Archives for September 2020

Uncertainty is one of the biggest threats a business can face, and we understand that being a business owner can sometimes be an extremely lonely place. We therefore made it our first objective to contact all clients, whether business owners or self-employed individuals, to act as a sounding board for their concerns and to provide relevant advice for their particular situation. 

In the early days and weeks of lockdown, information was released daily from the government regarding the support being launched for business owners. The daily press releases often provided little detail on this support which we thought could result in business owners finding it difficult to identify what support was applicable to them and how to apply for it. To provide clarity around the government initiatives, we provided detailed weekly guidance emails, along with our Ad Valorem COVID-19 Support Guide, which outlined the support available for different business types and sectors, highlighting eligibility criteria and how to apply for the schemes. 

We fully appreciate the enormity of the impact COVID-19 has placed on businesses and understand that the Job Retention Scheme has particularly helped many of our clients through the lockdown period. As the lockdown has proven to be one of the most significant challenges for business in the 20 years we’ve been established, we are extremely proud and grateful that we didn’t furlough any of our employees and kept our team fully contactable for our clients. In fact, over the lockdown period we’ve welcomed seven new starters across all areas of our practice from payroll, to accounts and tax, to our specialist R&D team. 

As well as focusing on our clients, we have also launched in-house initiatives to take care of our amazing team. Working from home often sees the working day extend into usual social time, resulting in a decrease in exercise. We therefore introduced the Ad Valorem ’Step Challenge’, where employees were targeted with walking a number of steps per week, with a prize available if maintained over the month. Prizes included local business vouchers to support the community economy when lockdown restrictions reduced accessibility and water bottles to encourage a healthy lifestyle. We also hosted family quizzes over Zoom, which kept our more remote team members in touch with each other. 

As lockdown begins to ease and business slowly starts to return to normal, we would like to take this time to reflect and thank both our wonderful clients and amazing team for their continued support and hard work over the last six months. We will continue to support our clients in line with the new normal and are ready for any potential challenges the coming months may bring. 

Digital accounting enables you to access your numbers anytime, anywhere and on any device with an internet connection. If you’d like more information about digital accounting, please contact us using our details below. 

(E) enquiries@advaloremgroup.uk or (T) 01908 219100 (W) advaloremgroup.uk  

What is The Job support scheme?

The job support scheme is a government lead scheme designed to protect and preserve jobs in businesses who are in lower demand over the winter months due to Covid-19. This scheme has been implemented so workers can stay part of a workforce and not struggle to find more income to support themselves and they’re families. 

The job support scheme is aimed to help employees who have been forced to work reduced hours; employees will be placed on reduced hours if the business does not require the staff and/or cannot afford to pay you your full contracted hours. When an employee is on reduced hours, they must work a minimum of 33% in the business to qualify for the scheme.

The idea is that employers will pay their staff for the number of hours worked in their business as usual. However, for the hours you are contracted but you do not work, the government and your employer will split the pay. The government will pay 1/3 of hours not worked (capped at £697.92 a month) and your employer will pay the rest up to 80%. This means employees will earn 80% pay of the hours they do not work. 

In summary you will take 100% of your wage for actual hours worked in the business and 80% wage for the hours you are contracted but you did not work in the business, due to unforeseen circumstances with COVID-19. 

Eligibility

Employers– All employers with a UK bank account and UK PAYE schemes can claim the grant. Employers from large businesses will need a financial assessment test as this scheme will only be provided to those who are experiencing a low turnover due to Covid-19 impact. 

Employees– Employees must be on an employer’s PAYE payroll on or before 23^rd September 2020. Submission notifying payment of an employee to HMRC must have been made on or before 23^rd September 2020. 

For the first three months of the scheme employees will be required to work at least 33% of their usual hours. After those three months it is up to the government to increase this minimum hour’s threshold. 

How to claim

The job support scheme will be active come the 1^st November 2020 and run until the end of April 2021. Employers will be able to make a claim through the Gov.uk website from the 1^st December 2020. Payment after a successful claim will debited on a monthly basis. The claim can only be submitted in any given pay period, after payment to the employee has been made and that payment has been reported to HMRC via a Real time information return (RTI).

• HMRC will check claims and retain any claims found to be fraudulent or showing incorrect information. A full claim must be made by the employer and agreed with their staff. Employees must be notified in writing of any changes made to their contract. 

Example given by the government 

• Beth normally works 5 days a week and earns £350 a week. Her company is suffering reduced sales due to coronavirus. Rather than making Beth redundant, the company puts Beth on the Job Support Scheme, working 2 days a week (40% of her usual hours). 

• Her employer pays Beth £140 for the days she works.

• And for the time she is not working (3 days or 60%, worth £210), she will also earn 2/3, or £140, bringing her total earnings to £280, 80% of her normal wage. 

• The Government will give a grant worth £70 (1/3 of hours not worked, equivalent to 20% of her normal wages) to Beth’s employer to support them in keeping Beth’s job. 

