Author: Stephanie Howey

09:31:36 GMT • 14 January 2025

5 Great Apps for Professional Dog Walkers

5 February 2019

•

4 mins read

Contributors

Steffi joined the business in July 2017 as Business Support Executive. Steffi completed her degree in Sports and ...

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Whether you’re a professional dog walker, groomer or trainer, using mobile apps can have a beneficial impact on the way in which you run your business.

From management software, to marketing help, to something that’s just a bit of fun, there are apps to fill all of your operational needs.

We’ve picked out five apps pet business owners and dog walkers in particular shouldn’t be without.

Tractive Dog Walk – Cost: Free

While Strava, is the go-to tracking software for cyclists and runners, Tractive Dog Walk is the one if you’re exploring with a canine companion.

With GPS tracking, you can keep tabs on exactly where you’ve walked for both your own benefit and that of the dog’s owner. A handy extra feature is the ability to share photos from your walks and the locations they were taken with the pooches ‘parents’.

iFootpath – Cost: £1.99

Though not exclusive to dog walkers, iFootpath is an app that those heading outdoors with their (or someone else’s) pooch should not be without. Whether you’re looking to change up your routine, or you’re branching out into a new location, simply input your postcode and iFootpath with throw up a number of great walk options.

Users are presented with photos, terrain guides and the option to add a walk or two of your own. A great choice for those who don’t have a set number of walks planned out already.

Scout – Cost: Free

There are plenty of apps out there that can help you plan your schedule and track your appointments. Where Scout stands out is that is has been designed specifically for pet care professionals.

Business owners can add and move appointments, adding specific notes about the dog’s requirements along the way. If you employ any staff, users can even assign a staff member to that particular walk. And for that added special touch, dog owners can be messaged via the app, and can also track where their precious pooch is at all times when with their walker.

Wave – Cost: Free

Once you have attracted all of those clients and their dogs, walkers need a way of managing the payments being made to them.

Wave is a great invoicing and accountancy web tool designed for small businesses. You can not only issue invoices via the system, but users can also add Smart Pay by Wave to their website, allowing visitors to pay for dog walking or grooming services without the need for generating an invoice.

With payroll options and receipt tracking software, this initially free tool is great for your pet business.

Puppr – Cost: Free (many in-app purchases)

Not every dog you walk will be the most well-behaved, and sometimes a little extra training wouldn’t go amiss. With Puppr, users can watch videos of training drills to hopefully improve the behaviour of even the most difficult of dogs.

Led by a previous America’s Got Talent finalist renowned for her dog training tricks, there are few better apps of this kind on the market. While it’s not cheap to get the full range of features, with the ability to learn new tricks, track a dog’s progress as well as having the option for a live helpline, it’s a price well worth paying.

There are many other apps for dog walkers and pet service providers, but these five are some of the highest recommended. Another thing that is very much recommended is Protectivity’s Dog Walking Insurance in order to cover you and your business should something go wrong that not even one of these apps can fix.

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09:31:19 GMT • 14 January 2025

How Many Dogs Can a Dog Walker Walk?

28 November 2018

•

4 mins read

Contributors

Steffi joined the business in July 2017 as Business Support Executive. Steffi completed her degree in Sports and ...

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As a dog walker, taking out several of your canine clients at one time is a great way to maximise income. However, there is often confusion as to how many dogs walkers can walk at one time.

Maximum dogs allowed

The answer to this quandary is not a straightforward one. This is because the limit is not set by central government or any one body. Instead, the Control of Dogs Act 2010, allows local authorities to set their own restrictions and maximum number.

Some council areas will have no set limit, while others will see a complete ban on dogs. This is true on some beaches in Devon, Essex and Lincolnshire in the summer months.

Local authority PSPOs

What is becoming more common is local councils lowering the number of dogs permitted to be walked at any one time.

Gosport Borough Council were one of the earlier authorities to take advantage the remit of Public Space Protection Orders when announcing that the maximum number of dogs one person could walk would be lowered from six to four in March 2017.

Other councils have since followed, with consultations regularly being announced. Wandsworth in London sees the council limit the number of dogs that can be walked to four. However, there is the possibility to apply for a licence to walk up to eight dogs in specified areas of the borough.

