Well, what a year it has
been! Financially and personally for most of us it has been turbulent to say
the least, and unfortunately, it’s looking like we’re not out of the woods just
yet.
Advanced have been as busy as
ever adapting to the changing financial landscape. While many of our wonderful
clients have sadly had to shut up shop or reduce their hours, we have dedicated
our time to providing them with assistance by applying for local authority
grants, loans, self-employment support schemes, furloughing staff and much much
more.
Most people see accountancy
firms as an extra expense they can’t afford when times get tough but we think
having an accountant on your side to navigate through such turbulent situations
can actually prove to be financially beneficial….and based on the feedback
we’ve been getting, our clients agree!
The hospitality industry in
particular has struggled. Pubs, restaurants, clubs, bars and accommodation have
had to shut for an extended period of time, and they have all faced huge
changes since reopening. Some businesses had a brief boom during August as the
‘eat out to help out’ scheme proved extremely popular (or £10 off and 10lb on
as I preferred to call it…) but now that they’ve been hit with a 10pm curfew
and with many regional households not being able to mix the financial pressure
is back on.
So what support is now out
there to ensure we do not lose our valued establishments and countless jobs?
Aside from the eat out to
help out, the hospitality industry has been given a reduced VAT rate (on
affected supplies) of just 5% which has now been extended. This applies to
hospitality, holiday accommodation and attractions. This temporary change will
run from 15th of July 2020 and remain in place until 31st
March 2021.
The hospitality industry has
also been granted a Business Rates Relief which allows businesses in the
retail, hospitality and leisure industry to not pay any business rates for the
2020/2021 tax year.
In addition, with the
furlough scheme changing as of 2nd October 2020, paying now only 60%
of wages instead of the original 80%, the government have launched a new system
of support to help people to retain their jobs.
A new jobs support scheme has
been designed to protect jobs in businesses who are going to be facing
difficulty over the winter months due to COVID. This scheme starts on the 1st
of November and will run for 6 months. It will allow businesses to cut the
hours of their employees if they cannot justify having fulltime staff.
Employees can keep their jobs under reduced hours whilst still receiving 77% of
their original wage (one third of which will be paid by the government)
Employers who use the job
support scheme will also be able to claim the job retention bonus and you will
be able to claim this bonus on the gov website from December 2020.
As always, if you need any
help such as bringing your staff back from furlough or applying for the jobs
support scheme or anything else, Advanced Accountancy are just a phone call
away on 01384 271858 or email [email protected]
Sadly, fraudsters are taking advantage of the current situation and we’re seeing more attempted scams. Here are some tips on spotting common ones and how to stay safe, along with what we’re doing to help.
Stay safe from these common scams
Double check the identity of who you’re paying
Fraudsters may contact you pretending to be your bank, HMRC, the police or a utilities company, asking you to transfer money or give them information. If you get an unexpected message or call like this, hang up. Google the organisation’s official number and call them directly.
Fraudsters will tell you there’s a problem with your account or threaten legal action if you don’t pay fast. They are professionals and can sound very convincing. Fraudsters can also fake phone numbers and make their emails look legitimate, so always contact companies directly to check.
Don’t rush into a payment
An organisation you trust will never pressure you into making a payment or taking out a loan, especially over the phone. If someone’s doing that, they’re almost certainly a fraudster.
If you’re not sure, speak to a friend or family member, or chat to us. Fraudsters will try to rush you by threatening ‘legal action’, or telling you that your account is ‘at risk’.
If it seems too good to be true, it probably is!
If you’re being offered something very cheaply over social media, it’s probably a scam. Buy from a trusted merchant where you can check verified reviews, and where you can pay by card.
Similarly, legitimate investments don’t happen over social media, and will never guarantee profits. Check if a company’s registered with the FCA before investing.
We’re also seeing more coronavirus scams, like fake texts from HMRC offering money as a ‘goodwill payment’, or from the government offering ‘tax relief’. These are scams, so always check official sites before clicking on any links!
Share this with your friends and family so they can stay safe.
If you have any doubts about any communication you have received please get in touch with us on 01384 271858 or email us at [email protected]
Clients often ask for help in finding the most appropriate funding solutions for their business and that usually means finding a lender who is prepared to provide the funding they need. But there are many lenders, from high street banks to new ‘alternative’ lenders. Finding the right finance provider for a particular need is vital to keep costs down.