For more information on the Job support scheme please visit Gov.uk

(E) enquiries@advaloremgroup.uk or (T) 01908 219100 (W) advaloremgroup.uk  

What is the Kickstart Grant Scheme?

The scheme was announced to help both small and medium sized business recover from the negative financial impact of COVID-19. This can be achieved through the purchase of professional services, purchasing minor equipment or to adopt new technology to prepare and diversify in response to the pandemic. SEMLEP’s Growth Hub is responsible for allocating the grants in the SEMLEP area of Bedfordshire, Northamptonshire and Milton Keynes. 

Grants of up to £5,000 will be available, with most grants predicted to be in the region of £1,000 – £3,000. One aspect of the grant is specifically aimed at tourism and hospitality-related business’, which you will need to specify during the application process to determine which funding allocation your grant will come from. Whether your business is or is not related to the hospitality sector you will still complete the same application form.

How do I receive the grant?

If you are successful in being awarded a grant you will receive a grant offer. This then allows you to purchase the items or services approved in your grant application. Once you have purchased your intended product you can claim the amount for the grant payment to be issued to you.

Is my business eligible to receive the grant?

First and foremost, you must be based in the SEMLEP area and you must be able to implement the changes listed on your application proposal as soon as your grant has been approved, with all required permission in place (such as planning permission or dependent licences). 

You must also employ less than 250 people and have a turnover of less than £45m.

Click here to view the Growth Hubs most frequently asked questions:

How do I apply for a grant? 

On Monday 14^th September at 9am the South East Midlands Kickstart Grant Scheme will be live and available for you to begin your application. To prepare and increase your chances of being successful for your application, please see below some example questions that may appear during the application process.

Link: https://www.semlepgrowthhub.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/09/South-East-Midlands-Kickstart-Grant-Scheme-webform_03.09_web-version.pdf

With Milton Keynes and surrounding regions being a comparable business hub to the capital, it is expected that there will be a high number of applications. With an estimated only 200 grants available in the SEMLEP region it is vital to be prepared.

Dates to remember

Monday 14^th September (9am): Applications open

Monday 28^th September: Successful applicants will be notified and grant offer letters will be issued

For any further questions or to confirm your eligibility, please do not hesitate to contact us:

(E) enquiries@advaloremgroup.uk or (T) 01908 219100

Today marks the first day individuals born on September 1st are able to  access the money that was set aside for them  by the  Government’s child trust fund incentive. If you have a child born between September 2002 and January 2011 they should be entitled to receive money from the government on their 18^th Birthday (subject to certain criteria).

What is a Child Trust Fund?

A Child Trust Fund is a children’s savings account made available to children born between 1 September 2002 and 2 January 2011. They have since been replaced by Junior ISAs, but those with existing Child Trust Fund accounts or vouchers could keep their accounts and  continue to pay in. 

Child Trust Funds are a long-term investment fund that allow for tax-free investments originally set up by the Government. They were introduced with the idea to help children enter into adulthood with some form of savings to be invested in expenses such as buying a car or house. The main benefit of the trust fund was that all money earned on it is completely tax-free, including capital gains and interest payments.

The first of the Child Trust Funds will mature today (1^st September 2020) 18 years since the first ones opened (the last will mature in 2029). On maturity, Child Trust Funds can either be cashed out if needed, or may be reinvested into an adult ISA.

Don’t remember setting up a Child Trust Fund?

If you don’t remember physically setting up the trust fund for your child then don’t worry, they haven’t entirely missed out and your child may still be entitled to some money on their 18^th Birthday. 

At the time, HMRC sent the parents of qualifying children a voucher of £250 (or £500 if you were on a low income) to set up a Child Trust Fund account in the child’s name. However, if the parents didn’t do this, HMRC would have automatically set one up.

HMRC have set up an online tool to help young people find  out whether they have an account and  where their accounts is held.   To find a ‘lost’ CTF click here.

Types of Child Trust Fund

1. Cash Child Trust Fund – you are able to make deposits just as you would for a bank account, which is able to earn tax-free interest.

2. Stakeholder Child Trust Fund – the savings into the account are put into a wide mix of stock market investments, each outlining their own set of rules to reduce financial risk (including how the money would gradually be moved to lower-risk investments when the child reaches 13 with a cap on the annual charge). Stakeholder Child Trust Funds are charged based on the value of the fund and capped at a maximum charge of 1.5% a year.

3. Shares-based Child Trust Fund – where most or all the money is invested in shares, but without the protections of a stakeholder account. The savings in the account could be put onto the stock market via an investment fund of your choice or into your own investments.

How much money am I able to invest?

If your child meets the above criteria of being born between 1^st September 2002 and 2^nd January 2011 and they are not at the age of being able to cash in their CTF yet, you still have time to help them to utilise its benefits.

Annually you can put up to £9,000 into the account, however if you have not used that limit previously you are not able to carry that unused amount moving forward. 

In order to pay money into the account you can do so by cheque, standing order or direct debit. Additionally, payments made by the government do not count towards the £9,000.

For more information click here.

(E) enquiries@advaloremgroup.uk  (T) 01908 219100