Round-Up Of The Week

Mar 27, 2020

We understand that this week has been an enormous challenge for businesses up and down the country, and we are committed to helping you through this challenging period. There has been a lot to digest this week so below is a recap of the key considerations and things to start thinking about next week:

Funding Applications

As we have previously discussed the Business Interruption Loan Scheme is far from perfect, but we are pleased to hear that many of the high street banks have now dropped their PG requests on loans under £250,000. There are still challenges, but that is a good start. We are working with multiple clients, brokers and banks and remain on hand to help, so please contact us if you haven’t already started to explore your funding options.

HR Strategy

The Government yesterday released detailed guidance around their scheme to pay 80% of retained staff wages (CJRS). Whilst we were disappointed to see that it didn’t offer the flexibility we were hoping for we are now in a position to help you plan your HR strategy. If you haven’t already, please contact us now to discuss your options.

Time to pay arrangements – Businesses and self-employed people with outstanding tax liabilities (excluding VAT), will have the option of paying by instalments. TC has already helped many clients to obtain extended payment terms, if you haven’t already, please contact us.

Contact landlords to negotiate payment plans or holidays – Commercial tenants will now be protected from eviction for three months if they cannot pay their rent. If you need any guidance or support on how to handle this, please contact us.

Negotiating business rate payment holidays – If your business isn’t eligible for an automatic grant, then speak to your local authority to see what flexibility they can offer. We have done this on behalf of multiple clients, and most are happy to offer a 3-month break.

Apply for 3 month personal and corporate mortgage holidays – These are available for residential or Buy to Let mortgages, as well as landlords with affected tenants. Most lenders now have an online form you can complete, if you need any guidance please contact our mortgage team who can assist.

Automatic Measures Already Announced

SBRR – One-off grant of £10,000 to businesses currently eligible for SBRR. Your local authority will contact you in early April, but if you haven’t received a cheque by the end of next week, please contact them as the cheques are already starting to arrive.

Deferred VAT payment (cancel DD) – Businesses can defer VAT payments between 20 March 2020 and 30 June 2020 until April 2021. All UK businesses are eligible, and no applications are required, but please make sure you cancel your VAT direct debit.

Deferred 31 July 2020 Self-employed tax payment – This payment will be deferred until 31 January 2021.

Automatic Measures for Specific Sectors

Businesses in retail, hospitality, and leisure will receive cash grants of up to £25,000 per property, in addition to a business rates holiday until April 2021.

Nursery businesses subject to business rates will also receive immediate support.

For a full catalogue of all our communications to you over the course of this week, you can see the news page on our website.

With this in mind, your top priorities for next week are outlined below:

Finalise HR strategy and implement it before the 01/04

For staff you have chosen to furlough you will need to:

Obtain written consent from the staff you have selected to furlough so that you can begin implementation;
Prepare letters confirming the position to inform them immediately of the situation and your decision.

For staff who shall continue working, you will need to:

Consider the level of wage reduction you will need to implement;
Begin a consultation process preparing the staff for what is to come;
Obtain written consent from the staff and prepare letters confirming the position.

Our HR team will be working over the weekend and will be available for consultations to ensure you are in a position to speak to your team on Monday and start making the necessary changes. Please contact us now via email to arrange a consultation.

Consider Your Payroll Plan

Managing payroll for retained and furloughed staff is complex, and you will need to ensure you have adequate preparations in place. Contact your TC Partner to discuss how we can help you with this.

Our Commitment To You

Our accounts and HR teams will be working over the weekend to ensure your HR plans and funding applications are planned and implemented as soon as possible.

R&D and how it can get cash into your business quickly

Research & Development (R&D) tax relief is an incentive available to UK limited companies which encourages investment in innovation. R&D tax credits can reduce a company’s tax liability and can be backdated for previous years so can result in significant tax rebates from HMRC.

For tax purposes, the definition of R&D is purposefully broad. The relief is ultimately geared towards problem-solving. If you’re improving processes, bringing new products and services to market, increasing efficiencies or solving problems for customers, there’s a strong chance you could be eligible for the relief which will get cash into your business at a time when it critically needs it.

We are having success with R&D claims for clients across all sectors so contact us now for a free R&D consultation.

We are particularly interested in talking to clients in the following sectors:

Warehousing
Construction
Manufacturing
Built Environment (Architects etc.)
Food and Drink
Engineering
Sports equipment
Hospitality and marketing
Aggregates
Transport

Look out for increased risk of fraud

Wherever possible please send documents and transfer money to us electronically, rather than sending forms and cheques in the post.

However, do be vigilant when it comes to making transactions online. Fraudsters are taking advantage of the uncertainty caused by the Coronavirus to target potential victims. Please take all necessary steps to ensure you are not one of them. Full Government guidance can be found here.

Finally…

We hope you have an opportunity to rest during the weekend and spend some time with your family, and hopefully recharge your batteries for what will be another challenging week ahead. As the weekend unfolds, we will continue to monitor the situation and will be in touch immediately with our guidance should there be developments.

Rest assured we are all in this together, and TC Group will be with you every step of the way to help you through this challenging period.

Contact us today to discuss the points raised in this email or any other concerns you have as a business owner, about your personal finances, or, as an employer now on 0330 088 7111.

See how we can help you