COVID-19 – Where to now?
Good morning to you all, we are now in our third week of social distancing and life as we know it has changed dramatically.
The world is experiencing a medical crisis that has a knock-on effect to create both a mental health and financial crisis.
This is now our new normal and most of us have gone from thinking this will all be over soon to accepting that this will be our way of life for at least the next six months. While we wish things would resolve quickly and we can all go back to business as usual, the likelihood is that it’s not going back and we need to accept the new world.
The path to the new world can seem bleak, businesses are significantly impacted, some will feel mild financial pain and some will experience significant financial distress.
Small business owners are entrepreneurial. Before COVID-19 we went about running our businesses, monitoring cash flow, managing teams and making all the decisions. The current situation requires the exact same skill set to navigate our way through it. Yes the decisions are harder and have far-reaching implications for our community and employee’s livelihoods, but are decisions just the same. These are extremely unusual times, but they are times we need to deal with.
Is it a call to action for you? Are there improvements you have wanted to make in your business but haven’t had time? Are there more efficient ways of doing things? Have you avoided making important decisions in your business, not wanting to upset the apple cart? Is there technology you have wanted to implement to the way you deliver products or services? Now is the time. I know it can be challenging to tap into your entrepreneurial spirit when you are dealing with so much distraction to your business life. Yes, we have all had issues to deal with in business but never has it come on so quick and so many issues all at once. Try to remember what you were driven by in your early days in business, what things did you do, how did you strategise and think about your business? I encourage you to tap into this mindset now and be a leader through this change.
History shows that after every hard time there is a time of growth that follows. We will be rebuilding our lives for perhaps the next 18 – 24 months. Some businesses will get through it and others will struggle. It just is how it is.
The team at Hamilton Taggart are here to support our clients. The team and I have been talking with clients initially around the stimulus payments available. As you would expect we have been inundated with calls and are spending most of our days over the past fortnight on the phone or in zoom meetings. Please call us if you would like to chat. We haven’t been able to call you all, but we are here so please call. If you are a bit confused about what stimulus payments relate to your business, you are not the only one.
We can assist you in the following ways over the next 6 months and beyond:
• Prepare and Lodge BAS’s to access the cash flow boost payments
• Support you to know and understand your current financial position
• Support you to review ways to strengthen your Balance Sheet
• Review options to re stabalise your business
• Review survival options until we return to normal spending
• Assist with liaising with commercial landlords
• Assist with bank loan applications and communicating with banks
• Preparation of cash flow forecast
• Assistance with gaining all stimulus payments you are eligible for
• Preparation of compliance work to bring you up to date with the ATO if you are behind
• Assist with exit strategy should you chose to cease business or are unable to make it work moving forward
SOME IMPORTANT INFO FOR YOU
Attached is an updated Treasury FAQ’s document that answers a lot of questions we have had since the announcement of Job Keeper, it may answer some questions you have also.
Treasury has now confirmed how turnover will be defined for JobKeeper. Your turnover needs to be less than $1b and be reduced by at least 30% for a comparable period last year. This will be assessed by comparing the current calculation for GST Purposes as reported on BAS’s. It includes all taxable supplies and GST Free Supplies. Note that only Australian Based Sales are to be included in the calculation.
The first step to access the Cash flow boost and JobKeeper payments is to lodge your January – March 2020 BAS.
Our team is working away at completing BAS’s this week, a lot of you are wanting to get them lodged ASAP. Bear with us while we work through them all.
Lastly, if you have any questions call us. I encourage you to like our Hamilton Taggart Business Advisors Facebook page. When you do we will invite you to join a client only Facebook group that has been newly set up to provide you with another way to communicate with us during this unprecedented time in business.
When we get through this, and we will, spending will return to normal and things will be better, perhaps better than they were before. We will come out of this wiser for the experience. I look forward to that day.
Until then, I hope you stay safe and healthy … and sane! Call us if you need to talk, we are here for you.
Stay connected with us on Facebook for further info.
Mel
To see the updated Treasury FAQ’s document (JobKeeper) please open this following link – https://treasury.gov.au/sites/default/files/2020-04/JobKeeper_frequently_asked_questions.pdf