Application questions - Small business

Part 1 - Company questions

These are the questions we ask about you and your business.

As our directory is called the “CALM” supplier directory, we’re using CALM as our acronym for our application questions, so we’ve organised our questions into the following sections: Customer, Assurance, Legitimate and Moral.

Our first section of questions is Customer, looking at how you work with your customers and deliver your services.

1.Please provide a high-level overview of the business. We'll get into specific services later.

2.Which areas of the UK does the business operate in?

3.Who are your ideal customers (size, industry, location)?

4.How do you handle communication with customers throughout a project?

5.How do you ensure you meet customer deadlines?

6.What’s the escalation route if things go wrong with a customer project or complaint?

7.Is any intellectual property created during client work? How do you manage this?

8.Do you provide full cost transparency and a clear quote to your suppliers?

9.If you have any rolling contacts with customers are there aware of when costs increases will be applied?

10.Do you ever use sub-contractors, affiliates, associates or partners to deliver your service? If so, how do you ensure they meet your standards?

Our next section is Assurance, looking at your professional standards and industry qualifications

1.Is the business a member of any trade associations or professional bodies?

2.Do you (and your team) have any professional qualifications relevant to your services?

3.What, if any, regulatory licenses or accreditations are held by your business?

4.Are you registered with the Information Commissioners Office?

5.Do you hold a valid Cyber Essentials Certification?

6.Are you subject to any sector-specific regulations? How do you ensure ongoing compliance?

7.Do you have any ISO certifications or other quality standards? Which ones?

Our next section is Legitimate, looking at your insurance coverage and financial responsibility.

1.What level of public liability insurance do you have?

2.Do you have professional indemnity insurance? What level of insurance do you have?

3.Do you have cyber liability insurance? What level of insurance do you have?

4.What other insurances does your business hold? Please provide a summary of the policy & amount of cover.

Our next section is Moral, looking at your workplace practices and ethical standards.

1.What steps does your business take to reduce environmental impact?

2.Does your business support any local community activities or charities?

Our last section asks about your digital presence and gives you the opportunity to add anything else we should know.

1.Do you have other social media accounts for the business?

2.Is there anything else you'd like to add to support your application?

3.Do you have any questions about the application process?

4.Terms & Conditions - Please confirm you have read and agreed to our Terms & Conditions. If you have any questions you can tell us in a minute.

5.Supplier Code of Conduct - Please confirm you have read and agree to our Supplier Code of Conduct. If you have any questions you can tell us in a minute.

6.Complaints Process - Please confirm you have read and agree with our Complaints Process. If you have any questions, you can tell us in a minute.

7.If you have any questions about our Terms & Conditions, Supplier Code of Conduct or our Complaints Process please advise here and we can discuss on our call.

8.What's the best address for us to send your CALM Verified Supplier Certificate?

Part 2 - Service questions

Here we ask about the services you provide. As a Small business you can list up to 4 different services.

What is the service you are applying for?

What percentage of your turnover comes from this service (roughly)?

Please describe this service in detail. Explain what you deliver and how it helps your customers

Is any part of this service outsourced to third parties? If yes, which parties do you use and how do you ensure they meet your standards?

What is your standard pricing for this service? How do you charge? (e.g., hourly rate, fixed fee, per unit, monthly retainer)

What discount are you offering to our members for this service? State as a percentage or describe your member pricing