Ask the Collective
The questions independent drinks founders ask most — answered. Distilled from years of community knowledge so the good stuff never disappears in the feed again.
What legal and accounting services do members recommend for small drinks businesses?
Members consistently recommend a handful of specialist providers that offer good value for small businesses needing employment contracts, tax advice, and corporate structuring. **Legal services:** - **Seed Legals** — Multiple members praised this service; used for employment contracts, share transfers, director's agreements, and fundraising documentation. Members offer referral introductions. - **iLaw (Justin Ellis)** — Highly recommended by at least one member who cannot recommend enough and will introduce interested parties. **Accounting services:** - **Donald Reid Group** — Several members use this firm. - **Specialist F&B/hospitality accountants** — At least one member uses a newer accountancy firm that specialises in hospitality, food & beverage, and e-commerce, described as well-priced after trying several solutions. **Employment law:** - Members have access to personal introductions to employment lawyers; if you need specific employment law support, ask in the group for a direct introduction. The consensus is to ask for private introductions rather than cold-contact these firms, as several members have referral relationships and may offer deals. Seed Legals appears most frequently recommended across multiple use cases.
What revenue or production threshold should define a 'small supplier' for platform pricing models?
Members discussed defining small suppliers for tiered pricing on platforms like EzTenda. The community suggested two practical thresholds: - **Under £1M annual revenue** — the most commonly cited benchmark for small supplier classification - **Under 1M litres per year** — specifically relevant for soft drinks producers, offering a volume-based alternative to revenue Members supported the idea of offering small supplier pricing tiers, though the excerpts don't detail the specific discounts or terms proposed. The choice between revenue and volume thresholds may depend on your product category and business model.
What life cover and health insurance options do members recommend for small drinks businesses with under 5 employees?
Members have found success with both brokered and direct approaches for employee health and life cover at small scale. **Health & Medical Cover:** - **Vitality** — recommended by members for medical and dental cover for small teams **Brokers & Introductions:** - Members suggest getting a personal recommendation via DM from someone in the community who is currently arranging cover, as several people indicated they could recommend a broker directly - **Katie Edmunds** — available for introductions (contact via group members) **Next Steps:** Members note this is an active area where multiple people are currently going through the process, so direct peer introductions tend to yield better results than cold outreach. Ask in the group for a broker recommendation or referral code.
How can small drinks brands protect themselves from aggressive recruiter fee claims and predatory practices?
Some recruiters are using aggressive tactics to claim fees, including sending unsolicited CVs with terms and conditions embedded in emails, then claiming acceptance and threatening legal action for 25%+ fees even when you're already working with another recruiter or the candidate came via a different source. **Key protective measures:** - **Document everything** — Keep clear records of which recruiter (if any) initially sent each candidate to you. Email chains proving the source are your best defence against false claims. - **Respond explicitly to unsolicited recruiter emails** — If a recruiter sends you CVs with T&Cs, reply explicitly stating you do not accept their terms and are not engaging their services. Don't let silence be interpreted as acceptance. - **Don't sign anything** — Avoid signing recruiter paperwork unless you've actively chosen to work with them. Embedded T&Cs in emails do not create a binding agreement. - **Know the reality of their threats** — Members note that most recruiters threatening court action lack the time and resources to actually follow through. However, it's still worth the small effort of formally declining their terms to avoid any stress. **Caveat:** This is an old problem in recruitment, and while aggressive, most claims are bluffs. Still, a simple written rejection of their terms is cheap insurance against the headache.