This year has not been what we expected. Whilst we can't control what has happened, we do have the power to help businesses look forward and plan for how to move on, survive, to thrive.
#LeaveNoBusinessBehind is a collaboration across the accounting industry, calling on accountants to help business owners with their immediate survival and then their future business health. Accountants have a huge role to play to save the SME economy and we want to support you to do that. So we have created this free skills hub with both training and practical resources for you to use as you need.
Taking action
Businesses need to plan for survival, to prepare a cashflow forecast and ensure they know how they will survive this period to thrive again. It is too risky a strategy for them to just hope for the best without a written plan. We are asking accountancy firms to join our campaign and commit to have a dialogue with every single client to:
- Check in. Are they coping okay? What are their main worries?
- Prompt a forecast. Encourage them to prepare a detailed cashflow forecast for the next 12 months & assist with that, if necessary
- Assess further support & funding needs. Do they need further support to raise finance, manage working capital or consider another strategic direction for their business?
Resources at your disposal
All of our collaborators have pulled together to create a free training programme to help you with any knowledge gaps and to give you the confidence to have these conversations with every single client.
This Skills Hub will remain live for several weeks but as we expect the CBILS deadline to be 30th September, and many clients may need to use that scheme, (although perhaps they don’t even know that yet) we don’t have the luxury of time. Feel free to choose how you use this content - pick and choose which resources you need, dip in and out or absorb it quickly.
There are 9 short videos covering a multitude of topics, plus several supporting resources. Check out the Tips for Success before you start – you can find it with Episode 1.
| TOPIC | Content | author/s | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Introduction | 1. How to avoid insolvency | Kirsty McGregor, CFN & Dave Fleming, Duff & Phelps |  Watch video |
| Glossary | Familiarise yourself with any terminology or acronyms we may use | View PDF |
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| Useful tips | How to agree a “Time to Pay” arrangement with HMRC | View PDF |
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| Tips for Success | To help you really make a difference to your clients during this campaign | View PDF |
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| Outgoings timeline | A ready reference to show clients when significant outgoings are due to be paid | View PDF |
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| Recording | First Community Catch-up, here are the slides | Watch video |
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| 2. What are the best accountants doing? | Kirsty McGregor, CFN & Shane Lukas, AVN | Watch video |
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The Finance |
3. Few understand funding now - do you? | Kirsty McGregor, CFN & Paul Surtees, Capitalise | Watch video |
| A note from Paul Surtees |
Short article useful background reading on COVID-19 | Read more |
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| 4. What if your client isn't AAA rated? | Kipp Noble, Capitalise & Phil Hobden, Capitalise | Watch Video |
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| Slidedeck | Slides to accompany Kipp's presenation in episode 4. | View PDF |
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| Funding cheat sheets | To simplify the process | View PDF |
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5. Don't write off |
Olly Cummings, Capitalise | Watch video |
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1 pager |
Learn more about Capitalise Recovery | View PDF |
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| 6. Kirsty vs Paul on Invoice Finance | Kirsty McGregor, CFN & Paul Barnes, MAP | Watch video |
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| Cheat sheets | To make invoice finance simpler | View PDF |
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| Case studies | Successful invoice finance deals | View PDF |
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7. Cashflows in |
Phil Hobden, Capitalise & Kirsty McGregor, CFN | Watch video |
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Useful list |
Suggested software and apps |
View PDF |
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Preparing |
Information needed from the client | View PDF |
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Comfort letter |
For when preparing projections |
View PDF |
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Useful tips |
For when preparing projections |
View PDF |
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| Communicating with clients | 8. The one conversation that matters |
Kirsty McGregor, CFN | Watch video |
| Webinar recording | Kirsty and Paul's conversation with psychologist Emma Kenny | Watch video |
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| Critical Assessment for Clients |
Structure your conversations with clients and prioritise work | View PDF |
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| List of helplines | Available for somebody who is struggling | View PDF |
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| 9. But my client won’t pay for cashflows | Aynsley Damery and Steven Briginshaw, Clarity & Kirsty McGregor, CFN | Watch video |
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| Telephone script | For speaking to clients about cashflows | View PDF |
For any questions or suggestions, just send us a message and we'll be happy to help.
