Useful advice

What do you need to do to enter the Business Finance Awards?

First, please read through the category list and decide which categories you wish to enter. Remember, you can enter as many categories as the services your business provides for customers throughout the world of business finance. 

Next, assemble the information you need to make your entry. There may be subtle differences in what you need to present for each category, so please make sure you prepare to draft your submission with the specific category in mind, re-tuning the words if necessary to submit the same entry in another category. This is especially important for the 100-word summary you provide for each entry.

Then, you will need to write your submission. There is a limit on the number of words in any one submission. While 1,500 words seems a lengthy essay, a complex submission will quickly chew through that number. But be aware, the judges will mark down over-length submissions, so please watch the word count. Similarly, the judges will vote higher any paper that is concisely written with no unnecessary hyperbole or self-promotion. You can supply additional information to support your submission (see below).

Please pay particular attention to any specific criteria for the category you wish to enter, though we have avoided being overly prescriptive about criteria in this first year of the Awards. The judges will appreciate your extra effort, even if it is simply to provide an introductory sentence or two as evidence that you have addressed the category’s criteria. 

Will you need to provide additional support material?

Business finance is not necessarily the easiest subject to illustrate, but printed material, product packaging, branded items, photographs and video can all be used to great effect in helping the judges to understand the case you are making. Please think about how you can support your entry, bearing in mind that any picture or branded material will help to make the Awards presentation more visually interesting.

At the very least, even if you have nothing else to show, please submit a high resolution (300 dpi at A4 size) file of your company’s logo and an electronic version of any corporate brochure about your company.

How should you submit the information? 

The whole of your entry – entry form, submission paper, payment, support documents, picture or video material, promotional literature or giveaways – are submitted securely online. It is preferred if you can provide a URL to a microsite containing the visual material, that the judges can access. 

You need to supply only one copy of your support material, even if you enter the same or a revised submission into more than one category. However, if your entries are for different clients or projects, or are in very different categories, or you make several diverse entries in a single category, then you will need to provide support material for each entry you make.

Will the information you provide be kept safe and confidential?

All entries are stored safely in a secure environment, accessed only by the Awards’ organising team. The judges each have to sign a confidentiality/non-disclosure letter in advance of the judging and the Awards’ organisers undertake to keep securely any information marked as “not for publication”.

Eligibility

Except where indicated, submissions should relate to any business finance deal started, active or completed during the period from April 1 2023 to October 31 2024. In the case of startup deals and projects the eligibility period is from November 1 2022 to October 31 2024.

The organisers reserve the right to retain entries for subsequent publication, both on- and offline in ways that enhance the standing of entrants, supporting partners and the Business Finance Awards themselves. Descriptions of submissions from winners and runners-up will be published in connection with the Awards. Entrants may mark certain sensitive parts of their entry ‘not for publication’ (such as exact data, etc.), provided such restrictions are not used unreasonably.

General entry information

Entries into the Business Finance Awards must be submitted online. Your written entry should not exceed 1,500 words (12 point type, single line spacing) saved in PDF format (5MB maximum file size), uploaded from your desktop to the Business Finance Awards website. All entries should be uploaded following the template sections listed below. The Judges will automatically vote lower any entries exceeding the stipulated word count. Please adhere to these basic rules of entry, together with any other specific criteria described below.

Template guide

Your URL and your written entry are the basis on which the judges will vote for and short-list your entry. They should show how your company met its aims, employed innovative techniques, developed new products or services, employed effective marketing to promote expertise, was of real business benefit to customers/users, and delivered client satisfaction and a return on investment. At the beginning of your submission the following information must be listed: