The States of Guernsey Business Support Team have released the application forms for Small Business Grants and Payroll Co-Funding. With many thanks to the assistance from Richard & Carol-Anne Stapley (Richard Stapley Chartered Accountants) and Sarah Hancock (Brehon Accountants Limited) who worked with the States’ team, they have put together the following Frequently Asked Question list to help you with your applications:
(revised) As a business owner can I count myself as one of the employees on the Payroll-Co Funding Scheme as well as applying for a Small Business Grant?
If you are self employed for social security you cannot claim on the co-payroll scheme for yourself whether you trade through a limited company or as a sole trader. If you have already made a claim for yourself, please email financial.support@gov.gg asking to amend the claim and remove yourself.
I have been trading less than six months, it is a valid new business and my primary source of income can I still apply with additional supporting information?
Still put in a claim form and add an additional explanation to your email sending it in. Your claim won’t automatically be agreed but may be rejected then reviewed separately. This process will take longer than the applications that fit into the criteria of trading for more than six months. We estimate this will take a week to process.
I am trading as a partnership, can we all claim the £3,000 grant or can we only claim one between us?
If it is the primary source of income for each partner than each partner may separately apply for the £3,000 grant. Add an explanation to your emails.
What is my Business Tax ID?
If you are a sole trader then this is your personal tax reference. If you are trading as a company then this is the Company Tax Reference.
What is the Employer Tax ID?
This is the reference on your quarterly ETI return. You can find it on the top right of your printed return.
Can I claim for all my businesses?
You can only claim for the business that is your primary source of income. If you have multiple sole trader businesses then the Business ID will be the same in each case.
How big is a small business?
A business that has 10 or fewer employees including the owner.
Where do I work out my annual turnover?
Use your last set of accounts. If you are a new business or trading has changed significantly since the last accounts add up all income receipts for 12 months.
How do I work out my estimated lost net income for next 3 months?
We have asked Business Support this question as we wanted to know how they wanted people to define Direct Costs.
The States are trying to assess the level of business loss you have incurred in those three months. Therefore you need to provide the difference in profit between the current situation and the profit you would have generated without the Coronovirus impact on your business.
What is SOG Vendor Account
Unless you provide services to the States already you probably don’t have one. You will be aware if you already have one. If not just put no and leave the field blank.
I have contracts with my employees to pay a 40 hour week. Can I only claim 35 hours on the Co-Funding Scheme?
There is no cap on the hours you can claim. However it needs to be in line with the hours previously worked by an employee. If an employee previously worked 45 hours a week they can claim minimum wage for 45 hours a week. If they only worked on average 10 hours a week they can claim 10 hours a week.
If you have a question please email Richard and Carol-Anne Stapley on rs@richardstapley.com or Sarah Hancock on Sarah@brehon.co.uk