According to a recent poll, 50% of company leaders believe their operations will not stabilize from the COVID-19 crisis before the next planning process. The global pandemic has placed a strain on all businesses over the last few months. Not only has it affected the current state of a business’s financials, but it also affects how businesses can plan for the future. So, how can you begin to plan if you cannot predict what is going to happen next? Has your planning process vanished since COVID?
At TGG we have started Bonfire Chats, webinars created to answer your questions surrounding today’s environment, and what you may need to know in the coming weeks. Last week, we discussed the Main Street Lending Program, and why it may be beneficial for you.
The Main Street Lending Program began in April, and has seen trouble gaining traction. Unlike the SBA PPP, the MSLP works with larger businesses and can provide funding for businesses in need during this uncertain time. This program could be one of the most beneficial programs for businesses today if used properly.
On March 31, 2020, Matt Garrett, TGG founder and CEO, helped small business owners and employers alike to understand the economic stimulus package. This bill is complicated, but also extremely important for small businesses during these uncertain times. Here are a few key takeaways from the bill, and how you can move forward with your business plan.
The Coronavirus pandemic has thrown a wrench into a lot of businesses’ future plans. Business exit plans have also been changed due to this economic crisis. Mergers and acquisitions have been among the many exit plan options that have been drastically affected by the crisis. While mergers and acquisitions have survived through other economic crises, like the 2008 financial crisis, this one seems a bit more drastic. Here are a few ways we can see the effects of the crisis on mergers and acquisitions.
During these uncertain times, it has never been more important to create profitability. The global pandemic and the closure of most businesses, has caused anxiety surrounding businesses staying afloat. At TGG, we understand how important your business’ profitability is to maintain, especially right now. Here are a few tips to creatively increase your profitability when you may not be able to run your business as usual:
In May, the Treasury Secretary announced that all SBA PPP Loans of over $2 million will be audited, and all loans under that amount may also be subject to an IRS audit. In the article below, John Milikowsky, the founder of Milikowsky Tax Law, breaks down what you can do right now to limit your risk of an IRS audit. The main takeaway is to get your financials in order right now. If you can track all of your expenses and prove where you allocated your funds, you’re already in great shape. Already applied for your SBA PPP loan? Download our TGG PPP Loan Forgiveness Tracker. Need a more in-depth look into your financials? Contact our team to help your business through this uncertain time.
Read the Milikowsky Tax Law Article here:
As state-wide lockdowns continue to be extended, we are just beginning to understand what reopening the economy will look like. Our recommendation? Small businesses should use this time to prepare their business for optimal operation.
Unfortunately, during times like these, it’s important for small businesses to prepare for the worst. If you understand where your business stands and the impact coronavirus will have on your operations, you will be well-equipped to plan for the future.
As companies proactively adjust their business operations in the wake of COVID-19, there are few things to consider in regard to crisis management. All businesses should have a crisis management plan in place to assure their success regardless of the unforeseen circumstances that may arise. Here are a few steps to take to create success in tough times:
The coronavirus pandemic has created a need for businesses to become more focused than ever on their business expenditures and daily operations. The same can be said for the financial crisis of 2008 — when the economy takes a hit, organizations dial things in. Implementing the right survival strategy allowed many businesses to come out of the recession stranger than they were before. Here’s how they did it:
Do you have your financial plans in order post-COVID-19? Financial planning can be difficult even in normal circumstances, and with the uncertainty surrounding the future of businesses, financial planning is even more challenging. The typical 5-year plan you use, that is based on accuracy, consistency, and predictable planning cycles, can no longer be used to determine the future of your business. Therefore, financial planning needs to take on a new, systematic approach to account for all potential crisis situations.
The economic effects of coronavirus are still being determined, but it’s safe to say that most businesses have been affected in one way or another by this pandemic. As businesses attempt to protect their employees and keep their companies afloat, business owners have had to adjust their daily operations in order to succeed. How can we learn from history and better prepare supply-chain leaders to succeed in uncertain times?
As the effects of Coronavirus continue to unfold, we have seen small and medium-sized businesses take a hit. The government has worked to create funding to support these businesses during this tough time.
As many small business owners expected, the SBA PPP loans have proven to be an excellent option for funding during this uncertain time. However, many small businesses were blindsided by how quickly these funds were depleted and became enraged after learning that large corporations like Shake Shack and the Lakers received these loans before most small business owners had an opportunity to apply. Here’s how that happened and what the SBA is doing to fix it:
At the beginning of the SBA PPP roll out, there was a significant amount of confusion surrounding what information was required from small businesses to apply, including what paperwork was necessary and what precisely that paperwork needed to show before they got the chance to apply.
Navigating the MSLP loan requirements and details can be overwhelming for some companies. The FED recently hosted a webinar to help us better understand the program and the requirements behind it. Here are some of the key takeaways from the webinar:
The SBA PPP Loan funds have been replenished recently and are currently being disbursed among many small businesses throughout the U.S. Recently, Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin announced that all SBA PPP Loans of over $2 million will be subject to an audit. That being said, businesses who take out smaller loans may also be audited, but every business that takes out a loan of more than $2 million can count on a visit from the IRS within the next few years.
As we begin to look beyond the coronavirus economic lockdown, the government gave us a plan to end lockdowns and stay-at-home orders within the next few months. President Trump has provided governors with a three-phase program intended to safely revive America’s economy, which is called “Opening Up America Again.”
While the Coronavirus outbreak has been unexpected in every way, its impact on our global supply chain and local distributors is unprecedented. If your company, or its key suppliers, carries limited raw material inventory and relies heavily on Asian sources of supply, you are at high risk of disruption, according to several new economic analyses.
