Chamber clicks with advice line.

Byline: By Iain Laing

The North-East Chamber of Commerce (NECC) will today launch an online service to give fast professional help to small and medium-sized businesses.

NECC will launch an online Business Centre called Chamber @dvice that is expected to save SMEs thousands of pounds at the click of a mouse button.

The service, believed to be the first of its kind in the UK, is expected to handle more than 20,000 inquiries a year and a target has been set of signing up a 10,000-strong community of participating companies by the end of 2008.

A team of experts from a variety of professional service sectors has been lined up to handle inquiries on anything from taxation headaches to legal minefields.

Chamber @dvice will be launched today at the Intelligent Communication Conference at Sunderland's Stadium of Light.

Gary Watson, NECC head of commercial services, said: "Never before have firms in this region had access to such a comprehensive service in one place at the click of a button. NECC sees this as a revolution in the way we help firms get vital help.

"The service will offer free advice from the Chamber's team of accredited professional advisers, and has been introduced in response to feedback from Chamber members, a large proportion of which are SMEs who cannot afford the consultancy fees associated with professional advice."

The success of Chamber @dvice is being closely monitored by the network of chambers of commerce across the UK who are keen to replicate the initiative.

A raft of North-East companies has been signed up to provide advice, including Canon, Croner, Tenon, BiB Insurance, Grant IT, IIB, UNW, kpi-insight and n-e-life.

Colin Grant, director of North Shields-based Grant IT, one of the accredited advisers, said: "Information technology is an integral part of virtually every business today therefore, when problems occur with their computer system, the effect is usually company-wide.

"Being part of the Chamber @dvice team means Grant IT can help step in and support companies when such problems occur, saving them both time and money.

"We feel this innovative and proactive service designed by the Chamber will prove to be an invaluable business tool."

Denis Pinnegar, director of group development at Darlington-based BiB Insurance, another expert advisor, said: "From time-to-time, all SMEs require advice away from their core skill area and, in many cases, they do not know exactly where to turn.

"With Chamber @dvice, they will have one call to make and will know the advice is coming from a recognized specialist in that business area. It's a win-win situation."