How Your Businesses Can Navigate Covid-19

How Your Businesses Can Navigate Covid-19

Local businesses have been put under a huge strain due to restrictions brought on by Covid-19. During the past four months alone, some businesses experienced significant changes. This was revealed by Mashudu Tshakhuma (31) a qualified Chartered Accountant who helps SMEs access funding.

“Businesses are dependent on each other for survival. You find that some of them are affected more than others. Others right now are affected by the fact that the clients have had to close their doors so they don’t have personal income coming in,” Tshakhuma told The Olifants News, a community newspaper distributed in Tembisa..

“Some of them are not getting the payments on time and this is affecting the cash flow in the business and it is ultimately affecting everything. Businesses can not operate without paying suppliers and employees,” she explains.

“For example, as I was on my way, I was listening to the radio and a lady who said she was working in the aviation industry, called in. She said she was uncertain if the aviation industry will survive after this pandemic is done away. So she was even appealing to people to say if there is anything she can do; even offering to clean or wash laundry,” Tshakhuma says.

“People are retrenched or some people don’t even get any severance pay and that affects extended families as well,” she adds.

Help For Businesses

During the current crisis, when cash is going to be tight for many businesses, there may be a temptation to cut back on accounting costs—that’s a mistake.

The government relief funding and bank loans have multiple strands, this makes it challenging for an average entrepreneur to process an application.

MGT Accounting and Consulting helps navigate the arduous process of accessing government funding and tax breaks during these unprecedented times.

“There are certain documents that the business needs to provide to start the process. For instance, the bank needs  to know how you have been affected by the pandemic through your finances so they want to see the history of your finances before the pandemic,” she says.

“We also help with the historical information which is the financial statement that shows your financial history. That you are operating and you’re generating income in your business but at the moment you are not able to generate income,” she explains.

“At MGT we don’t want to see you rush around at tax time… our bookkeeping services will keep you organised ahead of time.”

As a business owner do the following to navigate these unprecedented times:

• Make sure all your transaction are recorded accurately;
• Make sure your business is compliant; i.e tax returns are filed with SARS.
• All communicate with your customers.

Are you worried that your business is not compliant and this may prevent you from accessing relief funding? As accountants, we are best placed to consider the financial impact that the Covid-19 outbreak has on small and medium-sized businesses.

Speak to one of our accountants today.  email info@mgt-accounting.co.za