a certificate of the insurance where your employees can see it (printed or online).

Professional indemnity provides insurance to protect you from mistakes you make at work that result in a financial loss to your client, specifically after you have provided them with a service or advice. For instance….

An architect designs a house. Their client then spends money on building the house, only to find that it collapses as the design was faulty. The client will sue the architect for the money that he has lost as a result of the architect’s negligence, and the architect’s professional indemnity insurance will cover the costs plus any legal fees that are required (up to the limits of the policy).

On the other hand if a builder has simply built a house badly and it falls down as a result, Professional Indemnity insurance will not provide any cover as it is not the same as a warranty; nor is it providing a guarantee of work carried out badly (what insurers call “faulty workmanship”).

So in the two examples above, the architect has given advice to the client on how they should build a house; this advice has proven to be wrong as the house has fallen down, so Professional Indemnity covers the losses from the negligent advice. The builder however, has just done a bad job – the builder hasn’t advised the client how they should build the house, so Professional Indemnity insurance does not provide coverage as the loss was a result of “faulty workmanship”.

Some of the most common professions requiring Professional Indemnity insurance are:

- Management Consultants
- Architects and engineers
- Accountants and bookkeepers
- IT Contractors

Insurance coverage can start from £50,000 sometimes lower and can go as high as £5,000,000. It is important for you to determine your own level of risk. One rule of thumb is to think how much it would cost to financially pay back your client if you make a mistake. So if you are an IT Contractor working on a large call centre telephone system and the whole system goes down due to your mistake, the potential loss would most likely be much bigger than an accountant whose only clients are small charities with low budgets and turnovers.

So what about your computer, specialist tools, and equipment? Or even your own office? Well these can be covered too. An insurance policy that covers both your liability exposures (Public Liability, Products Liability, Employers' Liability, and Professional Indemnity) and also your property is typically called a comprehensive insurance policy. Some insurers will provide a discount for comprehensive policies, so it is worth making sure you ask for quotes for everything rather than thinking it will be better to buy from different insurers.

Business property insurance is generally split into the following:
- Buildings insurance (this may be your shop or office)
- Fixtures and Fittings insurance (if you haven’t already bought buildings insurance)
- Contents insurance (desks, chairs, printers etc.)
- Portable equipment insurance (laptops, mobile phones, etc)
- Tools (any specialist tools, such as a carpenter’s tools)
- Stock (building materials, items to be sold, etc)

With all property insurance, particularly buildings, it is important that you don’t ‘underinsure’. Underinsurance commonly occurs when someone insures a lower value than the total, thinking that ‘my whole house won’t blow away,’ or ‘my tools will never all be stolen together’ so they will never need to claim for the full amount.

If you haven’t insured the correct total value then you will be ‘underinsured’ and most insurers will impose the principle of average on any claims.

The principle of Average:

If a florist insures their building for £100,000 but the total cost of rebuilding would be £200,000 then they have only insured 50% of the shop. This means that the insurer has the right to impose average, meaning a penalty of 50% to any claims that they make.

One day a tree outside the florist blows over and falls through the shop roof causing £50,000 worth of damage. Because of average the insurer considers only half of this damage to be insured, so will only pay out £25,000 to the owner (minus any excess) – obviously a big short-fall and an unhappy florist!

This isn’t the insurance company being unfair – it is a principle of insurance that the insurance company can only pay you for what you have insured. If you are under-insured, they can only match the same. If a company is looking to insure 10x £1000 laptops, but only insure them for £5000 thinking they will never all be stolen, how does the insurer know which ones are covered and which aren’t? And even if they’re never together there is still roughly 10x the risk of one of them being stolen, which the insurer must account for.

We often see people confused by the difference between ‘contents’ and ‘fixtures and fittings’ cover. I’ll do my best to explain this - Imagine you were to turn a building upside down; everything that refused to budge (fitted cupboards, sinks, etc) would be fixtures and everything that fell out, or is now sat on the former ceiling would be contents. Buildings insurance will usually cover you for the fixtures and fittings, so when buying buildings insurance you will probably only need to add on your contents - but if in doubt it is always better to check with your insurer.

Finally your portable equipment and specialist tools are pretty self-explanatory – however, it’s important to always remember average and please make sure that you read your policy carefully as many insurers will impose restrictions. An example would be an insurer that doesn’t cover tools when left in a vehicle overnight. In some cases, often for an extra premium, these restrictions can be altered or removed.

In an increasingly digital world, business cards are sometimes overlooked. But, just as there is nothing more effective than a face-to-face meeting, so too is there often nothing better than a physical reminder of you and your business. Similarly, many consumer facing businesses conduct much of their marketing and sales in the ‘real world’, as opposed to online. A well designed business card should therefore be one of the key tools in your networking and sales arsenal.

Size is one of the first and most important considerations when designing a business card. Most business cards are standard credit card size. This has a number of distinct advantages. Cards of this size will fit in a wallet or card holder, and are less likely than oversized cards to get bent, or than undersized cards to get lost.

That isn’t to say, though, that unconventional sizes don’t have their own benefits. A uniquely sized card can help to set your business apart from the pack, and can be a great way of cementing your business’s position in the mind of the recipient. Similarly, a larger size can give you more creative freedom, allowing you to reflect your brand properly and make an impact.

You should also think about the weight of the card. Standard business cards are printed on paper stock of around 350gsm. You might, however, choose to go for something heavier in order to give your card a luxury feel. Many business card printers will be able to accommodate this, but you should be prepared to pay more.

