During these uncertain times it is essential to consider the potential short term financial impact on you, your business and your staff and identify what plans and measures you should be taking now.
The earlier you can identify any issues or problems the easier it will be to find a solution and take any necessary actions.
Some of the areas we would recommend you should consider include:
- Can you continue to provide your goods and services and what impact might this have to your sales and turnover?
- Will there be issues with procurement or distribution chains for the goods and services you require?
- How much cash do you currently have in the bank and what working capital do you need?
- What staffing requirements do you have and how will you be affected because of sickness, homeworking or even complete lockdown? Do you need to reduce staff hours to avoid redundancies?
- What position are your clients and suppliers in and what impact might this have on you? What debts are due to and from your business? Is there a risk that debts won’t be paid and how would this impact on your cashflow?
- Were you planning to make any investments in staffing/capital items and if so, should these be deferred or can a better deal be found now?
- Do you have insurance cover that might cover you in the event of losing key staff/business?
- What on-going financial liabilities do you have and what support is on offer to ensure you can continue to meet your commitments?
Communicating with your staff, clients, customers, suppliers and other professional advisers including financial advisers and bank is key and should be done as soon as possible. As accountants we are happy to discuss an approach with you if you need guidance.
All businesses must also as a matter of priority consider their cashflow position and look at how this can be maintained. If you don’t have a budget or forecast do one now and if you do, update it to take into account the impact of the latest government announcements and the answers to the above questions. Any costs which are not essential may need to be deferred and others may be able to be spread out to ease the immediate impact.
HMRC have published guidance for businesses which can be found by following the link below.
This confirms that additional support is available to businesses in relation to the following:
- Reclaiming SSP paid to employees.
- Reducing business rates to nil for properties with a rateable value below £51,000.
- Provision of a one off grant of £3,000 for businesses who qualify for Small Business Rate Relief.
- The introduction of the ‘Coronavirus business interruption loan scheme’ to support businesses to access bank lending and overdrafts.
- ‘Time to pay’ arrangements for those who are struggling to pay their outstanding liabilities.
Here at Wells we have taken various measures to ensure that our services to you can continue with as minimal disruption as possible. If you are concerned about any of the above and the impact on you and your business then please email any of the team or contact us at info@wellsassociates.com and we will get in touch with you.
If we can all work together and ensure that we are identifying any potential problems and communicating early enough, we can plan to minimise the impact as best as possible. We will be continuously monitoring the situation and will ensure that any changes and further guidance is posted as necessary.