As the Government moves the alert level up from 2 to 3 and 3 to 4 in 48 hours, we need to be calm and thoughtful with how we deal with businesses and our employees.
Navigator Accounting will always be on hand via a phone call or zoom to discuss matters and help you with how we navigate through these unprecedented times.
If we don’t answer your call in the first instance, we will call you back. Please be patient, as you can imagine this is a very busy time for us but the team and I are here for you, we do care and we want you to succeed and survive this situation.
Here are a few tips that you can take onboard and make change accordingly to help with business continuity.
1. Review your outgoings
- A good place to check would be business subscriptions, have a review of all monthly subscriptions and make a call on whether they are necessary to running your business for the next 12 months.
- Now would be a good time to review your contracts with providers – power, telephone and internet – these can be spooled up and down depending on demand and a transfer of service is generally seamless.
2. Apply for the wage subsidy
- Please email us before applying for the wage subsidy, this is to double check the reasoning and a good audit trial for when they do the checks around the grants.
- They have now lifted the $150K cap for employees so if you are a large employee your grant is now uncapped – This is for employers of 20+ people.
- From what I have heard listening to the announcement, if your workforce is forced to work from home and this means that they cannot perform their job, you can apply for the wage subsidy with the understanding that the subsidy will be passed on directly to your staff members on a weekly basis. It will end up being an offence (be it criminal or a civil offence) if you do not pass on these wage subsidies.
3. Talk to your Bank
- Now is the time to email/call your bank manager and ask for interest only payments, loan repayment holidays or an increase in working capital by means of temporary overdrafts.
4. Restructures & Redundancies
- We may need to look at making significant changes to your workforce, we have a list of HR consultants that can assist you with this often very complicated process. Please call us in the first instance and we can talk you through the process.
- Your best course of action in the beginning is to communicate with staff members. Let them know what you are doing and what to expect in terms of communication from you. Once we have a solid plan and advise has been sought, we will make an announcement to your team.
5. Cash in King
- Now is the best time to call your suppliers and let them know of your situation, let them know your business is closing because of Alert Level 4, what your best contact details are if suppliers want to get hold of you.
- Call all your customers with outstanding invoices and look for a commitment from them for payment. They might be in the same situation as you so please have patience with them – remember its cool to be kind.
6. Connect with people
- Call your staff on a regular basis, see how they are. Check in with your elderly relatives. Now is the time to be as connected as possible while we are forced into isolation.
- You are not alone, all the team at Navigator is here to talk, our numbers are below.
- Please for the love of New Zealand and its economy, stay at home unless you have to go out.
For more information, please visit www.covid19.govt.nz
Here is a link to the Alert Level PDF – https://covid19.govt.nz/assets/COVID_Alert-levels_v2.pdf
Stay Safe
