Mel’s COVID-19 Update: 26th May 2020

• High street shops, department stores and shopping centres can open as long as they are COVID-19 secure and they can show that they can keep customers safe.
• Outdoor markets and car showrooms can re-open from 1 June as the risk of transmission is lower due to having more space. Other non essential shops including indoor markets can re-open from 15 June, again as long as they are COVID-19 ready.
• Businesses will need to have completed a risk assessment and be confident that they can manage the risks in accordance with current Health and Safety legislation. There is guidance on the government website.
• If you need help in relation to Health and Safety please ask me and I can introduce you to a company that can help you.
• Other retailers such as hair and beauty as well as the hospitality sector remain closed.

Government gateway to claim back SSP is now open!

See: https://www.gov.uk/calculate-statutory-sick-pay

Please contact us if you need assistance completing your claims.

Financial support available to you and your business

I have contacted my clients previously describing the detail behind the various areas of support that is available to them. I thought I’d do a quick re-cap with high level information so that you can be sure that you haven’t missed anything!

1. SSP

• Claim from day 1 of sickness if due to coronavirus and also if shielding or self-isolating
• £95.85 per week
• Businesses can claim up to 2 weeks of SSP back from the government
• If self-employed can claim Universal Credit or employment Support Allowance

2. Job retention scheme (furlough scheme)

• Claim up to 80% employees gross wages
• Taxable but not repayable
• Directors can be furloughed
• Cap of £2500 per month
• Claim back from the government site

3. Self employment income support scheme

• Receive up to 80% average monthly trading profits
• Cap £2500 per month
• Trading profits must be less than £50,000 to qualify
• HMRC will contact you
• Pay out early June
• Available for 3 months
• Taxable not repayable

4. Grant funding for businesses with commercial property

• Small business grants £10K
• Retail, hospitality and leisure £10K to £25K
• Grants are per property and must be ratepayer as of 11 March 2020
• Grants are taxable not repayable
• Contact your local council if you have not received your grant
• Some now available to businesses operating out of serviced offices, speak to your council

5. Business rates relief

• Business rates holiday for 2020/21 for certain industries
• Check the detailed guidance

6. HMRC relief

• Defer vat payments to 31 March 2021
• Defer self assessment tax payments until 31 January 2021
• Time to pay arrangements for all taxes

7. CBIL scheme (Coronavirus Business Interruption Loan Scheme)

• Up to £250K with no personal guarantee
• Up to £5M
• 6 year term
• No costs and low repayments
• Low interest rates
• Can be a complicated application process

8. Bounce back loan scheme

• Easy application process
• Borrow between £2K and £50K
• Borrow up to 25% turnover up to £50K
• No interest or fees for 12 months
• No repayment for 12 months
• Up to 6 year term
• Interest rate capped at 2.5%
• Government backed

9. Mortgage and loan payment holiday

• Speak to your lender and apply directly
• Up to 6 month payment holiday on your mortgage

Catch up with Mel!

Lots of our clients have been coming along to our complimentary webinars that we have been running and we have had great feedback! I now have 2 more dates for your diary!

Right now, it’s ‘Business Unusual’ as businesses reopen after the COVID-19 crisis and adapt to an unfamiliar environment. We’re on the frontline of business support and we’re doing all we can to help our clients get to a new ‘Business as Usual’.

On Friday 5 June at 10am, join us for a 75 minute complimentary webinar, Business Recovery Planning, where we’ll cover the most important steps you can take to ensure your business has the best chance of recovery, including:

• Closing the disconnect
• The need to re-invent
• Your budget (personal and business)
• Opportunities, vulnerabilities and critical challenges
• Identifying and managing risks
• Goals and actions
• Pulling everything together as a complete package

Plus, we’ll update you on how we can continue to support you through your business recovery.

(As this webinar has now passed if you would like a recording of it please message me)

Also, the impact of COVID-19 and the associated lockdown has made it more important than ever to ensure, where possible, that you’re still getting paid.

On Wednesday 17 June at 10am we are hosting a complimentary webinar where you’ll:

• Understand how to approach your debtors in these challenging times
• Learn best practice credit control process management
• Discover lessons to take into the future to improve your cashflow
• Get runs on the board quickly
• Understand the support available to you

We’ll be providing all attendees with a guide and script templates to support you to get paid.

(As this webinar has now passed if you would like a recording of it please message me)

Please feel free to extend these invitations to other business owners perhaps friends, family or businesses in your community as they are really welcome to join in too! We are aware that a lot of other accountancy firms aren’t stepping forward to help businesses and have basically retreated but it is essential that businesses receive support like this in order for them to survive! Of course if, as a result of this, your contact signs up as a client we will pay you a referral fee!

How we can support you further

We are here to help you! Our business survival depends on your business survival and so we are in this together. Everything is changing and it is changing fast, my job is to keep on track of all of this so that we can communicate this to you fast and give you the best support we can.

As well as the normal stuff like your accounts, payroll, taxes, vat and bookkeeping we can help you in lots of ways:

• Answer your questions (doesn’t matter how small a question it is)
• Regular updates (emails like this and my webinars)
• Helping you apply for loans
• Preparing financial forecasts for your business
• Business continuity planning to ensure your business survives
• Business planning to move your business forward once we start to get a bit of reality

Also, more and more clients are deciding to outsource their accounts department to us. If you are paying salaries for your accounts team and you want to reduce your costs and increase your profits this might well be the perfect solution for you! You save employment costs, you save the cost of desks/IT, you don’t have to recruit to replace them when they decide to leave plus you have the peace of mind that everything is taken care of by the experts. Likewise, if you are a smaller business owner doing your own bookkeeping and vat returns this might well be an area that you could outsource to us so, this will free up your time to do the higher value work and make better use of your time!

Speak to us if you’d like to explore the options available to you!

Please reach out to me or one of the team if you have any questions.

More importantly than anything please keep well and safe and your family too.

During COVID-19 I want to ensure that everyone is as up to date as possible with regards to Government changes and support that impacts businesses. This update is correct as of date of sending (26th May 2020).