COVID-19: support for businesses

To find out what coronavirus-related financial support is available for your business, check here. Otherwise, HVAC businesses may find the following support schemes applicable (please note these are not applicable to self-employed business owners):

Job Retention Scheme:The Government claim this scheme may support you in paying your employee's wages to avoid redundancies. It has been stated that HMRC will reimburse 80% of wage costs if workers have taken coronavirus-related absence, up to a cap of £2,500 per worker. Subject to the conditions of this scheme, if you elect to participate you may wish to consider designating your absent employees as 'furloughed workers' and notify them of this change, before submitting information to HMRC about your furloughed employees and their earnings via the HMRC online portal. It has been suggested that wages covered will be backdated to March 1st and it has now been extended to the end of June.

Key points: Submit any claims through the online HMRC portal for furloughed employees you wish to claim for (subject to any additional HMRC conditions and guidance).

Deferred VAT payments: Government advice (at of 26.03.2020) suggests that VAT payments due between 20th March and 30th June will be deferred for 3 months. The Government advice explains that this is automatically applied to all VAT registered businesses, implying that no applications are required and businesses will then be given until the end of the financial year in 2021 to repay these bills (but please ensure that you check the Government guidance website carefully for any changes and/or updates). If you have any questions regarding VAT payments, there is a specific HMRC helpline you can call Monday to Friday between 8:00 am - 8:00 pm and Saturdays between 8:00 am - 4:00 pm. You can contact this helpline on 0800 0159 559.  Otherwise, you can speak to advisers via webchat to discuss problems with paying your taxes due to COVID-19 here.

Key points: Government advice states that your VAT payments will automatically be deferred for 3 months and directs you discuss VAT concerns on 0800 0159 559.

Statutory Sick Pay (SSP) relief: In accordance with the Government's advice (as of 26.03.2020) the Government website suggests that it may be possible that if you're paying out SSP for absence due to COVID-19, you'll be able to reclaim this back from the first day of absence. The refund will cover up to 2 weeks SSP per employee - with eligibility beginning from 13th March and covering those who follow advice to stay at home even if they're not sick themselves, but who cannot work as a result. Although Govenment advice suggests that employees are not required to provide a GP fit note to be eligible for SSP, as an employer you should maintain records of staff absences and any SSP payments and continue to check the Government website for any changes or updates. It's also worth noting that should evidence be required to reclaim SSP, you can advise your employees to get an isolation note via NHS 111 online, or a note from the NHS website if they are living with someone who has coronavirus symptoms. Although the process is not available yet, the Government will be working with employers over the coming months to begin repayments as soon as possible. Please note that your business must employ fewer than 250 employees to be eligible.

Key points: Record staff absences and payments of SSP, isolation notes can be obtained from NHS 111 online, only applicable for businesses with fewer than 250 employees.

Filing accounts extension: Companies House has announced that businesses will receive an extra 3 months to file their accounts. As of March 25th, Companies House state you can apply for this extension, allowing you to avoid penalties as you manage the effects of COVID-19. You can apply for the extension here, with any business citing COVID-19 as the reason for delay automatically granted the extra time. If you do not apply for this extension but file your accounts late as a result of COVID-19, you will still receive an automatic penalty. Applications take only 15 minutes to complete via the online portal.

Key points: Apply for a 3-month extension before your filing deadline and cite COVID-19 as the reason for the extension

Self-employed income support scheme:

For self-employed HVAC contractors, the Government has announced a job retention scheme under which, subject to your eligibility under the terms of the scheme, they may pay a taxable grant worth up to 80% of your average monthly profits over the last 3 years, up to a cap of £2,500 per month. To ensure the scheme supports those who need it most, eligibility encompasses those who make the majority of their income from self-employment, with trading profits of up to £50,000, and who have a tax return for 2019. The Government has proposed the scheme should be accessible no later than June, with HMRC contacting you if you're eligible. Please note that if you missed the tax return deadline in January 2020, the Government is allowing you 4 weeks from the 26th March to complete your filing. There is a frequently asked questions page regarding this scheme.

Key points: HMRC will contact eligible self-employed workers when the scheme is available. You have 4 weeks from March 26th to complete your tax return if you missed the deadline in January.

Deferred Income Tax payments:

The Government have stated that Income Tax payments due on the 31st July 2020 under the self-assessment system may be deferred until 31st January 2021. This is automatically applied to those who are eligible, although it's noted that if you are able to make this payment in July, then you should do so. Please note the additional details and conditions on the Government website, in the Links below:

Apply to extend your accounts filing deadline

Self-employment Income Support Scheme FAQs

Key points: Your Income Tax payment may be automatically be deferred to 31st January 2021 subject to the conditions set out on the Government’s website; but you should make payment as usual if you're in a position to do so.

The Building Engineering Services Association (BESA) have a dedicated page which has the latest developments, government and health advice as well as guidance from their own specialist teams for their members. They are also hosting daily webinars every weekday at noon giving all the latest COVID-19 updates alongside specific related topics. Regular bulletins with the latest information can be accessed here, offering you a simple method of accessing the latest and most relevant information.

