The UK Government and the Chancellor have set out a package of temporary measures to support public services, people and businesses through this period of disruption caused by COVID-19.

This includes actions to support businesses including:

• a Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme
• deferring VAT and Income Tax payments
• a Statutory Sick Pay relief package for SMEs
• a 12-month business rates holiday for all retail, hospitality and leisure businesses in England
• small business grant funding of £10,000 for all business in receipt of small business rate relief or rural rate relief
• grant funding of £25,000 for retail, hospitality and leisure businesses with property with a rateable value between £15,000 and £51,000
• the Coronavirus Business Interruption Loan Scheme offering loans of up to £5 million for SMEs through the British Business Bank
• a new lending facility from the Bank of England to help support liquidity among larger firms, helping them bridge coronavirus disruption to their cash flows through loans
• the HMRC Time To Pay Scheme

If you need help with your applications for government grants, loans and allowances as described above then as authorised HMRC agents and expert tax accountants Tax Affinity Accountants are available to support your business at this critical time. Urgently contact us by clicking here and we will use our expertise to support your business through this difficult time.

Support for businesses through the Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme
Under the Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme, all UK employers are able to access support to continue paying part of their employees’ salary for those employees that would otherwise have been laid off during this crisis.

Eligibility
All UK businesses are eligible.
How to access the scheme
You will need to:

• designate affected employees as ‘furloughed workers,’ and notify your employees of this change - changing the status of employees remains subject to existing employment law and, depending on the employment contract, may be subject to negotiation
• submit information to HMRC about the employees that have been furloughed and their earnings through a new online portal (HMRC will set out further details on the information required)

HMRC will reimburse 80% of furloughed (those on payroll but not working) workers wage costs, up to a cap of £2,500 per month. HMRC are working urgently to set up a system for reimbursement. Existing systems are not set up to facilitate payments to employers.

If your business needs short term cash flow support, you may be eligible for a Coronavirus Business Interruption Loan.

Support for businesses through deferring VAT and Income Tax payments
Government will support businesses by deferring Valued Added Tax (VAT) payments for 3 months. If you’re self-employed, Income Tax payments due in July 2020 under the Self-Assessment system will be deferred to January 2021.
VATFor VAT, the deferral will apply from 20 March 2020 until 30 June 2020.
Eligibility
All UK businesses are eligible.
How to access the scheme
This is an automatic offer with no applications required. Businesses will not need to make a VAT payment during this period. Taxpayers will be given until the end of the 2020 to 2021 tax year to pay any liabilities that have accumulated during the deferral period. VAT refunds and reclaims will be paid by the government as normal.

Income Tax
For Income Tax Self-Assessment, payments due on the 31 July 2020 will be deferred until the 31 January 2021.
Eligibility
If you are self-employed you are eligible.
How to access the scheme
This is an automatic offer with no applications required.
No penalties or interest for late payment will be charged in the deferral period.
HMRC have also scaled up their Time to Pay offer to all firms and individuals who are in temporary financial distress as a result of Covid-19 and have outstanding tax liabilities.

Support for businesses who are paying sick pay to employees
Goverment will bring forward legislation to allow small-and medium-sized businesses and employers to reclaim Statutory Sick Pay (SSP) paid for sickness absence due to COVID-19. The eligibility criteria for the scheme will be as follows:

• this refund will cover up to 2 weeks’ SSP per eligible employee who has been off work because of COVID-19
• employers with fewer than 250 employees will be eligible - the size of an employer will be determined by the number of people they employed as of 28 February 2020
• employers will be able to reclaim expenditure for any employee who has claimed SSP (according to the new eligibility criteria) as a result of COVID-19
• employers should maintain records of staff absences and payments of SSP, but employees will not need to provide a GP fit note. If evidence is required by an employer, those with symptoms of coronavirus can get an isolation note from NHS 111 online and those who live with someone that has symptoms can get a note from the NHS website
• eligible period for the scheme will commence the day after the regulations on the extension of SSP to those staying at home comes into force
• the government will work with employers over the coming months to set up the repayment mechanism for employers as soon as possible

Eligibility
You are eligible for the scheme if:

• your business is UK based
• your business is a small or medium-sized and employs fewer than 250 employees as of 28 February 2020

How to access the scheme
A rebate scheme is being developed. Further details will be provided in due course once the legalisation has passed. Government websites will contain more details.

