Digital tools and resources to help your business successfully export

Free and low-cost digital tools to help small businesses trade internationally with confidence

Trading internationally is an exciting prospect for small businesses with many benefits including reaching new customers and increasing revenue. But it can also be very daunting due to challenges around finding the right country to sell in, complicated paperwork, dealing with foreign regulations, and managing shipping costs.  

There is a solution. 

Digital tools and resources have helped to level the playing field between large and small businesses looking to export.  

From researching markets and submitting customs declarations to finding customers and taking payments, this guide lists free and low-cost tools you can access to help you make a success of international trade.  

Market research tools 

Extensive research into where to sell your products and services is an essential first step in making a success of exporting and international trade.  

To identify the best markets for your business, tools include: 

• The government’s country guides 
• Santander’s country profiles 
• Country handbooks from Chartered Institute of Export and International Trade 
• HM Revenue & Customs’ UK Trade Info 

To research customer demographics and behaviour in international markets, tools include: 

• Google Trends for Google search trends around the world 
• Statista for statistics and data from many sources  
• Meta Business Suite Insights for demographics, interests, and behaviours of Facebook and Instagram users. 
• GWI and Euromonitor International for consumer research. 

To research competitors and how they are reaching international customers online, tools include SEMrush, Ahrefs, and BuzzSumo. 

Sales, ecommerce, and customer service tools 

An effective way to reach international customers is using online marketplaces to sell your products. They include Amazon, Etsy, and eBay. To take payments internationally, you can use tools such as PayPal, Stripe, and Worldpay.  

Once you have international customers, it’s important to deliver a good service. Tools like Zendesk, Help Scout, and Zoho Desk provide customer service chatbots in multiple languages that help automate frontline service and answer basic questions.  

To maximise your international sales, product descriptions, packaging information, and customer service messages should be in the local language. The Association of Translation Companies has a list of companies providing translation services. 

Compliance tools 

There are lots of rules and regulations to comply with when exporting. Tools to help include: 

• Government guidance on international trade regulations and customs, taxes and declarations 
• Government’s trade tariff tool for looking up commodity codes, duty, and VAT rates and guidance on how to use it 
• International Trade Centre Market Access Map to identify customs tariffs, tariff rate quotas, trade remedies, regulatory requirements, and preferential regimes applicable to your product 

Tools for submitting customs declarations 

Customs declarations are required when exporting. Tools to help include:  

• HM Revenue & Customs’ Customs Declaration Service (CDS), the UK’s single customs platform used to submit import and export declarations for goods.  
• Government list of software developers providing software for submitting customs declarations 
• Government list of customs agents that help businesses with customs declarations 

Logistics tools 

Many exporters use warehouses and fufilment centres in the UK or overseas to store and distribute goods. Services include Huboo, ShipBob, FulfilmentCrowd, Amazon FBA (Fulfilment by Amazon), and DHL Supply Chain 

Services for booking, managing, and tracking international shipments are listed on this the government resource/site and the Association of International Courier and Express Services.  

Export finance and insurance tools 

Businesses that export often have high upfront costs, so export finance can help to alleviate the burden. Products include bonds, guarantees, letters of credit, and working capital loans.  

UK Export Finance (UKEF) is the UK government’s export credit agency which provides export finance.  

Export insurance protects your business against the risk of not getting paid by international buyers. UKEF provides insurance and it has also approved these brokers. 

Many banks and other funders provide finance solutions for exporters.  

Support and learning resources 

Several organisations provide support and advice for exporting. They include: 

• The government’s business.gov.uk portal 
• The Chartered Institute of Export & International Trade 
• Federation of Small Businesses 
• British Chambers of Commerce 
• Scottish Enterprise 
• Business Wales 
• Invest Northern Ireland 

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