A survey of Britain's best small companies to work for was published yesterday, with a Buckinghamshire-based IT reseller coming up on top.

Smarta.com founder Sháá Wasmund will today join shadow business secretary Kenneth Clarke onstage at the Conservative Party Conference in Manchester to make a plea for an amnesty on business legislation on behalf of fellow business owners.

The economic downturn could be improved if the government awards more contracts to smaller businesses, according to the British Private Equity and Venture Capital Association (BVCA), the Federation of Small Businesses (FSB) and the Confederation of British Industry (CBI).

The entrepreneurs behind Hubworking want to put an end to small business owners holding meetings in places like Starbucks by offering cheap rooms for rent in central London for small periods of time.

In this year’s Budget, Chancellor Alistair Darling pledged to do more to help small businesses win government contracts.

For the uninitiated, a web accelerator affects how your audience views your website. It makes the videos stream faster; the music play uninterrupted; and the games run smoothly.

Entrepreneurs and SME owner-directors woke up to more grim news this morning, as Asian stockmarkets follow the FTSE in a big move downwards. Does this mean recession? Big-corporate payment behaviour suggests trouble for small companies.

Money- Saving Tips: Bonus or Dividend?

Raising as little as £0.75m by floating can be cost effective, argues Alistair Blair.

More powerful time-recording software could make you money, says Keith Rodgers.

Armorgroup is cashing in from civil unrest in Iraq. Plus John Brown pockets £20m from MBO of his contract publishing business and a new landline-compatible mobile phone arrives from China.

It’s one of the burning issues for any growing business. How do you keep hold of your senior team? Rhymer Rigby looks at incentives, schemes and management philosophies.

What’s keeping you awake at night? We answer your problems.

They work in the US. But will Small Business Investment Companies work here?

Treasury rule changes spell the end of tax breaks for small firms.

Stargate thinks it’s got the solution to the equity gap. How will the team do it? By giving investors a simple money-back guarantee scheme. Adam Leyland reports.

Will the Enterprise Act bring a US rescue culture?

Are you up to Standards?

If you want your company to grow, you’ll need to file accounts.