Going into immediate Lockdown can be hugely unsettling, but I must say, nowhere near as hard as the March 2020 was. We have been here before, and I think that brings with it a sense of calmness, open mindedness and understanding of what is expected and what it is going to look like. What is hugely frustrating is assimilating the massive amount of information out there and sorting out the… Read more
With the constant changes in Covid-19 levels and the uncertainty this brings to business, here is a summary of what support business owners can access to help you through the hard times. COVID-19 Wage Subsidy Payments Started This Week Applications for the wage subsidy opened last week and payments started to flow on Monday. This scheme allows employers to continue paying staff and protect jobs that may have been affected… Read more
Fixed Assets On 17th March 2020, the government announced that for one year, any assets purchased for a business under $5,000 (exc GST) can be expensed in the year it is purchased. This means the full cost of that asset can be claimed as a deductible expense in that period. As this was only a short term adjustment, this is due to finish on 16th March 2021 (yes next week)… Read more
If you’re a business or organisation that experienced a revenue drop of at least 30% due to the recent rise in COVID-19 alert levels, you may be eligible for a Resurgence Support Payment. It’s not a loan and doesn’t need to be paid back. The Resurgence Support Payment (RSP) is for viable and ongoing businesses or organisations with reduced revenue due to a COVID alert level increase to level 2… Read more
Read on for the latest updates and some ideas to help us all move forward. Short-Term Absence Payment Launched Starting 9 February 2021, the Short-Term Absence Payment has become available for businesses and self-employed individuals to help them pay their employees who can’t work from home while they wait for their COVID-19 test result. This involves a one-off payment of $350 for each eligible worker. More details on how to… Read more
The new short-term absence payment is welcome buy small business owners and will take some strain off business owners doing it tough when staff are on leave awaiting results of Covid-19 test and cannot work from home. Employers can apply for support to pay their employees. The self-employed or contractors can apply directly. The payment will be a one-off amount of $350 for each eligible employee. The Short-Term Absence Payment is… Read more
Welcome to our first 2021 Covid-19 Update. Read on for some ideas to help us all move forward. NZ Borders Likely To Remain Closed to Most of the World All Year Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern announced that the country’s borders are likely to remain closed to most of the world for the rest of the year, as reopening them poses “too great a risk to our health and economy”.… Read more
More small and medium-sized businesses may be eligible for the Business Finance Guarantee scheme, with a simplified and expanded scheme now in place. Participating banks can provide new loans, increased limits to existing loans or a revolving credit facility to eligible businesses. The scheme supports banks to take on lending by government taking on the default risk of up to 80% of the loan. Changes to the scheme mean the… Read more
In a pandemic world, setting up a strategy will guide your recovery and allow you to thrive.
While we are all planning our next steps as we rebuild our businesses, the Ministry of Social Development (MSD) have begun the mammoth task of auditing certain applications made under the wage subsidy scheme. This is an action that was signalled from very early on in the scheme. While the swift move into audit phase may seem harsh, the statistics that emerged regarding fraudulent claims on hardship grants after the… Read more
The pains caused by any type of economic downturn can be excruciating, which is why most of us quiver at the thought of it. Just the word recession leaves us with so much uncertainly – it could mean massive layoffs, jobs becoming harder to find, and wages frozen. We start talking about a potential recession, the fear kicks in, and this all contributes to everyone hunkering down and spending less,… Read more
The Government has announced that the Small Business Cashflow Loan Scheme has been extended to the 31st December 2020 and can provide assistance of up to $100,000 to business’s employing 50 or fewer full time equivalent employees. The scheme is in the way of a loan from the government and will provide $10,000 to every firm and $1800 per equivalent full time employee. Loans will be interest free if they… Read more
As small business owners look to the future post COVID-19, there are some important questions to ask. These questions will help you determine what changes you want to keep, whether your business model is still working for you, and if there are any additional changes you may want to make to keep your company operational through future economic disruptions.It’s not always fun to do this sort of investigation, but… Read more
Beyond COVID-19 – How to build value in your business We’ve said it before and we’ll say it again – this has been an extremely difficult few months for all of us, but there is no better time to think seriously about your business. In this article, we have compiled a few tips to create value in your business. The key to building value in your business is to plan… Read more
Prepare a business plan for COVID-19 recovery (free template) You probably didn’t factor a global pandemic and national lockdown into your business plan! So now is definitely a good time to revisit your business plan for the next year. We know that writing a plan can feel like a big effort so we have created a template to make it easier. Please get in touch if you’d like to talk… Read more
If you’re a small business owner whose company hasn’t gone through hardtimes, that’s great but it’s likely to happen at some point. As much as wedream about being brilliant enough at business that we’ll never face slow times,there are many things beyond our control that can negatively affect our business. It’s highly likely that the Coronavirus and it’s resulting impacts, hasput some significant pressure on your business. Here are four… Read more
This is a blog for small businesses about reducing cost tactics
Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern has outlined what life will look under level 2, including details on retailing, hospitality, sport, education and travel, if Cabinet agrees to loosen lock down restrictions next week. No decision has been made to move to Level 2 just yet but the government is keen to do so sooner rather than later and it would be a phased approach. Businesses like retail outlets and hairdressers will… Read more
The Government has announced a boost to cashflow support for small businesses to aid in their recovery from the affects of Covid19. The Small Business Cashflow Loan Scheme will provide assistance of up to $100,000 to firms employing 50 or fewer full time equivalent employees. The scheme is in the way of a loan from the government and will provide $10,000 to every firm and $1800 per equivalent full time… Read more
The Government has announced that New Zealand can safely move out of Alert Level 4 lockdown at 11.59pm on Monday 27 April. We are still in Alert Level 4 until then. We will hold at Alert Level 3 for two weeks, before Cabinet reviews how we are tracking and makes further decisions on 11 May. The shift to Level 3 is not hugely different for a lot of people, but… Read more