Support for businesses that pay business ratesBusiness rates holiday for retail, hospitality and leisure businesses
Goverment will introduce a business rates holiday for retail, hospitality and leisure businesses in England for the 2020 to 2021 tax year.

Businesses that received the retail discount in the 2019 to 2020 tax year will be rebilled by their local authority as soon as possible.
Eligibility
You are eligible for the business rates holiday if:

• your business is based in England
• your business is in the retail, hospitality and/or leisure sector

Properties that will benefit from the relief will be occupied hereditaments that are wholly or mainly being used:

• as shops, restaurants, cafes, drinking establishments, cinemas and live music venues
• for assembly and leisure
• as hotels, guest & boarding premises and self-catering accommodation

How to access the scheme
There is no action for you. This will apply to your next council tax bill in April 2020. However, local authorities may have to reissue your bill automatically to exclude the business rate charge. They will do this as soon as possible.
You can estimate the business rate charge you will no longer have to pay this year using the business rates calculator.

Further guidance for local authorities is available in the expanded retail discount guidance.

Cash grants for retail, hospitality and leisure businessesThe Retail and Hospitality Grant Scheme provides businesses in the retail, hospitality and leisure sectors with a cash grant of up to £25,000 per property.
For businesses in these sectors with a rateable value of under £15,000, they will receive a grant of £10,000.
For businesses in these sectors with a rateable value of between £15,001 and £51,000, they will receive a grant of £25,000.
Eligibility
You are eligible for the grant if:

• your business is based in England
• your business is in the retail, hospitality and/or leisure sector

Properties that will benefit from the relief will be occupied hereditaments that are wholly or mainly being used:

• as shops, restaurants, cafes, drinking establishments, cinemas and live music venues
• for assembly and leisure
• as hotels, guest and boarding premises and self-catering accommodation

How to access the scheme
You do not need to do anything. Your local authority will write to you if you are eligible for this grant.
Guidance for local authorities on the scheme will be provided shortly.
Any enquiries on eligibility for, or provision of, the reliefs and grants should be directed to the relevant local authority.
Find your local authority on Google.

Support for businesses that pay little or no business ratesThe government will provide additional Small Business Grant Scheme funding for local authorities to support small businesses that already pay little or no business rates because of small business rate relief (SBBR), rural rate relief (RRR) and tapered releif. This will provide a one-off grant of £10,000 to eligible businesses to help meet their ongoing business costs.
Eligibility
You are eligible if:

• your business is based in England
• you are a small business and already receive SBBR and/or RRR
• you are a business that occupies property

How to access the schemeYou do not need to do anything. Your local authority will write to you if you are eligible for this grant.
Guidance for local authorities on the scheme will be provided shortly.
Any enquiries on eligibility for, or provision of, the reliefs and grants should be directed to the relevant local authority.
Find your local authority on Google.

Support for businesses through the Coronavirus Business Interruption Loan SchemeA new temporary Coronavirus Business Interruption Loan Scheme, delivered by the British Business Bank, will launch early next week to support primarily small and medium-sized businesses to access bank lending and overdrafts.
The government will provide lenders with a guarantee of 80% on each loan (subject to a per-lender cap on claims) to give lenders further confidence in continuing to provide finance to SMEs. The government will not charge businesses or banks for this guarantee, and the Scheme will support loans of up to £5 million in value.
Businesses can access the first 12 months of that finance interest free, as government will cover the first 12 months of interest payments.
Eligibility
You are eligible for the scheme if:

• your business is UK based, with turnover of no more than £45 million per year
• your business meets the other British Business Bank eligibility criteria

How to access the schemeThe full rules of the Scheme and the list of accredited lenders is available on the British Business Bank website. All the major banks will offer the Scheme once it has launched. There are 40 accredited providers in all.

You should talk to your bank or finance provider (not the British Business Bank) as soon as possible and discuss your business plan with them. This will help your finance provider to act quickly once the Scheme has launched. If you have an existing loan with monthly repayments you may want to ask for a repayment holiday to help with cash flow.
The scheme will be available from early next week commencing 23 March.