When some councils announced a consultation on the subject, a furore followed. For example, Blackpool Council faced stiff opposition this year when they announced plans to reduce the number to four dogs. While other restrictions made it through, the limit remained at six dogs at a time.

Kennel Club opposed to limit

The drive to restrict the number of dogs any owner can walk at a time is not something that the Kennel Club sees as viable. The organisation has previously released a statement arguing the setting of an arbitrary number:

“The maximum number of dogs a person can walk in a controlled manner depends on a number of factors relating to the dog walker, the dogs being walked, whether leads are used and the location the walking is taking place,” a statement read.

People must use their own initiative to make a judgement for themselves the press release implied. By assessing the risks of walking a larger number of dogs, walkers, both professional and non, can best judge how many dogs they should walk at one time.

How many dogs does insurance cover?

Local rules are there to be followed, with fines of over £100 in operation for anyone walking more than the maximum number of dogs. However, the limit to the number of dogs set by your council, and the number of dogs covered by a professional’s Dog Walking Insurance can vary.

At Protectivity, we cover dog walkers for up to six dogs at any one time. Therefore, if no local authority restrictions are in place, this is the limit you should stick to. However, if the local council says no more than four, this is the figure to adhere to.

There can often be confusion when it comes to walking your own dogs and Dog Walking Insurance. Our policy is designed to cover dogs not owned by you, however if you take your own canines out with your clients’ dogs, they count towards your six-dog maximum.

For example, if you walk two of your own dogs with four client-owned dogs, this is fine, however only the latter four would be covered by your insurance policy.

It’s important to remember that your own dogs wouldn’t be covered by the insurance policy should they get injured or cause injury to another dog, but they could send you over the limit of six dogs at a time, rendering your insurance cover invalid in the event of a claim.

The subject can be a confusing one for dog walkers, but our advice is always to check with your local council. If a PSPO is in place limiting the number of dogs you can walk, stick to that. Otherwise we advise you to walk no more than six dogs at any one time.

About Us

We’re one of the leading providers of insurance for pet businesses, and we offer a variety of tailored products such as Dog Walking, Pet Sitting Insurance and Dog Grooming Insurance policies.

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09:30:57 GMT • 14 January 2025

12 Awesome and Unusual Wedding Cake Ideas

By Bee Ingram

19 November 2018

•

5 mins read

Contributors

My main focus is managing the blog and product content for the Protectivity website ensuring everything aligns wi...

The cutting of the cake symbolises a key part of every couple’s wedding day. Having that cake to remember is likely to be a consideration that everyone will encounter during the planning stages.

Some will opt for a traditional approach of a two or three-tiered sponge or fruit cake for their showstopper. Others though will opt for an alternative approach.

We’ve searched Instagram for 12 of the most unusual wedding cake ideas that really stand out on your big day.

The Compromise Cake

It may be that you and your significant other have very different ideas of what you want for your wedding cake, or you may agree but are undecided on whether to go traditional or wacky.

In that case, this half and half wedding cake is the perfect compromise!

We especially love the creativity of this one, with diagonal splits rather than a straight split down the middle. For the couple wanting some photos of a traditional cake, the split can instead be shown only at the back of the cake.

The Split Flower Cake

The obvious choice for a flower loving couple, the split flower cake trend is popping up on both Instagram and Pinterest feeds with various takes on it.

We loved this pastel coloured version on a two-tier split flower cake. Perfect for when you want your cake to tie in with your wedding flowers in an extra special way!

The “Is-it-really-a-cake?” Cake

Whether it is Harry Potter themed like this one inspired by the memory Cabinet in Dumbledore’s office, or just something significant to you both, there are some wedding cakes out there that make you go “Wow, can we really eat that thing?”.

This example is one of them, obviously from a super skilled baker!

The Cheese Lovers Cake

This trend has been around for a few years now but can be done in so many ways.

Perhaps you’ve had a sweet dessert as part of your dinner and don’t want to give your guests an even bigger sugar rush, or maybe you just love cheese (lets be honest, who doesn’t?).

Decorate with fruits and berries as above or go even more rustic with twigs and mixed nuts.

The Sheep Herder’s Cake

We are not quite sure what to say about this cake.

It obviously requires some serious skills to make this, and I think another element required would be a fun-loving couple who wants a talking point at their wedding.

Maybe the next one will be a horse, or a dog?