However, many of you may already know
that we are now partnering with Rangewell to help with this. They can search
the entire lending market to help find the solutions to any funding need you
may have.
And that means, when any business has a funding need, they work to provide a fast and effective answer – and, as they are independent, they always aim to get the most competitive funding from the most appropriate lender quickly and transparently.
Supporting a Business Through Lockdown
Virtually every type of business has
been affected by the coronavirus crisis, including many of the SMEs we support.
However, we wanted to share one example of how Rangewell was able to help a
business – a festival and event crewing company – which was severely impacted
by the lockdown.
The business takes care of crewing
and set-up for festivals and events all over the country. Summer is normally
their busiest time – but with lockdown, all the events they were booked in for
were cancelled.
The owners saw the problem coming as
soon as the rules on lockdown were announced and immediately set to work to
reduce their costs.
“Cashflow is vital whatever business
you are in. We suddenly had no income and no cashflow at all. We use a lot of
subcontractors and casual workers, so we didn’t have a huge wage bill – but we
still had to furlough some of our core staff. But what we were
really worried about was the future. The cashflow was turned off like a tap,
but it will take months to turn back on, even after lockdown is lifted.”
The business saw that the problems might not suddenly be solved when the all-clear is given and businesses can go back to work.
“We’ve missed the
key spring months, and summer is going to be no better. We could have some work
coming our way in early autumn if things start to improve, and we can look
forward to open-air concerts and festivals again. But there are no guarantees.”
Even with costs cut
to the bone, the business still faced overheads. It was vital to arrange
funding in order to keep the business afloat until the crisis was over.
“We worked out that
we needed at least £75,000.”
Looking for a CBILS loan
The owner’s first thought was to
approach his bank for a loan and felt that, with the government’s CBILS
programme in place, he would have little problem securing the cash he needed to
pay the fixed costs over the next few months.
The Coronavirus Business Interruption
Loan Scheme (CBILS) lets small businesses borrow sums of up to £5m,
interest-free for 12 months, with the government promising to underwrite 80% of
the loan. This is designed to help lenders lend – but they will only do so
according to their pre-shutdown criteria.
“I approached a major bank, but they
told me that they were only working with their existing clients and could not
consider my application because I didn’t bank with them.”
He could demonstrate three years of
profits and had cash reserves. However, the bank had already decided on its
lending criteria and, when he applied for a government-backed CBILS loan for
cashflow support, he was rejected because of their policies.
How Rangewell Helped
When the client called the Rangewell
team, he had already approached his own bank and been turned down – but this
did not have to be the end of the journey.
Because the Rangewell team know all
the lenders that are lending under CBILS, including those who can consider
applications from businesses who are not clients, they can step in to
streamline applications and help get decisions faster.
The funding experts at Rangewell
looked at the client’s needs and approached the lenders who work with the
construction sector, and who were most likely to agree to a loan under CBILS.
Their team helped prepare the
paperwork and arrange a priority application – which was successful.
The client was able to secure a loan
of £70,000 under the CBIL Scheme – allowing them to make full use of the
12-month repayment-free period and giving his business the help it needed to
start getting back on its feet.
If you would like support in finding and applying for the funding your business needs, now or for the future, simply call us for further information about getting Rangewell working for you. You can call our express line on 01384 271 858 or get in touch via our get in touch page.
The Coronavirus crisis is, unfortunately, hitting the majority of SMEs hard. But as we’ve previously covered, the government announced a £330bn rescue package for British businesses.
However some firms are finding that they still can’t access the funding they need. They may find their bank unhelpful, they may slip through the cracks or they may simply not be able to deal with all the paperwork required.
They may even need funds fast – at a time when their bank is going slow.
That’s why Marina and Rohan are pleased to announce that we have partnered with Rangewell, the UK’s leading business finance experts.
Who Rangewell are – and how they can help
Rangewell are specialists in business finance and are unique in having comprehensively and independently mapped over 300 business finance lenders and 23,000 business finance products in the UK.
