How to prepare your business for 2021, and beyond

The UK Covid-19 vaccination programme is now underway and although this is positive news for British businesses, there are growing concerns that the economic fallout of Covid-19 will result in a wave of insolvencies.

The various support measures introduced by the UK government are likely to have suppressed corporate insolvencies throughout 2020.  As lockdown restrictions are gradually lifted and support packages come to an end, corporate insolvencies could be much higher in the first half of 2021, compared with previous years with hospitality, retail and tourism likely to be the most affected.

Business Survival Plan

Having a comprehensive business plan is key to business survival.  Dividing a plan into smaller steps and prioritising them into short-term and long term-goals can make this task much less daunting to tackle.

We have reflected on the key steps which business owners can take in order to prepare their business for the challenges ahead.

• Review your best-selling products or services

If all or part of your business has been forced to close, you may have launched new products or service throughout 2020 which could be developed further during 2021 to increase the momentum of your business. 

• Review your budgets and projections

You should maintain financial projections which include what you reasonably project to achieve in terms of gross sales and spend on operating costs. Be prepared to review your projections on a regular basis and make changes if the circumstances change.

• Review funding

The government support measures are set to come to an end at different times (from 31 March 2021 onwards).  If your business requires funding once these schemes have ended then there are various other options ranging from bank loans, factoring, peer-to-peer lending or venture capital.

• Review efficiency

Review your processes and consider whether it is appropriate to outsource tasks or amend existing processes which do not provide value for time and money.  If you have staff working remotely then consider whether time saved on commuting allows staff to work flexibly in a way that benefits both them, and your business.

It is difficult to prepare for every possible circumstance.  If your business is showing signs of distress, or you simply want to learn more about the options available to your business then it is important to seek advice from a licenced Insolvency Practitioner.

For more useful information or a consultation on how to prepare your business please contact us for a no obligation chat about options available or visit our website.