Everything we’re doing to support you and your business right now

We know that times are tough at the moment, and that your priorities have most likely changed. And we understand that many businesses are struggling, and are in need of support.

But it’s in times like these that it’s important to remember that we’re all in this together - you are not alone.

Our practice takes a less traditional approach than some might be used to, but we see that as a good thing! That’s why here at Inform, our team is working round the clock to support you and your businesses. 

Here’s a summary of everything we have done for our clients so far, and everything we’re going to be doing over the next few weeks and months.

Our priorities right now are making sure you have the most up to date information, and making sure that you’re business is able to survive through this period.

Regular email updates

Firstly, we should probably apologise for what might seem like a bombardment of emails from us over the last few weeks! But it’s more important now than ever to make sure we keep you as up to date as possible as the business environment continues to rapidly change.

If you want to receive our email updates, please send us an email to get added to our list (hello@informaccounting.co.uk).

Live updates on our website

If you haven’t already done so, check out our live updates page here. We’re keeping this as up to date as possible with all the new schemes and information released by the government. It seems like there’s an endless amount of information out there, so we’ve included a number of really useful links on this page which will take you straight to the most relevant government advice.

Free Fluidly Pro subscription for all Xero clients

As part of our partnership with Fluidly, we’ve been able to give away a Fluidly Pro subscription to all of our clients on Xero for free for three months.

With Fluidly you can generate 12 month forecasts and identify potential future cash gaps. Most other apps stop there, but Fluidly goes further. You can also manage your credit control, use the scenario planning tool and apply for access to funding all in one platform, helping you to fill those gaps.

Give us a call if you need help with your Fluidly cash flow - our team is here to help!

Supporting loan applications

As you’d expect, we’re being contacted frequently about loans and applications, and because we have such good relationships with a number of funding partners, we’re able to help our clients secure funding. 

If you need any support with your CBILS or microloan applications (recently announced) please get in touch with us today to see how we can help!

Free resources and business support

We’re continuing to create valuable free content to support you and your business during this time, as well as providing additional guidance on government schemes and assisting where we can. Key areas we’ve helped in so far:

• Furlough calculations and claims
• Guidance on VAT deferrals furloughing
• Cash flow support and Fluidly platform training
• Liaising with HMRC to help arrange Time to Pay schemes for PAYE and Corp Tax payments
• Business and strategy planning for getting back on track post crisis

We’ve produced a number of helpful and free resources over the last few weeks, including cash flow planning checklists and business planning templates. We’ve received some really positive feedback on these resources, so please feel free to use them!

• Cash flow action checklist
• CBILS application guidance
• VAT deferral advice sheet
• Furlough guidance and template form
• SWOT analysis

Webinar series

As part of our ongoing support, we’re creating a completely free webinar series with award winning apps like Fluidly and IWOCA to help provide educational content for clients and small business owners. Our first two webinars in the series focus on cash flows and alternative financing to plug the cash gaps in your business, and are available to watch now.

Webinars released to date include:

• Managing cash flow during business disruption (with Mike Stanley from Fluidly)

• Business financing in uncertain times (with Mat White from iwoca)
• CBILS & The Alternative Market Q&A (with Mike Stanley and James Bryce-Lind from Fluidly)

Planned webinars:

We’ve got some really great stuff in the works here, so stay tuned for more information and dates!

What we’re prioritising

We’re trying hard to maintain business as usual, but we are having to priortise some work.

We’re currently focussing on:

• Payroll and furloughing claims
• Cash flow forecasting
• Daily bookkeeping on clients using Fluidly

If your query isn’t urgent, please appreciate that we have a number of clients with time critical queries, and we have limited time and resources that we are having to prioritise. We will respond to your queries as soon as we can.

Stay safe. Stay at home. Stay healthy.

Lastly, now is the time to prioritise your mental health. It may be a little odd to hear this coming from your accountant, but ours is a people industry. We work with people, not businesses, and it’s important that we remember that.

As they say, put your own oxygen mask on before assisting others. If the situation is affecting you, consider blocking out social media or things that may worsen anxiety, but whatever you do, please stay in touch with us - so that together we set a plan to help you in these difficult times.

Take care,

Sian