The Arty Cake

If we saw this brought out at a wedding, we wouldn’t know if it really was a cake or just a piece of art.

This is fun, unique but also breathtakingly beautiful!

We also love the brave almost royal blue colour which really draws you into this stunning and probably yummy wedding cake!

The Suspended Cake

Another trend that has been growing over the last few years is the suspended wedding cake.

It obviously doesn’t have to be as lavish as the one above, and there are even some suspended upside-down cakes seen out there on the feeds.

It certainly makes for some stunning photos even with a simpler structure, just be careful it doesn’t drop on your feet when you cut it!

The Cinnamon Roll Tower

If you love cinnamon rolls, why not have it as a replacement to your wedding cake?

This mouth-watering creation even set on flames, if that doesn’t call for a WOW from your guests then we don’t know what would.

Make sure to include icing or some chocolate sauce as above to get your guests fighting to be first in line for a piece.

The Cake Pops Tower

If you don’t actually want a traditional cake at all, but you still want the tiered setup, these cake pops that we see everywhere now is a fun and simple idea to replace your cake with.

You can easily tie it in with your wedding theme or colours and can present them in plenty of different ways.

The OTT Cake

The winner in WOW. If there’s any time to go big on a cake it’s at your wedding, right?

So why not have your baker create a magical castle cake twice the size of you. We think it is absolutely amazing, but would you really want to cut the cake?

This masterpiece surely must remain untouched.

The Mini Wedding Cake Tower

Perhaps you still want a cake but not the traditional tiered creation with sugar paste flowers or blingy decoration.

The naked cake first made its appearance a while back, and so did the cupcake towers replacing the full-size wedding cake.

But the above marries the two trends in a new take with semi-naked individual cakes majestically soldiering below the main cake. Clean cut, simple and stunning!

The Donut Wall

Another trend that we have seen increasingly over the last year or two is the donut wall, and who doesn’t love a donut?

Just like with a traditional wedding cake, you’ve got plenty of option here to incorporate wedding theme and colour on the icing and decoration of these delicious soft buns.

And it even makes for a substitute photo booth back drop!

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09:40:43 GMT • 11 November 2024

Ranking 3 all-in-one Wedding Planning Apps

By Mandy Czyz

12 November 2018

•

9 mins read

Contributors

Mandy Czyz

Mandy has been with Starpeak Insurance Solutions since 2018, starting in sales in the consumer department and mov...

Has your significant other popped the question and got you all excited, but you have no idea where to start with your wedding planning?

Read on, because in this post we are looking at three different all-in-one wedding planning apps that can help you along the way. We have selected some key features and compared the functionality of the different apps, so you don’t have to do the ground work and can start planning your wedding straight away!

We’ve focused on three of the most renowned apps in the wedding business, Bridebook, Hitched and Wedding Wire. Here’s how they rank each for every aspect of your wedding planning.

Vendor Search

1. Bridebook

By far the most search results of the three top wedding apps, and seemingly the most accurate in sorting the large number of suppliers into their correct group.

However, when looking closer at the results it does appear that Bridebook’s search facility casts it’s net further, with a greater area covered with each query.

That being said, Bridebook still comes out on top, with its filtering options and quick facts on the venue without having to click into each result a nice added touch.

2. Wedding Wire

A good number of results, just not as many as on Bridebook (which might be a relief for those who have a hard time with too many options).

Search results are tailored to your location, giving suppliers local to you more prominence. So if you want to stay local with your professional services, Wedding Wire is your best shot.

It also shows number accommodated and starting prices on each venue result which is helpful.

3. Hitched

The venue and supplier search functions are good, giving you roughly the same number of results as WeddingWire and you can search either by county, town, postcode or name.

As with the others, you can contact suppliers through the app and it also shows useful quick facts about each venue or supplier without having to go onto their websites.

A minus is that it does not show guest numbers they can accommodate in the result screen.

Guestlist

1. Wedding Wire

We’re really big fans of WeddingWire’s guestlist feature. It basically allows you to do your table plan at the same time (if you wish).

You can import guests from your contacts, assign them to groups (Bride’s or groom’s family/friends/colleagues/mutual friends), assign them to tables and add contact details.

It is super easy to move people around from one table to another, so whether you’re doing your complete table layout in the guestlist feature or not, it is a great start to it at least.