The design of your business card should reflect your existing marketing communications. In other words, you should ensure that you use the same logo, font, and, where applicable, wording, across all of your marketing materials.

However, even within these parameters there is still a lot that you can achieve. You should think carefully about the positioning of your logo. For most businesses the logo and business name, along with a description of the services offered, will be the most important elements of the business card, and the ones that grab the attention first. To this end you might consider positioning them at the top of the card, and with a size that gives them precedence. Alternatively, you might even think about dedicating a whole side to the business itself, and the flip side to your individual contact details. Again, you should remember that double sided cards will generally be more expensive to print.

You should also think carefully about the nature of the information that you need to fit on the card. This will almost certainly include the business name and a general contact number, along with your own name, phone number, and email address. You might also include a website and, where applicable, social media addresses. In some cases, though, you might need to include industry-specific information. For example, if you are part of a trade body or are regulated by a specific watchdog, you might also need to include your registration number.

Weight is not the only thing you need to think about when considering paper. How would you like your business card to be finished? Most cards are matte, but you might choose to go for a shiny, gloss feel. Similarly you might choose to have the text embossed, or bevelled.

You should remember, though, that different finishes mean different print qualities. Some paper types are better for colour reproduction, whereas others don’t perform as well. You should speak to your printer to ensure that you get the right paper and finish for your job.

Finally, you need to locate a printer. There is a vast and ever growing number of online business card printers available, many of which offer free design services. This can be the quickest and cheapest way of getting a business card designed, as you simply need to upload your artwork, or choose from a predesigned option. Similarly, as these organisations don’t have physical premises, their prices aren’t bumped up by big overheads.

However, there are still hundreds of local print firms across the country, and there is likely to be one close to your business. These firms can offer the added advantage of enabling you to speak to someone about your specific job – which, if you are a first time printer, can be invaluable.

This is according to new research from payment service Judo, which found that one in five consumers has failed to make a purchase in the last six months because they were in a shop that did not take cards.

Some 70 per cent of consumers now prefer to pay with cash, and six in ten now say that they would spend more with a business that takes cards than with one that doesn't.

There remains a perception amongst small business owners that card transactions are too expensive to process. Some businesses have also reported being refused merchant status, for example because of a poor credit history.

But a new system aims to make it quick, cheap, and easy for small businesses to start accepting card payments. Swedish payments firm iZettle is offering a new service that it says makes it possible for anyone to carry out a card transaction with their smartphone or tablet.

iZettle make two devices, each of which simply either plugs into or wirelessly connects with an iPhone, other smartphone, or tablet computer. One device accepts PIN transactions, while the other takes signatures. Both devices come with an app that is installed on the phone or tablet.

In order to take a payment, the merchant enters the amount payable into the app. The payment screen can be customised with a photo and message. The customer then places their card into the reader, accepts the amount, and then either types in their PIN or enters their signature on the screen. The payment is processed, and an email receipt can be sent. The entire payment process is encrypted, and the cash is transferred directly into the merchant's bank account.

iZettle also offers a range of analytics to help business owners keep track of the payments they are taking. Merchants can track metrics like the proportion of returning customers, total revenue, and average payment value, providing new insights into businesses' performance.

There are two ways in which merchants pay for the use of iZettle. First of all, businesses need to buy the equipment. The signature device costs £20, while the PIN device costs £99 plus VAT. These allow businesses to take up to £15,000 and £25,000 in transactions each day, respectively.

Once you have bought the equipment, iZettle takes a 2.75 per cent cut of every transaction.

Full information on the iZettle pricing plans is available on their website, where you can also sign up for an account and buy the equipment. The signature device is also available from EE stores.

Last week the Court ruled in favour of the landlord in the ongoing case of Johnson vs Old. The case has been closely watched by landlords and agents thanks to its implications for the many landlords who ask for several months' rent in advance.

The case concerned a tenant, Ms Old, who, as a result of her inability to meet the landlord's credit and income referencing requirements, was asked to pay six months' rent in advance for a six month tenancy. The tenancy continued for three terms, and then became a periodic tenancy. Shortly afterwards the landlord served a section 21 notice in order to regain possession.

The tenant, however, insisted that the payments of six months' rent should be treated as deposits that had not been protected, and that the section 21 was therefore invalid and she was entitled to compensation. A County Court judge upheld the tenant's claim, but this ruling has now been overturned at the Court of Appeal.

The Court of Appeal's ruling upheld the landlord's right to ask for six months' rent in advance, although the case was complicated significantly by the fact that the tenancy agreement was seemingly very poorly drafted.

The Court posed the question of how the tenant would have reacted had they been asked to pay rent for one of the months covered by the six months that had already been paid. The Judge responded: "It is, I think, impossible to avoid the conclusion that her answer would have been: 'Why are you asking me for rent which I have already paid?'"

The final part of the case focused on the question of whether or not the money had been properly protected - but, as the Court had already found that the money did not constitute a deposit, this was ultimately deemed irrelevant.

Johnson vs Old has three main implications that landlords should consider.

1. It is vital that tenancy agreements are well drafted. Johnson vs Old was complicated by a poorly drafted document. Had the tenancy been better written, it is likely that the case would never have got this far.

2. Landlords are free to ask for several months' rent in advance, and this is a reasonable response in circumstances in which a tenant cannot pass credit referencing requirements.

3. Rent paid in advance is unlikely to be treated as a deposit, and it is therefore unlikely that it will need to be protected.

However, it is important to understand that Johnson vs Old does not provide a definitive, catch-all judgement. If you are in any doubt you should seek legal advice.