Accura Accountants – Update
We all have to remain both calm and focused on recovery, both health wise and business wise.
Following previous emails, I set out below various useful websites in respect of funding.
It is essential that you apply to your current bankers and following my previous advice, that the banks have financial information to ensure the following:
- Business is viable and was originally (discounting current problems caused by Covid 19)
- Business must have available accounts for 2019 or ideally up to date management accounts
- I believe, although not clear businesses may require a short term cash flow projection looking say 3 to 6 months into the future.
It is my opinion that if businesses are not viable and cannot provide the information noted above banks will either refuse or request that business do supply these financials.
Terms
- Your application must be for business purposes.
- Your CBILS-backed facility will be used to support primarily trading in the UK.
- You must be a UK-based SME with annual turnover of up to £45m.
- You wish to borrow up to a maximum of £5m. (Finance terms are to six years for term loans and asset finance. For overdrafts and invoice finance facilities, terms will be up to three years)
- Your business must generate more than 50% of its turnover from trading activity
The government continues to fine tune a number of initiatives it has announced.
To qualify, your business needs to be UK based with a turnover of no more than £45m a year and, according to the British Business Bank, “have a borrowing proposal which, were it not for the current pandemic, would be considered viable by the lender, and for which the lender believes the provision of finance will enable the business to trade out of any short-to-medium term difficulty”.
The scheme is now open for applications.
To apply, you should talk to your bank or one of the 40 accredited finance providers – (not the British Business Bank) as soon as possible to discuss your business plan. (see above websites).
All major banks are offering this scheme.
If you have an existing loan with monthly repayments you may want to ask for a repayment holiday to help with cash flow.
Extract from HMRC website in respect of claims for staff “laid off “ noted as furloughed employees
- 80% of employee’s wages to be paid (up to a maximum of £2,500 per month).
- Payments will be backdated to 1 March 2020, and will be made, initially, for a period of 3 months.
- Self-Assessment income tax payments due in July 2020 will be deferred until January 2021.
- VAT payments due between March and June will also be deferred. No VAT registered businesses will need to make a payment between now and then.
- From 6 April Universal Credit and Tax Credits will be increased by £20 per week.
- The recently launched Coronavirus Business Interruption Scheme will be interest-free for 12 months.
- Also from April the Local Allowance Housing rates will pay for at least 30% of market rents in each area. Housing Benefit and Universal Credit increases will also support the housing market.
Other
- Statutory Sick Pay relief package for small to medium sized businesses.
- 12 months business rates holiday for retail, hospitality and leisure businesses in England.
- £10,000 grant funding for businesses in receipt of small business rate relief or rural rate relief.
- £25,000 grant funding for retail, hospitality and leisure businesses with property which has a rateable value between £15,000 and £51,000.
- Bank of England lending facility for larger companies to help with liquidity at a time when cash flows are interrupted by the Coronavirus pandemic.
- The availability of the HMRC Time to Pay Scheme (to enable companies to pay outstanding tax liabilities over an extended period of time).
How to Access the Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme
- The employer needs to designate employees as ‘furloughed workers’, and the employees must be informed of this change.
- Information will need to be submitted to HMRC through a new website portal, giving details of the employees and their earnings.
- HMRC will then reimburse the employees with up 80% of their wages (to a maximum of £2,500 per person per month). HMRC are setting up this system now, as a current one does not exist to perform this role.
It is not surprising that the website to claim has not yet been fully set up as I type this summary report.
We will update you when the scheme becomes fully operational.
Please see also see the parliamentary report in respect of efforts to assist self-employed.