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Coronavirus (COVID-19)

Our business depends on your business.

How can Folkes Worton LLP Chartered Accountants help with business planning for Coronavirus (COVID-19) in these unprecedented times?

Business Continuity Planning (BCP)

The number one objective is to help protect the health of employees, suppliers and customers/clients.

The number two objective is to reduce the risk and financial impact of the Coronavirus. 

  • Manage your cashflows – Practical ways to manage and mitigate cash-flow concerns. 
  • Immediate, proactive advice to prepare you/your business and your staff. 
  • Model possible cash-flow scenarios, lay-offs, short-time working or seeking funding.

Folkes Worton LLP Chartered Accountants are here to help. If you would like more information or help with your business planning, please do not hesitate to contact us on 01384 376964 or e-mail us on enquiries@fwca.co.uk and we’ll respond to an messages on Facebook at m.me/FolkesWortonLLP as quickly as possible

If you would like more information on the following:

  • Coronavirus Business Interruption Loan Scheme 
  • Business Rates Retail Discount Scheme 
  • Small Business Grant
  • Statutory Sick Pay
  • Budgeting and Forecasting for Coronavirus
  • Tax Helpline
  • CLICK HERE

Guidance for our staff and clients – Coronavirus (COVID-19) 

In these uncertain times we reach out to all our staff and clients to let you know we are here to offer support and guidance over the next few months with business planning for Coronavirus (COVID-19). 

Health and wellbeing are the most important things right now and so we are making the decision that our staff will be working remotely where possible from the 23rd of March. We will continue to complete your Accounts, VAT, Payroll and Tax Returns on a timely basis.

If you and your staff are working remotely and/or struggling to keep your records straight, then please let us know. We can install a variety of Cloud-based solutions to help. If you can scan or e-mail documents to us then we can help by posting them in the correct way. 

If you need anything, please let us know. Our business depends on your business and we must all pull together during the upcoming few weeks. 

Here is a quick action plan to help focus your thoughts:

  1. Keep and eye on Government advice: https://www.gov.uk/government/news/coronavirus-covid-19-guidance-for-employees-employers-and-businesses
  2. Your main purpose is to protect the health of yourself, employees and customers, then reduce the risk of the financial impact to your business. So you need to take action now.
  3. Hold a meeting with key team members, or just review yourself and work through an agenda – a suggestion follows.
  4. Summarise the actions and allocate responsibility to make them happen.
  5. Talk to us – we are all in this together.

This agenda and guide are not for use if the situation turns into an emergency, and it is crucial that regular follow-up meetings or reviews are scheduled. 

Topic 1 – Introduction and purpose of the meeting 

State the purpose of the meeting, to create a Coronavirus action plan to: 

  1. Reduce risk and financial impact
  2. Support the government’s objective to minimise and slow down the spread to reduce pressure on the NHS
  3. Explore if there is an opportunity to provide support to the community. Review the situation report using the prompt questions
  4. Decide the level of risk to the business

Topic 2 – Employees 

  1. Duty of care
  2. Self-isolation
  3. Advise of sick pay
  4. Talk to employees taking sick days
  5. Consider a remote working policy
  6. Police customer visits
  7. Encourage video / Skype / tele conference style meetings
  8. No shaking hands
  9. Defer non-essential seminar training
  10. Consider dividing staff into A and B teams to alternate remote working

Topic 3 – Customers 

  • Advise customers of the firm’s Coronavirus plans
  • Fewer face to face meetings
  • Use of video calls
  • Courier papers rather than drop-off
  • Offer Coronavirus support
  • Blog posts and newsletter

Topic 4 – IT & Cyber Security

Remote working and cyber security is a topical subject. In an effort to do the right thing by having people work at home to limit the impact of Coronavirus, you may create a bigger problem; home working environments are likely to be insecure and not risk assessed, e.g. home Wi-Fi and sharing of work devices with family members.

  • What IT is required?
  • Hardware
  • Remote working
  • Video conferencing
  • What data security risks need to be addressed and managed?

Topic 5 – Purpose

What can we do to support the community?

Topic 6 – Financial Impact

Cashflow management is key. Consider the impact of: 

  • Customers paying more slowly
  • Bad debts
  • Fewer new customers
  • Risk of clients moving to lower-priced competitors
  • Customers asking for lower prices because profits are hit
  • Look at payment terms
  • Offer customers time to pay
  • Offer customers an incentive to pay early
  • Expenditure – cut non-essential
  • Delay capital purchases
  • Finance all capital purchases
  • Avoid discretionary costs
  • Contact your bank – if you have an overdraft can it be converted to a loan?
  • Loan holidays
  • Alternative funding for the business
  • Bookkeeping, VAT and payroll – do we need our Accountants help?

Topic 7 – Actions

  •  Agreed actions
  •  To do or project
  •  Person
  •  Deadline/timeline
  •  Notes
  •  The date for next review

For information on Business Interruption Insurance due to Coronavirus CLICK HERE

For more information on Government support CLICK HERE

For advice on support staff who are Home Working CLICK HERE

#InThisTogether