Support for larger firms through the COVID-19 Corporate Financing Facility
Under the new Covid-19 Corporate Financing Facility, the Bank of England will buy short term debt from larger companies.
This will support your company if it has been affected by a short-term funding squeeze, and allow you to finance your short-term liabilities.
It will also support corporate finance markets overall and ease the supply of credit to all firms.
Eligibility
All UK businesses are eligible.
How to access the schemeThe scheme will be available early in week beginning 23 March 2020.
The Government will provide information on how to access the scheme soon - keep an eye on their website updates.

More information is available from the Bank of England website.

Support for businesses paying tax: Time to Pay serviceAll businesses and self-employed people in financial distress, and with outstanding tax liabilities, may be eligible to receive support with their tax affairs through HMRC’s Time To Pay service.
These arrangements are agreed on a case-by-case basis and are tailored to individual circumstances and liabilities.
Eligibility
You are eligible if your business:

• pays tax to the UK government
• has outstanding tax liabilities

How to access the schemeIf you have missed a tax payment or you might miss your next payment due to COVID-19, please call HMRC’s dedicated helpline: 0800 0159 559.
If you’re worried about a future payment, call HMRC nearer the time.

Insurance
Businesses that have cover for both pandemics and government-ordered closure should be covered, as the government and insurance industry confirmed on 17 March 2020 that advice to avoid pubs, theatres etc is sufficient to make a claim as long as all other terms and conditions are met.
Insurance policies differ significantly, so businesses are encouraged to check the terms and conditions of their specific policy and contact their providers. Most businesses are unlikely to be covered, as standard business interruption insurance policies are dependent on damage to property and will exclude pandemics.

If you need help with your applications for government grants, loans and allowances as described above then as authorised HMRC agents and expert tax accountants Tax Affinity Accountants are available to support your business at this critical time. Urgently contact us by clicking here and we will use our expertise to support your business through this difficult time.

By Anni Khan at Tax Affinity Accountants

Tax Affinity Accountants are experts in Tax and Accountancy. Based in Worcester Park and Kingston upon Thames and Epsom they are considered in the Industry to be expert business accountants and tax advisors for small and medium sized businesses (SME's). Helping and supporting limited company owners and self employed people throughout the UK, they regularly help clients grow their business providing tailored advice and support. Their support has been considered invaluable by many clients and key to their success.

For more information visit www.taxaffinity.com. To read more interesting articles like this visit www.taxaffinity.com/blog. Please feel free to comment and share this with your friends.

A large number of clients are asking us for help in understanding how the UK Government is going to support the employed, self employed & SME businesses during the coronavirus COVID-19 pandemic. The Prime Minister & Chancellor announced billions of pounds would be used to prevent businesses going under and support workers who have suddenly become unable to work.

Below is a helpful list of key points:

Salaried Employees - the Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme

• All registered employers in the UK are eligible via HMRC
• Government grants will cover 80 % of the salary of retained workers up to a total of £2,500 a month. Employer has to apply.
• This cover is for workers if employer is unable to pay, or are unable to work due to the coronavirus outbreak.
• Will become 'furloughed' and should not be working while under the scheme.
• Scheme will cover wages lost backdated to March 1, and applications will open before the end of April.
• Scheme will last until June 1, with potential to be extended & unlimited funds will be available.

For Self employed, contractors and freelancers

• Unfortunately  - No specific plan to compensate contractors, freelancers and self-employed.
• Chancellor advised those self employed affected by coronavirus to apply for the Universal Credit scheme, which has had its requirements and conditions changed for this crisis.
• Self-employed will not have to make the self assessment (tax return) payment on account that was due by 31 June 2020 now until 31.1.2021. This effectively means the 31 June 2020 payment of tax is suspended.
• The minimum income floor for Universal Credit is to be suspended, meaning all those who are self-employed can access Universal Credit at the rate equivalent to statutory sick pay for employees ie £94.25 a week.

Universal Credit and tax credit increase

• Standard Universal Credit allowance and Working Tax Credit basic allowance are both being increased by £1,000 a year to help families ie both will increase by £20 per week on top of planned annual uprating.
• New claimants will not need to prove 'gainful self-employment' if they are self employed and applying for Universal Credit.
• Claimants with Covid-19 or are self-isolating can receive advance payment upfront without having to go to a jobcentre.

