Ask About Business

The Chest

Easily find local authority tender opportunities in your area with the The Chest, the North West's Local Authority Procurement Portal.

It's been created with funding from the North West Centre of Excellence to enable existing and current suppliers to view forthcoming local authority contract opportunities.

Local Authorities in the north west currently spend between £6bn and £6.5bn each year on goods and services so they could provide long-term stability for local businesses.  It's FREE to register on it and could bring benefits to YOUR business!

Discover hundreds of  practical guides to starting up more than 350 different types of business on COBRA, the online start up encyclopedia. If your library is a member of Ask About Business you can access all areas of COBRA right now. Simply click here and log in with your library ticket.

COBRA also contains around 4000 factsheets, market reports, contacts, and sources of funding and support to help entrepreneurs.

Ideal for anyone looking to start a business, write a business or marketing plan or conduct research into a new market, COBRA is also available at any Ask About Business library with internet PCs.

Being in business always involves some risk.

Don't gamble with your business!

Minimise the risks by using our free company credit check service. Everyone wants to avoid a bad debt, and setting up a good credit control system is vital for any business.

We can provide you with the information to improve the odds on your financial success:

• Evaluate a company's stability
• Assess whether a firm should be allowed credit
• Check if a company can pay its bills
• Consider payment patterns