As the effects of COVID-19 continue to unfold, many companies have found themselves in a situation for which they were unprepared. Without implementing proper crisis preparation tactics, companies will continue to suffer, as businesses deal with future unexpected occurrences. Being prepared for a potential supply chain disruption, allows companies to work proactively rather than having to react without time to adequately consider their options.
On May 4, 2020, the SEC announced temporary conditional relief for small businesses that have offered Regulation Crowdfunding offerings in the past to allow them to raise additional funding through Regulation Crowdfunding investment offerings under more expedited and less strict criteria.
Small businesses are doing everything they can to overcome the economic hurdles created by the COVID-19 outbreak. It is clear that every business will be impacted in some way, but restaurants and bars have been hit especially hard—and suddenly— by the pandemic.
While chains like Denny’s and IHOP have the cash reserves in place to pay workers—even during the shutdown—small, non-chain restaurants across the country were left feeling abandoned and desperate when faced with mandated closures. In response to the crisis, a slew of programs, grants, and resources have begun to take shape, along with a regularly updated Hospitality Industry Alliance COVID-19 Facebook group. Here are a few of the solutions we think will be most helpful for owners of restaurants, bars, and other small businesses:
With the new normal becoming a reality for everyone, how can we prepare our businesses to survive and thrive during this unprecedented time? TGG Founder & CEO, Matt Garrett, and Stacey McKibbin, CEO of Consilio Consulting discuss the importance of the numbers in your business, and how to better understand how to come out of the COVID-19 pandemic on top.
In response to the economic impact of coronavirus, Congress rolled out the Main Street Loan Program to help businesses get funding to stay afloat. This program provides $600 billion in financing for all businesses. Before you consider applying for this loan program, there are a few things to consider.
Over the last week, the Federal Reserve has updated the Main Street Lending Program. There are 5 major changes that the Federal Reserve has made to the Main Street Lending Program that banks will start lending on within the next two weeks.
If you are eligible you should highly consider taking out one of these loans. It is inexpensive money, and will likely go as quickly as the SBA PPP Loan funds. Get started organizing your information with our MSELF Loan Organizer so you are prepared and at the front of the line to get your money.
Here are the 5 major alterations to the MSELF loan program requirements:
The government has implemented yet another business stimulus loan program called the Main Street Extended Loan Facility (MSELF). This loan program provides up to $2.3 trillion in loans to larger businesses in need. All US banks are eligible to originate this loan. Before you decide to apply, there are a few criteria and features that you should know.
As we look into the second quarter of 2020, the question that remains on many business owner’s minds is: will the rules outlined in AB-5 stand in the face of coronavirus? Concerns around the new criteria for worker classification outlined in Assembly Bill 5 were common at the start of the year, and many business owners chose to reclassify large portions of their workforce as W-2 wage earners rather than their previous classification of a 1099 independent contractor.
Liquidity is vital to riding our crises and times of financial uncertainty.
Business liquidity during times of instability is vital to longevity and ultimately, to survival. Having liquidity allows a business to continue to meet payroll and fulfill operating costs and expenses.
Here are a few ways to look for liquidity during this time of uncertainty:
Reduce Overhead Costs
In a world that is changing more quickly than ever, businesses need a plan when things go sideways. Companies like Cisco have taken the principle of “planning ahead” seriously, ensuring that they don’t have to be worried about the effects of the Coronavirus outbreak, they can calmly implement their Pandemic Response Plan. According to the document published to their website, Cisco has “well-established processes to coordinate our efforts during outbreaks like COVID-19, including our Global Business Resiliency (GBR) and Supply Chain Incident Management (SCIM) Processes.”
Business Resiliency programs centered on surviving unprecedented crises, like the coronavirus outbreak are the exception, not the rule, especially in smaller companies. Annual reviews and “fire drills” ensure that operations do not become so reliant on existing supply chains and processes that they cannot pivot in case of a crisis. For critical business operations, larger companies conduct audits and annual exercises to make sure their resiliency plan works to mitigate disruptions.
As soon as the statistics, predictions and hypotheses related to the economic fallout from the Coronavirus outbreak are put in print, they change. That stated, as of March 18, 2020, we, the team at TGG, want to share what we can with our network to help you structure remote teams in the face of great change.
It has been a little more than 10 weeks since the Coronavirus outbreak began to be reported globally. In the past 3 days, the U.S. has moved from banning gatherings of 500 or more to 50 or more and now 10 or more. Over the past three days, a ban on all gatherings of 50 or more individuals has expanded to a ban on all gatherings of 10 or more people at any time. Drive-through tests are being set up around the U.S. with the ability to swab sick individuals and provide results more rapidly than the current 3-day wait. Though at this time there are few stations to be found.
This is an article about our CEO, Matt Garrett’s presentation to Vistage. You can view the original article on the Vistage Website.
As the COVID-19 pandemic continues to worsen, finance experts say the global economy is spiraling towards a recession at best. Some also warn that a depression may be right around the corner with unemployment levels we have not seen for 90 years.
“This is 100% unprecedented,” says Matt Garrett, CEO of TGG Accounting, who has spoken to more than 600 Vistage groups about finance best practices for small and midsize firms. “We’re going to lose years and years of productivity. It’s going to present a massive unemployment problem…and a massive problem for the business community at large.”
Having led businesses through the 2008 recession, Garrett offers candid advice for CEOs trying to prepare their firms for today’s tumultuous environment. “Run your business by the numbers,” he says. “Get the numbers right and then make decisions based on those numbers.”
From a tactical point of view, Garrett says, this means taking seven steps.