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Like a lot of people, we realised we had to call our company something and the Careers Partnership (UK) name evolved from desperation and circumstances ...

We wanted to call ourselves CPUK (nice and snappy) but that proved to be the name of the Carnivorous Plants (UK) company.

Then we opted for Careers Partnership (doesn't roll off the tongue so fast but at least it says what we were - a partnership of career management consultants). Problem!thumbsdown Careers Partnership was - we discovered - the company name of an association of public sector careers services near Manchester.

Companies House said it was OK to call ourselves Careers Partnership (UK), though, and with a HUGE sigh of relief we got on to our next major hurdle (deciding on the design of our letter heading, I kid you not!). Entrepreneurs we were not, we didn't think about customers and what they might want until we'd sorted out the thorny issue of what we could all agree was an acceptable colour scheme for the letter heading!

Though the naming of the company was such a muddle, we discovered later it hadn't been such a bad choice.

Careers Partnership (UK)'s good for SEO purposes and also means that we appear relatively high in straightfoward alphabetical listings (eg in the Career Advice section of the 'phone book, our name appears before that of the state-funded Connexions and Next Step).

Thanks again Accounting Help ...

Am now "off" for Christmas and won't think or do anything technological for a week -rah, rah, rah!

Hi Accounting Help

Would appreciate all advice I can get from any informed source on the practicality of using my machine to behave as if it were a Windows PC. The world seems to divide into Mac and PC users so while I've a small number of friends who use Mac, they don't know anything about Windows; and the Windows user friends don't use Mac!

I've business contacts of a friend who knows how to use both systems (I think) but I'll have to be very careful to limit the questions I ask so I'm not a nuisance. I can also get short free tutorials on using Mac from the Leicester Apple store (but haven't yet discovered whether any of their staff know enough about Windows to advise me on my machine's useability as a purely Windows machine).

I think my basic questions are can I copy over my Windows filing system onto the Mac and extend / update it as necessary? Windows Explorer works differently to Finder - the significance of this difference is unclear to me.

My Windows computer filing system links to a unique drive (the D drive) and I'd like to do the same on the Mac (if it's got 2 or more drives). I organise my filing system into folders that make sense to a human being - eg each file for an individual client will contain everything relevant to that client, whether the material is a document, email or web page.

Dunno whether any of this info is helpful, however my Mac machine is as follows:-

Model Name: iMAc
Model identifier iMAc 4.1
Model ST3160023AS
Processor Name Intel Core Duo
SMC Version (system) 1.1f5

Any ideas please on whether I can get it to behave purely as a Windows machine?

.... and Happy Christmas!

Best wishes, Linda

Hi All



I've inherited a visually beautiful bit of computer kit but I'm not sure how to use it (or even whether to try using it for business purposes) so I'd appreciate advice from those who understand both types of computer.

I'd really rather not learn "Mac".

I want to set up my files / folders in the Mac and work on them as if this computer really was a Windows PC.

All external people (clients and most friends) use PCs so that's how I've got to communicate with them.

This is a 2006 computer, manufactured when Macs were only just becoming compatible with Windows. This Mac has got Parallels but its previous owner couldn't get that software to work. There are also missing Windows and Windows XP disks (the reason why the previous owner had difficulties?).

Any help or advice you could give would be exceedingly welcome.

In the meantime, MERRY CHRISTMAS to one and all.

Best wishes, Linda

Today's Guardian says Mr Mba, who reported this odd behaviour by his boss to the National Audit Office (the government's auditors) and to the Parliamentary Committee (in one sense Parliament is HRMC's boss), has been subjected to HRMC's formal disciplinary system and may be prosecuted as well.thumbsdown

Apparently Mr Mba's boss isn't facing any disciplinary action for causing the inexplicable loss of

Local Authorities levy Council Tax on domestic premises and Business Rates on business premises. From your point of view, the likely consequence of being rated for Business Rates is that the costs of running your business will increase by a huge amount.


Another department of the Council.



I'd guess they're thinking of charging you Business Rates from the time when you started the home salon business - you could be facing a very big bill.


Assuming the law and regulations for Business Rates are as complex and chaotic as those for Council Tax, it's highly probable you could damage your own case by a few incautious words ... so don't say anything until you've been properly advised.

I feel I've now given all the advice I can usefully give so will make no further comment. Would just like to say "best of luck" and hope all goes well for you. Linda

thumbsdownthumbsdown No ifs or buts about this now, Lina - you must get professional advice as fast as you can make an appointment. I don't know whether this advice needs to come from your business banking advisor, a chartered accountant or a solicitor - ask each what they'd be able to do for you if you booked an appointment with them.

Business rates are normally very expensive and at a later stage there'd presumably be lots of tax and other complications if you wanted to sell your house.

Maybe the accountants and tax specialists on the forum could advise on the general risks but I think you need a one to one discussion about your personal circumstances, what's happened to date with the Council and so on before you do or say anything further.

I think you also need to be a bit careful what you write on public forums now. I doubt whether Milton Keynes local authority monitor this forum but anything's possible!


Good luck. Linda

Personally, I feel there's an advantage in finding out how one stands and what your "negotiating" options are ASAP (ideally before the Council's decided on its own position). It's usually less worrying too.

People who don't take proper advice are easy victims (for example, sick and disabled people who don't get advice are around 3 times less likely to win their appeals against ATOS decisions than those that do).

If the Council ring you up / visit you again, it may be a good idea to pleasantly stonewall them until you've had advice - and let them know you're taking advice from an organisation they respect (and are wary of).

You might say, for example, in reply to any demand for a formal interview "I'm really feeling quite concerned about this bolt from the blue so I need proper advice beforehand ... the first appointment [the Citizens Advice Bureau] can offer me is [January 7]. I'll get in touch with you immediately afterwards and we can schedule a date for this meeting".

Don't budge from your position, it's too risky for you.

Good luck! Linda

Was suggesting only that you asked a harmless-sounding question to find out why someone proposed to visit you. By asking your innocent question, you get them to declare themselves in advance (official visitors are normally very careful to avoid telling untruths, though they may be less than forthcoming).

As you're in the customer service business, you can't afford to sound suspicious when strangers / possible customers get in touch with you. The question I suggested sounds a perfectly acceptable, normal one from a hairdresser wanting to help a new customer. Just listen out for any lack of response or odd responses that could indicate the visitor's coming for reasons you'd rather they weren't.

I feel you now need to protect yourself from any action the Council may think of taking against you. Please try to arrange appointments urgently with the local Chamber of Trade, Citizens Advice Bureau, your own bank, Business Link-equivalent etc. Good luck! Linda

No Steve, your advice was helpful, it was my decision what to do with it and I'm happy with the choice I made.

If I'd kept the PC, I'd still be faffing around trying to make that work. I'd far rather have the free space - particularly as I've inherited a fairly new AppleMac (with own printer) which is coming on Saturday.

I'm still hoping there's some way of making the old printer work with the (slightly less old) laptop.




Do I need new drivers plse? My laptop says:-
"You have successfully completed the Add Printer Wizard
Name: HP Deskjet 520,
Port USB001" etc.
So it sounds happy at its end.

The laptop manual suggests the use of its parallel port for parallel printers and serial port for serial printers - though I'm not sure what significance this advice has (given the printer and cable wouldn't work on any other PC or laptop at PC Clinic).

BluefinNW - has the supplier been at all helpful in suggesting solutions and / or agreeing to swap the printer for something more compatible with your home PC?