Tag Archive for coronavirus grant

How the newly self-employed should navigate the complex SEISS process

Originally written by Anna Jordan on Small Business
Rishi Sunak recently announced that an extra 600,000 self-employed business owners would be able to claim the fourth and fifth Self Employed Income Support Scheme (SEISS) grants.
The one condition is that applicants must have submitted a tax return by March 3 2021.
But vague details, complicated processes, tight deadlines and worries around scammers mean that many could be missing out, warn financial experts Old Mill.
One example is when those who apply get contacted by HMRC and are sent an email with instructions on how to verify their identity. They then have two days to upload digital copies of their bank documents and ID to the HMRC Dropbox. If they don’t, the Dropbox link will expire and the applicant will fail the pre-verification.
“There are a number of areas where things can go wrong (just opening a brown envelope from HMRC for instance), and I have real concerns that some people may have difficulties negotiating these pre-verification checks or inadvertently miss deadlines,” said Chris Bowles, director of Old Mill.
“There’s also a fear that many traders will see this HMRC call as another sophisticated attempt to obtain sensitive personal information at a time when attacks from scammers

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Covid grant extends to newly started businesses in Kensington and Chelsea

Originally written by Anna Jordan on Small Business
Additional Restrictions Grants (ARG) are opening for a third time to even more businesses in Kensington and Chelsea.
Newly started businesses, who began operating in Kensington and Chelsea no more than six months before the March 2020 lockdown, could be eligible to apply for the grant.
Eligible businesses for the grants continue to include those who operate in or out of commercial premises linked to leisure, retail and hospitality and those without premises who face high fixed costs, such as market traders.
In the second round of applications in January, Kensington and Chelsea Council expanded the criteria to include those in residential premises such as taxi drivers and mobile beauty technicians, who can still apply for the ARG.
The ARG gives up to £2,500 for local businesses who have been impacted by Covid-19, with the council awarding £1,705,761 to 1336 businesses through the previous two rounds of the scheme.
Applications for the ARG are open now and the deadline to apply is Friday April 9. Business are encouraged to check the full eligibility criteria before applying on the council website.
Councillor Catherine Faulks, lead member for economy, employment and innovation, said:
“We have listened to business owners who have missed

Read more...

How the newly self-employed should navigate the complex SEISS process

Originally written by Anna Jordan on Small Business
Rishi Sunak recently announced that an extra 600,000 self-employed business owners would be able to claim the fourth and fifth Self Employed Income Support Scheme (SEISS) grants.
The one condition is that applicants must have submitted a tax return by March 3 2021.
But vague details, complicated processes, tight deadlines and worries around scammers mean that many could be missing out, warn financial experts Old Mill.
One example is when those who apply get contacted by HMRC and are sent an email with instructions on how to verify their identity. They then have two days to upload digital copies of their bank documents and ID to the HMRC Dropbox. If they don’t, the Dropbox link will expire and the applicant will fail the pre-verification.
“There are a number of areas where things can go wrong (just opening a brown envelope from HMRC for instance), and I have real concerns that some people may have difficulties negotiating these pre-verification checks or inadvertently miss deadlines,” said Chris Bowles, director of Old Mill.
“There’s also a fear that many traders will see this HMRC call as another sophisticated attempt to obtain sensitive personal information at a time when attacks from scammers

Read more...

Covid grant extends to newly started businesses in Kensington and Chelsea

Originally written by Anna Jordan on Small Business
Additional Restrictions Grants (ARG) are opening for a third time to even more businesses in Kensington and Chelsea.
Newly started businesses, who began operating in Kensington and Chelsea no more than six months before the March 2020 lockdown, could be eligible to apply for the grant.
Eligible businesses for the grants continue to include those who operate in or out of commercial premises linked to leisure, retail and hospitality and those without premises who face high fixed costs, such as market traders.
In the second round of applications in January, Kensington and Chelsea Council expanded the criteria to include those in residential premises such as taxi drivers and mobile beauty technicians, who can still apply for the ARG.
The ARG gives up to £2,500 for local businesses who have been impacted by Covid-19, with the council awarding £1,705,761 to 1336 businesses through the previous two rounds of the scheme.
Applications for the ARG are open now and the deadline to apply is Friday April 9. Business are encouraged to check the full eligibility criteria before applying on the council website.
Councillor Catherine Faulks, lead member for economy, employment and innovation, said:
“We have listened to business owners who have missed

Read more...

Where to get your small business Restart Grant worth up to £18,000

Originally written by Anna Jordan on Small Business
The Government recently announced a Restart Grant for small businesses in England, launching this April.
What is the Restart Grant?
The Restart Grant is a new fund for business owners, helping them through what is hoped will be the final stages of Covid-19 restrictions.
It will replace the monthly Local Restrictions Support Grant (Closed) and Local Restrictions Support Grant (Open) – these will both close at the end of March.
Around 700,000 businesses in England will be eligible for the grant.
Commenting on the Restart Grant, Institute of Directors director general Jonathan Geldart said: “Restart grants and ongoing business rates relief give a cashflow boost to many firms that will struggle to make full productive use of their properties as restrictions linger.”
Mike Cherry, chairman of the Federation of Small Businesses, said it was key that the very smallest businesses get hold of their Restart Grants.
How much will I get?
Non-essential retail will receive up to £6,000 per premises. Gyms, leisure, personal care, accommodation and hospitality businesses will receive up to £18,000.
The sum you’ll receive is based on your rateable value.

If your rateable value is £15,000 or less, you can claim up to £8,000
If it’s between £15,000 and £51,000, you

Read more...