SME Small & medium businesses - Coronavirus Business Interruption Loan Scheme

• Interest-free loan scheme announced last week has been extended from six months to 12 months. Scheme starts Monday March 23.
• The next quarter of VAT payments due from companies at the end of March has been deferred until the end of June. The VAT return still needs to be filed but it does not need to be paid if the business is struggling - allowing it to use the VAT 20% collected as cashflow for the short term.
• Additionally all businesses and self employed workers in financial distress and with outstanding tax liabilities, may be eligible for HMRC's Time To Pay service - ie HMRC allowing up to 12 months to pay off debts

For renters

• After announcing mortgage 'payment holidays' for up to three months for homeowners last week, a £1 billion package to support renters is announced by increasing the housing benefit under Universal Credit.
• Recipients would receive welfare to pay at least 30 percent of market rents for their local area.
• No rental pause from the government.

Other help

• Mortgage lenders have agreed that they will allow up to 3 months mortgage holiday for customers experiencing financila difficulty.
• Relaxation of planning permission to allow pubs and restaurants to start providing takeaway services without planning application
• Insurance claims for loss of earnings should be valid if your business is effected by a government requirement to close eg pubs, bars, cafe, nigh clubs, gyms, restaurants etc
• Business Rates discount up to 100% for 1 year for leisure and hospitality, contact your local council for more info
• Grants of up to £25,000 to retail, hospitality & leisure businesses operating from small premises with rateable value between £15k to £51k
• One off grant of £10,000 to around 700k businesses eligible for small business rate relief (SBBR) to help meet on going business costs
• Bank of England base rate dropped to 0.10% interest will help those with variable interest rate loans and mortgages by reducing their monthly payments - press your bank to adopt immediately and not delay by months as they normally do

By Anni Khan at Tax Affinity Accountants

Tax Affinity Accountants are experts in Tax and Accountancy. Based in Worcester Park and Kingston upon Thames and Epsom they are considered in the Industry to be expert business accountants and tax advisors for small and medium sized businesses (SME's). Helping and supporting limited company owners and self employed people throughout the UK, they regularly help clients grow their business providing tailored advice and support. Their support has been considered invaluable by many clients and key to their success.

For more information visit www.taxaffinity.com. To read more interesting articles like this visit www.taxaffinity.com/blog. Please feel free to comment and share this with your friends.

Growth Vouchers Scheme can be invaluable for business to gain the advice and support needed to expand and grow their profits and business.
This government programme is basically designed to help small businesses get strategic business advice on:

• finance and cash flow
• recruiting and developing staff
• improving leadership and management skills
• marketing, attracting and keeping customers
• making the most of digital technology

Some businesses will be randomly chosen to get a voucher of up to £2,000 to help finance strategic business advice for themsleves.

The voucher can pay for up to half of the cost of the advice from a recognised business adviser such as Tax Affinity Accountants can serve as a real helping hand to boost your business.

It is structured in such a way that the supplier will claim this fee from the programme making it easier for the business owner to quickly get the support and advice he/she needs.


There are some simple eligibility criteria as below:
Your business must:

• have 249 employees or less (including any employees of companies that own a stake in your business)
• be registered in England
• actively sell goods or services
• be independent (ie no more than 25% is owned by other businesses or organisations)
• have a turnover of less than €50 million

And then you will need the following things to complete your application, as available by your accountant:

• Companies House registration number or Unique Taxpayer Reference (UTR) from HMRC
• registered business address
• business turnover details
• VAT registration number (if you’re registered)
• PAYE number (if you have one)
• contact phone number
• email address

A recognised business adviser such as Tax Affinity Accountants will automatically collect this information for you and fill the necessary form as required. You will also be asked to take part in some surveys about the programme by the government body running the scheme.


So how does it work?

Either speak to your chosen adviser and they will make the necessary arrangements for you or sign up on the government’s growth voucher website (open until March 2015).

Once you have received the voucher, simply use it for the advice and support. The growth voucher scheme has been running for few months now and it is growing in success.

