This week has been extremely busy for the team at Nicholsons as we worked with over 100 clients to complete their CJRS claims on the portal. With guidance changing rapidly and the people working from home it was a great team effort. A lot of the team are looking forward to a break in the sun this weekend!
To keep you up to date with the latest developments on Coronavirus related to you and your business we have prepared a roundup of the latest measures and actions taken by the Government.
If you have any queries relating to any of the points covered in this update or you require support with any matters, please speak to a member of our experienced team early next week. They can be contacted on 01522 815100.
Administering the Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme
We appreciate that you are probably hard at work making the necessary arrangements and sourcing the required information for the Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme (CJRS) at the moment.
The portal went live this week and initial reports suggest that there are been a huge number of claims so far.
To help you make sense of the CJRS and the application process, we wanted to share some useful documents and calculators with you:
Step-by-Step Guide
HM Revenue & Customs (HMRC) has created a useful step-by-step PDF guide to help with the application process, which can be downloaded and followed here. Please also check out our tips here
CJRS claim calculator
To help calculate your claim and check it, the Government has designed a dedicated calculator. This is useful for calculating a basic regular salaried claim but is not able to calculate complex claims involving TUPE, top-up payments or pension contributions made outside of auto-enrolment, so please be aware. The calculator can be accessed here.
What we are learning from those who are applying for the scheme is that this isn’t a one size fits all process and certain employees or businesses will have requirements that are outside of the usual parameters of the scheme.
You should prepare all of the necessary information for the application beforehand, including calculations for those staff members that have been furloughed to make administering this task easier.
We thoroughly recommend that you seek advice if you are struggling to apply for the scheme or if you need help calculating your payroll.
Government announces Future Fund for fast-growing businesses
The Government has announced a new scheme to help businesses with the impact of Coronavirus. The Future Fund is aimed at rapidly growing businesses that typically rely on equity investment.
These businesses are often pre-revenue or pre-profit and have been unable to access existing schemes, such as the Coronavirus Business Interruption Loan Scheme (CBILS).
The scheme will provide loans from the Government worth between £125,000 and £5 million, which must be at least matched by private investors. There is also a requirement to have raised funds via equity in the past too.
Loans under the scheme will automatically convert into equity on a firm’s next qualifying funding round or if the funds have not been repaid by the end of the loan period.
The scheme will be delivered in partnership with the British Business Bank and full details of how to apply are expected to be announced shortly.
Government launches Business Support Finder tool
With an increasing array of Coronavirus business support measures available to different types and sizes of business, the Government has launched a new Support Finder tool to help businesses identify what support packages they could be eligible for.
The new tool asks for some basic information about a business, including turnover and the number of people it employs, before highlighting packages that could be suitable.
These include measures such as:
- The Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme (CJRS), which allows employers to furlough eligible staff and claim a grant in respect of up to 80 per cent of their usual wages, capped at £2,500 a month, plus employer National Insurance Contributions (NICS) and minimum automatic enrolment pension contributions.
- The Coronavirus Business Interruption Loan Scheme (CBILS), which enables businesses with a turnover of up to £45 million to access Government-backed loans of between £1,000 and £5 million.
- A three-month VAT payment deferral.
- A range of business rates breaks and grants.
The Business Support Finder is available on the Gov.uk website.
Supporting the wider business community
Whilst the team have been focused on processing CJRS claims we have also been reaching out into the wider community to help spread the word about support available to Lincolnshire businesses.
In addition to taking part in a panel discussion around funding we have also supported Lincolnshire Chamber of Commerce webinars on the Job Retention Scheme (CJRS) too. If you haven’t taken part in any of these please do check out the list of future events as they are very good.