Hey everyone.
Are you gearing up for Alert Level 2? So you’re allowed 10 people at your restaurant table. Who would you take? Here’s my list:
- Me – I feel like I deserve to be there.
- Debbie (my wife) – in case she reads this.
- Nana – she’s 99, turning 100 in June. Plus she doesn’t eat much so I could pay for her.
- My mum – she would bring Nana and probably go halves with her in a scone. That’s my kind of budget.
- Our two dogs – they will eat anything and not complain
- Tanu – as an employee her meal would be tax deductible.
- Sonny Bill Williams – I believe he will be in Ramadan which means he should be fasting until 23 May.
- Our teenage son – he hates being seen out with his parents so should be a no show. That’s cheap feeding.
- I’d probably leave one space free just in case anyone interesting turns up.
Obviously each and everyone of you would be there too but I didn’t want to play favourites by naming anyone.
Right then, what’s going on this week?
Alert Level 2
Jacinda announced on Monday that the Nation will relax to Alert Level 2 from Thursday. What does that mean to you as an employer? You will need to be compliant with health and safety issues and have processes in place to provide a safe work environment. You will need to pay staff as normal (the wage subsidy can be used to supplement income for staff). We recommend Employsure as advisors in employment matters. Find out more here. You can also call them on 0800 101 271.
What does this mean to your business? Click here for more details.
Small Business Cashflow Loan Scheme
From Tuesday 12 May you are able to apply for the small business cash flow loan scheme. If your business is eligible then you can apply for a government loan of up to $10,000 plus $1,800 per each full time equivalent (FTE) employee in your business. If you (i) have 50 FTE employees or less and (ii) were eligible for the wage subsidy and (iii) have a plan to show your business will remain viable over the next 18 months – then you will be eligible.
Note that you will need a New Zealand Business Number to apply. You make the application through your MyIR account.
Please let us know if you need any help.
Budget 2020
The government will deliver its announcement for the 2020 budget on Thursday 14 May. This is going to be a tough one. The government is taking a “wellbeing approach” in the formulation of this years budget. You’ll probably be kicking back on the couch with your 9 buddies and a couple of quiets in front of the TV on Thursday. Yeah right! We will report back in the next newsletter on the important details.
Cashflow and Insolvency Relief
Support is on the way for businesses facing insolvency due to COVID-19. The Government is set to announce details on 12 May to assist businesses under threat to remain viable by:
- Placing existing debt into hibernation
- Providing a safe harbour to Director duties for businesses that are facing significant liquidity issues due to COVI-19
- Providing temporary relief for Companies facing difficulties complying with statutory obligations
Click here for more detail. The first reading of the bill regarding the above measures will be presented in Parliament on 12 May.
Note that this relief applies to Companies or Directors of Companies. It does not apply to sole traders, partnerships or trust.
If you are having significant cashflow issues or want to put cashflow plans in place, please come and see us. We can help and we can discuss mitigating our fees to help you through. Xero is running a cashflow webinar this Thursday at 10 am. The webinar will give some direction on whether lending is appropriate in your circumstances. Click here to register.
Paying Back The Wage Subsidy
We have had some questions (particularly from those in the construction industry) on whether the wage subsidy will need to be paid back. The general answer is no, providing that (i) you experienced a decline in income of 30% in just one month between January and 9 June and (ii) that decline was due to COVID-19.
Some operators in the construction industry are actually in a strong position now because they are back to work and charging out employees for the work they are doing. So they are wondering if the subsidy should be paid back. Remember that (i) you are still relying on your customer to pay you and their cashflow may be compromised and (ii) we are expecting a lag affect in the construction industry because there may be a lack of forward work after current commitments have been completed. So if you are in a strong position presently then our advice is to park the funds you don’t need to use right now in case they are required down the track.
How Can We Help You
We really want to be here for you to help in any way we can. Firstly if you have anything you need to discuss just call us on 03 409 2042 or you can email hello@numberup.nz. We will get back to you as fast as we can. There is no charge for us to chat to you so USE us!
- Business Structure Advice – if you need to restructure due to COVID-19 then we can advise.
- Tax arrangements – we can help you make tax arrangements with IRD to spread the cost
- Cashflow Planning – we can prepare cashflow plans with you.
- Future Planning – we can help with forecasting and setting goals.
- Loan applications – if you need to apply for loans we can assist.
- Regular meetings – we can catch up with you on a regular basis to monitor performance and reset targets
- General business advice
- Payment Plans – if you are having trouble paying us we can negotiate payment rates and terms. Just ask.
We have applied to be a service provider with the Regional Business Partner (RBP) program. This means we can provide consulting services to you and the RBP program will provide you with a voucher to pay for the services. You need to apply to use this funding but please contact us if you would like to use the Regional Business Partner program to access free consulting and planning advice from us.
Back To The Office
As mentioned last week, we are back in the office from Monday 18 May. If you are dying to catch up (and why wouldn’t you be??) please feel free to make an appointment. You can do this by emailing hello@numberup.nz. Come check out our hand sanitizer.
Did someone mention joke?? How about these little doozers??
Q: What did the bottle of mayonnaise say when somebody opened the refrigerator?
A: Hey. Close the door!! Can’t you see I am dressing??
Q: Did you hear about the kidnapping at school?
A: Its ok. The kid woke up.
I know what you’re thinking. How’s he going to top that in the next newsletter? I guess you’ll have to wait and see……..