At our hang-out this week we discussed How to Survive a Recession.  Outline below.

How to Survive a Recession

• The New Normal
  • We won’t return to “normal” for at least a year
  • Re-opening our economy will be a phased and slow process
  • Social Distancing will be the norm – now an employee health and safety issue and opens up huge legal issues if the public contract COVID-19 from your business
  • Large Gatherings will be banned for most of 2020

Even the best entrepreneurs make mistakes. In fact most would advocate that you need to make a few mistakes to learn and grow. So it’s important not to let those missteps stop you from following your dream of running your own business.

There are some common mistakes business owners make in running their company. Don’t feel bad if you fall into these traps—almost every small business owner does. Here’s our top three mistakes and how to avoid them.

At a recent hang-out I interviewed Andrew Frank, founder of Lingo Luxe Bespoke on what he’s been doing while his business is on lock-down and he can’t do the things that he normally would do.

Your “war chest” is the financial reserve your business has built up so you can take advantage of an opportunity or cover unexpected costs or emergencies. Building a cash reserve when finances are tight, however, can be difficult. You need money to continue running your business but, if at all possible, you want to keep your reserve account healthy.

Here are some ways to build—or preserve—a cash war chest during a crisis.

1. Shift all extra money to your cash reserve

Accounting software has become a necessity for today’s accountant. After all, the tool automates and simplifies several mundane and complicated tasks. In fact, accounting software is more essential for small business owners who can’t afford to hire an accountant. Today’s accounting tools are so simple that they can be operated by a person with little to no accounting knowledge. However, it is important to invest in the right accounting software in this ever-changing digital world. For example, you can switch to a cloud-based accounting tool if you are looking for more flexibility and ease of access. In cloud technology, users access software applications remotely through the Internet.

Cloud computing accounting software, broadly speaking, is an online tool. You need the Internet connection and login credentials to access the tool. Technically speaking, the cloud accounting tool is hosted on remote servers. It means that all functions are performed off-site, not on your desktop. Since the software is provided over the Internet, you don’t need to install or maintain on your desktop computers. All you need to visit the page of the accounting software and feed your credentials to get started.

IMPORTANT: This post is specific to Canada. If you are not a Canada business/taxpayer then it is probably not applicable to you.

The Canadian Federal government has announced a temporary wage subsidy to help employers keep payroll alive the COVID-19 crisis.  Please note that there are 2 subsidies – the Temporary Wage Subsidy (10% – documented below) and the Emergency Wage Subsidy (75% – documented in this post).

IMPORTANT: This post is specific to Canada. If you are not a Canada business/taxpayer then it is probably not applicable to you.

The Canadian Federal government has announced some temporary extensions to tax filing and payment deadlines to ease stress and cash flow during the COVID-19 crisis.  Updated with new deadlines on July 29.

* = Updated

IMPORTANT: This post is specific to New Zealand. If you are not a New Zealand business/taxpayer then it is probably not applicable to you.

The New Zealand government has announced a wage subsidy for employers who continue to employ staff during to the COVID-19 lockdown and while reopening the economy.
Here’s what’s new since the video was recorded:

(8 June) In the budget the government announced an extension to the Wage Subsidy. From June 10, business that have suffered a 40% reduction in turnover any 30 day period between 10 May and the date of application as compared to 2019, will be entitled to the wage subsidy for a further eight-week period. High growth and new firms will also be eligible.  Here’s what you need to know:

IMPORTANT: This post is specific to New Zealand. If you are not a New Zealand business/taxpayer then it is probably not applicable to you.

On April 15 the government announced new loss carry-back rules designed to ease the tax burdens on businesses who end up with losses as a result of the COVID-19 crisis. Normally losses must be carried forward (with some limitations) to future years to be offset against future taxable earnings. This is of little help to a business right now, and there is no guarantee of future earnings, especially if a business ends up closing down. In some cases tax payments from last year are still due, despite the business losing money in the next. Loss carry-backs are common in many other jurisdictions and allow you to effectively apply the loss to a prior year’s taxable income and get a refund of taxes paid for that year.

IMPORTANT: This post is specific to New Zealand. If you are not a New Zealand business/taxpayer then it is probably not applicable to you.

The New Zealand government has announced some tweaks to the tax system to assist businesses. It’s not a benefit or cash bonus, but could reduce your tax bill for the 2021 tax year.
Here’s the outline from the video:

• For the 2021 financial year you can write off asset purchases of up to $5000 (usually $500)
• From April 2021 will reduce to $1000 permanently
• Doesn’t cover March 2020
• Not really a cash bonus

The New Zealand government has announced some tweaks to the tax system to assist businesses. It’s not a benefit or cash bonus, but could reduce your tax bill for the 2021 tax year.