Now, we have partnered with them to help our clients. They can work with us to secure the funding you need to get your business through the current crisis. Their expert team are with you every step of the way, from finding the most appropriate lender and product to applying and drawing down.
They also have an in-depth understanding of the challenges facing specific business sectors. With a team who have all worked at lenders, they know the questions lenders will be asking and the answers they want to hear.
It usually means getting the funding you need faster – and paying less for it.
In the current crisis, that could be vital for your future. Banks are, understandably, overstretched and may be taking days just to acknowledge enquiries – let alone provide the funding businesses desperately need.
All types of funding
Rangewell work to find any type of funding businesses need, including Asset Finance, Working Capital Finance, Merchant Cash Advances, funding for Commercial property, Invoice Finance, MBOs and acquisitions to name a few. They can also help whether your need is a few thousand pounds to major finance in the millions.
With the help of Rangewell, we can bring you the funding you need, faster.
Financial crisis lifeline – or regular business funding – Advanced Accountancy and Rangewell have the answers you need
Rangewell’s expertise could mean the difference between securing the funding you need to get through the crisis or your business going to the wall – and as an Advanced Accountancy client, you can get it working for you now.
There’s no need to delay. Their helpful team can take you through every step from discussing your needs to securing the funding you need.Simply call us for further information about how the Rangewell experts can help you find appropriate and affordable funding. Ring our express line on 01384 271 858 or get in touch via our get in touch page.
The self employed of you out there have probably spent many
a hour with the calculator trying to work out what income you will be entitled
to whilst this virus has us all on lockdown.
Whilst we can’t provide you with an accurate figure unless you
personally get in touch with us we thought now would be a good time to put together
some examples to illustrate how everything will work.
If you want a personalised illustration, please give us a call on 01384 271858 and we will get everything organised for you.
Example 1
Trading profits
HMRC will use the figures on your tax returns for your total
trading income (turnover), then deduct any allowable business expenses and
capital expenditure.
i.e. if you made:
£20,000 profit in
tax year 2016 to 2017
£20,000 profit in
tax year 2017 to 2018
£20,000 profit in
tax year 2018 to 2019
Add £20,000 + £20,000
+ £20,000 = £60,000
Then divide £60,000
by 3
Your average trading profit for the 3 tax years would be £20,000.
The grant will be 80% of your
average trading profit, divided by 12 which will give a monthly amount.
The monthly amount for the grant to
be paid in this example would therefore be £1,333.33(i.e. 80%
of £20,000=£16,000 then divide by 12 = £1,333.33). HMRC will pay this or up
to a maximum of £2,500 a month, (whichever is lower).
Example 2
If you have more than one trade in the same tax year
HMRC will add together all profits and losses for all these
trades to work out your trading profit.
If you only traded in the tax year 2018 to 2019, and made a
£60,000 profit for your first trade, and then a £20,000 loss for your second
trade, your trading profit for that year would be:
Add £60,000 and £60,000 then deduct
£30,000 loss = £90,000
Then divide £90,000 by 3
Your average trading
profit for the 3 tax years would be £30,000 (the same principle is then used as
in example 1 to calculate the monthly grant payable).
Example 3A
If you did not trade in tax year 2016 to 2017 but made:
£25,000 of profit in
tax year 2017 to 2018
£45,000 of profit in
tax year 2018 to 2019
Add £25,000 and
£45,000 = £70,000
Then divide £70,000
by 2
Your average trading profit for the 2 tax years would be
£35,000 (the same principle is then used as in example 1 to calculate the
monthly grant payable).
Eligibility
Your trading profits must be no more than £50,000 and more
than half of your total income for either:
the tax year 2018 to
2019
the average of the
tax years 2016 to 2017, 2017 to 2018, and 2018 to 2019
Example 5
2016
to 2017
2017
to 2018
2018
to 2019
Average
for the 3 tax years
Trading
profit
£50,000
£50,000
-£10,000
£30,000
Pension
income
£15,000
£15,000
£15,000
£15,000
Total
income
£65,000
£65,000
£5,000
£45,000
Trading
profit are more than half of your total income
Yes
Yes
No
Yes
So even if you made a loss in the tax year 2018 to 2019, you
would still be eligible for the grant because your average trading profit for
the 3 tax years:
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