You can also set RSVP status and menus, as well as assign gender and age group to then look at analytics for your guests. Perfect if you’re ordering wedding favours and need to know how many males/females or adults/children/babies

2. Bridebook

Bridebook’s guestlist is cleverly designed to let you put in as much information as possible for each guest.

It lets you add guests under both partners’ names, select whether it is an all-day invitation or an evening only (it also has an option for Waitlist if you’re not sure about the invite yet), set RSVP status, add information on whether it is an adult/child/female/male, add a table number and type in any additional notes.

You can also add email addresses, phone numbers and postal addresses for your guests as well as linking them up with each other for Plus 1’s.

3. Hitched

Hitched have got a good Guest Manager section – however it is not easy to navigate to.

For a while we struggled to find a way of adding guests, but the only way you seem to be able to access it is through the task list under “Start your guest list”.

They also mention a Table Planner feature – but there seems to be no way of accessing that either. Although the Guest Manager itself includes most of the features of both WeddingWire’s and Bridebook’s – the simple fact that it is so hard to access puts Hitched at the bottom here.

Task List

1. Bridebook

The Checklist feature is quite extensive, and at times seems a little bit over the top with all the sub-tasks under each entry. On some of them it is useful to have sub-tasks, but on many sections our personal preference would be to keep it a little bit simpler.

This is obviously all up to one’s own preference though, if you love ticking boxes to feel a sense of achievement, this layout is great.

You can also easily delete tasks or sub-tasks if they are not relevant to your wedding.

2. Hitched

Hitched’s ‘To-Do’ list is almost as comprehensive as Bridebook’s, except for the draw-back that you cannot sort it into specific. For example, you can’t filter by tasks soley relating to the photographer or flowers.

The only ways of filtering tasks are by milestone or completed tasks.

You can add and remove tasks, but you cannot amend or delete the milestone ones. In the whole setup the tasks are always sorted by date.

3. Wedding Wire

This task list is very basic on Wedding Wire’s app, with users only able to sort their activities into three groups; ‘To Do’, ‘Done’ and ‘All’.

If you want an easier overview of a single section of tasks, for example cake-related jobs, there seems to be no way of sorting your tasks by category.

There’s not the option to allow you to search for suppliers relating to the task you are currently viewing either.

Budget

1. Hitched

Once you put your planned budget into Hitched it estimates a cost per item, which you can then amend as you go along in your planning process and getting quotes from suppliers.

It also lets you assign each item on the budget to who pays: Bride/Groom/Bride and Groom/Bride’s Family/Groom’s Family/Other.

You can also paste website links in for the supplier you’re using and add additional notes. The breakdown shows you total spend, total budget and the remaining balance.

2. Bridebook

Bridebook also calculates an estimated spend on each item of your budget which you can amend.

It lets you both delete and add entries, which to us, feels like an essential feature.

The breakdown shows you a total estimate, total booked and your target budget plus a little note saying whether you are currently under or over your budget.

You also get suggestions of suppliers by clicking on each item in the budget list.

3. Wedding Wire

This app won’t let you delete entries of their estimated budget calculation, so if you for example have a wedding without children you would just need to keep the “Gifts for children” entry at £0, which seems a bit annoying.

You can still add payments into your budget, if anything is missing.

The actual layout is simple to understand without too many words and sections cluttering the page and the breakdown show you your estimated cost along with final cost split into paid and pending.

Design and Extras

1. Hitched

Although a close call, we personally think that Hitched wins on design and layout from an aesthetical point of view.

The design is simple in a purple colour scheme that anyone who knows of Hitched will recognise.

The accented colours of white and beige complement the purple and create a good overall impression for a serious but beautiful wedding planning app.

2. Wedding Wire

The turquoise, almost Tiffany blue, colour scheme works and the fonts on titles and tasks makes it easy to find what you want when you need it.

The look does not overpower the purpose of the app – helping you in your wedding planning.

A simple home screen including the most essential parts of the planning, as well as listing your supplier team in an easy sliding format is a plus.

3. Bridebook

Bridebook’s app is also beautifully designed with simple fonts and icons to let you focus on the task at hand, and only comes just short of the other two with its slightly more colourful overall look.