Here’s the outline from the video:

The Canadian Federal government has announced a benefit program for those who are out of employment due to the COVID-19 lockdown.
Updates since the video was recorded:

• The Prime Minister announced 15 April that workers earning less that $1,000 a month can still apply for the CERB.  This will be great news for self-employed people as it takes away this “not working” and “no income” issue.  This has yet to be documented, so stay tuned for updates.
• The CERB program has now ended.  The EI program has been enhanced to offer ongoing assistance.  Workers not eligible for EI (such as self-employed persons) have a new CRB benefit (see here for a complete list of post-CERB options).

• Here’s the outline from the video:

  * = updates to the outline since the video was recorded

• Eligibility Criteria
  • Resident Individuals 15+ years old
  • At least $5000 in employment income in 2019 in 12 months prior to application
    • Can include dividends from Small Business Corps
  • Stopped work and not earning due to COVID-19 (not quit) (April 15: up to $1,000 is now permitted)
    • First application must satisfy for 14 consecutive days
    • Subsequent applications entire 4-week period

IMPORTANT: This post is specific to Canada. If you are not a Canada business/taxpayer then it is probably not applicable to you.

IMPORTANT: This post is specific to New Zealand. If you are not a New Zealand business/taxpayer then it is probably not applicable to you.

Small Business Cashflow Loan Scheme

On 1 May the government announced a new Small Business Loan scheme because “it has become clear that the support that is available to our small and medium businesses from banks is not meeting their needs nor our expectations as a Government.” The details are:

• Eligibility
  • the same as for the Wage Subsidy Scheme (30% decline in revenue year-over-year for any ONE month between Jan to June 2020 or compared to Jan/Feb)
  • Employs 50 or fewer full time equivalent employees
  • Businesses will also have to declare that they are a viable business
• Application
  • Directly through Inland Revenue
  • Opening on 12 May – closing 24 July
• Benefit

IMPORTANT: This post is specific to Canada. If you are not a Canada business/taxpayer then it is probably not applicable to you.

The Canadian Federal government has announced a 75% wage subsidy designed to help businesses retain (and even rehire) staff during the lockdown.

The onset of the COVID-19 crisis has put many businesses into lockdown and severely restricted revenue. Here are some thoughts on what you should be doing NOW to ensure that your business not only survives this crisis, but can thrive through it.

If your company relies on suppliers in various geographic locations, it’s likely that at some point your business will face a supply chain disruption. Whether that disturbance is caused by a virus, regulatory lockdown, international tensions, changes in local laws or a natural disaster, there will probably be scenarios in which your suppliers or transporters face obstacles that affect your company.

Here are some steps you can take to respond to such situations and even prepare ahead of time for them.

Most small business owners face a time in their career when they have to communicate in ways or about topics they aren’t comfortable with. COVID-19 has put small business owners in the position of having many conversations that are uncomfortable and stressful.

Whether you’re communicating with employees about business issues during the pandemic, hoping to negotiate a rent reduction or changes to credit terms, or asking customers for help in keeping your store open, here are some strategies that will help you be more effective in your communications.

According to Wikipedia, bookkeeping is “the recording of financial transactions, and is part of the process of accounting in business. Transactions include purchases, sales, receipts, and payments by an individual person or an organization/corporation. “Simply put, bookkeeping is an organized recording of financial transactions made in an organization. Or you can say that bookkeeping is all about recording and tracking the financial data across the business. Apart from businesses, bookkeeping is important for non-profit organizations as well as individuals. Bookkeeping provides the information from which accounts are managed. Therefore, maintaining solid and systematic bookkeeping ensures that the records of your financial transactions are accurate, up-to-date and comprehensive. In this digital era, digital or online accounting software makes bookkeeping easy and quick. A bookkeeper is supposed to record all data that are related, including but not limited to loan payments, invoices, monitoring asset depreciation, generating financial reports, payments.

Contrary to popular belief, bookkeeping and accounting are not the same. Accounting is the overall practice of managing finances while bookkeeping deals with the tasks and practices involved in the recording of financial performance. Detailed and thorough bookkeeping is important for organizations of all sizes. Bookkeeping can become more complicated with the introduction of loans, assets, investments and taxes. Recording the financial activities of a business is the key purpose of bookkeeping, letting you keep up-to-date data of current incoming and outgoing amounts.

The COVID-19 pandemic has proven challenging for many small business owners. It’s difficult to run your business remotely, especially if you’re not set up to do so. If you run a business that requires customers or clients to come to you, you might be very concerned about how you can continue to operate without opening your premises.

If you have access to technology, are adaptable, and are willing to look into financial assistance, you can make it through this pandemic. Here are some ways to keep your business operational through COVID-19.