However, be careful because the scheme is not intended for company owners seeking to subsidise practical guidance on how to engage in precise tasks relating to running a business. It’s for tactical advice that will lead to growth of the businesses.

The quickest way to get support for the is to call 0800 043 4051 or visit www.taxaffinity.com and speak to one of our experienced business adviser's and growth coaches at Tax Affinity Accountants.

By Tahir Malik at Tax Affinity Accountants

Tax Affinity Accountants are experts in business coaching and are based in Kingston upon Thames they are considered to be experts in their field. Helping and supporting businesses and individuals throughout the UK.

For more information visit www.taxaffinity.com. To read more interesting articles like this visit www.taxaffinity.com/blog. Please feel free to comment and share this with your friends.

The bridge between having a good business idea and implementing such idea into a business model can be wide and daunting. Getting the necessary funding to kick start your business can be a difficult process and different sources of finance may not be appropriate for everyone due to varying circumstances.

Whether you require investment for start-up capital or are looking to expand your business, the cost can be astronomically different depending on a few variables. Here is a list of things to consider when looking for a source of funding for your business:

The “Right” Amount

There are a few questions that should instantly appear on the forefront of your mind when you are seeking finance. 

1. How much money do I need?
2. What time scale am I looking at to pay it off?

Doing your homework from the start will help you avoid many future problems. A shortfall in funding may jeopardise your business in its entirety, you may miss out on that explosive launch you was hoping for or realise that a particular project didn’t produce the desired results because you ran out of cash.

There’s a subtle understanding in business that goes like this; “you need to spend money to make money”. Making big changes in your business requires money and not everyone has that money in their bank accounts. However, funding must not only be sufficient but efficient as well.

There’s no point asking for more than you need, it will just result in more interest and a larger repayment towards the end. Plan out your budget by listing a breakdown of the different components the funding is used for. You may spot areas in which you can forgo and others that you may have missed out. And once you get the funding, you’ll know exactly what to do with it.

Timing is Key

Timing is essential in many aspects of life and its no different in regards to funding. Having a realistic time horizon to pay off your borrowings can make repayments easier and more manageable.

Pacing your repayments can avoid interest payments from siphoning your cash flow.

Tip: If your business is performing better than expected, think about repaying back the debt earlier to decrease the amount of interest accumulating.

The Correct Choice

Here comes the most difficult part when seeking for funds. How do I choose between so many options?

Well unluckily for most, they don’t have as much choice as they think they do when it comes to the selection of finance. The most common for small businesses to get funding is through their own savings. This is, by far, the cheapest source of funding and the only opportunity cost associated is that you lose out on the interest on your savings which quite frankly is nothing compared to the potential interest payments you make for other sources of finance.

However, a lot of the time, the money is not enough to fuel the business which leads to people opting for the next best choice; a bank loan. This may be the most appropriate option for many individuals seeking funding as terms can be flexible and mutually agreed upon by both parties.

Tip: Try browsing through the different types of loans you can apply for, you may believe that there is some standard rate banks tend to charge for certain loans but be very surprised that the conditions of such loans can be as different as night and day.

Take every percentage point at face value; there may not be much difference between 7% and 8% but over the long term you’ll end paying back significantly more in aggregate.

Borrowing money through a loan or equity share from family and friends can be a good source of financial investment. Loans offered in this fashion tend to have a low interest rate compared to traditional loans and possess more lenient terms. Offering a piece of your business via equity distribution can motivate your family and friends to help grow your business.

Be warned though that any business problems don’t end up trickling down to family matters. Also, make sure any loan agreement is in writing just to avoid any legal problems that may arise in the future.

Another alternative of funding is through an outside investor. This is usually not a loan but an equity investment. This means that the investor becomes a shareholder in the business and is entitled to a percentage of the business profits (depending on his/her equity share percentage).

Furthermore, the investor may have some degree of control in your business. Depending on the investor, this could be advantageous or disadvantageous. The outside investor could bring new ideas and contacts into the business which would help accelerate the growth of the business. On the contrast, the investor could be in disagreement with any business decisions made and hinder the progress of the business.

It is up to the business owner to make sure the interests of both parties are aligned. One thing to note is that debts can be paid off but equity is fixed for the lifetime of the business which could result in equity being much more expensive if the business grows rapidly.

