Government Assistance Still Available
Everyone has had a lot on their plate recently and there has been massive amounts of information released that business owners and their advisers have had to absorb and apply accordingly in their businesses. This may be one reason for the Queensland Government Small Business COVID-19 Adaption Grant only being 63% subscribed for the second round of funding available specifically in regional Queensland.
The program aims to see small and micro businesses:
• prepare for the safe resumption of trading in the post COVID-19 recovery
• continue to meet operating costs
• access digital technologies to rebuild business operations and transition to a new way of doing business
• respond to online opportunities, where possible, to sustain employment and maintain potential for longer-term growth
• upskill and reskill business owners and staff to benefit from new technologies or business models
• embrace business diversification to adapt and sustain operations
• create or retain employment.
There are some terms and conditions that must be met with the main ones being that your business has experienced a minimum 30% decline over a one-month period since 23 March 2020 and that the business is an employer with less than 20 employees.
The minimum grant is $2,000 and the maximum is $10,000 that can be used towards the following:
• financial, legal or other professional advice to support business sustainability and diversification
• continuing to meet business operational costs including utilities, council rates, rent, telecommunication charges, insurance fees, licensing or franchise fees
• strategic planning, financial counselling or business coaching aligned to business development and diversification
• building the business through marketing and communications activities (e.g. content development – web pages, mobile apps, visual and audio media etc.)
• digital/technological strategy development
• digital training or re-training and up-skilling employees to adapt to new business models
• capital costs associated with meeting COVID-19 safety requirements
• specialised digital equipment or business specific software to move business operations online (e.g. logistics program for online ordering).
While this grant is available to businesses in regional Queensland I would urge any business that meets the above criteria to lodge an application that could help them adapt or improve their business operations.
An example of how the grant could be used is to prepare a business continuity plan incorporating a three-way projected cash flow and budget for the business. The funds could also be used towards implementing now software, such as Xero, to enable the business to operate digitally using cloud based software. This can also have benefits such as letting employees work from home if restrictions are put in place again as well as reducing physical handling of documents as invoices and statements can be emailed directly to customers.
There are also Back to Work grants available in regional Queensland that businesses should consider if employing new staff members and the extension to JobKeeper has also been announced which include some changes to the existing rules as well. Keep an eye on our Facebook page as we have [previously posting articles and information on these subjects.
If you would like to discuss how we can help your business with any grants on stimulus queries please call UHY Haines Norton on 4972 1300 or email info@uhyhncq.com.au