As we enter a new year, many businesses are setting their goals for the coming months. But this isn’t straightforward at the best of times, much less during a recession which makes planning even harder.
But despite both economic uncertainty and political unrest, there is some support out there for small businesses. In this article we round up the help provided by the government for small businesses and offer up our own straightforward solution for planning for the future.
This kind of help often goes under the radar, but don’t miss out on the hundreds of business growth and startup grants that the government offers. The grants are of varying value and for different criteria, and most have rigorous application procedures.
Some of the grants are designed to help you grow your business, others are for startups, and some are provided to reduce costs.
Applying for grants can be complex, so we recommend getting expert advice before applying. But a good place to start for UK businesses is the government’s Business Finance Support Finder, which currently lists 150 schemes. The Welsh government has its own guidance on grants, as do Scotland and Ireland.
The Recovery Loan Scheme (RLS) helps small businesses access finance, by improving the lending terms on offer to businesses. The government guarantees 70% of the finance to the lender, which enhances the finance options available to small businesses. Loans are available through several accredited lenders, and range from term loans, asset financing, invoice financing and overdrafts, all listed through the British Business Bank.
Business rates are payable on all business properties, but the government continues to offer Small Business Rate Relief. For properties with a rateable value of less than £12,000 no business rates are due, and for properties with a rateable value of £12,001 to £15,000 the relief slides from 100% to 0%.
The government has recently announced that it will soon close the doors on its digital technology initiative Help to Grow: Digital. The initiative helps SMEs choose, buy, and integrate software into their business. And with a discount of up to 50% towards the costs of buying approved software, businesses could save up to £5000. But companies who want to take advantage of this offer better act fast, Help to Grow: Digital will close to new business applications in February 2023.
We understand how hard it can be to plan your goals for the year, and with the future economy uncertain, planning is even more tricky. That is why we have developed our exclusive forecasting tool which shows your next 12 months in turnover, gross profit, cash flow, contractors required to reach your goals, cost of sale, VAT and contractor pay. All figures are displayed in one place, in both graph and table formats.
The tool also includes a comprehensive report on which to base your payroll financing decisions, making it easier than ever to plan for growth in 2023. Taking less than 10 minutes, this report is entirely bespoke to you and also provided in a handy shareable pdf.
Make sure you take advantage of all the government support that you are entitled to. And if you’d like to find out more about JMK’s forecasting tool, get in touch today. A very happy new year from all of us at JMK!
Since 2002, JMK have been compliantly consolidating back-office, accountancy and payroll functions.
We have evolved to provide a range of expert services; such as Funding, becoming a leading provider to the contracting industry.
We know every agency is different in some shape or form, even if only by a little, but important bit. Combining our knowledge and experience of multiple sectors enables JMK to support you all from recruiters and payroll, through to finance, compliance and management.
With JMK as your trusted partner, even the smallest team can process the largest payroll, regardless of payroll type.
Have a look at the wide range of services our Funding can provide to you and your business, it is far more than just payroll and finance.