At Tax Affinity Accountants we provide free tailored advice to help grow our clients business.

By Wilson Law at Tax Affinity Accountants.

Tax Affinity Accountants are experts in Tax and Accountancy. Based in Kingston upon Thames they are considered to be small business experts helping and supporting business in the UK. They regularly help new business start up and provide valuable support for new businesses.

For more information visit www.taxaffinity.com. To read more interesting articles like this visit www.taxaffinity.com/blog. Please feel free to comment and share this with your friends.

Driving Sales in the Current Economic Climate

The frenzy of the bullish market looked unstoppable to many people; even the so called professionals of the financial market were caught up in the typhoon of prosperity. The share market was booming, business profits were skyrocketing, property prices were ever increasing and consumer spending was at an all time high. However, the path to everlasting wealth was halted by the global financial crisis of 2007-08. The crisis threatened the collapse of major financial institutions, the bailout of banks by national governments and the largest slump in the stock markets to date. The effects resulted in a global recession that lasted till 2012. Things have started to look better in 2013. There has been high confidence in stock markets, the housing market has been growing at a healthy rate and people are beginning to spend again. It is probably safe to say that we are currently in a boom. But how can you as a small business benefit from this? Here are a few points you can consider to boost your sales in the current economic climate.

Tapping into New Markets

You may begin noticing changes in your customer base.  Customers that your service or product may not usually target for may start to appear due to changes in their economic circumstances. Goods which are income elastic (sensitive to changes in income) will usually see a rise in demand when people have more disposable income. Consumers may switch to more premium versions of a product when they can afford to do so. Therefore it is important for businesses to react to such changes in their customer base and expand their marketing to cover new markets.  Make sure your product is of good quality as consumers may switch to alternatives if they consider your product to be inferior.

Providing the Best Customer Service

With new faces showing up to your business at a daily basis you may start to think that giving good customer service will not matter much. Unfortunately, history shows that although economic booms can last a while; they do not last forever. It is crucial that the standard of customer service remains high as it is the returning customers that will keep your business above the water when times become tough again. And when the times are good, it can only have a positive effect on sales.

Bringing in Talented People

Some businesses may struggle to cope with the surge in demand and begin to crumble under pressure. Costs will rise significantly in order to meet with unexpected demand, short-term liabilities may be unmet because of poor cash flow management and staff may feel overburdened due to a lack of training or experience in handling the new unforeseen problems. It is important to know the limitations of your workforce and accept the fact that the business may be growing at a rate that you can’t keep up. There are several ways to tackle these issues. You can hire staffs that are more experienced at working in a fast-paced environment. Another way is to have your personal accountants offer you advice on how to manage your business more efficiently and keep your costs down. Having access to professional guidance provides you the necessary knowledge for success.

Cheap Borrowing

Take advantage of cheap money from banks. Interest rates are generally lower and the terms to borrowing are more flexible during times of economic growth. This means that it is usually the most optimal time to borrow money and expand your business. Whether that may be to fund a new project, replace old equipment or train your staff; being ready for increases in demand can help reduce unexpected costs and accelerate business growth if planned correctly. Just be sure that you can meet the regular interest payments to avoid soiling the credit worthiness of your business.

Work Harder

Businesses that operate in accordance to changes in the season will know how difficult it is to keep afloat during periods of closure. For example, a sea side restaurant may get around 75% of its annual revenue during the summer time alone and will probably not be open for business during the winter season. Similarly, businesses may decide to open their business for fewer days of the week or cut their opening times if they face a slump in sales. In order to truly maximise the benefit of a booming economy, a business must be in business to attain such benefits. It will be difficult to see a significant rise in profits if your business is open for only four hours a day while your competitors get quadruple your profits rewards for working an extra four hours.  Remember that once fixed costs are covered, any revenue in excess of its variable cost is pure profit.

By Wilson Law at Tax Affinity.

Tax Affinity Accountants are considered in the market to be experts in Tax and Accountancy in the UK. Based in Kingston upon Thames they have clients right across the UK as well as Europe, Middle East and North America.

For more information visit www.taxaffinity.com. To read more interesting articles like this visit www.taxaffinity.com/blog. Please feel free to comment and share this with your friends.