After a long and difficult week with the hospitality sector being forced to close, the Chancellor’s announcement regarding additional business funding provided some much needed relief for everyone. All businesses throughout England and Scotland are being offered the same government support in the form of grants, funding and tax relief.
The government hasn’t provided full clarification around some of the funding as of yet, but we will keep this blog post updated as and when they do.
1. Employer/Employee Payroll Support
The biggest announcement last Friday was that the government will pay 80% of salaries (up to £2500 a month) for staff members who would otherwise be laid off or made redundant. This support will allow our customers and those operating in the wider industry affected by COVID-19 to retain staff while not having to worry about cash flow issues created by paying your wage bill.
Full clarification around exactly how this will work is not yet available but this will provide the support needed for businesses who have closed or who have seen a reduction in income due to coronavirus.
2. Funding for VAT Registered Businesses
If you are VAT registered, your VAT for next quarter is being deferred from now until the end of June. Any VAT that you are due during this time will need to be paid by 31st December 2020.
Even if you have cash in the bank to pay your VAT bill, it is important to consider whether you may need this money for other expenses or cash flow over the coming months.
3. Funding Available to Business with Premises
Grants and rates relief are currently being offered to businesses who pay business rates:
- A full year’s 100% non-domestic rates relief for retail, hospitality and tourism
- Grants of up to £10,000 for small businesses in receipt of the Small Business Bonus Scheme or Rural Relief (Rural Relief applies to Scotland only)
- Grants of up to £25,000 for hospitality, leisure and retail properties with a rateable value between £18,000 and £51,000
- 1.6% relief for all properties
We recommend speaking with your landlord around the option of getting a rent holiday as well. This is likely to aid your cash flow further over the coming months. The grants mentioned above are being managed by local councils and you do not need to apply. Councils will contact all eligible businesses over the coming weeks.
4. Funding for all businesses
All businesses can apply and benefit from the government’s Business Interruption Loan Scheme, offering interest free loans of up to £5million for 12 months. These loans are available from Monday 23rd March 2020.
5. How we can help our customers
Grafterr offers a range of online and mobile ordering products to help you offer home delivery and collection services over the next few months. We can offer your business a full online ordering platform with no upfront costs and extremely low commission.
