Business Continuity - Guidance

Here are our tips to managing the continuity of your business in this difficult and unprecedented time. Please don’t hesitate to get in touch with us if we can help with anything.

Business: Planning

• Ensure you are testing your business model against the sales forecast, and do so following fresh observations of the market and sales. We recommend doing this each time a notable change occurs in the current climate.
• Regularly run cashflow forecasts for the upcoming twelve weeks and track any changes.
• Contact relevant personnel and request updates on funding positions – in particular, any outstanding investment that has been proposed.
• Review if any of the latest Emergency Grant Schemes are applicable for the business, such as Facebook’s Cash Grants and Free Ad space.
• Be honest with your assessment. If the business couldn’t realistically survive for the next six to twelve months in the current climate, consider the benefits of minimising loses and closing in a healthier position.

Operations: Increasing Working Capital

• Although it’s never easy, review non-key staff positions and explore redundancies or non-paid leave, in addition to salary reductions – if required.
• Cancel or postpone all non-essential projects and re-deploy any available staff to critical business matters, closely monitoring progress.
• Follow-up on outstanding invoices and be creative with repayment schedule if required (but responsible and measured of course).
• Assess all current subscriptions and reduce any non-essential services.
• If necessary, explore / request overdraft facilities to increase working capital.
• Investigate / request principle repayment holidays from any loan providers.

Operations: Office Space and Buildings

• Look at reducing rent costs where possible, and requesting rent holiday from landlords.
• Request utility reduction costs and payment holidays from utility companies.
• Cancel any car parking spaces that are not being utilised if possible.

Operations: Team

• Ensure that any staff who cannot work from home are up to date with the Government advice to employers and employees.
• Hold regular team communication via video or audio calls. Here at Creative England, we have been using Slack’s video conferencing system, which is proving very effective, in addition to Zoom for larger team calls.

Insurance

• Review outstanding policies, to check if Business Interruption terms are applicable to Covid-19. Check if policies account for claims on terms relating to Government enforced closures.

Please see below the available support from central Government:

• PAYE and VAT holiday
• Small Business Rate Relief
• Government Job Retention Scheme
• Rates holiday – companies in the hospitality, retail and leisure sector to get a 100% business rates holiday for the next twelve months (2020/21 tax year).
• R & D tax rebates
• Additionally, get in contact with your Local Enterprise Partner to find out about scheme you’re potentially eligible for.

Here’s our list of useful links to visit for further guidance and support: