Cost of living: Support and advice for small businesses

Guidance

There is a range of support from organisations and schemes to support businesses in Northern Ireland.

Invest NI

Invest NI offers support to businesses across a variety of areas. The support is tailored to individual business needs.

Key areas include:

Entrepreneurship
Export support
Funding
Innovation, research and development
Leadership, training and skills
Net Zero and the green economy
Operating more efficiently
Regional development

Find out more about support from Invest NI.

nibusinessinfo.co.uk

nibusinessinfo.co.uk provides practical advice and guidance for businesses in Northern Ireland.

You can search our Business Support Finder to find publicly-funded and not-for-profit sources of assistance you may be eligible to apply for.

Support may be available in a number of forms, including financial assistance and free or subsidised advice services.

Search the Business Support Finder.

Other key guidance includes:

Other support includes:

a number of business rate reliefs are available to assist Northern Ireland ratepayers
tax reliefs and allowances from HMRC if you run a business, employ people or are self-employed
employer expenses and benefits that offer access to exemptions and allowances
if you cannot pay your tax bill in full, you may be eligible to set up a payment plan to pay it in instalments - see HMRC guidance on what to do if you cannot pay your tax bill on time.

Support from local councils

Local councils provide support at each stage of business, including funding programmes and advisory support.

Find your local council in Northern Ireland.

Go Succeed

Go Succeed is a business support service led by Northern Ireland's local councils.

The service assists businesses of all stages, and support includes events, training and funding programmes.

Find out more about Go Succeed.

Help and advice for managing debt

Many businesses run into problems or financial difficulties, and it can be a stressful position to be in, but there are dedicated organisations that can help.

Consumer Council

The Consumer Council provides advice for small and micro-businesses in Northern Ireland.

Areas that the Consumer Council can help businesses with include energy bills, water bills, postal services, and support with complaints.

Debt advice services

Debt advice services are secure, and you can get immediate, personalised help. Some services are available 24 hours a day.

Organisations include:

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Advice NI Helpline
0800 915 4604
StepChange Debt Charity Helpline
0800 138 1111

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Cost of living: Information and advice