Samir Harith, proprietor of web site The Comedian Accountant, is dedicated to serving to small enterprise homeowners perceive accounting and finance by means of comics.

OPINION: Over the past weekend Tāmaki Makaurau Auckland was hit by extreme flooding in lots of components of the town. Many roads within the North Island are nonetheless closed as a result of flooding. These floods have affected the livelihoods of many Kiwis dwelling within the North Island. Small enterprise homeowners are a few of these feeling the impression of the floods.

This text helps define some steps you can take as a enterprise proprietor to navigate the surprising circumstances that we discover ourselves in.

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Ensure that your workforce is protected through the flooding

The primary and most sensible factor to do is to make it possible for your workforce members are protected. As I prefer to say, your workforce IS your online business. Contact them and test if the flood impacts them. Make preparations primarily based on their present scenario.

Provide monetary help to workforce members who’re badly affected. Take into account versatile working preparations or day without work for different workforce members. Because the chief, it is advisable to make sure that workforce welfare is the highest precedence. Blissful workforce equals a profitable enterprise!

Examine in together with your insurance coverage suppliers

You could name up your insurance coverage suppliers. In the event you take care of them through a dealer, get in contact together with your insurance coverage dealer ASAP. Get an estimate of how a lot the insurance coverage will cowl and put together to soak up the remaining. You will have to think about any extra charges that you’ll have to cowl your self.

In occasions reminiscent of these, you may count on constructing and contents insurance coverage to cowl flood associated damages. When you have enterprise disruption insurance coverage, this must be claimable as properly, so long as you may present proof that it has impacted your online business’ potential to function.

From a tax viewpoint, insurance coverage claims are both:

• Capital insurance coverage payouts – These are payouts for the lack of mounted belongings. For instance, a enterprise car is badly broken and also you get a payout. That insurance coverage payout is capital in nature and isn’t taxable for revenue tax.

• Lack of revenue insurance coverage payouts – These are payouts for the lack of future revenue. This is applicable to enterprise disruption insurance coverage or key individual insurance coverage (which insures the revenue generated by key personnel within the enterprise). This kind of insurance coverage payout is a substitute in revenue and thus is taxable beneath revenue tax guidelines.

Insurance coverage payouts are usually GST inclusive which implies that you need to return any GST collected on payouts in your GST return. The one exception is life insurance coverage which is GST exempt. It’s value checking together with your insurance coverage supplier if you’re uncertain.

Estimate the injury carried out by the flooding

Within the aftermath of the floods, it would be best to assess the injury carried out to your online business premises. Establish which belongings are nonetheless usable and which aren’t. In the event you carry buying and selling inventory, it would be best to determine that are saleable and which aren’t.

You need to write off any injury carried out to your belongings and inventory. You are able to do this by:

• Acquiring the associated fee worth of your asset/inventory.

• Estimating the present worth of it after the injury (you may rent knowledgeable valuer for sure gadgets like plant and equipment).

• Claiming the distinction in worth as a tax-deductible expense.

For inventory injury, you may declare the inventory losses as a direct value to your online business. For mounted asset damages, you will want to use for a particular depreciation fee for that specific asset and supply proof that it has had its financial worth diminished as a result of injury.

Evaluation your online business continuity plan and plan forward for after the flooding

A enterprise continuity plan is a good factor to have earlier than a disaster. When you have one, it is a good time to have a look at it now and see what your subsequent steps are. You must also put together a short-term price range (six months or so) to forecast your online business operations in coming months. These forecasts ought to embody issues like:

• Any impression to gross sales figures primarily based on diminished enterprise capacities.

• Any improve to bills on account of repairs and upkeep.

• Gross sales reductions as a result of prospects being affected by the floods as properly.

You will have to scale down your operations primarily based in your forecasts. There could also be workforce members who will depart. Clients may have a tricky time paying in your companies. Have a chat together with your accountant and speak to them about getting some forecasts carried out for your online business.

Above all, be form to one another

We’re all going through a tricky time forward. Be form to your prospects who’ve been affected by the floods. Take into account giving them prolonged credit score phrases or reductions on their upcoming invoices. Have a chat together with your suppliers as properly. Share with them your present scenario and ask for leniency on their fee phrases.