They also have useful documents available for free including advice on contractual issues, advice if you or your employees require time off work, and how to plan for business disruption which we've elaborated on below. If you're a BESA member and have any queries on how your business might be affected by COVID19 you can email their team on covid19@thebesa.com

The Construction Leadership Council (CLC) have published useful information to ensure any on-site work is carried out in line with government guidance. Their Site Operating Procedures outline exactly how to protect yourself and your workforce in instances where you have fewer workers, as well as how to minimise the spread of the virus by implementing new hygiene and social distancing measures into your working day.

The CLC has also published guidance from Build UK on the contractual and practical issues that construction businesses need to consider, for current contracts and when negotiating future contracts.

Key points: Access valuable documents covering industry-specific issues, and register for daily COVID-19 updates from BESA. Familiarise with CLCs Site Operating Procedures for best practice when working on-site.

A BCP is going to allow you to act faster and with greater confidence when a disaster occurs, as well as allow for a swifter recovery. Although it will have been beneficial to have a BCP in place for your HVAC business prior to COVID-19, it will still be extremely useful to devise a plan for the upcoming months so you are clear about the steps you are going to take and how you are planning to recover. The BESA have an excellent document with a BCP checklist and example which you can use to get started, and rest assured it's much simpler than it sounds and will prove invaluable now and into the future.

Key points: Use downtime to plan out your next steps, you can find an excellent checklist here.

Announced on March 18th, Facebook states that it is offering $100 million in cash grants and ad credits for up to 30,000 eligible small businesses in over 30 countries.

To be eligible to apply Facebook's criteria states that you must have between 2 and 50 employees, have been in business for over a year, have experienced COVID-19 related challenges and be in or near a location where Facebook operates. The exact details for UK eligibility are yet to be announced.

However, it is worth keeping this program on your radar as the scheme may be able to assist in helping keep your workforce going, allowing you to connect with more customers and cover your operational costs. As a small HVAC business, a cash grant or ad credits could be invaluable in helping you recover from the impact of COVID-19. Applications will begin in the coming weeks, but you can sign up for updates here.

Aside from their Small Business Grants Program, Facebook has also uploaded steps on managing through and building resilience during this time, with additional resources to help you plan an emergency response and minimise business downtime.

Key points: Sign up for updates on applying for their cash grants and ad credits.

As part of their COVID-19 response effort, Google has committed $340 million in Google Ads credits for small and medium-sized businesses across the world who have active Google Ads accounts. This is therefore applicable to contractor businesses who have advertised through Google before. The allocation of ads credits will be automatic, with a credit notification expected to appear in eligible accounts in the coming months - meaning there is no need to apply. Although the exact criteria to be classed as a small or medium-sized business is yet to be published, what we do know is that you need to have been active on your Google Ads account since the beginning of 2019, and that the credit will have to be used at any point until the end of 2020.

Google has also published a helpful page specifically for small businesses, with plenty of advice on running your business remotely, adapting to new customer behaviour as well as providing links to free digital training courses.

Key points: If your business qualifies, a credit notification will appear in your Google Ads account in the coming months.

Marketing can often fall by the wayside for smaller businesses, and although a pause on incoming work is far from ideal, the time out can give you a chance to focus on your online efforts to aid business recovery once this crisis has passed.

Social media: There's a healthy HVAC contractor community on social media, particularly on LinkedIn, Facebook, Twitter and Instagram. If you haven't already established these platforms for your business, now could be the chance to do so. A healthy social media presence may encourage greater customer loyalty, greater credibility and more business for your company, so investing some time into getting it right will be invaluable. Look at sharing some of your recent commissions and networking with other contractors - building a presence will be incredibly advantageous when commissions start to come back in.

If you do already have a social media presence for your HVAC business, now could be the time to analyse what is and isn't working. Ensure you've responded to any comments or direct messages, take stock of what posts of yours have done well and devise a simple plan to incorporate more of these posts in future and finally, take a look at competitors to see whether they're using social media in ways which will benefit you when business as usual resumes.

Website: Keeping your website updated can be difficult when you're in the thick of commissions. So if you're faced with business downtime, it is definitely worth reviewing your website and ensuring all information is up-to-date and fresh. This will be particularly beneficial following the COVID-19 crisis when new work starts to come in, as Google will pick up the changes to your website, increasing the likelihood that it'll appear on the first page of search results when companies search for HVAC services.

Key points: Focusing efforts on social media and your website will be extremely useful when attracting new business following the crisis.

Remaining honest, transparent and available to your end-users is important during this time.

Be vocal in outlining the precautions you are taking as a business to minimise the spread of COVID-19, including any new or reinforced hygiene measures as well as social distancing measures. Of course, the situation is changing rapidly day-to-day, so it's worth putting out regular updates too. Social media or emails are going to be most effective in communicating regular updates to your end-users, so be sure to use them to your advantage.

Key points: Communicate regularly to your customers on the hygiene and social distancing steps you're taking.

To make it easier to find quick answers to the key questions you may have as a business or as an individual, the government have put together an extensive list of FAQ's which you can find below.

FAQ's for businesses and employers.

FAQ's regarding business closures and stay-at-home advice.

FAQ's regarding the Self-Employment Income Support Scheme.