Where to get your small business Restart Grant worth up to £18,000

Originally written by Anna Jordan on Small Business
The Government recently announced a Restart Grant for small businesses in England, launching this April.
What is the Restart Grant?
The Restart Grant is a new fund for business owners, helping them through what is hoped will be the final stages of Covid-19 restrictions.
It will replace the monthly Local Restrictions Support Grant (Closed) and Local Restrictions Support Grant (Open) – these will both close at the end of March.
Around 700,000 businesses in England will be eligible for the grant.
Commenting on the Restart Grant, Institute of Directors director general Jonathan Geldart said: “Restart grants and ongoing business rates relief give a cashflow boost to many firms that will struggle to make full productive use of their properties as restrictions linger.”
Mike Cherry, chairman of the Federation of Small Businesses, said it was key that the very smallest businesses get hold of their Restart Grants.
How much will I get?
Non-essential retail will receive up to £6,000 per premises. Gyms, leisure, personal care, accommodation and hospitality businesses will receive up to £18,000.
The sum you’ll receive is based on your rateable value.

If your rateable value is £15,000 or less, you can claim up to £8,000
If it’s between £15,000 and £51,000, you

Read more...

Restart Grant for your small business – what is it and where to claim

Originally written by Timothy Adler on Small Business
Rishi Sunak has announced a £5bn Restart Grant scheme to help any small business most badly affected by Covid-19, according to reports.
A Restart Grant worth up to £18,000 for the largest businesses will help shops, pubs, hotels and any other small business through to June 21, when it’s hoped the final coronavirus restrictions will be lifted.
Mr Sunak is also expected to announce on Wednesday that other small business support schemes such as furlough will be extended until the end of June.
Where to find your Restart Grant
The Restart Grant scheme, administered by local councils, will help almost 700,000 small business owners including those running shops, pubs, clubs, hotels restaurants, gyms and hair salons.
Non-essential retail businesses will get up to £6,000 per premises through the Restart Grant scheme to help them reopen. Shops will reopen no earlier than April 12, according to the Government’s Covid-19 roadmap.
More Restart Grant money will be available for any small business in hospitality, accommodation, leisure, personal care and gyms, which will reopen later and will be more affected by restrictions. They can receive up to £18,000, depending on their rateable value.
Meanwhile, local authorities in England will also get an extra

Read more...

Restart Grant for your small business – what is it and where to claim

Originally written by Timothy Adler on Small Business
Rishi Sunak has announced a £5bn Restart Grant scheme to help any small business most badly affected by Covid-19, according to reports.
A Restart Grant worth up to £18,000 for the largest businesses will help shops, pubs, hotels and any other small business through to June 21, when it’s hoped the final coronavirus restrictions will be lifted.
Mr Sunak is also expected to announce on Wednesday that other small business support schemes such as furlough will be extended until the end of June.
Where to find your Restart Grant
The Restart Grant scheme, administered by local councils, will help almost 700,000 small business owners including those running shops, pubs, clubs, hotels restaurants, gyms and hair salons.
Non-essential retail businesses will get up to £6,000 per premises through the Restart Grant scheme to help them reopen. Shops will reopen no earlier than April 12, according to the Government’s Covid-19 roadmap.
More Restart Grant money will be available for any small business in hospitality, accommodation, leisure, personal care and gyms, which will reopen later and will be more affected by restrictions. They can receive up to £18,000, depending on their rateable value.
Meanwhile, local authorities in England will also get an extra

Read more...

Local authorities blame government for slow release of Covid-19 grants

Originally written by Timothy Adler on Small Business
Local authorities have blamed government for the slow payment of Covid-19 grants during lockdown, with businesses still waiting for cash.
Although government says it has paid out the £4.6bn worth of Covid-19 grants to be distributed by all 314 local authorities over the current national lockdown, it still has to release of the £12bn worth of support first offered last year.
There have been 10 different tranches of funding to keep small businesses going through local-tier restrictions established in October and the one-month lockdown for England that ran from November 5.
>See also: £9000 lockdown grant for businesses in retail, hospitality and leisure
The schemes also cover support for different regional restrictions in December and the current lockdown in England, which is expected to run until at least February 22.
The Local Government Association says that councils have also been struggling to distribute the money, due to increased state-aid compliance issues and vetting applicants for fraud. They have focused on getting larger amounts for January’s closures out the door, as opposed to last year’s smaller grants.
But businesses still awaiting grants say they may not still be in business by the time money is finally released.
>See also: Where to

Read more...

Local authorities blame government for slow release of Covid-19 grants

Originally written by Timothy Adler on Small Business
Local authorities have blamed government for the slow payment of Covid-19 grants during lockdown, with businesses still waiting for cash.
Although government says it has paid out the £4.6bn worth of Covid-19 grants to be distributed by all 314 local authorities over the current national lockdown, it still has to release of the £12bn worth of support first offered last year.
There have been 10 different tranches of funding to keep small businesses going through local-tier restrictions established in October and the one-month lockdown for England that ran from November 5.
>See also: £9000 lockdown grant for businesses in retail, hospitality and leisure
The schemes also cover support for different regional restrictions in December and the current lockdown in England, which is expected to run until at least February 22.
The Local Government Association says that councils have also been struggling to distribute the money, due to increased state-aid compliance issues and vetting applicants for fraud. They have focused on getting larger amounts for January’s closures out the door, as opposed to last year’s smaller grants.
But businesses still awaiting grants say they may not still be in business by the time money is finally released.
>See also: Where to

Read more...