Helplines – Legal, HR and employment, and R&D tax credits

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DBA members have access to extensive support from a range of DBA helplines and partner businesses covering Legal advice, HR and employment advice, Insurance cover (from office contents to Professional Indemnity) and R&D tax credits.

Ripping-up the rulebook: Recognising freelance costs in a different way

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As more designers are looking at the freelance route for a perceived better, more independent lifestyle with more money, agencies need to recognise freelance costs in a different way. It’s time to rip-up the rulebook relating to Gross Income and its use as the main denominator.

How to communicate your business ethos to differentiate yourselves from competitors

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Design companies are uniquely placed to react positively to this kind of shifting landscape, and have led the way in demonstrating a more thoughtful and alternative way of running their businesses, instilling their brand ethos with things like a renewed focus on people, wellbeing, the environment, education, humanitarian efforts, or community-based initiatives.

GDPR – what do you need to know?

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The sand is running out in the GDPR egg timer. There is no doubt that design agencies have to act in order to be compliant – but in what ways and just how complicated is it? Adam Fennelow, DBA Head of Services, has been finding out what you need to know.

Avoiding common pitfalls with client contracts

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Together with an experienced group of members, we've put together a shortlist of some of the most typical and important client contract clauses for creative agencies to look out for and some suggested ways to amend them, to better reflect the nature of the relationship.

Working for free on a Friday?

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As we prepare to launch the 2017 Annual Survey Report, Mike Satterthwaite of Pegasus Systems explains how to optimise your recovery and utilisation rates.

How to successfully open a studio abroad

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Elmwood's CFO, Debbie Longbottom, shares her insights into successfully opening an overseas studio.

The secret to capturing data on design effectiveness

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Instead of retrospectively asking for data once a project looks successful you need to start every project as if you are going to enter it into the DBA Design Effectiveness Awards. Whether you enter is by-the-by – the outcome will be effectiveness based case-studies that will strengthen the agency/client relationship, deliver new business to the agency, and prove the design spend ROI to the client.

Keeping an eye on your financial position

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DBA Expert Gary Baxter outlines two useful calculations to enable you to identify potential weaknesses in your business.