Startup of the day: GB Business
It's Kerry week in The Daily Business Post. Every day, we profile a Kerry-based startup. Today it's GB Business, which specialises in outsourced VAT reclaim and expense management services for companies visiting the EU.
**Company:** [GB Business](http://www.gbbusinessglobal.com/)
**Status:** active
**Founder:** Brendan O'Neill and Anne Falvey
**Employees:** 15
**What it does:** outsourced VAT reclaim and expense management services
As many companies strive to cope with the current volatile economic conditions, firms are looking to save money on expenses more than ever before. So who can global companies travelling to the EU for business minimise their costs?
GB Business was founded in August 2011 by Brendan O'Neill and Anne Falvey. The company specialises in VAT reclaim and expense management services for international companies visiting the EU.
Based in Tralee, the company employs 15 people, some of whom are based in the Europe and the Middle East. The company is also currently setting up an office in China.
O'Neill and Falvey have both worked in VAT reclaim for over a decade and found that, depending on the local tax rules, companies can claim back VAT on costs such as trade fair costs, meals, accommodation and car hire.
"We also offer a compliance, audit, fraud and processing services for those customers looking to outsource specific areas of their finance departments.," said O'Neill. " Expenses is one of the key areas that can be outsourced without causing too much discord or issues in an organisation."
The company has developed relationships with foreign exchange companies to generate business. According to O'Neill the company's customers come from all over the globe.
"In our area, business is good," said O'Neill. "When things are tight in the economy, companies play a lot more attention to their VAT. They want to maximise their saving and reduce expenses."
O'Neill is hoping to recruit more staff on the processing side of the business based in Kerry in the near future. The company was supported by the local enterprise board with a business priming grant.
Advice: "Research what is available to you. There are some grants available but if you startup prior to applying you may not get anything. It is important to research what you are doing, look at your market and also look at the grants that are available."
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