A great additional feature is their shortlist option as well as a scrapbook page where you can post notes and photos of things you find along your planning process that you want to collect in one place.

Conclusion

If we were forced to pick the ultimate app for all your wedding planning needs, it may be that Wedding Wire would come out on top, simply thanks to their amazing Guestlist and table planning section. However, it’s probably wisest to break our three apps down further:

If you want the best and largest vendor and supplier search, use Bridebook
If you want the best guestlist feature and to be able to create your own table plan as you go along, use Wedding Wire
If you want the best budget section, where you can amend your entries and assign them to different payees, use Hitched

Regardless of which wedding planning app you use, or if you do it the old school way with a notepad and a pen, you should make sure you are protected with a comprehensive Wedding Insurance.

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09:29:55 GMT • 14 January 2025

Your Guide to Therapy Courses and Certification

18 October 2018

•

4 mins read

Contributors

Steffi joined the business in July 2017 as Business Support Executive. Steffi completed her degree in Sports and ...

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If your starting out your journey to becoming a therapist, it’s inevitable that you will planning to undertake some training. There are a plethora of therapy courses out there and knowing which ones you should take can be a daunting decision.

Depending on what type of therapy you will be practising it may be that you don’t need to have any qualifications to legal practice that activity. As most types of therapy are likely to have their own governing body or association, it is worth checking with your relevant body to see what standards they require you to meet.

Reiki practitioners, for example, don’t necessarily need any formal training to operate. However, attempting to market yourself as a reiki therapist may be a bit tricky if you do not have any educational collateral to your name.

Training courses can be found on a number of online databases. These can be searched by your local area and sometimes by your current skill level. HotCourses and UCAS are just a couple of resources that you can find a training module to suit you.

Joining an organisation

Generally, the need for specialist therapist qualifications become strengthen when you wish to become a member of a professional body. The UK Reiki Federation are no different in this case.

Should you wish to join as an ‘Associate’ or ‘Practitioner’ member, you are required to hold a minimum of a Reiki 1 and Reiki 2 certificate respectively.

Similarly to become a ‘Professional’ member of the National Association of Massage Therapists one must hold at a qualification to the level of ITEC Level 3 Massage at the bare minimum.

Perhaps one of the most intensive training processes in the therapy industry is bestowed upon would-be counsellors and psychotherapists. The British Association for Counselling and Psychotherapy (BACP) recommends a three step approach to any training.

Introduction

Firstly, they recommend taking an introductory course into the subject of counselling and what becoming a therapist is all about. Here you will get an idea about the level of commitment a career in therapy would require.

Certification in counselling

The BACP then suggests that the next step of counselling training is to seek out a local college, university or adult education centre to learn the required skills to succeed as a counsellor or psychotherapist. These courses will generally give you an understanding of the advice you will be giving, and the theories that surround them.

Core practitioner training

The third step in the transition to becoming a therapist in the eyes of the BACP and many other organisational bodies is to take an accredited course. This is likely to be at a Bachelors or Masters degree level and will provide you with an in-depth knowledge of the advice and treatment you should be giving. It will flesh out your understanding and leave you in the best place to deliver your therapy treatment of choice.

Although this three step approach is specifically referenced by the BACP, it is a useful approach to take whether you are a psychotherapist, massage therapist or chakra stone healer.

By having specific therapist qualifications to your name, you improve your chances to succeed two-fold.

Firstly you increase your level of knowledge and skill level in your chosen profession. But secondly, you can also put your customers and clients into a better position where they trust you to deliver the service they require. By improving their trust and satisfaction, you also increase the chance of them referring you to their friends and associates.

At Protectivity, we provide a wide range of what we believe are cost-effective insurance solutions for therapy professionals including Reiki Insurance, Counselling Insurance, Massage Insurance and many more. To see if your speciality can be covered, just visit our Therapy Insurance page and input your technique into the quote box. If we can cover the activity, we will provide you with an instant price.

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09:29:25 GMT • 14 January 2025

Employing Staff for Your Dog Walking Business

11 September 2018

•

5 mins read

Contributors

Steffi joined the business in July 2017 as Business Support Executive. Steffi completed her degree in Sports and ...

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The set-up of many professional dog walking businesses is fairly simple. The majority of operators will be working on a sole trader basis, delivering their walks, managing administration and financial matters on their own.

