0800 140 4644
Coronavirus – What support might be available to me?
Please find a summary below of all the key support which is currently available at this most difficult of times.
Rates Relief
Small businesses can claim £10,000 (previously £3,000 cash grant in the budget), with further announcements on rates expected later this year. It is not clear on the mechanism for doing this however and we recommend you speak to your local rates office to find out more, although it should become clear in the next two to four weeks. One such office said that this should be an automatic process, which wouldn’t require an application, but we await confirmation if this is indeed the case.
There is more specific relief in the retail, leisure and hospitality sectors here and more to come.
Business Interruption Loan
There will be a special loan available for small companies who are hit by the Coronavirus, as a temporary Business Interruption Loan.
The British Business Bank will deliver the loan scheme, which “will be in place in a matter of weeks” to support SMEs to access bank lending and overdrafts. Interest rates will be similar to current bank lending as the Government will forgo their 2% premium which they charge on the similar Enterprise Finance Guarantee scheme (‘EFG’).
Essentially, the Government will provide the lenders with an 80% guarantee of the loan, with the lending provided by a pool of lenders, supporting loans of up to £1.2m per small business (with anticipated total lending here to hit £1.2bn). We believe this is going to be extended as part of the £330bn package, but details have not been released yet. There also might be specific help available here for the aviation industry.
However, ultimately this is a loan and it will still need to be repaid, it’s not the simplest and it’s not been launched yet so it is unclear how helpful this might be.
Tax Helpline
HMRC have set up a specialised helpline and employed 2,000 specialised staff to help support businesses and the self-employed concerned they will not be able to pay their tax on time, specifically due to the coronavirus. In additional to practical help and support, if you are unable to pay your tax as it falls due, they can explore:
- agreeing an installment arrangements;
- suspending debt collection proceedings; and/or
- cancelling penalties and interest where you have administrative difficulties contacting or paying HMRC immediately.
Their scope is therefore above and beyond what can be provided as part of a time to pay agreement, so if you need to, we suggest you get in touch with them as soon as possible.
Their opening hours are Monday to Friday 8am to 8pm, and Saturday 8am to 4pm, and they are often less busy first thing and last thing.
Other Tips
At this difficult time, we all need to come together to support and help one another. Other than the above schemes, there are also a few things you might be able to do to help your business, above and beyond the government schemes mentioned above. These can include:
- Act now, plan, prepare and be ready, whatever the scenario;
- Prepare cashflow models for your business, to understand how your position is looking and when your issues will arise under different scenarios;
- Go through your profit and loss account; are there any costs you can strip out? Today, next week, next month? Do you need to set the ball-rolling now, especially as some services require a notice period;
- If you have a landlord (for business or personal) talk to them and see if there is any flexibility in your current arrangement. They are potentially getting relief, maybe they can pass this along to you to keep you as a tenant?;
- Manage your debtors and creditors. Don’t pay anyone before you need to and get money in from your customers as quickly as you can. Maybe look to see if you can extend credit terms, payment days or put things on direct debit to spread payments and ultimately improve your working capital;
- If you have any lenders, keep communicating. If you are going to have any issues with payment, the earlier you communicate the better. However, you never know, they may be able to accept delay payments, payment holidays or potentially even extend your current facility to you. Again, they might be getting some help here, so maybe they can pass this over to you.
Strategic Partners
Even if it is not our direct help you need, but some from one of our strategic partners, get in touch HERE and we can see who is best placed to help you. At this time especially, they could include a Business Recovery Specialist, Debt Advisor, Debt Collector or HR Consultant, to name but a few.
Subscribe
Have you found this useful? If so, please subscribe using the button below.
Black and White Accounting
This is a difficult time for everyone and we must come together to get through this. Our thoughts are with you, your family and your friends especially at this time.
If there is anything we can do to help you at this difficult time, please do get in touch by contacting Black and White Chartered Certified Accountants, populate the “Got a Question” form on the right, or call us on 0800 140 4644.
