We hope everyone is enjoying the summer. The weather has taken a turn for the worse, but here is hoping we can return to some good summer weather!

The new Teignmouth Office continues to progress. We have had some issues, mainly utilities, and have now pushed the move date back until 30 September. We said we wanted to be in the new office in September, and we will be – just!

On to some news and information snippets that we think will be useful for clients:

• Self Employed Income Support Grant – The second grant is now open for applications. Remember that to make a claim, you must be adversely affected by Coronavirus on or after 14 July 2020. The link below will take you to the eligibility checker and the claim:
  • Eligibility Checker
• Furlough Scheme – August sees the start of the planned reduction in the furlough scheme for employers. From August employers will be unable to claim sums relating to employers National Insurance or Pension. September and October will see the grant sum reduce to 70% and 60% respectively
  • If you are changing the furlough basis of employees, particularly moving to part-time, then it is worth contacting us to ensure that we are aware and that we can ensure that the calculation basis is covered. Part-time furlough can be difficult to calculate and planning in advance to prevent complications is critical
• New Grant Announced – The Government has recently announced a new grant being made available to businesses. The Growth Support Kickstart scheme is designed to support organisations (Limited Companies, Partnerships and Sole Traders) to recover from the impacts of COVID 19. The grants will be administered by the Heart of the South West Local Enterprise Partnership (LEP), available for between £1,000 and £3,000 and will be dealt with on a first come first served basis. This grant requires an application to be made and various criteria to be met, including quotations, actual invoices, etc. The major features / details are:
  • Grants are available between £1,000 and £3,000
  • The grant is expected to go live for applications towards the end of August
  • The grants are to support the changes businesses need to make to operate in the COVID 19 world. It is about making changes to your business to make it successful in the ‘new’ world. It is not about paying for PPE etc.; it is about making permanent changes. Activities supported by the grant can include:
    • specialist professional advice such as HR, accountancy, legal and digital
    • the purchase of minor equipment to support your business to adapt or adopt new technology to continue to deliver business activity
  • You can find out more details about the scheme for the Heart of the South West LEP here>>. The page includes more details of the scheme, including frequently asked questions and you can sign up for their newsletter, which should provide details of when the scheme goes live.

If you have any questions on the above, please do not hesitate to contact us.

The Smarter Accounting Offices continue to be staffed, but not open for face to face meetings. We can always make other arrangements for video conferencing, telephone calls and at times garden meetings if required. If you are dropping off or collecting records via the office, please notify us in advance. We will review these policies on a weekly basis.

We provide more regular updates via Facebook. Therefore, if you want the latest news then like our Facebook page.

Best wishes and stay safe!