However, as a business grows so too does the need to employ staff. As a dog walker that could be because you have built up a large enough book of clients that in order to grow you need an extra pair of hands or two.

When pondering whether to employ a member of staff there are a number of things to consider.

Financial considerations

First and foremost, you will need to think whether a member of staff is financially sensible. Of course, more walkers in your business means the opportunity to walk more dogs. But it also means another person’s salary that will need to come our of your company’s finances.

Some businesses will opt to pay staff on a ‘per-walk’ basis, giving them a percentage of the money a client may pay for a walk. Other businesses will choose to work on a more traditional hourly wage or salary.

If the latter is your way of working consider this. If you charge a client £10 an hour to walk their dog and your staff member takes two dogs out at a time, that is £20 coming into the business. Based on paying your employee minimum wage (between £5.60 and £7.50 depending on age), that means you would be left with between £12.50 and £14.40 in the businesses bank account before any tax was paid.

Of course, that is an extra amount of money than would have been there if you didn’t have the staff member to call on, but it is not as simple as that.

You will need to consider whether you will be paying your employee petrol costs to get to and from the client’s house, whether you will guarantee them a set number of hours a week as well as any other bonuses.

Taxes and pensions

It’s not only the direct financial implications that having staff will have on your business. There’s plenty of extra administration-based tasks you will need to fulfil.

First of all you will need to ensure that any potential staff members are fully DBS checked, which will confirm whether they have any criminal convictions that you should be aware of. This will cost you £25 per employee to carry out. You will also need to check they have the legal right to work in the UK. This can be done by taking their National Insurance number when you provide them with their contract.

You will also need to inform HMRC that you are taking on staff and register as an employer. By doing this you will receive your PAYE Employer Number, which will allow you to pay tax and National Insurance when you pay the staff member.

Furthermore, if you are likely to be paying your new dog walker over £10,000 a year and they are over 22-years-old, you may need to automatically enroll them on a workplace pension scheme.

Finally you will need to take out Employers’ Liability. This is a legal responsibility when you take on a member of staff. This will cover you for claims against the business should you and your business activities be blamed for an injury suffered by that staff member. Many insurance providers, including Protectivity, will allow you to add Employers’ Liability to an existing Dog Walking Insurance policy for a small fee.

Business operations

With all of legal factors taken care of you need to remember that by having members of staff, you may have to change the fundamental way in which you operate your dog walking business.

Think about things such as:

– Will your new walker have ‘their own’ clients? Or will you share them between you?

– How much training will you provide your new staff member?

– Will you ask them to help with other aspects of your business such as marketing and administration?

One thing that may affect some dog walkers decision to expand is the extra paperwork and administrative duties that having staff entails. By taking on employees you may find yourself having less time to do the thing that made you start the business in the first place, the enjoyment of walking dogs. This diversion away from the act of dog walking may be a reason not to hire a member of staff and keep your clients, their dogs and your business to yourself.

All dog walking businesses and the people that run them will be different. Some will appreciate that in order to grow they need more dog walkers on their books, whilst others will be happy with maintaining a healthy number of clients and dogs without the need for expansion.

If you do opt for the hiring approach, just remember to consider all the added responsibilities that come with it.

About Us

We’re one of the leading providers of insurance for pet businesses, and we offer a variety of tailored products such as Dog Walking insurance, Pet Sitting Insurance and Dog Grooming Insurance policies.

Get Dog Walking Insurance from Protectivity

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09:28:35 GMT • 14 January 2025

What Does Wedding Insurance Cover?

By Mandy Czyz

29 August 2018

•

4 mins read

Contributors

Mandy Czyz

Mandy has been with Starpeak Insurance Solutions since 2018, starting in sales in the consumer department and mov...

We accept that insurance can sometimes be confusing. However, thinking about why you need to take out wedding insurance shouldn’t be a tricky decision.

After all, your wedding day will be the biggest day of your life, first of all emotionally and secondly financially. Everyone wants their big day to go smoothly, but with a large number of aspects coming together for the event, things can and do go wrong.

Taking out even the most basic wedding insurance policy will provide you with the peace of mind you deserve as you and your partner plan your wedding day.

What does wedding insurance cover?

There are dozens of different aspects to the average wedding day and each one has the potential to put a dampener on your day.

Cancelling or rearranging

Having both you, your husband or wife-to-be, and your family present is undoubtedly the main necessity for any wedding. But with most people planning their ceremony months or years in advance, a lot can happen in the meantime. Serious illness, accidents or worse may deem it necessary to cancel or reschedule your wedding. With an insurance policy in place, you are likely to be covered for the irretrievable costs that you have already shelled out.

Damage to your wedding dress or suits

Whether the bride opts for a princess dress or something more fitted, ensuring the precious dress is protected is going to be vital. A damaged frock close to the big day will surely put even the calmest bride in a tizz. Thankfully with insurance, you can rest assured that if something happened to the dress or the ceremonial attire of a member of the bridal party, the costs to replace them will be covered.

Failure of your suppliers

From photographers to florists to DJs, you rely on a lot of people on your wedding day. And if just one of those professionals you hire the services of let you down, it can be both worrying and frustrating in equal measure. Insurance will mean that if they were to pull out close to the event or not turn up, you are covered. The costs to book a last-minute replacement would be handled by your policy.

Damage to other items

Items such as the rings, flowers, gifts to your attendants and the traditional cake can also be protected under an insurance policy. If any of these were stolen or damaged within a week of the wedding our policy you could claim up to the value chosen on your policy to cover the costs of replacing them.

Public liability

Although not as sentimental as the dress or the rings, protecting yourselves is important too. In fact, many wedding venues will insist that you and any third-parties you have providing a service at your wedding have suitable Public Liability cover. If you were to cause damage to property belonging to a third party such as the venue or the DJ, you could be sued for damages. Having this cover in place ensures that if something like this occurred you’d be protected against the financial implications.

When to buy your wedding insurance?

A similarly straightforward question to answer as ‘Why do you need wedding insurance?’ is ‘When do I buy it?‘. In short, as soon as you start booking venues or suppliers or purchasing dresses or rings, you should consider insurance.

By buying early you give yourself maximum protection should the worst happen. If you purchase your insurance after something occurs that is likely to cause disruption to your wedding day, it’s unlikely it will be covered should those events unfold.

Purchase as soon as you beginning solidifying your plans and you can get full use out of your Wedding Insurance policy.

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09:26:51 GMT • 14 January 2025

A Quick Guide to Calculating Turnover

By Bee Ingram

6 July 2018

•

3 mins read

Contributors

My main focus is managing the blog and product content for the Protectivity website ensuring everything aligns wi...

When running a small business, calculating turnover is a vitally important skill. While it may sound confusing to first time business owners, it is in fact very simple.

Essentially, your turnover is the amount of money taken by your business over a particular period of time.

So if you are a personal trainer and you train 10 clients a week, five hours a week for £20 an hour, your business turnover is £1,000. (£20 x 10 clients x 5 hours) a week.

Knowing how much money your business turns over in a given period can be very important. Not only will you need it for tax purposes, but knowing your figures is crucial if you are seeking investment, be it privately or via a bank loan.

Many insurance companies will ask you for your annual turnover before giving you a business insurance quote too. Sometimes this may be referred to as your gross revenue or income, but essentially it means the same thing.

Fundamentally though, knowing your turnover gives you an idea of the performance of your business.

About Protectivity

Protectivity is a specialist in niche commercial, leisure and lifestyle insurance. We cover thousands of individuals and small to medium size businesses across the UK, offering a range of tailored insurance products, such as Hairdressing Insurance, Personal Training Insurance and Pet Business Insurance, that protect our customers against unforeseen events.

The difference between turnover and profit

Your turnover alone won’t necessarily tell you of your business’s health though. Working out your profit can provide a better pointer.

Again, different terms may be used when describing a business’s profit.

Gross profit is the amount of money you take in (the sales value of your goods or services), minus the costs associated with producing your offering. These costs can include physical materials needed to deliver your goods – leads if you are a professional dog walker, equipment if you are a gym – and the direct labour that needs to be employed to carry out the service.

Sometimes known as the ‘bottom line’, net profit is the residual income after all costs have been accounted for. As well as the costs of providing your service, these include overheads such as office rental costs, heating and lighting costs, for example.

Essentially it is all the money you bring in via sales, minus all of your outgoings.

While neither of these three are more important than the others, calculating turnover is the first step to understanding the performance of any business.

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